Salary Start Date Confusion: Does Joining After a Weekend Affect Full Pay?

If a staff member joins on the 3rd of the month, with the 1st and 2nd being weekends (as we have weekends off), will he/she be eligible for the full salary, or will it be counted from the 3rd onward? Is there any specific rule regarding this?

First of all, review your HR policy and structure. If you have mentioned the 3rd in his/her offer letter or appointment letter, then you can start giving the salary from the 3rd.

Thank you.

A person is entitled to a salary from the day they become your employee. In this case, they became your employee on the 3rd of the month. They were not your employee on the 1st and 2nd of the month. Therefore, the salary is due for work starting from the 3rd of the month, meaning that the 1st and 2nd of the month can be excluded for the purpose of calculating their salary for that particular month. Hope this helps.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & IR Advisor

If the appointment letter stipulates that his date of joining is the 3rd, then he will be eligible for salary from the 3rd. Please carefully check the terms and conditions of the appointment letter and disburse the salary accordingly. Hope this information is helpful to you.

Regards,
Sibabrata Majumdar
Management Consultant
Legal & HR
Kolkata
Mb: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

The employee has reported on the 1st working day of the particular calendar month. As the 1st and 2nd are days off, the 3rd is the actual 1st working day for all employees, and the same applies to new employees. Therefore, the new employee is eligible for full salary.

With due respect, I beg to differ with your views. In terms of the appointment letter, a new employee will join on and from the 3rd of the month. If it is so, he is eligible for salary from the 3rd because he was not an employee of the company prior to the 3rd. His joining formalities, including attendance, will commence from the 3rd onward in terms of the appointment letter. Hence, he is not eligible for a full month's salary.

If the appointment letter stipulates that his date of joining is the 1st of the month, then he will be eligible for a full month's salary, and accordingly, all joining formalities will be made.

Regards,
Sibabrata Majumdar
Management Consultant Legal & HR
Kolkata, Mb: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

My dear friend Sibab, we will consider the month of March 2014, which has 31 days and 21 working days.

March 2014 Attendance Scenario

If the offer letter defines the 3rd day of the month as the joining date, the calendar month's 1st working day starts on Monday, 03.03.2014. The total working days are 21. If Mr. A joins on 03.03.2014, he starts his new job from the 1st working day of the month and successfully attends all 21 working days (100% attendance). He did not miss attending any working day, so he is eligible for full salary.

April 2014 Attendance Scenario

We will consider the month of April 2014, which has 30 days and 22 working days.

If the offer letter defines the 3rd day of the month as the joining date, the calendar month's 1st working day starts on Tuesday, 01.04.2014. The total working days are 22. If Mr. A joins on 03.04.2014, he starts his new job from the 3rd working day of the month. He misses the first 2 working days of the month, so he attends only 20 working days (approximately 91% attendance) out of 22 working days. He is not eligible for full salary.

So, I stand firm with my earlier statement.

Saikumar is correct. The salary period counts from the date of the employer-employee relationship.

Pon

Since this is a case of the new employee's first-month salary, the new employee is entitled to receive a salary from the date of their joining service. Hence, the salary shall become payable to them from the 3rd of the month (pro-rated).

Thanks,
R K Nair

I do not know what made you think that you can expect to receive a salary for the 1st and 2nd of the month when you actually joined on the 3rd of the month. Your actual employee-employer relationship starts from the day you report for duty and not earlier than that. It is only in retirement or superannuation in government sectors where you may leave the organization a day or two earlier when the actual date of retirement falls on a weekend. In that case, you receive the salary for the whole month.

Regards,
BS Kalsi
Member since Aug 2011

Salary Effective Date and Reporting

The salary payable to any employee shall be effective from the date of joining. Even by oversight, if it is mentioned that the appointment order's effective day falls on holidays, the next working day shall be considered for reporting to duty, and the wages shall start from the date of reporting. I fully agree with Mr. Saikumar's note and will follow accordingly.

Regards,
Adoni Suguresh
Sr. Executive (Personnel, Administration & Industrial Relations)
Retired Labour Laws Consultant