Thai Wife Underpaid In Uk

[wana]

if she is found to be working there illegally or under illegal conditions is that not a crime by itself ? be careful to clear the area ,get a new job

and then report him ANNOMOUSLY

the other thais working there will flip when they all lose their jobs ,some may not have much other options and people depending heavily on them so

she may lose all her friends over this

you dont want to Gf to be the cause of all that ,

if it were me ,i would go and see the owner personally and tell him to pay my wife up to date + including back pay

(about 10,000GBP should do it ) and she will now get 6.50 per hour or leave

or i would make the phone call in front of him to the revenue department

also,take pictures of all the staff working first in case he swiftly gets rid of them

Edited May 24, 2012 by 7by7
Unnecessary nested quotes removed.

[wana]

I suppose its easy for bureaucrats and people thousands of miles away to bandy numbers about, but for the people concerned, having one's employer persecuted through the courts and their business closed down is unlikely to be beneficial in the long run.

It's many a long year since I did casual labour in a restaurant, but, like the OP's wife, I was never forced into it, and always had the option to take my services elsewhere.

My recommendation would be that the OP's wife could use local national standards as a guideline for what is a reasonable wage, terms of employment and so forth, but, so long as things remain reasonably amicable with her employer, I would stick to the British (actually, English common law) way of a negotiated contract between equal parties.

SC

thats complete <deleted> ,the minimum wage directive overrides that

and the girl is losing hundreds of pounds a week

also, they are not equal parties , he is taking advantage of her being an immigrant from a cheap labour country

if it were fair ,he would have british educated women working there also ,but they wouldnt entertain 3 quid an hour

Edited May 24, 2012 by 7by7
Unnecessary nested quotes removed.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Great post. Just one point of detail. If the wife hands in her notice now she will lose the estimated 8,000 pounds in back pay as I would guess the owner does not keep an audit trail of employee records. So report the owner and resign once an investigation is underway.

I think the potential for unintended consequences is greater than (maybe) getting the back pay.

Any direct confrontation, much less extortion threatening dobbing in is absolutely stupid IMO.

He'll get his don't worry, the OP and his wife don't need to be the trigger.

[wana]

Great post. Just one point of detail. If the wife hands in her notice now she will lose the estimated 8,000 pounds in back pay as I would guess the owner does not keep an audit trail of employee records. So report the owner and resign once an investigation is underway.

I think the potential for unintended consequences is greater than (maybe) getting the back pay.

Any direct confrontation, much less extortion threatening dobbing in is absolutely stupid IMO.

He'll get his don't worry, the OP and his wife don't need to be the trigger.

sometimes one illegal tactic deserves another

hes relying on the fact he can abuse these girls rights because they are new, have little prospects

and they dont know their rights

could he do the same to her UK husband ? Doubtful ,I would push him with 2 options

one results in my wife getting paid her 8000GBP and leaving (thats around 400k in thai money )

the other ,he loses his business and faces jail and /or a heavy fine at the least

[StreetCowboy]

Great post. Just one point of detail. If the wife hands in her notice now she will lose the estimated 8,000 pounds in back pay as I would guess the owner does not keep an audit trail of employee records. So report the owner and resign once an investigation is underway.

I think the potential for unintended consequences is greater than (maybe) getting the back pay.

Any direct confrontation, much less extortion threatening dobbing in is absolutely stupid IMO.

He'll get his don't worry, the OP and his wife don't need to be the trigger.

sometimes one illegal tactic deserves another

hes relying on the fact he can abuse these girls rights because they are new, have little prospects

and they dont know their rights

could he do the same to her UK husband ? Doubtful ,I would push him with 2 options

one results in my wife getting paid her 8000GBP and leaving (thats around 400k in thai money )

the other ,he loses his business and faces jail and /or a heavy fine at the least

Its fun vicariously bullying entrepreneurs out of business, when one doesn't know the people who are going to lose their pitiful jobs.

SC

[wana]

Great post. Just one point of detail. If the wife hands in her notice now she will lose the estimated 8,000 pounds in back pay as I would guess the owner does not keep an audit trail of employee records. So report the owner and resign once an investigation is underway.

I think the potential for unintended consequences is greater than (maybe) getting the back pay.

Any direct confrontation, much less extortion threatening dobbing in is absolutely stupid IMO.

