Hi all, sorry if this is a bit of a rant. Throwaway, not for use anywhere else.
A year ago, I got an internship at one of the top companies in my field. I won't say where, but it's one of the most recognisable names in a particular branch of journalism. From the internship I was hired as a contractor, and then offered a permanent position. The internship was unpaid and the contractor position was paid meagerly, and often my salary comes anywhere from a few days to a month late, but hey, no one gets rich in journalism.
I did the internship and contract position remotely, as company headquarters is located in a different country from the one where I studied and live (both are within the EU). For the permanent position, I was asked to relocate, which requires me to get a residence permit. I was told that I would need to pay for the residence permit at the embassy, and HR would reimburse me when I get to headquarters.
Here's the thing: my embassy appointment is tomorrow (14th) and I still haven't been paid for October, so I can't afford the permit fee. I declined an earlier embassy appointment because it was close to the 1st of the month and I knew it was unlikely I'd be paid by then, but I asked the accounting department and they said that I would be paid by the 12th, so I agreed to this appointment.
I called HR at 6:30pm on Friday night and said I hadn't been paid and so couldn't afford the permit fee, and asked if they could reschedule the appointment. They said that rescheduling my flight (I have to travel to the embassy, they booked and paid for my flight) would come out of my relocation package, and then suggested that I ask my friends to loan me the money. When I expressed shock, they asked if I had any friends.
Can someone just validate that this is totally fucking insane? My boyfriend can give me the money, but I feel like that's not the point – my job at this world famous prestigious news outlet is asking me to beg for money to keep working for them. I don't know what to do, I'm so unbelievably angry and confused.