Onboarding Delayed Due to Payroll Dates: Is This a Common Company Practice?

Hi, I recently received an offer letter from a company with a joining date set for April 21st, 2025. However, I was contacted by their HR department, who informed me that my onboarding date would be postponed to April 24th, 2025, which falls on a Thursday. This is due to the company's payroll cut-off date being the 21st of each month, and they usually onboard new candidates only on Mondays and Thursdays.

Onboarding and Payroll Cut-Off Dates

I am curious to know whether it is common for companies not to onboard new employees on payroll cut-off dates. Can I trust this reasoning?

Yes, there are companies that start processing their attendance for payroll well before the actual close of the calendar month, i.e., the 30th/31st. In this case, what I mean is that their cut-off date for payroll is the 21st of every month. This is to ensure that the salary credit is made on the last day of the month or at least on the 1st day of the succeeding month, i.e., the 1st of May. If you join on the 21st, you should be included in the current month's salary itself, and there may often be confusion regarding KYCs for EPF/ESI, etc.

At the same time, if you join on the 24th, you will not receive your pay for April on May 1st, but you will receive it along with the salary for May on the 1st of June. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about. Setting a specific day for onboarding is only to streamline the process. However, they should have noticed this before issuing the offer letter.

The information provided in the reply is generally correct. Many companies do have a payroll cut-off date before the end of the month to make sure that salaries are processed and credited on time. The process involves various tasks like attendance reconciliation, deductions, tax calculations, and so on, which need some lead time to be completed accurately.

Joining a new employee after the payroll cut-off date would mean that the salary for those remaining days of the month would need to be processed separately or adjusted in the next month's salary, which can cause unnecessary complications and potential errors. Therefore, to streamline the process, many companies prefer to onboard new employees after the cut-off date or on specific set days of the week.

As for your concern about trusting this reasoning, it's always a good idea to clarify any doubts you have with your potential employer. However, this practice doesn't seem out of the ordinary and is likely just a part of the company's internal payroll management process.

Regarding the issue of the joining date mentioned in the offer letter, companies should ideally mention the accurate joining date considering their internal processes. However, oversights can happen. It's advisable to discuss this with the HR department and request for an updated offer letter with the correct joining date for your records.

Remember, it's important to have open communication with your potential employer about such issues. It helps in setting the right expectations and ensuring a smooth onboarding process.