Workers Rights And Conditions

DAVE_K

Hi,

My wife has recently (3 weeks ago) taken up a part time job delivering pizza for a well known pizza company.

There's several issues that are of concern to me regarding it

1) She has continuously asked to see her contract and has been told "later", "tomorrow", "we're busy now" that sort of lark.

2) The salary is 4 euros per hour paid by the company - 1 euro's 50 for every pizza delivered and tips on top - quite often you may only end up delivering a pizza or two every hour and get a euro's tips - to me this seems to be below minimum wage.

3) When she got her salary last week it was well down - she enquired and was told you only get paid the 4 euros per hour for weekend work - you don't get paid for weekday work (except your 1.50 per pizza and tips) - you are obliged though to work weekdays too - THEY NEVER TOLD HER THIS before she commenced work

4) She had to pay for her own uniform which could be OK but out of the above pittance - not really.

Added to this that my wife is using her own car and telephone. She's literally spending her evenings driving around for free.

We've two kids now and my wife was keen to do something with her evenings (and i'm keen to see her happy) - i'm coming home from work at 5 and looking after the kids till 11 or 12 - which i don't mind at all as long as she gets sorted out properly. I'm loath to interfere as it makes me look like I'm just not happy to be spending all my free time at home with the kids. I'm getting up at 6 to beat the M50 traffic so I can make home in time for her to get to work - again no problem as long as she gets suitably renumerated.

To me this seems like really bad working conditions in this day and age.

My wife's indonesian and she tells me that most of the other workers there are foreign nationals.
I want to see her get sorted with this situation, even if it means telling them to sod off - regarding my points above - can they do these things??

Thanks

Dave

subway

have no idea, but it genuinely sounds like bs.
i know lads that do delivery work and they get paid a set amoun per night - 40 eu i think for 6 - 12 then money per drop + tips.
no uniforms required.

maybe give siptu a ring?

subway

accoding to this http://www.siptu.ie/YourRights/TUFGuideToLabourLaw/HoursHolidaysGeneralConditions/NationalMinimumWageAct2000/
and this
http://www.entemp.ie/employment/rights/minimumwage.htm

she is entitled to minumum wage once she is over twenty and not in training as at this point she is "expereinced"

the minimum wage is worked out over a month "reference period" so her total monhtly wage divided by hours must be more than 7.65 is my understanding

seamus

The company must provide her with a contract within the first two months of employment, and this contract must set down some minimum things:
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/employment/starting_work/contract_of_employment.html?search=Contract+of+Employment

It is illegal to make people work solely on commission, if they are considered to be employees of a company. The company must pay them the legal minimum wage, and then any commission goes on top of that.

As for using her own car and phone - this depends on the job. If the job requires that she use her car and phone, then the company must pay her expenses for this. If she could do the job by walking and never contacting the shop (hardly), then the use of her own car would be her own choice, and she would have to pay for it.

The uniform thing is common enough, however the company has no right to take the uniform back if she leaves and has paid for it.

leeroybrown

The job sounds bad regardless of the legalities.

One related point I'd like to mention is car insurance. If you wife is using her own car on her own normal personal insurance policy then she is probably in breach of the terms and invalidating her insurance. Most personal policies prohibit usage for work purposes and can refuse to pay out in the event of an accident. I certainly wouldn't be going out on a limb for a job like this.

DAVE_K

thanks for the response - sounds pretty crap alright - i was aware of the insurance thing alright, and had voiced my concerns
I think the best thing is a "sod off"
It's a sad state of affairs when they sort of crap goes on - it's nought new though............................

lostexpectation

name the pizza company paying 4e an hour!!!
defo ring union or who exactly are the gov labour inspectors

DAVE_K

<a well known national pizza franchise>

lostexpectation

I had thought I heard of problem with pay there

http://www.siptu.ie/Regions/MidlandsandSouth-East/KildareLeixlipBranch/BranchNews/

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWIDIDGBGBID


it seems maybe this 'something to do in evenings type of work' never works out well

I couldn't believe that people would only do 2 deliveries an hour that sounds terribly inefficient, maybe they should have less drivers genreally and more on mopeds.

I wonder how many deliverers they have?

Tallaght Domino's Pizza drivers strike over pay

In a typical night, Uzair says drivers often make just two deliveries. As each delivery earns them €1.50, that brings their average hourly pay to €7, 65c less than the national minimum wage.

"A lot of drivers are working here (in the Tallaght Shopping Centre outlet). That and the traffic around Tallaght means each of us can only do an average of two deliveries an hour, meaning we earn only €7 per hour on average," he said.

"Out of that, we have to pay our own car tax, insurance, petrol and for any damage to the car. When all that is taken out, I don't know what the hourly rate would turn out to be, maybe €6?

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWIDIDGBGBID

and this from the busiest (and one would presume one of the most profitable) domino's pizza shops in the world!

seamus

Yeah, 2 deliveries an hour doesn't sound great. I think any such delivery business could benefit from using bikes, or building another shop in the area (thus reducing the catchment area).

DAVE_K

Since then I've convinced the missus to jack this in - it sounds too much like exploitaition to me. 2 deliveries an hour - well i have to say I can understand that given the area that deliveries cover. Would it not take 30 minutes to get to Foxrock from Glenageary roundabout and back again - given there'll be a bit of house hunting when you get there. My wife says at the weekends basically there's a queue of delivery people waiting to get handed and order, and then sometimes get shouted at "quick quick". Then given that said delivery could be a small pizza and coke for some kid you won't get much of a tip. I'm sure the company are probably making money on the deliveries - i'm sure if you go to the outlet and buy the pizza on the spot it's more then 1.50 less which means the company are making the difference (or that goes on the measly 4 euros an hour). It really is some scam - you get a delivery fleet of vehicles, drivers and they pay their own insurance and then you use them to make cash whilst all the while sh1tting on them.

lostexpectation

anyone heard more about this?

I noticed this Moped/Motorbike Delivery Drivers Required for Domino's Pizza

http://www.jobs.ie/ApplyForJob.aspx?Id=355569