would you say my employer is mean?

[multiplied]

hi,
im fealing very cheesed off with work.
i work as the maintenance guy for an exclusive health club & spa in cheshire where the majority of the members are loaded (every other car in the car park is a sports car of some description).

i was off work for 4 weeks recently following an operation and my employer is only paying me
statutory sick pay (thats £79 a week, not payable for first 3 days- &
stoppages on that).

i have a wife & 4 kiddies & with xmas around the corner i think its heartless.

on return from work i saw my boss in his office, he gave me a speech of how well the club is now doing, saying its doing better than it has for 3 years, but like all businesses in this climate he is being prudent & making savings where he can.
he cut my hours down to 35 a week from 40.

i will now take home approx £235 a week after stoppages.
a few weeks ago the boss gave us all a "memo" stating that we must all pay for any drinks of tea or coffee and not eat or drink in the "lounge" area but in a passageway where there is two tables & chairs (we have no staff room).
we must now never use a mobile phone in work at all.
we are allowed food at 50% discount, but this is still way too expensive for me as it is an expensive place (i left my sandwhiches by mistake once
and food & a drink cost me just under £6).- not an option on my wages.

we are expected to work all bank holidays for normal pay (i just dont go in & have to use a days holiday).
they give us the minimum 28 days holiday that the law allows.
the club is closed xmas day & boxing day, but it is compulsary that we take 2 days holiday for them (we get paid for the 2 days).

needless to say there is no chance of promotion or a pension.
there are no bonuses or incentives other than free membership to the club, which very few use- as when its home time.. you go home.

its not an easy job either- they want their pound of flesh for the pittance wages.

i asked my boss about only paying ssp sick pay & he said "we just do what it says in the book".
basicaly they operate within the law & give their employees the minimum the law allows.

am i being over critical?, it is a job, at least the hours are good, i start 8am and now finish at 3pm mon-fri.

what does anyone else think?
id love to hear other peoples views
thanks

 

[jrkitching]

Sounds to me like he's giving you the absolute minimum the law allows.

And yeah, I think that's mean.

I wonder what he would say if you only did the minimum possible amount of work necessary to keep your part of the Employment Contract?

There are better employers out there. I very much hope you will be able to find one.

Best wishes, John

 

[multiplied]

thanks for the reply John, thats another point , i dont even have a contract of employment, & i have been there 15 months now

 

[custard]

many employers will 'cash in' on the current climate to cut down pay and conditions
they know its slim pickings out there

 

[Focus Owner]

can't comment i have it very easy.
but bank holidays id argue them

 

[custard]

can't comment i have it very easy.
but bank holidays id argue them

why? as long as they give the days holiday within the holiday entitlement then theres no argument

 

[Focus Owner]

my emplyer pays bank holidays and its not counted as a holiday day.
and then the fact its a bank holiday.

 

[Modette]

I am assuming that you are getting Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits, Housing and Council tax benefit? With four kids you are certainly entitled to it. I know its not the ideal scenario but when you are faced with such a low income its all pretty much swings and roundabouts anyway. If you earned an extra £100 a week you would lose pretty much the same amount in housing benefit and tax credits. Likewise if you got double time for bank holidays etc. In order to be free of benefits (as in not entitled to anything) you would need to be clearing about £500 a week - and paying for EVERYTHING yourself. You could well find that what is left in your pocket at the end of the week is not far off what it is right now.

I agree that your boss sounds like a prick but financially speaking, as long as you have dependents you are never going to have to actually live off £235 a week.

Its only when your youngest leaves full time education that you are going to be at that stage.

Getting off work at 3pm also has its advantages because you dont have to pay a childminder to pick up your kids.


You dont mention your marital status here so I am basing this on yours being the only household income but even if it wasnt, if your partner has a similar income you could still be entitled to various benefits.

 

[custard]

my emplyer pays bank holidays and its not counted as a holiday day.
and then the fact its a bank holiday.

and?
what your employer pays means nothing

 

[Focus Owner]

just what my boss thinks is the norm.
offering bear minimum is not right.
face it a bank holiday should be paid extra for.
like working unplanned sundays

 

[custard]

just what my boss thinks is the norm.
offering bear minimum is not right.
face it a bank holiday should be paid extra for.
like working unplanned sundays

I dont work sundays
so should i work them because you do?
the legal minimums are there
unfortunately its an employers market just now and conditions will suffer

 

[Focus Owner]

n o but if you did work a unplanned sunhday you should get more

so we can balem the tories?

 

[Modette]

just what my boss thinks is the norm.
offering bear minimum is not right.
face it a bank holiday should be paid extra for.
like working unplanned sundays

I agree but these kind of terms are usually agreed upon when employment commences. When Sunday trading became the norm in shops, all NEW employees were contracted to treat Sunday as a regular day, whilst existing staff were given double time.

Employers do try to squeeze as much as possible out of people but the employees are fully aware when they accept the job. Its futile to accept the terms of employment and then complain about them. You dont buy a chicken and complain when it doesnt turn into a turkey on Christmas day.

