Did You Read Your December Salary Terms & Conditions?

And after twelve months, 2016 is dead. Gone for good and only to be remembered in the history books, a discarded Sunday Vision now relegated to wrapping mandazi in the Old Park or in some old tweet.

It’s now 2017. Now what? I’ll tell you now what. ‘Now what’, is going to read as follows: ‘What what misery lies ahead?’ The problem with last month – December that is, and the ‘payment of salaries contract’ that came along with it, is that we didn’t bother reading it. We greedily hit the ATM and once our eyes were satisfied with the financial figure that accounts had deposited into our accounts, we didn’t read the rest of the contract – the small print on page 15, where the ‘terms and conditions’ or T&Cs were printed.

Everything we buy comes with T&Cs. Once we buy the laptop, as soon as we walk out of the shop, we toss away the receipt and often, the receipt would carry the T&Cs in case of fault and so on. Its only when it stops working and we return it to the shop to complain - a complaint that usually falls on deaf ears, that we wish we had read the T&Cs. Getting back, many of us did not read the December T&Cs before we went to the ATM and started spending. In the T&Cs, Chief Accountant had stated: “The office will pay your December salary on December 10^th, and not at the end of the month – on the 30^th as is usually the norm.”

When the month ends and salaries have been paid, on the first AM visit, we check our balance – just to make sure that Accounts Girl paid us what is due and that nothing has been deducted. On our next visit, again, we don’t bother checking balances because in our heads, we know we are still flush and healthy. And it happens over the next ten-to-fifteen ATM visits – draw cash, but never look at the balance.

Come mid-month and bunkenke seeps in. We know we have been spending like fwaa, and have been avoiding the ‘account balance’ option on the screen, but now, it’s an option we can no longer afford to ignore. We must hit it, but we must hit it with some tact. You see, people who believe the ATM might not give them money are very careful as to which ATM they use. They will pick an ATM that has next to zero traffic or, they show up in the middle of the night when everybody is home asleep.

They do it because they can’t afford to have people who are lining up behind them, see them walk away without cash. No matter how well you try to disguise that you only wanted to check your balance, everybody lining up behind you knows otherwise. They know your account is empty. And if they didn’t know it was empty, Askari, once you walk away, will happily walk down the queue telling everybody – “Ah, that man who just walked away, his account didn’t even have 5k for kindazi and black tea.”

Now that we are in January, many who have been to the ATM and found it only holds enough to make a 5K kindazi and black tea withdrawal, are not yet that bothered. Its New Year’s Day and as the office was closed for Christmas, salaries have been delayed but, will reflect tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest so they assume.

Obviously, nothing is going to reflect on Monday or on Tuesday and yet, Housie’s salary, Umeme, NW&SC, rent and school fees are pending. So, seeking to find out why the salary delay, they will stomp to Chief Accountant to complain and he in turn, will lean back in his swivel chair, snigger and say: “But TB, did you not read the T&Cs regarding end of year salaries? I wonder what misery lies ahead for you this January!”    

Pictures: Internet