Facing Salary Issues and Unwritten Rules at Work: How Can We Create a Fair Environment?

Respected seniors, my name is Prayagi, and I'm working as an HR professional in a company. Myself and all my office staff are facing salary issues. What can I do to address these problems? Every time they change their rules verbally, they do not document anything in writing. Could you please help me figure out how to handle this situation and create a healthy and happy environment for both our employees and the company?

It's sad to hear about the issue you and your other members are facing now. It's really unfortunate to know that even after having such policies, people don't adhere to the rules.

Looking over your present issues, I would suggest that you, being the HR, need to take a step forward, as people will surely ask about the duration you have been there and the duration since you started facing such issues.

Another thing is that you need to bring things to the table and document them. Without that, you will either continue struggling or your words will have a slow death inside the vocal cord.

I don't mean to misguide you, but to make things better, someone will have to step ahead in a polite manner.

Before you take further steps as an HR, you must also understand the reasons behind your management's struggles with making payments and communicate this correctly, as your role is crucial here.

You need to let your management know that verbal agreements don't hold value if they are not kept, and legally, it would be hard to prove.

Move Forward in a Formal and Strategic Way:

- Find reasons for non-payment
- Determine the time duration
- Understand the management's view
- Ask the management to discuss with a few senior members to foster a cordial relationship so they can support the management if there are any real issues, as many businesses go through cycles and bad phases too.

This time, draft an email from your end with the outcomes of the meeting and ask management to approve that they have agreed on the following points, including the payment schedule with the date.

Regards,

First of all, what kind of issue are you facing with your salary? Is it that you are not being paid on time, or that you are not receiving the correct salary? As an HR professional, you should take the initiative to issue an appointment letter. If you are employed by a vendor, you should also initiate the issuance of a contract letter (formats are available on the internet). Additionally, you can ask your Managing Directors to provide you with the exact date your salary should be credited to your account.

I have a question: are you receiving your salary through your bank account, by cheque, or in cash? If you are receiving it in cash, please coordinate with the relevant person to set up a salary account for your company. I am emphasizing this because receiving cash is more critical than having the salary deposited into your account. Firstly, identify the drawbacks and, as an HR professional, take the necessary steps to address them.

I assume your company is a startup, and perhaps the directors lack sufficient knowledge regarding salary matters based on your feedback. It may be challenging for employees to survive on a salary of 10 rupees. However, it is relatively easy for service providers to earn. Therefore, take proactive steps to progress further. I wish you all the best.

Regards

It is very obvious if you are getting a salary without a cheque. First of all, you must ask your HR to pay by cheque or into your account so that you can show the accountability of your salary. Do you have a muster book? Do you get a salary receipt?

If you have both, then there may be another reason why your salary has not increased. You need to find out what the reason is.

If your company is doing well, then "Each one of you must get an increment at the end of the financial year." If you are not receiving it, then you should speak with your management.

Be careful, as there are some employees who are receiving the increment but do not disclose it to everyone. They receive it from management silently and make it appear as though they are also in the same situation.

Thank you, seniors, for your valuable advice to me. As an HR professional, I am starting a fresh career in this field. As per your suggestion, I'm opening salary accounts for all employees, and the documentation is also done. However, the directors changed their policy verbally, so we are facing many problems in the workplace, myself and the rest of the employees.

As a result, most of the employees are leaving the job, and they blame me. I have already discussed the salary issues with the rest of the employees. All of the employees perform well, but the issue is that the director does not pay the salary according to the quoted or promised amount. Every time the director tells me, "You are cutting the payment because he was late for a day, half-days, or if depositing 15 days' salary towards the company." So, there is a big problem in how to resolve the issue and how to hire employees.

I am the only person making policies, but after discussions with the directors, they are not ready with policies. This is a big issue for me. Should I leave the job, or should I stay? I do not understand what exactly to do. There are only 15 people, including me. All employees are good with their work and skills. I am totally down to earth; why am I not able to solve this problem? There is no senior above me, only my directors. What can I do? Please help me, seniors.

Salary Discrepancy Issues

They are fixing the salary date every month on the 15th, but they are not fulfilling their commitment. Every month, they are giving salary cheques on or before the 21st to 28th. As a result, employees are in conflict with me, and the director is not giving us the full salary.

Thank you.