TBC today is like most, good bosses exist and in truth are more common than bad.
BUT yesterday and who knows maybe today I found a very bad one.
8 years ago a book inspection found massive and deliberate under payments of wages.
Workers wanted to keep the firm trading.
We asked that past loss be made up in over payments, over a few years.
boss agreed next week about to sign deeds of release they declared bakrupsy.
Took out unsecured loans of close to a quarter of a million dollars, hide that much in plant, put 80 workers out of work.
Next day? changed one word in title, leaving sign writing on trucks, started a new firm.
Yesterday, 8 years after.
Another group of workers arrived in my office, same firm different name, different faces.
Those workers tabled evidence that they are owed about the same, a great deal of cash, and this.
The boss heard they intended to visit me, told them, well they could be killed if they are not careful.
unions are not evil, some are lazy but who would resent these people getting help?
In time these fleas will be undone but until then please understand people like rechtub have no concerns for fairness.
PS
Had coffee with a good boss yesterday he is a mate to me and his workers half a unionists work is helping such as him.

Question, should non-performers get paid the same as good workers ?

Paul >>>I am not looking for an opportunity to cut wages, rather, I just want to know why staff are paid the 'be there' for an anount of time, rather than for the amount of work they do in that time.

The boss only gets paid for the amount that he/she sells, so why the difference.

If you were picking tomatoes and one guy picks three buckets per hour and another 1.5 buckets. Do they both deserve equal pay?

In an hourly rate situation, which by the way is the law, why should the fast worker work as hard as he does when he only gets paid the same as the slower one?

This is my whole point.

Nothing about slashing wages at all.

Now on the topic of 'back pay'.

I have had three 'wage audits' over my 20+ years in business.

First one I got screwed because the kid I employed's 'mum' booked me from the time he left home, till the time he returned. Now he used to have extended lunch breaks, in agreement with myself and, he would stay back and clean up after I had finnished.

It cost me $2K back in 1990 and I paid it. Lesson learned.

The next two were an absolute joke.

Some half whit inspector claimed we owewd thousands in one case and I simply told them to go jump.

After being threatened by some 'hot shot' lawyer, he found that this moron had failed to take into account thier last pay which included all entitlements.

Meanwhile, this idiot on an hourly rate cost the tax payer thousands due to complete incomitance.

The third one involved one casual person and one 2hr shift.

She finnished early on a private matter and they wanted us to pay the extra 2 hours. You're kidding, I said.

Meanwhile my wife spent hours (unpid of cause) colating records for yet another moron wasting tax payers money, again on an hourly rate.

Don't tell me an hourly rate is a good system.

rehctub

Try using a wage book, issuing wage slips, and all will be fine.

You could not be required to pay for your employees travel to work time, or home, in what I understand from your posts is a 'butchers shop' of some form.

And no inspector or union official would argue that you should, unless it was 'in the award'.

And if it was in the award, then you should have paid it.

Try also hanging the appropriate award in a prominent place, say the smoko room, where all can freely read it, and understand how and where their wages come from, as far as 'the instrument' is concerned anyway.

If you pay above award, good on you, but in reading the award your staff will also understand how generous you are too.

If your wife works for nothing, then you are cheating her, and deluding yourself as to the true costs of running your business, as many employers do, so make amends, turn her work into a real job, and she will be very happy.

If she is a business partner with you, then her time should still be accounted for as a cost, to reflect the true cost of running your business.

Maybe you should ask Belly to give you a hand to sort out your true costs?

T B C.

I think my accountant/advisor does a pretty good job for his 20 odd grand a year I pay him. Thanks anyway, perhaps someone else needs help.

BTW, my wife does do the books and does a splended job and draws a good wage.

But, when you first start out in business (1989) you tend to trust your employees.

Unfortunately, once you have been sharfted a few times, one gets a little hesitant when it comes to trust and everyone looses in the end. But hey, that's life!

It's abit like having to hand out written warnings, it simply weakens any bond between the boss and the worker. Makes the worker more like a number, rather than a person.

But hey, labor and the unions know best!

Now if you are a tax payer I would be a tad snakey about the wasted dollars, paid to some incompitent industrial ombensmen employee, going on a 'witch hunt'.

The second claim I mentioned, went on for about 6 months, started at almost $6K and I ended up paying about $700 just to make it all go away as I was on a plane to Thailand the next day, for a family holiday.

Also, my wife had done enough 'unpaid hours' providing documentation for these fools.

Meanwhile, the emplyee involved must have thought they were in for a treat as I assume they were also told they would receive about 6 grand in back pay.

Boy they must have been deflated when they received less than a grand!

Remember, this fool of an officer gets paid by the hour.

Now do you really think she represents value for money to the tax payer?

After all, the relevent documentation was provided, only she was to stupid to be able to follow the paper trail, yet, she is a qualified auditor!

Or what about the third claim?

You're kidding!

What about a system where she does not get paid by the hour, rather, she gets a 'basic rate' and a bonus depending on the success of her claims?

Why would this be unfair?