Still confused about the Arrears Zone? Let’s break it down with an example:

John’s Pay Schedule 

John Smith works shifts during the July pay period (1st-31st) and is paid for these shifts on August 10th. 

For the next month, his shifts from the August pay period (1st-31st) are paid on September 10th.

This means John is on an Arrears schedule. He completed his pay period on July 31st and his new August pay period started the next day on August 1st, but he’s not yet been paid for those July earnings. Between August 1st and 9th, he’ll be in the Arrears Zone. 

He'll then be back in the Arrears Zone the following month between September 1st - 10th where he'll have access to both August's earnings and September's earnings.

What Happens When John Streams? 

Any streams John makes between July 1st-31st will be deducted from his July paycheck, paid out on August 10th. If John streams £50 on July 20th, that amount will come from his August 10th paycheck, as it falls outside the Arrears Zone.

However, from August 1st-9th, John can access wages from both his July and August pay periods, putting him in the Arrears Zone. 

Let’s say John streams £50 during this period on August 2nd:

• If John has not earned enough in August yet, the £50 will be deducted from his July earnings and settled in his August 10th paycheck.

• If John has earned enough in August to cover the £50, it will come from his August wages, and the stream will be settled in his September 10th paycheck.

• If John has earned some in both periods but not enough in August, the stream will be split between paychecks. As the current pay period is prioritised, we’ll settle as much as we can from his September 10th paycheck, while the remainder will come from July earnings and be settled on August 10th.

Let’s have another example of an Arrears Zone Transfer 

On August 7th, John transfers £1,000 from his available balance of £1,200. At this point, John hasn’t yet been paid for July, so his balance includes £1,000 from his July wages and £200 from August earnings so far. Because he’s in the Arrears Zone, the transfer breaks down as follows:

• £200 comes from his August wages, to be settled in his September 10th paycheck.

• £800 comes from his July wages, to be settled in his August 10th paycheck.

John will see this £1,000 stream split under the Settlement Details section on his app’s stream history: £800 will be settled on August 10th, and £200 on September 10th.

On August 10th, he’ll then see the £200 be carried over to his next paycheck on his Salary Statement. 

Still with us? 

Here at Wagestream, we believe in giving you access to your earned wages at any time, up until payday. And don’t worry—we’ll handle the calculations for you!