Advice Needed Please

[Spazz]

They dont need to pay fuel so be wear of that!

They have to pay min wage - NI and Tax!

Personally I would call HMRC up now and let them deal with it!

They will take your boss to court and get all of the staff the money owed!

Make sure you have your wage slips

 

[Des 56]

Make sure first of all that you have all your assumed facts correct,you wouldn't want to come on here asking a question about business opportunity and end up losing your job because of misinformation causing conflict with your employer

In the pat rip off business you are beng paid poorly,but thats why the vast majority of electricians wont touch it
Its wierd having an electrical inspection that sparks wont touch,just makes the whole shambles evident to all

Why dont you try and start up part time,continue with your employment and seek out your own work,even if you can eventually take your own employers business away from them,dont let yourself be ripped off but tread carefully either way

 

[1123]

Yeah, me and my friend were talking about it, hopefully it will go somewhere but only time will tell. I'll give it a try anyways, I'm not happy where I am so I don't want to stick around. Is there anything else we should know about this?

 

[Spazz]

All I got to say is good luck

What you can do (without your employer knowing) build up a database of all his customers over the next 2 months. When HMRC come in and close him down you approach all the customers and explain what your doing and how much you can do it for, etc.

Either way - Good luck and dont get walked all over

 

[D80]

How old are you 1123?

 

[1123]

I'm 20, sadly.

 

[cloverman]

2 pence over the min wage of £4.98 then !! Still rubbish by all acounts but not illegal !!
I would recommend taking Des56's advice and tread carefully

 

[Arnold Layne]

1123,

I would think long and hard about whether you can make money at PAT testing, that's my first piece of advice, and it may seem obvious but not everyone thinks of it surprisingly enough. It is a commodity market where as you clearly state it is based on a price per unit ( 60p in your case). Secondly the customers don't actually value the service, they do it to fulfil their obligations therefore they want to spend the least amount of money on it as possible, so that drives the price down. Thirdly anyone " competent" can do it! So it is very competitive. You need to have a competitive advantage, that might be that there is no one else doing it in your area, it may be that you have access to cheap labour( unlikely if it is yourself). But your fixed costs are going to be much the same as others, insurance, kit, transport, etc. So where is your cost advantage? On your own you will need to market yourself, that costs. You need to factor all these things in before you decide to embark on this but I wish you luck!

 

[UNG]

ok for starters

Your company is breaking the law! by only paying you £5 per hour!

Contact HMRC!

Out of interest and not being racist are you a British Citizen?

They are taking you for a ride my boy!

Get a pay rise or walk - even better get on benefits - you will get more!

Or are they providing you with accommodation/meals/clothes/etc??

That is the only other way they can legally pay you £5 per hour

I think this comes under the Truck acts and is illegal coin of the realm is the payment requirement

 

[Silly Sausage]

I'm 20, sadly.

Oh bless, I wish I was your age again!

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[Spazz]

Under the minimum wage act an employer may deduct a set amount from a employees wages for accommodation and meals.

This is what some care homes do with polish workers.


The rate is set by the act.


[h=3]The accommodation offset rate[/h]If your employer provides you with accommodation, they can count some of its value towards National Minimum Wage (NMW) pay. This is called the accommodation offset. Your employer cannot count more than the accommodation offset rate which is in force at any given time.
From 1 October 2011, the maximum amount your employer can count towards NMW pay as an accommodation offset is:

• £4.73 a day
• £33.11 a week

It makes no difference whether:

• your employer takes rent out of your wages
• you have to pay rent to your employer after receiving your wages
• your employer simply provides the accommodation as part of a package

In all cases, the accommodation offset rate is the most your employer can count towards NMW pay. It also makes no difference whether you could have chosen not to occupy the accommodation. If you do choose to occupy it, the accommodation offset applies.
[h=4]What counts as providing accommodation?[/h]As well as accommodation itself, any charges you have to pay to your employer for gas, electricity, laundry and furniture are added to the rent for the purpose of calculating the accommodation offset.
The accommodation offset applies where any of the following apply:

• the accommodation is provided in connection with your contract of employment
• keeping your job depends on occupying the accommodation
• occupying the accommodation depends on staying in your job

Taken from here

 

[1123]

Well, left that job. Got another one recently.. Bit better paid, van, work wear and all that supplied. All going swimmingly until I get told they expect 250+ tests per day! Had a meeting this morning, managing director isn't happy, boss is ****ed off and they're not "investing in me". I have a month to reach 250 tests or I'm not getting kept on. Expected me to drive 3 hours to a job, not leave until it was completed 9-10 hours and then a 3 hour drive home.. On a Friday. I worryingly look forward to the day they tell me I'm not kept on, so many unachievable targets that make me look bad. I've made a little scrap book so to speak of members of this site saying 200+ is madness and unsafe, I hope mr bossman takes note. Anyone looking for a slightly ageing (21) apprentice!?

 

[UNG]

Well, left that job. Got another one recently.. Bit better paid, van, work wear and all that supplied. All going swimmingly until I get told they expect 250+ tests per day! Had a meeting this morning, managing director isn't happy, boss is ****ed off and they're not "investing in me". I have a month to reach 250 tests or I'm not getting kept on. Expected me to drive 3 hours to a job, not leave until it was completed 9-10 hours and then a 3 hour drive home.. On a Friday. I worryingly look forward to the day they tell me I'm not kept on, so many unachievable targets that make me look bad. I've made a little scrap book so to speak of members of this site saying 200+ is madness and unsafe, I hope mr bossman takes note. Anyone looking for a slightly ageing (21) apprentice!?

If you have a collision / accident while driving you may find yourself in court, while you may not be driving under the strict regime of a tachograph you would be questioned about your duty, driving hours and breaks. Although you have not exceeded the driving hours you could be in excess of the duty hours this coupled with the minimum break requirements between each duty period

Many years ago I was involved in a multi vehicle incident that ended up in court and that was one of the lines of questioning so beware for your own safety

 

[Dave 85]

Start a business doing only PAT testing.......
I'd rather throw myself under a train.

You know what I charge per PAT test?
£5
You know why?
Cos I F'kin hate it.

60p per test might just about turn a profit if you leave your tools and tester in the van and just go in with the labels but even then its gonna be tight.

 

[Dave 85]

Its an absolute joke this whole PAT test malarky. Personally I think its a total waste of time anyway. The only way a portable appliance is likely to become lethal is through cable damage and this is something that employees themselves should look out for in day to day use.
More bloody H&S bullsh*t that just makes running a business even harder. If you ask me the government should slacken up employment laws, slacken up H&S and watch the economy grow rapidly as a result. How the hell are we expected to be able to compete with places like india and china.....
Im going of on a tangent here.... Ill shut up now