Apprentice being ripped off

the iceman come

I need some advice on this problem for my nephew. He is an apprentice electrician who really loves his job however he was let go just before the xmas from the employer who started him off originally. Just into the new year he found a job being advertised in FAS for a 2nd yr apprentice about 10 miles away and was delighted to actually get the job. Now to my concerns, He only gets hand written payslip and I now find out that his boss isnt even paying a stamp for him,all very casual however he does get paid by check so at there is a least a paper trail. He dosent want me to get involved but I cannot turn a blind eye to this,am I right in assuming that if he gets let go he will have no chance of getting the dole? He also was working from 5 in the morning to 7 at night and the he wasnt getting paid travelling time or even overtime! He is only 20 and is such a hard worker,I really feel for him,am i over reacting?

MagicMarker

Since when does anyone get paid traveling time? Are you saying he leaves his house at 5 and gets home at 7? Or is he actually working these hours?

I'm not fully sure what you're saying? Is he paying taxes? Is he earning minimum wage? Is the apprenticeship registered with fás?

My mate was an apprentice electrician and he would work 12+ hours a day almost daily.

the iceman come

He somtimes leaves the house at 4 in the morning,travels 10 miles to the workshop to be in at 5,then he would load up for an hour and get into a van and get to wherever he is going,he may start at 7.30 on site,and this is when he gets paid from....I dont think this is right. As for FAS all I can say is it was advertised in FAS so I dont know if he is intending sending him on to college or what, However I dont like the fact that this employer Is not paying a Stamp for him, as it turns out he didnt even ask for a P45 when he began employment, I think its well dodgy,I mean what rights does he have if he gets let go for instance?

T-Square

the iceman come wrote: »

He somtimes leaves the house at 4 in the morning,travels 10 miles to the workshop to be in at 5

Based upon this statement alone, I'm going to ignore the rest of your posts.

At 4am, any location 10 miles away can be reached in approximately 10 minutes.

the iceman come

Actually he travels by bike,if you havent anything constructive to add to this thread please piss off.

kippy

Is he a registered apprentice?I assume the employer is registered with FAS.
If you believe him to be underpaid or not correctly being paid advise him to contact FAS or to ask for a full breakdown of his payslip from his employer.
Travel time is rare, overtime is also rare for an apprentice.

He really needs to do this himself though. He is 20, not 10. If he doesnt start doing these things for himself and begin to watch out for himself he will not get on in this relatively cut throat trade.

kippy

the iceman come wrote: »

Actually he travels by bike,if you havent anything constructive to add to this thread please piss off.

It was a fair question to be honest. You didnt say he cycled......

mikemac

If it all falls apart then the ESB are looking for apprentices.

http://www.esb.ie/main/home/index.jsp
Deadline is March 12th.

Competition for places will be crazy!!
And I don't know if there is even a job at the end of it when you qualify.

Maybe it's helpful, just an option anyway

the iceman come

Thanks very much for that info Mikemac,will pass it on.

Tails142

Unlike some of the respondents in this thread I know and understand where you're coming from

Bascially this fella has a job in a diffficult market - you're concerned that as his employer isnt paying tax that he wont be liable to claim jobseekers allowance if he gets laid off.

You obviously don't want to confront the employer directly as you may rock the boat, and this fella could lose his job, with the risk that he may not find work elsewhere so easily.

It's a tricky one alright, maybe try and just report him (the employer) to the Department of Revenue anonymously. Also you may not have to be concerned about him paying PRSI (stamps) as I think once he has worked up a sufficient amount of time in the past 4 years he will be alright, so his previous employment would stand to him if he gets laid off in the next couple of years. Additionally, there is always jobseekers BENEFIT, which is different to jobseekers allowance, as it is means tested based on savings and household income, so if he did get laid off he could still be eligible to money even if he didnt have a PRSI (stamps) history.

mikemac

Nah, job seekers benefit is based on your PRSI
It's job seekers allowance that you have to do a means test for.

I know this as I spent a short while on it

Jobseeker's Benefit is a weekly payment made to people who are out of work and covered by social insurance (PRSI). Jobseeker's Benefit was called Unemployment Benefit; the name of the payment changed in 2006. If you don't qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit you may qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/unemployed-people/unemployment_benefit

getting offtopic though

the_syco

the iceman come wrote: »

Just into the new year he found a job being advertised in FAS for a 2nd yr apprentice about 10 miles away and was delighted to actually get the job.

Yo. Apprenticeships are like hens teeth at the moment. He has one, so don't f**k it up for him. Esp one only 10 miles down the road (many trades pople have to travel a lot more). He works 12 hours a day? That's not nice, but it's better than sitting on his arse unemployed, without any sort of certification. If you have to ring someone, ring FAS, and ensure that your nephews employer is registered as your nephews boss. Griping over his hours will probably get him fired.

Capt'n Midnight

Fiddling on the tax / doing nixers is one thing but making sure the apprenticeship is registered with FAS is the biggie here, otherwise it's a complete waste of time as he might have to do the apprenticeship time again somewhere else.

/2c

Does the hand written payslip list any deductions, or is he even paid enough that there would be deductions ?
http://www.fas.ie/en/Allowances+and+Grants/Apprentice+Wages.htm

Duff_Man

kippy wrote: »

Travel time is rare, overtime is also rare for an apprentice.

thats untrue man iv gotten travel and overtime on every single job iv worked on and im a 2nd year!

to the op though it might not be a great idea to rock the boat atm seen as there is nothing out there but if i was your nephew id be kicking up big time!

kippy

Duff_Man wrote: »

thats untrue man iv gotten travel and overtime on every single job iv worked on and im a 2nd year!

to the op though it might not be a great idea to rock the boat atm seen as there is nothing out there but if i was your nephew id be kicking up big time!

Then you are one of the rare ones......you've got a v. good employer by the looks of it, stick with them if you can.
Kippy

FANTASTIC

MagicMarker wrote: »

Since when does anyone get paid traveling time? Are you saying he leaves his house at 5 and gets home at 7? Or is he actually working these hours?.

You's must be smoking the funny stuff or dont work on site's!! Basically every single trade's man and apprentice in a large to medium size company gets paid travel and defininitly payed for over time. Apprentices are'nt officially ment to do overtime but if do it's the law to pay overtime!!!
Only small builders or trades men working for themselves with an apprentices wouldn't mainly cause they're scabs and get away with it.
Just leave him be he's lucky to have a job way it is but make sure the employer has him registered with FAS cause otherwise he's just been used as a cheap labourer and have to do the time again.