laurakate
Well-Known Member
I've had three non related experiences of potential employers trying to rip me off.
experience 1) they wanted me to be in an employed role (using their products, charging their prices, doing set treatments with hours set by them) but getting paid as a self employed person (they said their business was struggling and they needed someone to help them get bums on seats and they admitted that they would find it better for them to pay me as a self employed person)
experience 2) the employer invited me to an interview and trade test. he barely said 2 words to me and had me working on a series of paying clients for the afternoon where he wasn't even watching me (they were in private treatment rooms!!). He then said he would like to invite me to work unpaid the following Saturday so that he could decide. He phoned me however, the evening of my first visit to him asking if I could cover a shift for the next day...I wasn't even employed by him when he asked me this!!!
experience 3) this happened today, again I've found a job that I would like to do and the employer told me that I was to do what she called a trial where I was paid 5 pound an hour cash in hand. She said her previous employees were untrustworthy so she needs to protect her business and the time it takes to train people etc. I told her that cash in hand and less than minimum wage would mean that both I and her would be breaking the law.
I am feeling really worried about this...are we really in an industry where people are trying to get one over on people on such a consistant basis or am I being unlucky? The job adverts here are ones that I found on gumtree (experience 2 and 3) and the jsa website (experience 1)
I'm getting worried in the sense that am I looking in the wrong places? is it me being too defensive of myself as an employee or is it that this is simply behaviour that is to be expected an it's a case of either avoid it accept it depending on your circumstances?
I trained for 18 months to be the best I can be. I don't feel that I'm the best most experienced therapist out there who deserves everything handed to me on a plate but on the other hand, I seek to be employed in a way that is both legal and professional as I don't want to find myself in a situation where I'm effectively having to agree to something that could put my rights etc in danger later down the line.
I can't stress enough that I am not the type of person who is all about shouting my rights left right and centre and not taking responsibility. All I ask if that I am treated fairly and legally when it comes to recruitment/potential employment.
I can take critism if people think that I should be "less fussy" or "more of a risk taker" but frankly I am really worried as I have been exposed to so many people who I think are behaving suspiciously with regards to recruiting/employing people.
I want to make a career out of beauty and I want to take it seriously. I'm getting so worried though that it will be harder to do this than I thought due to such unexpected factors/experiences such as these.
Please help because I would hate to lose faith in the industry so soon after my training.
Worried of Manchester
ETA: I would also like to add that I'm so baffled about this...like surely if you had invested all that money/energy etc into starting up a business then you would have done something as fundamental as knowing how to legally and professionally recruit/employ people? surely people going into business and investing so much into wouldn't be that short of knowledge? Would these people really be newbie business people who need a helping hand and need to do a bit more research or ultimately, is it unlikely that they'd have got that far without being aware of how what they're doing (regarding recruitment/employment) is wrong?
experience 1) they wanted me to be in an employed role (using their products, charging their prices, doing set treatments with hours set by them) but getting paid as a self employed person (they said their business was struggling and they needed someone to help them get bums on seats and they admitted that they would find it better for them to pay me as a self employed person)
experience 2) the employer invited me to an interview and trade test. he barely said 2 words to me and had me working on a series of paying clients for the afternoon where he wasn't even watching me (they were in private treatment rooms!!). He then said he would like to invite me to work unpaid the following Saturday so that he could decide. He phoned me however, the evening of my first visit to him asking if I could cover a shift for the next day...I wasn't even employed by him when he asked me this!!!
experience 3) this happened today, again I've found a job that I would like to do and the employer told me that I was to do what she called a trial where I was paid 5 pound an hour cash in hand. She said her previous employees were untrustworthy so she needs to protect her business and the time it takes to train people etc. I told her that cash in hand and less than minimum wage would mean that both I and her would be breaking the law.
I am feeling really worried about this...are we really in an industry where people are trying to get one over on people on such a consistant basis or am I being unlucky? The job adverts here are ones that I found on gumtree (experience 2 and 3) and the jsa website (experience 1)
I'm getting worried in the sense that am I looking in the wrong places? is it me being too defensive of myself as an employee or is it that this is simply behaviour that is to be expected an it's a case of either avoid it accept it depending on your circumstances?
I trained for 18 months to be the best I can be. I don't feel that I'm the best most experienced therapist out there who deserves everything handed to me on a plate but on the other hand, I seek to be employed in a way that is both legal and professional as I don't want to find myself in a situation where I'm effectively having to agree to something that could put my rights etc in danger later down the line.
I can't stress enough that I am not the type of person who is all about shouting my rights left right and centre and not taking responsibility. All I ask if that I am treated fairly and legally when it comes to recruitment/potential employment.
I can take critism if people think that I should be "less fussy" or "more of a risk taker" but frankly I am really worried as I have been exposed to so many people who I think are behaving suspiciously with regards to recruiting/employing people.
I want to make a career out of beauty and I want to take it seriously. I'm getting so worried though that it will be harder to do this than I thought due to such unexpected factors/experiences such as these.
Please help because I would hate to lose faith in the industry so soon after my training.
Worried of Manchester
ETA: I would also like to add that I'm so baffled about this...like surely if you had invested all that money/energy etc into starting up a business then you would have done something as fundamental as knowing how to legally and professionally recruit/employ people? surely people going into business and investing so much into wouldn't be that short of knowledge? Would these people really be newbie business people who need a helping hand and need to do a bit more research or ultimately, is it unlikely that they'd have got that far without being aware of how what they're doing (regarding recruitment/employment) is wrong?
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