Halloween Is Payday! (And a Trick, Not a Treat, for Employers)

October 31, 2012

What's not to like about Halloween? You dress up, stuff yourself with candy and, if you're working for an employer, you likely get a paycheck. Yes, Halloween is payday. But, while it may be a treat for you, it can be a bit of a trick for employers to get their numbers straight. To celebrate the day, we gathered some payday horror stories for you from HR and finance pros.

Sally from Seattle – "When I was working in the HR department at a major regional institution that I cannot name, an error was made and an employee's termination did not go through to accounting. Accounting paid that person for 18 months after they stopped working. 18 months! The former employer didn't get to keep the cash, though. A plan was set up for them to pay the money back over three years, but they had a nice loan for a while there. Overpayment, in general, is a nightmare for employers."

Judy from the Silicon Valley – "When we were a really new start up and we didn't have any cash, we would cancel direct deposit because it gave us three more days to have the payroll and taxes and everything covered. I remember we had this big, ex-college football player who would come stand in my doorway and say, "Where's my direct deposit?" And, I would just say, "Oh, the payroll company screwed up. Here's your check." You always blame it on the payroll company, never on a person."

John from Tallahassee – "I was at a new company, using a system I'd never used before, and I accidentily paid everyone in the company 87.67 cents. That's it. When you're doing payroll twice a month, every employee works about 86.67 hours per pay period and somehow I mixed up the numbers. I had to quickly go back and redo it all and get people paid correctly. The CFO got a pretty good chuckle out of it and we let everyone keep their extra 87 cents."

Do You Know What You're Worth?

Any More Nightmares to Share?

Have you ever worked in HR and made mistakes in payroll? Or, has your employer ever made payday a nightmare for you? Share you stories with a comment below and have a ghoulishly good Oct. 31st.

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