Salary Advance...

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Jason_Fisher

  • #1
    I have a couple of questions regarding salary advances.

    How are the looked upon from the employers point of view? I will explain...

    My brother works in IT Sales (Internal Account Manager) and has just been offered a new job, in a new company on £22,000 basic per year with commission. However, he doesn't start until 16th May and won't get a full pay until the end of June. He has to travel to work and pay for food etc, along with a couple of other bills. Petrol alone will be roughly £250 per month.

    My question is this, someone has told him to ask for an advance...he is worried if this will look unprofessional before he has even started with the company! So...

    Does this look unprofessional before even starting your first day?
    Can you get advances in this situation?
    On a salary of £22,000 how much could he get advanced?
    How would he pay it back? How long?

    If anyone could advise on this so i can relay to him would be great. Also if this is possible etc, how would be the best way to go about it?

    Thanks
     
    T

    TotallySport

  • #2
    Surely he will have his last wage from his current job plus any outstanding holiday pay, so he shouldn't need an advance.

    Normally an advance will just come off his next wage, so whatever he takes he will be short the month after. Better to stick it out if he can, or get a more economical form of transport.
     
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    J

    Jason_Fisher

  • #3
    His car is only 1.2 and the job is a 70 mile round trip (mansfield to sheffield) so needs the car tbh , closest job in the sector he works that is hiring. His last company went bust and has been out of work a few months, and has just now got to the position of needing money to get to work, it's abit of a catch 22 situation.

    Would it look bad on him for asking?
     
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    TotallySport

  • #4
    Jason_Fisher said:
    His car is only 1.2 and the job is a 70 mile round trip (mansfield to sheffield) so needs the car tbh , closest job in the sector he works that is hiring. His last company went bust and has been out of work a few months, and has just now got to the position of needing money to get to work, it's abit of a catch 22 situation.

    Would it look bad on him for asking?
    Click to expand...
    That's not what you said in your OP "My brother works in IT Sales (Internal Account Manager)" means he is currently working.

    Surely the train runs from Sheffield to mansfield, so a weekly or monthly trainpass would be better (its only 1 change and takes an hour), and prombably quicker to.

    he can ask, the worst they will say is no.
     
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    J

    Jason_Fisher

  • #5
    Sorry i just meant that 'he works in IT' as in thats his sector. Thanks for your advice, he knows the worst they can do is say no, he just wants to see how this will look before he even starts work. I posted on here really to see if this is more comman that he thought, and companies views on this, for example, how would you be in the employers situation and someone you just offered a job to asked this of you?

    Thanks again so far
     
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    J

    Jason_Fisher

  • #6
    Also, i understand about the train, but where we live, he would be going 15 mins in the car the opposite direction to get to the train station, to then come back on himself on the train. So it is train fare, and petrol.
     
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    T

    TotallySport

  • #8
    Personally I am suprised they have employed someone so far away, I would have thought they would have been better employing someone more local, your brother asking for an advance may highlight that point, if he can get around it, it would be much better, but it won't be a loan type thing where he pays off a bit each month, it will come of his next wage in full.
     
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    Jason_Fisher

  • #9
    Thanks, thats what he wanted to know... 'It doesn't look great' and 'It will all come off his next wage'.

    To be fair he is good at what he does, so maybe location wasn't a huge issue, when he worked in his last role, he told me 2 people used to travel 2 hours to the office and 2 hours home EVERY DAY, now to me thats crazy! :)
     
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    Joanne_UK

    Free Member
    Jun 6, 2005
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    Stockport
  • #11
    Some employers offer cash advance as they know new starters might need help for the first month. However I would think he should only ask once he has started work and any advance is normally taken on the first wage.
    I would not think it would look unprofessional once he starts working, not before.
     
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    T

    TotallySport

  • #16
    AdamJ said:
    ?? But its only 35 miles away? All my working life I lived further away from my place of work than that - its hardly a huge distance away.
    Click to expand...
    Did it cost you £250 a month to travel to and from work per month, and did you wage support it? I have never lived more than 13 miles from my job, but with the employement market how it is now it makes sense for business to employ staff closer to work, its much less hassle and IMO offer greater opportunity.
     
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    J

    Jason_Fisher

  • #18
    Yes, its not ideal, but he is not in a position to get a conventional loan, it seems unprofessional to get an advance at work and he owns his own car. To me it seems that would be the only way, and its a one off, and he has the money when he gets paid to pay the loan off fully as soon as he gets paid.

    If you can offer better advice in his position then please feel free! As i say, its not ideal, but atleast he gets to start a good job, and can afford to get there.

    Also, you mention in the other post about 'did it cost you £250 per month to get to work?' - It probably didn't but fuel prices are ridiculous now. It will cost him, after looking into it, £12 per day in fuel, 5 days a week, thats £240 for the month, so not far off!
     
