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[fortepiano]

When I was hired at my current U, I tried to explain to the head of HR why a Sept. 1 start date is ridiculous for a faculty member. I knew that she had no power to change the situation; I was just trying to make clear to her why the policy is a problem and for some new faculty members a severe hardship to wait all summer for a pay check. "Why should you be paid until you start work?" she said. I replied, "That's just the point. Faculty positions are inherently different from staff positions. A start date for a faculty should be in July or August because we have work to do over the summer in preparation for our classes. Would you have me not work until Sept. 1 and then tell students 'I just started work today, so you'll have your syllabi on November 1 after I have had a couple of months to coneptualize my courses and create course plans?'"

She never understood what I was getting at. That's what's wrong with HR drones----an inability and/or unwillingness to see things from a different viewpoint.

[tee_bee]

That's what's wrong with HR drones----an inability and/or unwillingness to see things from a different viewpoint.

Or, fundamentally, the inability to apply basic common sense.

[beatles369]

For those who want an update on my situation, well I am still waiting for HR to pay my hourly load correctly. I submitted all the paperwork again, since it got "misplaced" and I wait, wait, and wait some more.
I email once a week and I am being told it is waiting on a different person's desk.

Ah bureaucracy http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7d36o_la-maison-qui-rend-fou-les-12-trava_fun

I will bet that next paycheck will still be wrong! prove me wrong HR and I will forfeit a beer on Thanksgiving.

[beatles369]

Even funnier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5vxnBvWXO8

[seniorscholar]

When I was hired at my current U, I tried to explain to the head of HR why a Sept. 1 start date is ridiculous for a faculty member.

Even if the HR drone doesn't understand, the administration does -- but often it has had an experience or two with a person whose paycheck begins on July 1 and who then never shows up to teach. Think it never happens? At a large university, it happens at least once every 2 or 3 years that someone newly hired fails to appear in September.

Many schools, however, will arrange a low interest loan from the credit union to be repaid in installments out of the first year's salary.

[fortepiano]

When I was hired at my current U, I tried to explain to the head of HR why a Sept. 1 start date is ridiculous for a faculty member.

Even if the HR drone doesn't understand, the administration does -- but often it has had an experience or two with a person whose paycheck begins on July 1 and who then never shows up to teach. Think it never happens? At a large university, it happens at least once every 2 or 3 years that someone newly hired fails to appear in September.

Many schools, however, will arrange a low interest loan from the credit union to be repaid in installments out of the first year's salary.

It's nice to know about the loans, but shouldn't we be paid for work that we are doing? I don't care that the odd new faculty member decides to screw over his or her career by accepting money for a job they decide to not take (and end up having to return money for anyway). A loan is just putting me into a financial  hole while I'm starting my new jobs and giving me extra stress. I say again: why shouldn't hire dates be in July or August? Just because the university holds all of the cards and can do whatever they please doesn't mean that they shouldn't be concerned about the ill will they are creating among their brand new employees.

[janewales]

Our hire date is July 1-- so it can happen.

[southerntransplant]

A friend is in a state that's started furloughs. He has enough external funding to buy out from classes for a semester, so he asked if he could just pay himself over the furloughs. The answer was "no."

This of course makes no sense. The university will gladly take his money to let him off from teaching but he can't buy out of furlough days? In addition the money was Federal research money - the state's funding woes should have nothing to do with the conduct of research funded by the Feds.

[tee_bee]

When I was hired at my current U, I tried to explain to the head of HR why a Sept. 1 start date is ridiculous for a faculty member.

Even if the HR drone doesn't understand, the administration does -- but often it has had an experience or two with a person whose paycheck begins on July 1 and who then never shows up to teach. Think it never happens? At a large university, it happens at least once every 2 or 3 years that someone newly hired fails to appear in September.

Many schools, however, will arrange a low interest loan from the credit union to be repaid in installments out of the first year's salary.

