To Advance or not to Advance

Just a few days from when we opened, came an inevitable but rarely talked about reality of being an employer. My employee's son was hospitalized and was prescribed medicine. She did not have money to buy said medicine and asked for a P500 advance. 

Salary advances have been so normal for Filipinos that there's a word specifically for it, bale. A lot of employees live hand to mouth and there's not enough money when emergencies arise. A salary advance would seemingly solve the immediate concern when in reality, it only postpones the larger problem. It starts a vicious cycle and the scenario when there's not enough money for all needs will manifest again when some 'emergency' happens. 

Here lies the dilemma for the employer. Should the employer give an employee an advance on their salary? 

On one side, it messes with the employer's accounting. The money can be used to buy inventory to allow it to grow in the few days from now until the wage needs to be paid. There's also the chance of an employee leaving and the employer paying for the salary an employee has not earned yet. On the other hand, an employee with financial troubles may be less productive at work and it would impact productivity negatively. 

Here are my guidelines on whether I'll give employees an advance on their salary. 

~ There has to be money not earmarked for an immediate business expense.

~ The employee should have already earned the salary being advanced. They cannot ask for an advance for future day's work. 

~ The advance should automatically be deducted in full from the next pay day.