Thai Wife Underpaid In Uk

[BigJohnnyBKK]

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.

No I'm not twisting, in ordinary English saying things like "man up" and "be a man" wrt to a confrontational situation does imply the willingness to be violent. Plus the fact that political correctness has been training those in farang culture to avoid using these stereotypes to manipulate people, in effect you're trying to shame someone into action by calling them a coward. A responsible parent would never tell their boy to stop crying because "boys shouldn't cry", nor would a teacher allow the phrases you use in a classroom. You're in England now, just as we need to adapt to Thai culture here I hope you learn to do the same while you're there.

And such confrontations can easily become violent. And if the owner thinks you're threatening his livelihood he may well be someone that's willing to use violence to defend his interests. And he may well have powerful friends among the authorities that will find a way to make life difficult for the OP and his wife.

And even if not, she may well be punished by the authorities for her illegal situation if they know of her involvement.

I am not a coward, but a realist, and advocate caution when the full story isn't known.

[SimonD]

Why the assumptions that the OP simply going to speak with the boss is likely to end in violence, or 'unintended consequences' as some euphemistically put it? Where did the confrontation with negative implications come from? Is it because the boss has now been confirmed as Thai?

Is a violent reaction from the boss to be anticipated just because of nationality? A bit racist and judgemental don't you think? Would anyone have assumed a similar outcome if the boss was British?

Quote: "...in ordinary English saying things like "man up" and "be a man" wrt to a confrontational situation does imply the willingness to be violent.."

Rubbish. You are one of the very few to make this absurd connection.

Edited for inclusion of, and response to, post.

Edited May 24, 2012 by SimonD

[BigJohnnyBKK]

On the contrary, I consider Thais much less prone to violence, you're the one assuming.

I'm advocating caution, and unintended consequences means exactly that - unpredictable. I simply gave an extreme example to make the point that it's easy to give such advice when you don't have to wear the results.

The OP's wife getting in trouble with immigration or tax authorities is both less dire and much more likely, and that alone I would think would lead one to advise caution.

I stand by my advice - walk away and take care of your own business, let others worry about theirs.

And finally, even if "be a man" doesn't imply the willingness to risk violence to some, I still say it's an archaic to use such gender stereotyping to try to make your point. Much more clear, straightforward and correct to simply say something like "be brave".

Edited May 24, 2012 by 7by7
Unnecessary full quote of preceding post removed.

[theblether]

There's no way I can say this without coming across as a bumptious arrogant fool however!! due to the twist that this thread is taking I'm going to throw myself to the TV wolves.

Every week in life I will be approached by a friend ( or friends ) requesting help on various matters. Due to my long business career and contacts I'm known as being someone who can cut through he BS and sort problems out. It's my pleasure to help, and I also find it interesting. So far so normal I would say.

I live in an area called Bridgeton in Glasgow, Scots know it is a renowned rough and violent area. By definition in my daily life I mix with some seriously dangerous people, and I mix with salt of the earth types. People just getting on with their lives, and trying their best. I love living here as there is a real sense of community still here. So far maybe still so normal??

In this area there are plenty of vulnerable people, some self inflicted, some born that way, some ground down by the vagaries of life, once again so far so normal. What's my point??

UK Employment Law is not in place to protect those of us that can stand up for ourselves, it's in place to protect those that cannot. There are millions of people out there that lack confidence, education, and lets be brutally honest about it, the IQ, to work there way through life and the system without help.

We in the UK decided years ago that these people would get assistance, and I totally agree with that. I have family members who are at the lower end of the socio-economic ( and truth be told IQ ) scale. However they worked away all their lives and paid their tax and national insurance just like the rest of us. These people are the salt of the earth types, they would give you their last penny, their last crust, if you were in need. They don't need charity, they don't need pity, but they do need protection from bullying manipulating employers.

I've seen it happen, I saw my young cousin work for a whole week and go unpaid as the so called employer took the hump with his immediate boss. I had to go down and slap the head off the employer and take the wages off him. I had to do it because his Dad couldn't, he was a hard working man, a real grafter, but timid. That man was one of the greatest men I ever met in my life, and I'm not exaggerating. His greatness came from the fact that he would work every hour that God sent, in deplorable conditions, for the benefit of his family. He retired from a life of manual hard graft at the age of 63, and died 3 weeks later. Sometimes God can be cruel.