It's nice to know about the loans, but shouldn't we be paid for work that we are doing? I don't care that the odd new faculty member decides to screw over his or her career by accepting money for a job they decide to not take (and end up having to return money for anyway). A loan is just putting me into a financial  hole while I'm starting my new jobs and giving me extra stress. I say again: why shouldn't hire dates be in July or August? Just because the university holds all of the cards and can do whatever they please doesn't mean that they shouldn't be concerned about the ill will they are creating among their brand new employees.

At SUNY schools there's a six week pay lag, last I heard/experienced. When I was being oriented at my first job at a SUNY campus, we were so informed, and a riot nearly broke out. At my current U, you get paid starting at the beginning of the FY; they make it up at the end, somehow (that is, after the FY is over, on June 30,  no more paychecks--harsh if you are moving to a school that starts the payroll clock on Sept 1, or even August 15.)

At many state schools, these pay lags are consistent with state employment generally, are are vestiges of state accounting chicanery/fraud that pushed pay periods in the next FY to "balance" the budget.  This should, of course, be illegal, but no politician will touch this.

[altim]

Our contract year starts one week before the semester starts in the fall, and ends two weeks after the last final exam in the spring. We get paid every two weeks, so the first pay check comes one week into the fall semester.

[fortepiano]

Our contract year starts one week before the semester starts in the fall, and ends two weeks after the last final exam in the spring. We get paid every two weeks, so the first pay check comes one week into the fall semester.

I had to go the whole summer without any money (my last job paid through June). The contract started Sept. 1 and I received my first paycheck on Sept. 30.

[prephd]

Our contract year starts one week before the semester starts in the fall, and ends two weeks after the last final exam in the spring. We get paid every two weeks, so the first pay check comes one week into the fall semester.

I had to go the whole summer without any money (my last job paid through June). The contract started Sept. 1 and I received my first paycheck on Sept. 30.

Ouch, though I know that's not atypical. I'm hopeful that I am able to negotiate a July 1 start date (if I manage to get a new job this year).

[onion]

Our contract year starts one week before the semester starts in the fall, and ends two weeks after the last final exam in the spring. We get paid every two weeks, so the first pay check comes one week into the fall semester.

I had to go the whole summer without any money (my last job paid through June). The contract started Sept. 1 and I received my first paycheck on Sept. 30.

Ouch, though I know that's not atypical. I'm hopeful that I am able to negotiate a July 1 start date (if I manage to get a new job this year).

Same thing happened to me.  I got paid out from my old job on May 1st (even though the semester didn't end until closer to the 20th) and got dumped off the health insurance and had to pay through the nose for COBRA.  My new contract started Sept. 1st, and I got my first check around Sept. 15th, and had to wait a couple months to get on the health insurance (so had to continue to pay for COBRA).  And I'm still waiting on my reimbursement check...

At my previous job, my contract started on August 15th, I got my first check about a week later, got on the health insurance immediately, and school didn't start until late August.  But that's the only aspect of that institution that was humane.

[the_honey_badger]

At my doctoral institution they paid from August 1 and arriving faculty got that check (for the entire month) on August 15th.

 At my VAP and my t-t institution, they gave the first paycheck on Oct 1.  Even better, both required "on duty day" for meetings, orientation and departmental things began around August 20th with classes starting around the 25th. The first day of work for pay purposes?  Sept. 1.  So, you basically work here for two weeks for free. It doesn't "catch up" in May---you are paid on Oct 1 for Sept. 1-30. Period. 

Oh, and as soon as you give notice?  Summer teaching is reassigned and you are off the health insurance/payroll as of May 1.  When do classes end in spring? Around the 15th....  if you are on a 12-month pay disbursement, you get a lump sum on May 1 and get eaten alive with payroll taxes.  They claim to "wonder why" people have started to give notice in the middle of summer term----one guy happily told them at the exit interview "Self defense. I have a family."  He was widely cheered even by our most rigid.