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should i bite my tongue and sit on my hands? until when?

8 replies

ThatVikRinA22 · 25/11/2012 20:08

ive posted about this before but DS has a part time job for a local internet marketer. DS has some special needs (he has aspergers/dyspraxia and dyslexia) but is doing a computer science degree at uni and has worked for this man part time for about 3 years. DS is a php programmer who is self taught, and does all sorts of work for this man.

This month he has not paid him.

This man also employs a team of indian programmers who were working on the same project DS was working on, but a different part of it. They did not password protect the project well and it was hacked, and the DS boss was blackmailed for his project back which the idiot has paid.

He is very angry about this and is seething that he has lost money. DS cannot speak to him at the moment because when he tried he told him he was out of a job.
DS does not know if he meant it or not - he is managed by another one of his bosses friends who has said he should just hang fire for now because he suspects he is just annoyed about the hacking thing and doesnt think he meant it

but DS has worked all month, and is without any wages right now. In less than one week he has direct debits to pay. While he is at uni i pay for his food. He earns about £400 a month - he used to pay him £250 but i kicked up a fuss because it was not a legal wage. Coincidentally DS is 21 next week....call me a cynic but im wondering if he wants rid before he has to give him an age related rise...or if he is just threatening him with the sack to keep him from asking for a rise when he turns 21. He does need the job. (or at least a job....)

His boss goes on holiday tomorrow. If he does not pay him tomorrow, he will not get paid until he gets back, by which time it will be too late for all his bills etc.

He has been told by the guy who manages him to continue to work as normal.

I am dying to email him and ask him what the hell he thinks he is playing at - but DS is scared that if i do anything to annoy him he will simply sack him.

should i let DS try and sort this out by himself?
or should i step in?
DS doesnt want me to do anything but i am finding it very hard to bite my tongue, but DS is scared that if i upset him he will just fire him as he keeps threatening to do.

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Rockchick1984 · 26/11/2012 09:38

Your DS isn't entitled to an age-related pay rise until his 22nd birthday (NMW increase is age "over 21") so its unlikely his boss is trying to get rid of him for this reason.

It's a difficult one. On the one hand, your DS is a (nearly) 21 year old adult, his boss doesn't even need to acknowledge your communication if he doesn't want to, and ideally your son should sort it out himself.

On the other hand, I've seen your previous posts about his boss being a moron, and if your son doesn't feel able to confront him then someone needs to. Would your son speak to him if you were there as moral support? Could you lend your DS the money for his bills until his boss is back and he can get it sorted? Your son can't just be sacked, and if he was then he can take his boss to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

There's no chance the company has no money if he has paid the person who blackmailed him is there?

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ThatVikRinA22 · 26/11/2012 11:44

i really dont know - he seems to enjoy lording it over DS and threatens to sack him all the time to keep him working at full pelt, ds is trying to sort it out but he just text to say still no money, the man who "manages" him is supposed to be trying to sort it.....but he is also still completely in limbo about whether he has a job now or not.

I just think this is a shitty way to run a business and treat people. If i could afford to pay DS way completely i would tell him to tell his boss where to stick the job.

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Rockchick1984 · 26/11/2012 12:22

Agree, the boss sounds like a complete and utter arse. Is there no other jobs your DS could be looking for, surely with 3 years working there he would have a head start against most of the people looking for similar work while studying?

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ThatVikRinA22 · 26/11/2012 12:51

ive told him to get looking - but its got to be part time to fit with his studies which is difficult to find.

ive told him he could apply to the local supermarket for a saturday job but that doesnt appeal very much to him.

his boss has thrown his toys out of the pram before but never just not paid him. Its not even as if any of this was his fault - DS has said he didnt think a great deal to the indian programmers but his boss didnt listen. Their password protection was woeful.

i dont know what to do. his boss goes away today on holiday so if he doesnt get his money today he wont get it in time for his bills. I live to a very strict budget but will have to try and find a way to help him out.

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GrendelsMum · 27/11/2012 14:53

There was another thread on here where someone hadn't been paid their wages, and someone linked to a form that you should fill in and send to your employer. If you were to fill that in and send it to the employer, would it look as though this is being taken seriously and the employer is more likely to pay?

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ThatVikRinA22 · 27/11/2012 15:55

the employer has now pissed off on holiday so he wont get it anyway.

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NatashaBee · 27/11/2012 15:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ThatVikRinA22 · 27/11/2012 16:08

he used to use those sites a fair bit but it wasn't really a regular income....and people always ended up undercutting him if its what i think it is - alot of over seas programmers can do it for next to nothing if its one of those bidding sites, but ill mention it to him. every little helps, so thanks.

i am just so angry with his boss - he is blaming DS and none of the hacking problem was anything to do with him - in fact they hacked and stole one of his uni assignments and tried to get him to pay to get it back! (he had the good sense to tell them to piss off unlike his boss)

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