Can you ask your employer to pay you early for Black Friday in SA?

Asking your employer if they can pay you early for Black Friday is a tricky one. There are extenuating circumstances this year in that Black Friday falls one day ahead of the typical payday for salaried employees.

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Business Tech reports that the Director of sales website OneDayOnly, Laurian Venter, is in fact calling on employers to pay their employees early this week so they can take full advantage Black Friday deals.

PAY YOU EARLY FOR BLACK FRIDAY

The reality of Black Friday this week on 24 November 2023, is that most South Africans won’t be spending their money on lavish items. Instead, cash-strapped citizens will take advantage of discounts on household items sold in bulk to stock-up on essentials for the year ahead.

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Nevertheless, Laurian Venter of OneDayOnly wants a concession to be made by employers to pay salaries one day early ahead of Black Friday. She says it’s the right thing to do, and this will boost South Africans consumers by helping them take advantage of discounts.

HOW DO YOU ASK YOUR EMPLOYER?

However, if your employer has not been generous enough to pay your salary one day early, what can you do? According to the SA Labour Guide, there is no obligation on the employer to do this. But there is no harm in asking, right. So, how can you best phrase the question?

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According to employment specialists Indeed, you should follow five steps if you choose to ask your employer to pay you early for Black Friday:

1. Review the payment terms of your contract before contacting anyone at your company for early payment.
2. Consider if there are items you really need and if it’s even worth discussing with your employer. Don’t just do it for the sake of Black Friday.
3. Find out who to contact. It may be someone in HR or someone else in payroll. Your request needs to get to the correct person.
4. How you contact said person is important. You can prepare a nicely worded email, but you might not get a response in time. Consider a phone call to discuss the matter privately and so the tone is not misconstrued.
5. However you decide to go about it, always be polite. As mentioned in the Labour Guide, your employer has no obligation to pay you early for Black Friday. Regardless of how they respond, remain engaged and friendly.

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