Topic: how businesses swindle the minimum wage employee - page 3. (Read 520 times)

no tips
and no .. tips should not substitute minimum wage. tips are suppose to be a gratuity ontop of wages.. i understand some countries have a different minimum wage for cafe waitresses, but again if a business cannot support its longevity by even paying the minimum/living wage. it should not be operating

You have a good point OP. But it won't be easy in all parts of the world, especially in this time of crisis where employment is not even easy to find in many parts of the world. In my country, private companies are even starting to put into contract the minimum number of years the employee should work otherwise there will be penalties.

It's one of the reasons why I left my first job because I got a promotion but I need to sign a 5-year minimum service where I cannot dictate the location. There were also job offers that I declined even if some of them were higher because I prefer to work on my own time and place.

It is funny some people always criticize the West yet they also hope to live in the West and get a job in order to have a better life. it's not perfect but way better than most countries.

This is common business practice, people already know how much they are getting fucked over by companies and all that shit, it's all a matter of choosing which master feeds you well and ties you on a longer leash, for the most part, since most of us here are minimum wage earners let's be real here, we don't get to choose who to serve, heck if that's not the case we wouldn't be out here scrambling for job interviews. In any case, systems sucks, all that shit, but we don't get to really do anything about it cause every single one of us have mouths to feed.

I say if you're not comfortable working on site, look into freelancing, but you'll be surprised to find how messed up the entry system to that world is as well.

@OP you're correct, but do you think your opinion can change the system?

so folks. the gist is.. if a business requires you to be away from home and performing activities that benefit them from 8:45-6:15 make sure they pay you for all of that time ESPECIALLY if its minimum wage

imagining being told your life was only worth £$10 an hour where they will compensate you for taking time out of your life to do things for them, under their policy.. but then not even getting £$10 an hour for your actual time spent out of your life

Getting $8/hours is already 4 times of minimum wage in here but set aside the currency conversion, from where I live, getting minimum wage meaning we could afford enough good meals and once a week entertainment, so $2 minimum wage in here is not that bad because the the cost of living is not that high either. But in here, for a permanent employee (non-freelance) most company also give allowance like for fuel, internet, and once a day meal, and other stuff. So the the salary we received is a net salary. But the extra hours for pre and post work hour briefing is the same, we need to give extra hour to the employers.

Are you talking about pounds or dollars, are you seem to keep mixing the currency signs up. Your calculation also ignores, rather foolishly I might add, that the person is getting PAID holiday - it's not four weeks off without pay like the conclusion you have ended up at. The laws around break times are partly defined to protect workers from being forced to work 8 hours straight and give them a break, although many businesses also add an extra half an hour to their benefit. Then you start coming up with hypotheticals about how much people are spending on different activities including cooking and laundry, which can be completely off track as people budget and shop differently. The minimum wage is a great thing to have, as the alternative would be even LESS money in peoples pocket if businesses forced employees to accept any wage. It's not meant to be the perfect solution and the top paying job, it is entry level wages which can just about sustain people in most parts of the UK - which you can tell is where you're really aiming this due to the amount of holiday and the pay rates. All round very poor arguments from your side.

i was having a discussion with someone who was talking about the pro's and cons of his minimum wage job

he told me he works for 40hours a week at ~£$10 an hour for 52 weeks. =£$20800 pretax
he then says how in some countries they do not do paid time off. and how he gets 4weeks off fully paid. and he gets into detail that if he takes his £$20.8k and divides it by 48 and then 40, he is actually earning £$10.83 an hour

and this is where i then ask him
what hours does he leave home to go to work and then get home
he tells me the store opens at 9am and closes at 6pm but he has to be there at 8:45 to brief the days needs and exits at 6:15pm once all customers have left and doors are shut officially and securely

so this is not 8 hours obviously, but instead 9 hours 30 minutes
he says the hour extra is an unpaid breaks of 1x30min and 2x 15 minutes

i say to him in those unpaid breaks does he have enough FREE time to exit the business and do some personal chores unrestricted. he says no, he has to be in the vicinity of the workplace because he will get penalised if late back from lunch and the 15min breaks are not enough time to go anywhere personally without guaranteed penalty

so i get into detail with him.
for those 48 weeks of working of 5 days of 9.5hours for $20.8k pretax = 2280 hours / £$20.8k =£$9.12 an hour

i then inform him that this amount should be for his time. where i then enquire about his other costs just to be able to work.
so he tells me he spends about £$2 in fuel per day. and the £$6 on laundry and lunch(buys instore sandwich, drink,snack deal)
so out of the £$80 a day income for 9.5 hours he is only actually paid £$72 for his time

and now he works it out. he only gets £$8.20 per hour of his time of being in the vicinity of his workplace and not at home leisurely

.. we then started to debate the details, EG saving £$4 buy prepping meals at home for £$1 instead of £$4 and doing home batched clothes washing once a week instead of £$2 a day laundry

but even with all this, the number was far far below the $10 on contract and £$10.83 he thought he was getting if he deducted vacation time from his labour time

it just goes to show how little things like a restrictive activity unpaid lunch and extra start and end unpaid time before the business opens can take money way from your real life time

imagining being told your life was only worth £$10 an hour where they will compensate you for taking time out of your life to do things for them, under their policy.. but then not even getting £$10 an hour for your actual time spent out of your life

so folks. the gist is.. if a business requires you to be away from home and performing activities that benefit them from 8:45-6:15 make sure they pay you for all of that time ESPECIALLY if its minimum wage

That 1.5 hours is like an employee doing the extra mile to make sure the business still runs after a month and if not, boath the employee and the employer will capsize. Consider it a mutual sacrifice for the employer so that they are both going to make it.

People today are just happy to have a job than evicted from their apartment because of the overdue. They are not going to mind that extra hour and half this time. Unless it means losing a meal if it's not paid.

This a good and productive topic, but what about tips and bonuses, are there any,
..
Well, if your friend thinks, he is still getting paid less and he can not meet his expenses then he should ask for an increment but to do that, he should have a good approach to his boss.

so folks. the gist is.. if a business requires you to be away from home and performing activities that benefit them from 8:45-6:15 make sure they pay you for all of that time ESPECIALLY if its minimum wage