Nikki

Hi all

O/H is working as a concretor, he has been working for a bloke now since we arrived in September 2006. When my O/H started he was told the hours were 6.30am - 3.30pm. No contract, no wage slips, no sign of super (despite being told he would get it and a gentle reminder given by O/H).

Because of the nature of the work some days might be a bit longer than others, but overall an earlier finish the next day would follow a late finish.

In recent months, O/H's hours have been increasing (no extra money), his boss has taken on a job much further out than the usual place of work, some days he has to leave the house at 5.30am and is home between 5pm - 5.30pm. Today he had to leave the house at 5.15am and was told "we will have an early finish at 2pm", how can it be an early finish when he is out much earlier??

Last week he must have clocked up 60 hours, then they asked him to work Saturday - he said yes because he did not want to turn down the money, but physically I don't know how he is keeping up.

As he is the only one with a valid drivers licence he is sometimes at the yard up to an hour before with another guy loading up the truck and then he has to drive to pick up other men before driving to the job, someone has told him 45 minutes each way of a journey has to be made in your own time, is this from his own house, from the yard, or from the place where the other men live? I cannot work out at what point my husband is being paid from......like today he left the house at 5.15am to get to the yard for 5.45am and then to the job for 6.30am.

His boss is now saying things (to the whole gang) like, you need to get your 8 hours in and no more early finishes (despite late finishes)!!

O/H will not say anything, but it is driving me nuts that he is working so hard and getting ripped off.....is he, or is it just me not getting the system???

Sorry for ramble guys.

Nikki

stu:0

Im keen to watch this thread myself. A lot of contracting firms still work like that in the uk, not paid for traveling to jobs.


stu

Siren & Brian

From when he gets to the yard to when he leaves he should be getting paid, less any meal breaks.

Super needs to be sorted as the longer its not in an investment policy the longer its not eraning money for your retirement. Theres plenty of work out there for your husband, dont get screwed around.

cresta57

It sounds like the bloke he's working for is using them as blackmarket workers. Is he paid cash each week?
If he's paid cash with no wage slip then he's responsible for all his own tax. That's how it works here, I got caught out when I first arrived. It's easy to carry on working collecting a cash payment each week then when tax time comes around and the ATO want to know how your paying your way it becomes more of a problem
Your o/h should keep a record of all the work he does in a diary accounting for all the hours he's worked. He should keep a note of who he worked for and with each day. If he's been misled into thinking he's working for a legitimate wage and his employer is paying his tax & super he may have a big shock coming. His employer would need to provide invoices detailing payments your O/H has claimed as a sub-contractor to prove he wasn't employed as a casual.
Upping the hours could just be a way to get the blokes to quit so he can start the process again with another unsuspecting gang. I'd be very wary of spending all the money he's earning as 20% less deductions may be swallowed by tax.
As far as travel payment is concerned I've never known anyone be paid for travel both ways, we usually get paid to go to the job but return in our own time. That's if your designated place of work changes daily, if it begins and ends daily at an office or workshop your usually paid from when you leave there to when you return.

Nikki

Hi Cresta

Thanks for your reply, to clarify:

O/H has been told he is on the books, he gets paid direct into the bank and we have a letter (fwiw) stating he is employed full time perm. which we needed for mortgage purposes. No wage slip though, at Xmas we don't think he got leave loading for 1 one weeks holiday, with no wage slip we could not work it out!

In my rambling post I probably was not clear about travel, I don't expect him to be paid for travelling, but was unsure if he is told to go to the yard to pick up truck and meet men, or pick up truck and continue on picking men up along the way before even getting to the site, where does his work day start? At the yard or at the job (bear in mind some days he has clocked 45 minutes before the other blokes have been collected!!).

From what I think you are saying, if he has to go to the yard, he should be paid from that time to the time he returns to the yard? An example:

At yard for 6am, after 1 hour drive to job, work starts at 7am, finish at 3.30pm, drive and arrive back at the yard at 4.30pm - what amount of hours on this day should be paid...... As I said before, he is supposed to work 8 hours a day for what he is paid.

Nikki

Nikki

Hi

I assume it should be from leaving the yard until he returns to the yard, as my husband has his own car so could very well make his way to the job, but he has to go to the yard as he is the only one in the gang with a valid drivers licence!!

On one job literally 15 minutes from where we live, O/H had to drive 20 minutes away, pick up gang and drive back in 20 minutes to the job!

Super is beginning to annoy me now, as he has told my O/H on a number of occasions he is 'sorting' it.

I agree with you about other jobs, O/H has rund round a few and they are paying about $100, less a week, but with the increased hours, I am sure if he was to do the same hours with paid overtime, he would be better off. This is his first job and he likes the lads he works with, so I think he turns a blind eye to being used......I don't know why I am annoyed if he isn't!!!