Having a job should be a rewarding thing – both financially and personally – and you should be free to make progress up the career ladder, earning more, taking on more responsibility and getting more job satisfaction. However, if you have any lingering debt problems or a serious issue like bankruptcy in the past that you haven’t revealed, then it could hinder your chances of getting new jobs.
Your money problems can affect your performance :
Your debts don’t just make you lose sleep and affect your personal relationships, they can affect how well you work. You may feel tired, stressed and distracted while you’re at your desk and you may have to spend lunchtimes speaking to creditors instead of bonding with colleagues. Having a poor credit record, especially if you haven’t made much attempt to resolve it, can also bar you from certain roles, particularly in the financial sector. It can also prevent you from getting promotions within your current company, especially if it’s something like a CCJ and you need to handle money or be privy to sensitive financial information. Find out more about CCJs here.
You could receive an Attachment of Earnings order :
Your creditors can apply for an Attachment of Earnings order if you leave things too long. These orders deduct money from your salary, so you both lose money at source and your employer knows that you have unresolved debt issues; find out more about these orders here. The payroll department also has extra work to do as it must make the deductions, send them to your creditors and monitor them or end up in trouble too! Of course, the people in the payroll department won’t reveal this information at the Christmas party, but you won’t be too keen to pull any crackers with them…
Your debts can get in the way at work :
It’s not just the sleeplessness and worry that can cause problems. Your debts can actually interrupt your work. You might be getting calls from creditors while you’re at your desk, or you might be taking on freelance work to pay debts down. Of course, earning some more money is great, but if it’s wearing you out, then it’ll affect your day job.
Unscrupulous collection agencies may contact your employer :
This move is against data protection law in the UK, but it doesn’t stop some agencies. Others still will threaten or hint that they’ll do this and the worry itself is more than enough to deal with. Once the secret is out, your reputation could be damaged for a long time. Even if the debt isn’t your fault – your partner may have left and saddled you with it, for example – your failure to address the problem doesn’t bode well for your ability to handle responsibilities and budgets.
Asking a debt counselling service for help is nothing to be ashamed or scared of. In fact, it’s the right and responsible thing to do if you can’t face or handle the debt on your own, so don’t restrict yourself and your career, make that call.
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