No, my paystubs aren’t being used for toilet paper. Not that kind of TMI.
But something that is concerning to me and should be to others.
Early last month, I committed an egregious error at work that resulted in a bunch of parts scrapped. Not severe enough to jeopardize my job (provided there are no repeat occurrences), but enough to earn me a one-day unpaid suspension. I was able to make up the time lost, so the tangible damage was limited to my personnel file and my pride.
What bothered me the most, though, was the fact that on my next pay stub there was a notation clearly declaring the suspension and the hours allocated, underneath all the entries for hours worked, overtime, vacation accrued, etc. Other such entries include unexcused absences (luckily none on mine), hours sent home due to lack of work, etc. Note these accountings of hours at work aren’t coded, they’re in plain English as to the reasons.
If I were trying to rent a house, or take out a loan or mortgage, and needed to provide my paystubs as proof of stable income, such notations may lead one to believe that I’m having issues at work that may compromise my job stability, and possibly result in a declined application.
Now many businesses like banks may have procedures in place to where they are only to pay attention to the part of the stub that states the income, but a private landlord would not be bound by such rules, and thus possibly have misgivings about renting to someone with what could be perceived as a checkered work record.
As a side note, we may be looking for a new place to rent here in town within the next few months, due to electrical and structural issues with the place we’re currently in. Which is why this matter has my attention.
Fortunately the notations fell off as a new year’s payroll cycled forward, so it’s not a current issue with me. But what if it happened earlier in the year? What happens if I have to take some unexpected time off this year because someone in my family falls ill or has an accident? Or, God forbid, I have some rotten luck not catching something I should and end up with another suspension? (Of course, I likely would then have greater problems than just the notation on my paystub, but just want to illustrate) I would have to wait all the way until the first week in the next January for it all to fall off.
Until then, there would be a lot more information than I’d feel comfortable sharing available on my paystubs open to anyone who wants to view them.
Shouldn’t this stuff be considered personal and private information, available only to the HR department at work? Should there be any laws or regs about sharing such things anywhere other than on an internal HR document or computer at work?
Feel free to pitch in your ten cents.
I’ve never heard of putting things like suspensions on paycheck stubs! That feels like an invasion of privacy…
By: Pam Bobik on January 12, 2012
at 7:33 pm
Yeah Dave, I think that kind of stuff should be reserved for a personnel file at HR.
You got me to thinking…I never really look at my pay stub, except to enter the amount that was direct deposited. So, I looked back at a few.
There is no space for entering anything like absences (excused, or unexcused). Nothing for being called in, or sent home, unproductive time (I hate that term, but it’s what they use to describe holidays/vacation days/etc.).
Those things ARE listed in detail on the employee payroll website…sick hours accrued, vacation hours, non-productive, etc. But, not on the pay stub itself.
The only entry (other than the standard taxes withheld lines) is how much of your paycheck you spent at the cafeteria for meals, and had deducted, rather than paying in cash.
That doesn’t sound right to me. I wonder if your co-workers have noticed it, and if anyone has ever brought it up to management? Interesting.
By: Andy on January 13, 2012
at 9:09 am
When I worked retail we had codes on our paycheck stubs. Those codes were only for HR purposes. We knew what they were, but no one outside of work did.
Damned odd, and I would ask the HR dept as to policies concerning that.
By: LC Aggie Sith on January 13, 2012
at 8:01 pm
Tell anyone who cares to kiss your ass…yeah, I know, flip answer but dammit it seems ya get fucked by someone any way you turn these days.
By: Erinyes on January 17, 2012
at 6:31 pm