He'll get his don't worry, the OP and his wife don't need to be the trigger.

sometimes one illegal tactic deserves another

hes relying on the fact he can abuse these girls rights because they are new, have little prospects

and they dont know their rights

could he do the same to her UK husband ? Doubtful ,I would push him with 2 options

one results in my wife getting paid her 8000GBP and leaving (thats around 400k in thai money )

the other ,he loses his business and faces jail and /or a heavy fine at the least

Its fun vicariously bullying entrepreneurs out of business, when one doesn't know the people who are going to lose their pitiful jobs.

SC

there is a cost of exploiting his staff ,i would make him aware of that cost

see how he likes a taste of his own medicine ?

also,if he accepted my offer ,he could pay back 8k and continue

its hardly stealing from him ,if the guys wife worked 60 hour weeks for that cash

[brit1984]

Firstly the OP's wife should ask for a better deal from her current boss, including a decent contracted salary.

If this is not forthcoming (most likely outcome) she should find a new job or start her own business.

Simple

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[BigJohnnyBKK]

sometimes one illegal tactic deserves another

hes relying on the fact he can abuse these girls rights because they are new, have little prospects

and they dont know their rights

could he do the same to her UK husband ? Doubtful ,I would push him with 2 options

one results in my wife getting paid her 8000GBP and leaving (thats around 400k in thai money )

the other ,he loses his business and faces jail and /or a heavy fine at the least

You might think "deserves" but I'm saying the unintended consequences of following this path is unpredictable and IMO not worth the possible cash benefit. What you are advocating could result in all kinds of terrible things happening to different people, not just the "evil exploiter". Let others take the lead in fighting injustice, or at least do it anonymously **after** the OP's wife is guaranteed out of the picture, probably six months later.

Just because you're in the UK doesn't suddenly create a magic shield protecting you - even there bad things happen to good people.

Edited May 24, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[brit1984]

sometimes one illegal tactic deserves another

hes relying on the fact he can abuse these girls rights because they are new, have little prospects

and they dont know their rights

could he do the same to her UK husband ? Doubtful ,I would push him with 2 options

one results in my wife getting paid her 8000GBP and leaving (thats around 400k in thai money )

the other ,he loses his business and faces jail and /or a heavy fine at the least

You might think "deserves" but I'm saying the unintended consequences of following this path is unpredictable and IMO not worth the possible cash benefit.

Just because you're in the UK doesn't suddenly create a magic shield protecting you - even there bad things happen to good people.

We should also keep in mind that the OP's wife has accepted a cash in hand job and made no effort to pay the tax she owes to HMRC.

Never mind that all of this has been going on, it seems, before she has even been granted indefinite leave to remain.

While her boss sounds like an inept entrepreneur and/or not a very nice chap, the OP's wife is very unlikely to gain anything substantial by precipitating his (inevitable) downfall.

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[smokie36]

Op's wife in the first instance should write to her boss asking to see her payslips.

Those should contain details of NI contributions and tax payments.

Give him 14 days to respond and keep a copy of the letter.

Anything that happens after that will be subject to the letter having being sent.

She will have the boss by the short and curlies....unless he is smart enough to play the game properly.

Edit: My link on page one tells you exactly what to do.

Edited May 24, 2012 by smokie36

[thaigirllondon]

i think you should let her carry on and build up her confidence

Why d you assume that she doesn't have confidence? She's not a little chick to be warpped in straw.

[thaigirllondon]

do the 'Thai' thing and grass the boss up to the authorities.....get the UKBA round to the restuarant as well so it really shakes everyone up in there including your wife who if she is being exploited will not be prosecuted...the authorities may question you as to why you let things like this carry on to someone you are married to and have brought over from a foreign country though...

Or just man up (unlike the one above) and talk to the owner face to face, like Farangs do :-)

[thaigirllondon]

.

If you don't want to get involved, it may be worth an anonymous tip to the UKBA. If the restaurant is paying below minimum wage they are likely to be employing people whose visas do not allow them to work, or students working more than the 20 hours a week they are allowed. Even if they are not a visit from a UKBA enforcement team may shake them up a bit.

Oh my, another under-handed comment. Rather than be a grass, why not be a man and speak to owner, a couple of guys together? You can get a long way through communication than you can by playing such silly annoymous names. Mybe better than if you believe in an action to put your name to it not to hide.

[thaigirllondon]

On a different note; wh

On a different note; when my wife arrived she did not want to work in a Thai restaurant, even though she was offered a job in one. Her reasoning being that working only with Thais meant she would be speaking Thai most of the time and her English wouldn't improve. It took a few months, but then she did get a job working with Anglophones and her English improved rapidly.

Please stick to the topic (as a poster). The topic is about exploitation of his wife in a Thai restaurant not your wife's employement choices to improve her English with 'Anglophones'

By the way, an Anglophone commonly refers to an English-speaking person, especially one in a country where two or more languages are spoken. Or indeed someone who just speaks English. Perhaps a better description would be 'Native speaker'

.....Back on topic please....

