Many bosses choose to pay their staff early in December due to Christmas and the numerous bank holiday dates that fall in the month.
It is ultimately down to your employer to decide whether you’ll be paid early. There is nothing in law that says they have to do this.
Some may decide to pay you one week early, or even on Christmas Eve if you're due a payment over the Christmas bank holidays.
If you are being paid early, your place of work should tell you in advance that they are doing this.
Of course, receiving your paycheck ahead of schedule might help ease the financial burden of Christmas.
But being paid early is not always a good thing. It does mean you have to wait longer until your January pay - so you’ll need to budget carefully to make sure you can cover all your normal bills.
If you’re claiming benefits where your earnings are taken into account, such as Universal Credit, you’ll also need to double check your payments if your pay day is moved in December.
Being paid early could mean it looks like you’ve earned more than you actually have this month, due to two payments being closer together than normal.
This could then have an impact on your January benefit payment.
The Universal Credit system should flag when employees receive two pay dates in one period, to ensure your payment isn’t affected.
But you could still end up out of pocket if employers don't report pay dates correctly.
Another thing to keep in mind, is that your benefit payment dates in December might change, due to the bank holidays.
Normally, if your benefit payment falls on a bank holiday, then you should receive your cash the previous working day.
The Christmas and New Year bank holiday dates are:
- Monday, December 26
- Tuesday, December 27 (replacement Christmas Day bank holiday)
- Monday, January 2 (replacement New Year's Day bank holiday)
Some benefit payments due on Wednesday, December 28 or Thursday, December 29, or on Tuesday, January 3 or Wednesday, January 4, might end up being paid early too.
If you don't get your benefit payment when you expected to, first check double-check the date on your award notice and your bank account.
If you've got the right date, and the money isn't there, you should contact the relevant helpline.
