Employer Contracting Out of Sick Pay

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jmh

458 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1450186 14-Dec-2015 15:09

Geektastic: The only instance I can think of where this might be the case is when you do what my wife does and contract as a business to the company to provide services, rather than on an employee basis. Of course they are employing her, but they do so by employing our company not her.

She therefore gets no holiday, sick pay or paid public holidays.

I'm on a contract with a start and end date, and a target to achieve by the end. They pay has been assessed by an independent agency to allow for holiday and use of my own equipment, and is way more than I would get for the same role as an employee. The other key difference is that I can choose which days I fulfil my contractual requirements. These contracts are ok because they allow flexibility for both sides of the contract. The real problem arises at the minimum wage level where employers are using casual contracts to avoid their legal responsibilities.

trig42

5813 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1450200 14-Dec-2015 15:33

Regarding contractor/employee:

My Wife did some cooking and cleaning for a childcare centre a few years ago.

When we went away for a week, she didn't get her pay (she had been there over a year). We were out for lunch, and checked internet banking and her pay hadn't gone in the day before as usual.
She called the centre and asked about her pay. She was told (and it was news to her) that she was a contractor, and that holiday pay was built into her pay.
She said to them at the time that was the first she'd heard of it and hung up.
We stewed on it for a couple of days, I checked out the web (resources not as good then as now, but still could find references to contractors/employees and their differences).
She 1- worked solely for them on their roster, 2 - was supplied her equipment by them, 3 - had PAYE deducted (at the PAYE rate, not Witholding Tax) plus a couple of others.
When we got back home, I called them, and got a really sh*tty response (I was nice, and explained everything above. Got told I was threatening them). I put it all in writing, and stated that we would take it to the Department of Labour, as well as starting a constructive dismissal case (Wife did not want to work there for that pay without holiday/sickness and Kiwisaver benefits).
The day after she gave the centre manager the letter, the owner called and apologized saying they must have 'entered it incorrectly in the system' and blamed their accountant. Holiday pay was backpaid that night, Kiwisaver enrolled and sick pay available (not that she ever used it).

Never the less, my Wife had lost all trust in them, and moved jobs a couple of months later. She ensured when she started the new one (and every one since) that she is an employee (usually just telling them you want to be in Kiwisaver ensures this).

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#1450684 15-Dec-2015 11:21

Be careful joining a union. You have to pay them fees, which may means less net take home pay for you.

There are some very good useful union organisers, that are respected by employees and employers. Those people, are gold. But there are also union organisers who go out of their way to cause enmity between employer and employee and do their members a serious disservice.

Mike

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1450718 15-Dec-2015 12:06

MikeAqua: Be careful joining a union. You have to pay them fees, which may means less net take home pay for you.

There are some very good useful union organisers, that are respected by employees and employers. Those people, are gold. But there are also union organisers who go out of their way to cause enmity between employer and employee and do their members a serious disservice.

The decision to join a union shouldn't be one solely or primarily driven by the fact that your pay will be reduced! You are getting 'something' in return for that membership, whether it be as generic as helping assist the negotiation of a collective agreement (which is usually piggybacked on by those on IEAs), employment advice, or additional 'benefits' such as access to holiday homes and bank discounts! The sums are usually fairly insignificant, and typically (crudely) relate to level of income. Some see it as a form of insurance - personally I've had to call on this "insurance" and all the dues I have paid over my working life were worth it for just that one event.

While individual organisers and delegates may not always provide a perfect service, most unions will operate call centres where members can seek advice on exactly this kind of

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