Edited May 24, 2012 by thaigirllondon

[thaigirllondon]

Why don't YOU go and speak to her boss, or at least give her some support. She probably feels intimidated by this man.

Meals for staff in the catering industry are gratis. One of the perks of low-paid work...

Well said Simon!!! Finally a man who acts like one.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

.....Back on topic please....

It's generally up to the moderators to serve this function, have you been made one and your icon not updated?

Also, rather than posting a half-dozen in a row to the same thread, you may want to take advantage of the "multi-quote" feature.

Finally, challenging people's "manhood" is considered by most to be pretty neanderthal these days, we're trying to avoid such patriarchal gender-stereotyping attitudes around here. What if he were to take your suggestion and end up in hospital from a "random accident" and his wife in trouble with the tax or immigration authorities, are you going to take responsibility?

[7by7]

It's not the 19th century anymore; employees don't have to work long hours, live in accommodation owned by their employer and be paid a pittance in tokens which can only be spent in a shop owned by their employer.

Even though some posters here seem to be wishing that it was!

Theblether has made the most important point, which many are ignoring:-

If she walks away from this job, she wont be there when/if HMRC raid the place (and from what has been said it's more likely to be 'when' rather than 'if.')

If she reports them to HMRC she will be treated as a victim, and wont suffer any adverse consequences from any government department. Indeed, HMRC may be able to extract the wages she should have been paid from the employer for her.

If she does nothing and HMRC do raid the place (and as theblether says, they raid restaurants a lot) then she will be seen as an accomplice. This will have dire consequences for her. She may have to pay the tax she owes. It may effect her 'good character' which she will need for ILR and later for British citizenship.

In my view, it's a no brainer. Whether she reports them or not; she must get out of there.

[7by7]

.....Back on topic please....

It's generally up to the moderators to serve this function, have you been made one and your icon not updated?

Indeed. Leave moderation to the moderators.

BTW, the comment was relevant at the time it was made; read the preceding posts. Also, I deliberately used 'Anglophone' as most of her fellow employees were, like her, immigrants whose native language was not English.

A flame post has been deleted.

[thaigirllondon]

.....Back on topic please....

It's generally up to the moderators to serve this function, have you been made one and your icon not updated?

Also, rather than posting a half-dozen in a row to the same thread, you may want to take advantage of the "multi-quote" feature.

Finally, challenging people's "manhood" is considered by most to be pretty neanderthal these days, we're trying to avoid such patriarchal gender-stereotyping attitudes around here. What if he were to take your suggestion and end up in hospital from a "random accident" and his wife in trouble with the tax or immigration authorities, are you going to take responsibility?

No, I have not been made a modertor but this is a community and we all need to take a responsibility for that. Dont we? I am not a policewoman too but I encourage others to follow UK laws. As you have suggested with the quoting mistakes .

Most in England orr most in the world? I am Thai and in Thailand we like our men to be men and our women to be feminine. Thats why we dont have chavettes drinking pints and acting like men. Different cultures and just cause I live in UK doesn;t mean I become English over night. If my husband was a grss hiding behind annonymous calls and no confronting a man he thought was exploiting me, I would kick him out of my life. I reiterate, man up.

The last part of your post is nonsense. sorry

[thaigirllondon]

Firstly the OP's wife should ask for a better deal from her current boss, including a decent contracted salary.

If this is not forthcoming (most likely outcome) she should find a new job or start her own business.

Simple

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

Good post. It is that simple!

[thaigirllondon]

For a system of law and order to work, majority of citizens must be compliant. And therefore for forum to work the vast majority of posters must be compliant. Many posters on this thread (read up) have suggested to other posters to keep on topic. I am no different. Please treat me fairly despite my outspokeness and Thai ways you may find to be unfamiliar. I am not the compliant little quiet asian wife.

Now, can we keep on topic please?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

What if he were to take your suggestion and end up in hospital from a "random accident" and his wife in trouble with the tax or immigration authorities, are you going to take responsibility?

The last part of your post is nonsense. sorry

How so? Having a "manly" confrontation could very well have these consequences, maybe the odds are slim on the former, but I don't thinks so on the latter.

I honestly think she should just get out of there and leave well enough alone.

I also agree that "grassing" isn't appropriate, but if it is going to be done then IMO should be done safely.

[simple1]

.....Back on topic please....

It's generally up to the moderators to serve this function, have you been made one and your icon not updated?

