There can be a lot of dangerous signs around money, and your mileage may vary on when it's okay or not. Prior to leaving I was OK, if wary, with 'Em so X can't make rent this month, is it OK if we take 500 euro from your salary so he can use it to pay rent? We'll get it back to you.' Of course that really meant 'We are not going to pay you as much any more, good luck getting it back'.