job with no pay

Lioness

heres the situation...
Im a student and am doing some market research for an entrepreneur. He came to our class requesting students to help with the research.
we met up a few times, I mentioned pay he kinda skirted around the issue,said he'd e-mail me the details about pay + i'd get the min. wage.
Thing is this was a month ago....
I really need the experience, the job is v.easy, dont have set hours, just need a computer. Its like Im doing him a favour.
I need + want pay!! I really need this experience aswel... I dont really know what to do.. If i ask again, he'll prob just fob me off.

Any suggestions / advice is much appreciated....

eth0_

If he came to your class then he'd have had to have gotten permission from the college to come in. Maybe they would know if he had said it was going to be unpaid?
Just refuse to work until he gives you something in writing stating how much you're going to be paid

uberwolf

do the work for him unless you can find paid work elsewhere. If you can tell him thats why you're not doing the work for him, if you can't get paid work you'll still have the experience

yossarin

entrepreneurs allways do this.
if you don't want to just tell him straight (the best option), then just tell him you don't think you can do anymore work without money. then down tools.

said he'd e-mail me the details about pay + i'd get the min. wage.

so he can't ever pretend that you were doing it for free.

incidently, my house is pretty dirty...

penexpers

You signed a contract, right?

p.pete

uberwolf wrote:

do the work for him unless you can find paid work elsewhere. If you can tell him thats why you're not doing the work for him, if you can't get paid work you'll still have the experience

I'd go along with that - it's tough sometimes to get experience and lets face it, if you could be doing something else and getting money then you'd be at that already. Keep the eyes and ears open for other opportunities but at the end of the day at least your getting experience and hopefully a good reference too.

Don't give up on trying to get paid for this either but I'm not convinced that downing tools is the way to go about it.

DublinWriter

Complete b*llocks gurl.

Write a letter of complaint about him to the dean/principle of your college, stating your current situtation and that you think it's very unappriopriate for him to have any association with the college.

It's basic exploitation, pure and simple.

nahdoic

Less of an entrepreneur and more of an exploiter and scam artist.

Don't do another tap of work for him.

Concentrate all effort on getting some paying gig.

Zaph0d

Lioness wrote:

heres the situation...
Im a student and am doing some market research for an entrepreneur. He came to our class requesting students to help with the research.
we met up a few times, I mentioned pay he kinda skirted around the issue,said he'd e-mail me the details about pay + i'd get the min. wage.
Thing is this was a month ago....
I really need the experience, the job is v.easy, dont have set hours, just need a computer. Its like Im doing him a favour.
I need + want pay!! I really need this experience aswel... I dont really know what to do.. If i ask again, he'll prob just fob me off.

Any suggestions / advice is much appreciated....

• Worst case scenario: you continue to work for a few more months and never get any money. You do gain some experience but you have spent a lot of tiem you could have spent having fun or studying.
• Mediocre scenario: You call a halt and quit now. You don't gain experience or get paid. You annoy the guy, so you won't get any more work from him. You free up your future time to do another job.
• Good scenario: You get the money for the work to date but call it quits to reduce your future exposure.
• Best case. He starts paying you regularly. You get good experience and cash. You complete the project well for him. You get future work as a result.

The worst case will only arise if you do nothing.

To get the best case, try seeing things from his point of view. As an entrepreneur he may be short of cash and have a policy of paying no-one until he has to. He's not your ma. So you've got to force the issue but you've got to do it in such a way that you don't come into conflict with him.

He may have an easily damaged ego or be of an aggressive disposition so you don't want to humiliate him or threaten him.
"Why haven't you paid me? Is it because you don't have the money?"
"You've got 24 hours to pay up or I'm going to complain to the college.."

Instead, try telling him that things are going really well and that you're really into the work but that you have been offered some well paid work. Say that you are short of cash these days and that although you don't want to accept, you are running out of options. This kind of line allows him to save face. It doesn't matter whether he believes you, he will want to believe it and be happy that you still seem to be on his side. Of course you need to give him some kind of deadline as in you have to pay the rent and the new job wants an answer by Monday. He may actually respect you more for dealing with him like this than just avoiding the issue.

If this doesn't work then you need plan B. You stop doing the work and try to make sure he doesn't have a copy of the work done to date. You make every attempt to stay on good terms with him but say that again your options are running out and that while your parents are pushing you to complain that this is the last thing you want to do. Again allowing him to save face by paying you.

You have gained something from this episode which is the lesson that you always need a contract in advance of starting work whether you are the employer or employee. Draw up the contract yourself on one page and just give it to him to sign.

I had an experience like yours with one of my first contracts. I got the other guy to pay up finally by finding his mother's address and showing him a copy of the letter I was going to send her asking her to cover her son's debt. I didn't have to send the letter.

nahdoic

Zaph0d wrote:

I had an experience like yours with one of my first contracts. I got the other guy to pay up finally by finding his mother's address and showing him a copy of the letter I was going to send her asking her to cover her son's debt. I didn't have to send the letter.

Brilliant!

Lump

People are so hung up on money. Sometimes you need to do things for free to get experience, to know people, a foot in the door etc etc. A month is nothing. If you're not happy about not getting money well then stop helping him, you're shooting yourself in the foot in my opinion. As Uberwolf said (I think) Unless you can get paid work elsewhere, stay doing it.


John

nahdoic

That's ridiculous - too many people these days just don't believe in fair play.

If he can entice you to work for free because of the great experience and to get your foot in the door. Then that is great.

But if someone promises to pay you, and then breaks that promise, then drop that person like a dead dog and move on.