So please resist the temptation to use phrases like " man up ", don't attempt to impose your psychology on others, and understand that it takes all sorts to make a world. Some people do not have the confidence, the knowledge, the ability to go into confrontation of any sort. Some people would rather suffer abuse than speak up for themselves.

This is why we created Employment Law, so that families that don't have relatives like theblether can get help. I think it is one of the greatest achievements of my society, and it makes me proud to be a citizen of the UK.

The OP's wife is now a legally landed member of my society, she is entitled to the same consideration and respect as any other spouse, or for that matter any other member of my society. This situation that she finds herself her should not be tolerated, and the OP must take charge of the situation.

It is up to the OP whether he wants to go through legal recourse, or just remove his wife from that job. He will make the decision that is best for his family, he came here looking for advice and possibly support and now he has it. TV at it's best.

Edited May 24, 2012 by theblether

[simple1]

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!

Forgive this off topic commentary, but I am sorry to say that you do not appear to understand some issues regarding your home country, Thailand. There is no question Thailand is a violent society both at street level and business. In the mainstream press their are reports every week of people being murdered; many times reason given as business conflicts. A few years ago Thailand was rated as the 4th in the world for homicides by gunshot per 100,000 people.

[soi41]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

[wana]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

she may well be "living the dream " compared to a lifetimes hard labour on an isarn farm

but that doesnt mean she should be worked like a slave for 3quid an hour x 60+ hours a week

the going rate is 6 or 7 quid per hour so she should get that for the first 37-40 hrs and then time and a half or double time for the remaining hours

depending on the law of the land

by your reasoning ,i could /should employ a somalian whos about to die from hunger or thirst and pay him a few glasses of water and a malaria tablet every day and he can work in my factory in chelsea making t-shirts because its a much better life than he could have got if i hadnt exploited him saved his life with a wondeful opportunity

[SimonD]

On the contrary, I consider Thais much less prone to violence, you're the one assuming.

What am I assuming? You haven't even addressed the question let alone answered it. You have asserted throughout this thread that the OP/wife may face 'unintended consequences'. Have you ever been to the UK? Have you lived there? Are you aware that, for all it's imperfections, the UK has a tightly-knit sense of moral obligation to care for the weak and vulnerable in its society? Your many insinuations that an immigrant Thai businessman may have enough influence in Britain to get rid of troublesome people is laughable, insulting (to all parties) and betrays a startling lack of understanding of the culture of those islands on your part.

I'm advocating caution, and unintended consequences means exactly that - unpredictable. I simply gave an extreme example to make the point that it's easy to give such advice when you don't have to wear the results.

Fair enough but the OP did come here to ask for advice, did he not? Just because it's there doesn't mean he has to 'wear' (ugh) it.

The OP's wife getting in trouble with immigration or tax authorities is both less dire and much more likely, and that alone I would think would lead one to advise caution.

I stand by my advice - walk away and take care of your own business, let others worry about theirs.

Walk away? Just accept that a businessman is acting illegally and ignore it? Of course, your earlier barbed comments on the restrictions placed on entrepreneurs show just where your sympathies lie. The fact that civilised societies have developed such mechanisms to create a level playing field and eradicate exploitation and iniquity must inconvenience you.

And finally, even if "be a man" doesn't imply the willingness to risk violence to some, I still say it's an archaic to use such gender stereotyping to try to make your point. Much more clear, straightforward and correct to simply say something like "be brave".

Finally, something we can agree on. Pity you didn't say it earlier. Just because you interpret a word or phrase in a particular way doesn't mean that everyone shares the same opinion.

My apologies to the OP for the personal response but I felt it was necessary. I hope that you and your wife reach a successful conclusion to your problem, without any 'unintended consequences' (whatever they might be...) in the lawless island of Great Britain.

[soi41]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

she may well be "living the dream " compared to a lifetimes hard labour on an isarn farm

but that doesnt mean she should be worked like a slave for 3quid an hour x 60+ hours a week

the going rate is 6 or 7 quid per hour so she should get that for the first 37-40 hrs and then time and a half or double time for the remaining hours

depending on the law of the land

by your reasoning ,i could /should employ a somalian whos about to die from hunger or thirst and pay him a few glasses of water and a malaria tablet every day and he can work in my factory in chelsea making t-shirts because its a much better life than he could have got if i hadnt exploited him saved his life with a wondeful opportunity

From a western point of view ofcourse you are right. But that is exactly my point, Op's missus is from Thailand and probably values her time with her collegees and friends in her workplace higher, than actually getting the correct minimumwage. That does not make her boss a better person, but that is another thread. Notice that her western husband is the one complaining, not a word about her being unhappy with the situation.