 

[multiplied]

hi Fiona,
very good point,
i am married, wife doesnt work (one kiddie still pre-school)
yes we get working tax credit, family credit, a small amount of housing benefit.
you are completely correct on the money side, i would have to earn a large ammount so as not to be reliant on some form of benefit.
i would actualy be as well off unemployed, but i work out of pride & to set an example to the kids.
the point is, if i was unemployed i wouldnt of lost out after my operation (ie would of lost no money), benefit people say it is up to your employer to sort you out as you are working-not us.
for me personaly it would be ideal if i got paid bank holidays and sick pay when needed (i never take days off willy nilly).
it can be a bit disheartening though working in a place surrounded by
wealthy people & earning so little

 

[Focus Owner]

hi Fiona,
very good point,
i am married, wife doesnt work (one kiddie still pre-school)
yes we get working tax credit, family credit, a small amount of housing benefit.
you are completely correct on the money side, i would have to earn a large ammount so as not to be reliant on some form of benefit.
i would actualy be as well off unemployed, but i work out of pride & to set an example to the kids.
the point is, if i was unemployed i wouldnt of lost out after my operation (ie would of lost no money), benefit people say it is up to your employer to sort you out as you are working-not us.
for me personaly it would be ideal if i got paid bank holidays and sick pay when needed (i never take days off willy nilly).
it can be a bit disheartening though working in a place surrounded by
wealthy people & earning so little

i hate to say it take a few days sick every now and again. your boss will soon get the message and sack you.
at work we lost one of our workers last year to sickness and he was insured on a works scheme which meant i got pay for a year. i dont know at what rate. but im sure it helped him

 

[multiplied]

i was self employed prior to this job, i have earned very well in the past, but with the recession just couldnt make ends meet until i very reluctantly signed on unemployed as we were going into debt.
i was glad to get the job, i still have no contract of employment, i realised the wage was very low, but i was very surprised over the following weeks as i came to learn about bank holidays, no sick pay other than ssp etc.
i did expect i may of got free food at work & drinks, but soon found out otherwise.
i even use most my own tools & as a concession i am allowed one coffee a day because of this. (i always grabbed a coffee off reception 1st thing in the morning & after the "memo" said if i have to pay for that, then they can rent the use of my personal tools)

 

[Modette]

hi Fiona,
very good point,
i am married, wife doesnt work (one kiddie still pre-school)
yes we get working tax credit, family credit, a small amount of housing benefit.
you are completely correct on the money side, i would have to earn a large ammount so as not to be reliant on some form of benefit.
i would actualy be as well off unemployed, but i work out of pride & to set an example to the kids.
the point is, if i was unemployed i wouldnt of lost out after my operation (ie would of lost no money), benefit people say it is up to your employer to sort you out as you are working-not us.
for me personaly it would be ideal if i got paid bank holidays and sick pay when needed (i never take days off willy nilly).
it can be a bit disheartening though working in a place surrounded by
wealthy people & earning so little

I hope you didnt think I was being rude, it wasnt my intention, I have just been where you are, married with small kids to a man on a low income. For the last 16 years I have raised my boys alone and they are now 25, 24 and 17, during that time I have worked and got tax credits, worked as a senior prison officer and earned too much to be entitled to anything, I have spent time on Income Support and I am currently self employed so my income fluctuates. Throughout all of that I have always been caught between a rock and a hard place, there have been times when working made me £20 a week better off than being on the Social, and that £20 went on bus fares to and from work whilst the childminder took half my wages to sit at home and raise my kids.

There was another time when I was a prison officer and still got some tax credits, I took a promotion to senior officer and what I gained in salary I lost in tax credits whilst taking on WAY more responsibility, loads of unpaid overtime and spent even less time with my kids the youngest of whom was only 7 at the time. I have no extended family, my kids only have me.

All Im trying to say is that its never easy and I do understand.

 

[multiplied]

i cant just take days off sick, we have no sick pay. you only get statutory sick pay after 3 days off.
if i took 1-3 days off sick i would receive zero pay for those days

 

[multiplied]

fiona,
i didnt think you was being rude, i put my situation up for discussion, so all replies are valid.
i currently "break about even" with what i would get if i didnt work.
on my back to work calculation the dhss gave when i started the job they told me i would be £17 a week "better off", this was untrue as they didnt take into account the kids lost free school meals and it costs me about £25 a week in fuel to work & back

 

[Modette]

fiona,
i didnt think you was being rude, i put my situation up for discussion, so all replies are valid.
i currently "break about even" with what i would get if i didnt work.
on my back to work calculation the dhss gave when i started the job they told me i would be £17 a week "better off", this was untrue as they didnt take into account the kids lost free school meals and it costs me about £25 a week in fuel to work & back

I have been there too. Going to work costs money. Depending on where you work you may need to buy clothes that you wouldnt have bought otherwise, lunch, in some places there always seems to be some whip round for someones birthday / wedding etc. An extra £17 a week is BS. Aside from the loss of free school meals, there is the uniform grant and while £25 a week may cover petrol costs you are relying on the car NEVER going wrong. I spent £875 on a recon gearbox and new clutch three weeks ago - an extra £17 a week just doesnt cover all eventualities or even put you in a place where you can give it your best shot.