Main issues:
- Office was based in what would be deemed a derelict building, falling to pieces.
- The skylight windows had been smashed open so every time it rained, the office floor would be soaked.
- The 17 year old apprentice constantly pointed out how the floor would kick up sooooo much dirt every time he made a step.
- The rain leaking in only started after summer (we had a good summer so it hadn’t really rained enough for me to notice the huge puddles before then) but the water must have gotten in to the electrics in the overhead lights because I was sat there two weeks ago and the lights just BLEW out completely and my computer just died.
- I have asthma, so the fact we have an office that is raining in, with a window permanently stuck wide open, is a huge issue. Since working here I’ve had 5 chest infections and my asthma has gotten so bad I’ve been referred to a specialist at the hospital.
- The owner seems to think that putting a heater in a room to ‘warm it up’ with a window permanently open is a legitimate way of combatting the problem - the dry heaters just make my asthma worse.
Now comes the tax evasion.
They told me when I became a full time employee that everything would be sorted. They even started paying me £300 a month less and claimed that it was for my tax. (WHAT?)
My salary should have been 25k, but each month it went down and down until it reached 21k (and that was assuming they were actually paying my tax and NI!)
At one point, he actually said to me “bear in mind with this new wage, were paying your tax so you’re actually getting more than you should be so we’re doing you a favour, and we’re giving you a 5% share.”
That was all well and good, as I told them, but they were wrong, and a 5% share after 5 years isn’t paying the bills I have next week, is it? I’m 24, I’m not worrying about what’s going to happen in 5 years, and at this rate, it ain’t gonna be anything.
I was getting 1,400 when I should have been getting £1,680 AFTER TAX and NI.
In September, he came to my house one day with an envelope with my wages in it, told me that their system was down, I thought okay, no problem.
In October, the same thing happened again. Still not fixed???? Hmmm. Give them the benefit of the doubt.
The end of November comes around and this time it’s the same again, I tell my dad that I think somethings dodgy, and I ask them for my payslips... “why do you need your payslips, we don’t have them, we can get some made though?” Was his response. Weird, right?
At this point, I start looking for a new job, I’ve done all I can for them, but they keep investing in new products without consulting me, products even Gary Vee couldn’t market because they were so ridiculous and against every regulation in this industry... of course I knew that, that’s why they hired me. but then they say, what do you mean you CANT sell this? Why not? Erm, because it’s f$* illegal, sir.
9th December comes around (it’s a Sunday) my boss calls me, texts me, emails me, is pestering for me to meet up with him, I think it’s his usual “please meet me in a hotel room” which he likes to do a lot, but I finally tell him I have ten minutes free... I ask what it’s about and he says oh, nothing important, just about getting new staff in and Stevens role in the department etc etc - but when I arrive there he sits down and tells me that he’s been to the bank and they’ve run out of money, he can’t pay me for the last 19 days unless I accept payment for 10 hours a week instead of the 50 I’d worked. I told him it was ridiculous, not my problem, he had to sort it out, he must have known this was coming, he must have known that there was no bloody money, and how dare he tell me 2 weeks before Christmas.
“I’ll give you a loan, if you pay it back” he ACTUALLY SAID THAT TO ME.
Sorry, a loan, for the wages you owe me? What?
I left him sat there, went home, told my partner, and as angry as I was, I just laughed. How typical. But how glad I was to get away from the whole damn company.
I put my CV online, and within a day I’d had a call asking me to go in for an interview, I went up to meet the CEO who explained the business, what their goals were, where they wanted to be, and he asked me to join his team. There and then.
I start next Thursday. I’m currently still employed by these nob-jockeys - I got paid today, for 1 day. I’ve worked 3 days this week, they hadn’t paid me for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, nada.
As far as the tax evasion goes, I spoke to a lawyer I know who deals with this kind of thing down in Westminster who looked in to it for me, they haven’t paid a single penny in tax or NI for me in the 6 months I’ve been there, and he’s advised I report them to HMRC.
Either way, I’m going to have to pay all of the tax that’s been missed this year, and I’m surprised I wasn’t pulled up on it sooner, but how dare they put me in this horrible situation making it look like I am the one being dodgy.
Has anyone ever had any experience with this kind of thing? I know there must be so many laws they’re breaking. My partner came in to my office to use the bathroom 2 weeks ago, I told him he probably wouldn’t want to once he saw them but he was going crazy, telling me about all the laws they were breaking just letting me work in these conditions and why I hadn’t mentioned how awful they were before. (I had, but I don’t think you believe it until you see it!)
Quite frankly I’ll just be glad to see the back of them, but they seem like the kind of people who are going to continue to hound me.