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How to discuss regulations with your employer
I live in Ontario, Canada. Any regulations I bring up are specific to my location.
I'm working for a very small telecommunications company, and I really like my employers. I signed on as a part time employee, but asked for full time hours. They managed to find full time, plus some! I'm really grateful for what they've done. Not only did they find more hours for me, but they've also got me working from home during the week.
Sounds great, right? Here's the problem...I've been looking into the labour regulations for my province and there are a few issues:
1. I should be paid about $0.50 per hour more than what I'm getting now, according to the homeworker's minimum wage(as long as I'm working from home). No biggie, right? So I'm not too worried about it.
2. I should be entitled to overtime pay. So far over the last 5 days, I've worked over 50 hours already, and it'll probably be 60 hours by the time I'm done for this week. That's a lot of money I'm missing out on (not to mention sleep!)
I really like my employers, and they are paying me out of their own pockets. Thing is, I don't want to be taken advantage of. I also don't want to lose the overtime hours I'm getting because they don't have overtime pay budgeted in. I feel sort of stuck here. I know that they can't fire me for bringing it up, but it would still be really awkward to demand more of them after all they've done for me.
Does anyone have any advice for how to bring legal regulations up to a small employer?
Thank you.
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Well I am not from Canada, so I must assume that the laws are similar. And yes you are right, they should be complying with minimum wage laws and with overtime pay laws. And you do have rights. You could get them in trouble. And while they may not be able to fire you, because of whistle blower laws, they can cut back your hours again. You did mention that overtime is NOT in the budget, and if you know that it must be because they wanted you to know this information. YOu also mentioned that you NEED these extra hours.
But let me me ask this. If you knew FOR SURE, that your hours would be cut back to part time, if they were forced to pay you at minimum wage and at the overtime rate.......would you still insist that you be paid according to the labor laws? If you answer is "a hesitant" no. Then maybe what needs to happen is that all the cards be put on the table.
I think you would want #1. for them to know that you are aware that the laws require a different rate of pay.
#2, that you are really happy that they gave you the extra hours (that you asked for)
#3. That you are looking forward to the day when they can pay you in accordance with the laws, which will be fair to you, and decreases their chances of getting in trouble.
Make it clear that you are not the person who will be filing a claim. But they still run the risk of getting caught.
This way, the whole issue is out in the open, and while you are helping them out now, but working all these hours at a rate that works for them, you expect that when things are better, that they will bring your wages into compliance with the laws in your area.
The sooner the better. Maybe they will even be agreeable to setting a time frame that you can live with.
Hope this helps.
- Michele
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