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    AdamJ

    AdamJ

    Free Member
    Oct 12, 2007
    776
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    Tewkesbury
  • #20
    TotallySport said:
    Did it cost you £250 a month to travel to and from work per month, and did you wage support it? I have never lived more than 13 miles from my job, but with the employement market how it is now it makes sense for business to employ staff closer to work, its much less hassle and IMO offer greater opportunity.
    Click to expand...

    One of our blokes now earns below £20k and lives in Cardiff while we're in Tewkesbury - about 74 miles each way. It's up to him if he wants to spend half his wages on travel - don't see why its any of the employer's business. He's good at his job and as long as he's here when he's suppposed to be he can live wherever he wants as far as I'm concerned.
     
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    TotallySport

  • #21
    Jason_Fisher said:
    Also just read your post again, he wouldn't be getting 'further' into debt, no, it would be a one off loan, paid back straight after he gets paid.
    Click to expand...
    so he gets the job, borrows money to get there, then doesn't like it after 2 weeks or gets let go, now he has to pay back a loan which he doesn't have money for an the interest in phenomenal. Ask the job center if they have anything would be better than asking a loan company, if he is on Job Seekers, they might have better options.
     
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    TotallySport

  • #22
    I wasn't saying there is something wrong with it, but if I had a choice of two people one close and one further away, I would pick the person closer one, there is simply less risk, yes it is upto the company and there is no right or wrong, but I also wouldn't travel to work 74 miles for £20k, unless there was a direct train link with regular trains.
     
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    Jason_Fisher

  • #23
    I don't know why they hired him over other people, i'm glad they did though :) I am sure if there was someone who applied for the job who was as good or better at the job that lived closer they would haven given it to them? But maybe he was the best man for the job and that came before where he lived. I too would never travel 74 miles each way for work, even if i was on £70,000...well maybe i would for that ;)

    I'm leaving it to him now, but i just suggested that as a last resort, getting to work and paying that back is better in the long run than not being able to get to a good job. Can't believe how they get away with charging such a high interest though!
     
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    TotallySport

  • #24
    Jason_Fisher said:
    I don't know why they hired him over other people, i'm glad they did though :) I am sure if there was someone who applied for the job who was as good or better at the job that lived closer they would haven given it to them? But maybe he was the best man for the job and that came before where he lived. I too would never travel 74 miles each way for work, even if i was on £70,000...well maybe i would for that ;)

    I'm leaving it to him now, but i just suggested that as a last resort, getting to work and paying that back is better in the long run than not being able to get to a good job. Can't believe how they get away with charging such a high interest though!
    Click to expand...
    Good Luck, make sure you contact the job center first, they may have alternative loans which will make it alot less risk, only use the other companies as a last resort, a very last resort.
     
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    LicensedToTrade

    LicensedToTrade

    Free Member
    Nov 7, 2009
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  • #27
    In this situation (admittedly quite a common one in recent years for many) there are few options:

    A. Your brother can ask and they can say yes or no.
    B. He turns to friends and family to keep him afloat until the money from the new job starts coming in.
    C. He gets a pay day loan or some other such micro loan which usually have horrendous APRs and are not something you want to default on.

    My advice would be to ask friends and family in the first instance if the money required is in the £100-£2,000 range, with an agreement to pay it back within the first few months. It isn't usually advisable to lend money to or from family and friends but if the alternative is a potentially embarrassing rejection from your NEW employer or a crippling micro loan I'd choose family and friends every time.
     
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    retailworld

    Free Member
    Jan 8, 2006
    147
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  • #28
    As someone previously said - why would any company effectively 'pay you' before you even get your foot into the office door?

    I'd happily 'advance' to current employees, but it would be a bit risky to advance to someone I'd met at interview who could potentially take the money & run.

    N.B. I'm not suggesting for one minute this is the case.

    I'm guessing he only needs £250 for Petrol as he has been living without income for the last few months. So surely friends/family can help him out with a few hundred quid just for a few weeks? Else ask the bank for an overdraft - if he explains, then maybe they would help?
     
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    Working First Aid

    Working First Aid

    Free Member
    Dec 20, 2010
    465
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    London
  • #29
    If it was me, the last people I would ask would be my new employers.

    I try and keep all matters of personal life and working life separate and would feel that letting my new superiors know I had money issues could lead to problems in the future.

    Friends and family would definitely be my first point of call. After that, an informal overdraft agreement with the bank.

    Also, why not send out some feelers to all those he owes monthly money to (rent, insurance, water rates etc) advising that he is about to start a new job and could they please wait until next month as money is tight over the next few weeks. They may be very accommodating.

    Shaun
    Working First Aid
     
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