Amid the collaborative and friendly work culture endorsed by companies comes the dark reality of salary delays in India, especially by the informal sector comprising startups, SMEs and alike, which form the backbone of the economy. Together they employ nearly 50% of India’s workforce and contribute nearly 30% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
The stats may glorify startups across India; however, constant salary delays have become typical of them, resulting in frustration among employees.
While some startups may have genuine issues of fund crunch, hindering them from paying their employees on time, others do it deliberately, however, they have reasons in plenty when asked about the salary delay issue.
If you go to HR to ask for reasons, they will either give you an inexplicable excuse or tell you to contact the finance department. You go to the finance department and it will send you back to HR. These things are morale crushers for employees.
While you cannot prevent this issue being an employee, you can certainly create a backup plan to counter it better. In this blog, we will emphasise the same.
What to Do if Salary is Delayed?
You need to be proactive and flexible when facing salary delays in your company. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps to implement when facing this issue.
Save More Than Normal to Deal with Salary Delays
If your salary is delayed constantly, save more than what you must have been doing now. So, if your salary is INR 35,000 and you are saving 7,000 every month, raise it to INR 10,000. The extra savings you make will help you prevail when facing salary delays month after month.
Invest Some in Quality Overnight Debt Funds Amid Salary Delays
Investing in top-performing overnight debt mutual funds with top-notch underlying instruments offers you a high level of safety. Debt mutual funds investing in such instruments should be your weapon to counter salary delays in India.
Go to mutual fund research websites to find funds with investments in top-rated debt instruments. Investing in overnight debt funds to negate the effects of salary delays is a good idea. Make sure the fund you choose allows you to withdraw money anytime.
List of Top-performing Overnight Debt Funds
| Overnight Debt Funds | 1-year Return |
| Axis Overnight Debt Fund Direct-Growth | 6.81% |
| HSBC Overnight Fund Direct-Growth | 6.80% |
| Nippon India Overnight Fund Direct-Growth | 6.80% |
| DSP Overnight Debt Fund Direct-Growth | 6.79% |
| PGIM India Overnight Fund Direct-Growth | 6.78% |
Note – Data sourced from ET Money, a leading mutual fund journal, on September 11, 2024. These funds have invested in securities that mature in one day, virtually eliminating the interest rate risk.
Avoid Credit Card Splurge to Counter Salary Delays
Credit cards grab the attention owing to a pack of benefits including rewards, cashback, discounts, travel lounge access and much more. However, impulsive purchases can raise your credit card bills beyond your range to pay them fully and on time. Should you go through these, the tall credit card interest of 30-40% per annum will bite you.
Adding the salary delay issue, you are bound to have headaches only. Avoiding credit card splurges is anyway not recommended regardless of your salary status. However, with constant salary delays, it’s only worthwhile to cut your credit card purchases drastically, especially for those with a not-so-high income.
Read Reviews of the Company Before Joining it
While you will have to make a great deal of adjustments to your routine to prevail over the existing salary delay issue, you would certainly work in a different company with a spotless salary disbursal record. Don’t go by just a few reviews. Go through substantial reviews about the company, its work culture, salary disbursal time and more. This will give you a holistic idea about the company.
Benefits of On-time Salary Disbursals
On-time salary disbursals are appreciated by employees all over the world. It assures them that they are working in an organisation that cares for them. Here’s a quick tour of how on-time salary disbursals help you carry out your routine.
Loans are a Reality and So are the EMI Obligations
In today’s life, we often face financial emergencies, requiring us to take a personal loan from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and even the NBFCs for that matter. As a borrower, you need to pay the personal loan EMIs on time to prevent late payment charges.
With a timely release of salary, you can enjoy a hassle-free loan journey. However, with salary delays, you can imagine the financial problems before you.
School Fees, Rent and Other Obligations
Being a doting parent, you will appreciate the timely release of salary allowing you to pay school fees for your kids on time. Timely payments of fees prevent you from incurring unnecessary fines that remain the case otherwise. Besides, expenditure on rent, mahine ka raashan and other obligations are unavoidable ones. All these show the importance of on-time salary disbursals.
Wrapping Up
Having a backup plan is imperative regardless of the salary disbursal time. Being a step ahead in money management by emphasising savings more than practised currently will pave the way for financial freedom in the truest sense. For more updates like this, visit zarooribaathai.in – The Voice of Truth.
