Anupam Mittal, the Shark Tank India judge and founder of People Group, has recently generated a big conversation on LinkedIn. His suggestion is simple and radical: Companies should pay employees twice a month, on the 15th and 30th. In India, most companies pay salaries on the 7th of the next month. Mittal argues that this delay (often overlooked in the “employee-centric” benefits race) is a big deal for cash flow, stress and even the nation’s GDP.
The hidden cost of the 7th. Let’s be honest. Companies brag about free gourmet meals, pool tables, and remote work. But with payroll the biggest transaction between employer and employee many are more concerned with convenience than empathy. Paying on the 7th provides businesses with a comfortable window to manage working capital. But what does it cost the employee?
For a large majority of India, Mittal writes, “cash flow is dignity.” When salary is a week into the new month, rent, school fees, EMIs, and grocery bills are already due. Employees are lured into a cycle of borrowing credit cards, personal loans, informal debt to fill a void their employer created.
Twice-Monthly: A Win-Win
The proposal to pay on the 15th and 30th is not generosity; it’s alignment. Many global companies already work on bi-monthly or bi-weekly schedules. Sales commissions, contractor payments, and even government pensions are on fixed schedules in India.
Why it works?
Less Financial Stress: Payouts are predictable and frequent, and so there is less high-cost debt.
Spending velocity: When people have cash in hand, they spend. More spending means more demand, more business, a genuine "GDP nudge."
Improved Retention: Employees remember who respected their time and cash flow needs.
The counterargument—and why it fails. Critics will say: “But our finance team needs time for compliance and reconciliation.” That is not a systems problem; it is a priority problem. If companies can automate free food delivery, they can automate payroll.
Free snacks are nice. Dignity on payday is better. It is time for Indian companies to stop treating timely salary as a favor and start treating it as what it is the foundation of trust. Pay on the 15th and 30th. Your employees’ stress levels and the Indian economy will thank you.
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