mr mover

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html
read the comments, at the bottom.................mm

aussiedreamz

Found this from the same paper, it has also made headlines in the UK....
woman forced to leave SA

comet555

I believe that by law the employer is required to pay the costs of returning the employee and their family (plus their things) back to their home country. So their return plane tickets and shipping should be taken care of, and if not then she could fight for it.
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skill...s-employer.htm

Irregardless I think the treatment of them is terrible. Unfortunatley that's also one of the risks of going over on a temporary visa. I think people need to remember that things like this can and do happen. This is exactly the reason why we didn't pursue this option (thankfully we qualified for PR).

It's easy to look at it in hindsight but if that were me and the company wasn't going to foot the bill for getting them to Oz then I would have asked for those expenses to be reimbursed in the event I was made redudant very early on. A bit too late now unfortunately.

MartinLuther

I wonder if she didn't meet their expectations?

When I saw this the other day I was surprised that someone in such a high profile job hadn't negotiated a generous compensatory break clause in her contract.

moneypenny20

Bit confused by this quote though: Ms Van Hecke said she believed the company had acted "totally irresponsibly". "I just don't know how they can treat people in such an inhumane way," she said. "It's bad enough being made redundant in your own town, but you have people around you, a support network. We have had no-one to turn to."

Why is that irresponsible and inhumane? Is a multinational, or any firm in that respect, supposed to look at redundancies and say 'oh we can't let her go, she knows no one in Australia'? Presumably she was one of the last ones in and so would become a first to go.

Apart from that, the article reads as though she was forced to take the job and jack in her old one. No one forced her, it was her decision and unfortunately it's not worked out end of. The firm obviously have to relocate her, but apart from that, it's just life unfortunately.

MartinLuther

I feel sorry for her because she and her family obviously like living in Aus but at the end of the day if you come on a business visa then you have to take on board the risk that things may go wrong. She should have had a plan B.

I can see that this is a problem to the SA government who have just launched a new campaign promoting themselves in the UK.

Petals

Even if people are refunded its still a big disruption to their lives another reason not to come on a temporary visa.

mr mover

Unfortunatly i see this too often in my job, very soul destroying........company Hr depts, and recruiters should be looking in our own back yard before dragging people half way around the world.
Their is another company in Adelaide that is renowned for this, but i like my job too much to mention who they are...........mm

sonlymewalter

We were recently on a day out and were stopped by a family who recognized our British accent. They seemed desperate to talk and on chatting they mentioned they had just become homeless and were sleeping in a car, mum, dad & 2 teenage daughters.

They explained they had come over on a 457 temp visa, the boss had taken advantage making husband work all sorts of hrs for less pay than agreed, his Aussie counterparts were getting away with blue murder whilst he was expected to work his butt off. He states he was basically being treated less favorably yet expected to do more work etc, etc, etc.

This family then mentioned the husband had resigned due to his work situation hence them now sleeping in a car, no job, no money, no visa. They were in their 40's and had spent their life savings. They were heartbroken, homeless and with no money & no where to live and a temp visa.They felt betrayed, used, like throw away garbage bags, and now with no job, they knew they had to go back to UK unless they could secure another job.

I asked what made them give up all they had in UK for such an unreliable visa? Their response was it was a quick visa and they had a guaranteed job.

I pointed out that apart from these, the risks were exactly what had [unfortunately] become true i.e the chance they didn't like the new job / boss, terms & conditions etc. Didn't they think the risk was too much? They said they didn't think any of these things would happen

Whilst one side of me felt very sorry for them, the other side of me felt they were totally irresponsible in the first place. Why would someone put themselves and their kids in this situation and give up everything for such a flimsy visa? What makes someone put everything they ever had on the line, for a dream that could [and did] turn in to a nightmare. And now they are paying the price for their stupidity. This is not a case of "hindsight" but common sense. There was always a potential for these things to occur.

This is not some bad luck story and neither is the one mentioned above. These are real risks that should have been thought out before they embarked on a temp visa. Gaining a quick visa with a job lined up with a company may have seemed much less risky than those of us who "went the hard way" however this visa is so high risk it beggars beyond belief people don't consider this beforehand If someone tasks this high risk and it all falls down - they can hardly claim this was not something they should have considered beforehand.

Not liking a country after you've arrived is different as you wouldn't know until you came. Losing a job through not fitting in or being made redundant is something that should have been considered before they left their jobs and signed up for this type of visa. This was the high risk they took for going with this kind of visa. Most people who have so much to lose check before they apply and determine all the "ins and outs" in the event it all goes pear shaped.

Tough luck I'm afraid. Maybe next time they do their research and understand the risks. They pay the price for their stupidity. Regardless, it is sad and deeply regrettable for those concerned. Perhaps they should stop these kind of visa's as they are too one sided and the risks too great.

Some people need protecting from themselves and their own stupidity

moneypenny20

That's crazy. Why on earth would he resign without having another job to go to? If they're already homeless, they're going to need to get out of the country fairly quick smart before DIAC throw them out. Bloody idiots.

IndieG

That is so very sad Isn't there any temporary shelter for homeless people? What happens to people in such cases (where they have no money to even afford a ticket back home?)

moneypenny20

If they can't find another job in the 28 days they are given, then I guess they have to borrow from somewhere. That's why it's madness to resign from a job on a 457 visa, no matter how bad the position is.

The Bloke

It is extremely difficult to house our own population of homeless people. Organisations like the Salvation Army etc, who run these shelters only have $X to throw around and at the moment it's not stretching far.

I guess if they explain the situation to DIAC, they might be able to help find temporary accomodation and a plane ticket home.

IndieG

Irresponsible to resign, agree, but I feel bad for the kids and wife...

Pollyana

By the sound of it they made themselves intentionally homeless by resigning his job. So. harsh though it may seem they brought that on themselves, why should the taxpayer pay to house them?