Also, rather than posting a half-dozen in a row to the same thread, you may want to take advantage of the "multi-quote" feature.

Finally, challenging people's "manhood" is considered by most to be pretty neanderthal these days, we're trying to avoid such patriarchal gender-stereotyping attitudes around here. What if he were to take your suggestion and end up in hospital from a "random accident" and his wife in trouble with the tax or immigration authorities, are you going to take responsibility?

No, I have not been made a modertor but this is a community and we all need to take a responsibility for that. Dont we? I am not a policewoman too but I encourage others to follow UK laws. As you have suggested with the quoting mistakes .

Most in England orr most in the world? I am Thai and in Thailand we like our men to be men and our women to be feminine. Thats why we dont have chavettes drinking pints and acting like men. Different cultures and just cause I live in UK doesn;t mean I become English over night. If my husband was a grss hiding behind annonymous calls and no confronting a man he thought was exploiting me, I would kick him out of my life. I reiterate, man up.

The last part of your post is nonsense. sorry

Perhaps you've been living out of Thailand for a while. In Thailand confrontation can easily get you killed and that's one of the reasons that in Thailand grassing and annonymous actions are relatively common.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I realize this is off topic, tough tuchus, hard cheese, deal with it.

Whenever I am challenged wrt to my preference for uneducated peasant people straight off the rice farm by someone claiming life is guaranteed to be more pleasant with someone from well-educated Thai-Chinese circles, I will from now on cite this thread to rest my case. IMO the latter are likely to manifest the same exact problems (from my POV) as their western sistren, especially once they get into the contagious milieu of farangland.

[norrona]

do the 'Thai' thing and grass the boss up to the authorities.....get the UKBA round to the restuarant as well so it really shakes everyone up in there including your wife who if she is being exploited will not be prosecuted...the authorities may question you as to why you let things like this carry on to someone you are married to and have brought over from a foreign country though...

Or just man up (unlike the one above) and talk to the owner face to face, like Farangs do :-)

Ouch...touched a nerve that one then

[thaigirllondon]

What if he were to take your suggestion and end up in hospital from a "random accident" and his wife in trouble with the tax or immigration authorities, are you going to take responsibility?

The last part of your post is nonsense. sorry

How so? Having a "manly" confrontation could very well have these consequences, maybe the odds are slim on the former, but I don't thinks so on the latter.

I honestly think she should just get out of there and leave well enough alone.

I also agree that "grassing" isn't appropriate, but if it is going to be done then IMO should be done safely.

Good post BigJohnny (nice name too)

I meantthe part of me taking responsibility, that is all.

I agree, she should get out of there. I guess that is happening is that she is being paid a monthly salary based on 40 hours per week and paying tax and NI but the job needs more than 40 hours, so she is coming in and doing it all (and taking 60 hours) and she's not getting paid for it or asking.

I get paid a salary for a 37.5 hour week and I always work at least 48 hours and sometimes a lot more. But so do all the Brits I work with too. However, because my job is professional (and not of course minimum wage) so no one ever questions it.

And good point about grassing also. No need to do that when his wife has a good relationship with all at the restaurant and she would not want it.....trust me on that. Irrespective of background Thai females share this cultural trait. Men are men and women are women and hiding behind annonymous calls to destroy another's rice bowl is cowardly and un manlike (even though some Thais do it and just as many farangs would not whereas others would).

(this has relevance now due to preceding post)

Edited May 24, 2012 by thaigirllondon

[thaigirllondon]

How so? Having a "manly" confrontation could very well have these consequences

My Englih might not be as good a yours BUT you are twisting it. Being a man and confronting the owner if he believes he is expoliting his wife is different from having a 'manly confrontation'. The nuance in your quote infers fistcuffs and I didnt mean that. I just meant do not hide behind the coat of annomity but to outwardly talk to the owner and defend his wife's rights.

I hate violence and vilolent confrontational ones.

[thaigirllondon]

Perhaps you've been living out of Thailand for a while. In Thailand confrontation can easily get you killed and that's one of the reasons that in Thailand grassing and annonymous actions are relatively common.

Why do farangs always make up these outrageous comments aboutThailand and Thai people? Why are you so scared of the locals? Just because one ex-hooker's boyfriend and brother club a farng to death, you think we are all so violent.

I have seen more fights in UK in 3 years than I saw in Thailand in my whole life!

[edwinclapham]

This isnt a Thai writing this! Absolutely not!!

[thaigirllondon]

If you PM me, I will prove I am Thai if you want. And why would a Thai not be able to write like this? Please avoid the sterotypes.