Got any extra somalians, I'm taker for ten

[theblether]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

she may well be "living the dream " compared to a lifetimes hard labour on an isarn farm

but that doesnt mean she should be worked like a slave for 3quid an hour x 60+ hours a week

the going rate is 6 or 7 quid per hour so she should get that for the first 37-40 hrs and then time and a half or double time for the remaining hours

depending on the law of the land

by your reasoning ,i could /should employ a somalian whos about to die from hunger or thirst and pay him a few glasses of water and a malaria tablet every day and he can work in my factory in chelsea making t-shirts because its a much better life than he could have got if i hadnt exploited him saved his life with a wondeful opportunity

From a western point of view ofcourse you are right. But that is exactly my point, Op's missus is from Thailand and probably values her time with her collegees and friends in her workplace higher, than actually getting the correct minimumwage. That does not make her boss a better person, but that is another thread. Notice that her western husband is the one complaining, not a word about her being unhappy with the situation.

Got any extra somalians, I'm taker for ten

I'm loving your comedy value, thanks very much

[StreetCowboy]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

she may well be "living the dream " compared to a lifetimes hard labour on an isarn farm

but that doesnt mean she should be worked like a slave for 3quid an hour x 60+ hours a week

the going rate is 6 or 7 quid per hour so she should get that for the first 37-40 hrs and then time and a half or double time for the remaining hours

depending on the law of the land

by your reasoning ,i could /should employ a somalian whos about to die from hunger or thirst and pay him a few glasses of water and a malaria tablet every day and he can work in my factory in chelsea making t-shirts because its a much better life than he could have got if i hadnt exploited him saved his life with a wondeful opportunity

From a western point of view ofcourse you are right. But that is exactly my point, Op's missus is from Thailand and probably values her time with her collegees and friends in her workplace higher, than actually getting the correct minimumwage. That does not make her boss a better person, but that is another thread. Notice that her western husband is the one complaining, not a word about her being unhappy with the situation.

Got any extra somalians, I'm taker for ten

I'm loving your comedy value, thanks very much

To be fair, the minimum wage legislation is to stop large employers abusing their position of relative power to disadvantage and reduce populations to poverty, rather than to prevent people earning pin money from working for buttons.

SC

[theblether]

o be fair, the minimum wage legislation is to stop large employers abusing their position of relative power to disadvantage and reduce populations to poverty, rather than to prevent people earning pin money from working for buttons.

SC

I agree with that however pin money does equate to a 60 hour week, full time job.

When you get to that level, it's abuse.

[bigdave1960]

well I have been to see her boss this afternoon and he is reducing her hours and paying minimum wage and will give her payslips my wife still wishes to work there untill she has finished collage in 6 weeks , we have plenty of funds to pay any tax she owes and will put in the needed paper work to pay and report him to the authorities (he of course dosnt know this bit) while I was there I took the oppertunity to photograph the the fire door propped open and blocked with a trolly (he also dosnt know about that either) he is under the impression that everything is ok now, in a few weeks he will find he was mistaken and maybe he will be eating English porridge for breakfast for a while

many thanks to everyone who gave us advice

[theblether]

well I have been to see her boss this afternoon and he is reducing her hours and paying minimum wage and will give her payslips my wife still wishes to work there untill she has finished collage in 6 weeks , we have plenty of funds to pay any tax she owes and will put in the needed paper work to pay and report him to the authorities (he of course dosnt know this bit) while I was there I took the oppertunity to photograph the the fire door propped open and blocked with a trolly (he also dosnt know about that either) he is under the impression that everything is ok now, in a few weeks he will find he was mistaken and maybe he will be eating English porridge for breakfast for a while

many thanks to everyone who gave us advice

That will be a weight off your shoulder......wait until your wife sees the real wage she is due, even taking into account shorter hours, she'll be delighted and angry at the same time. All the best to you and your wife OP

[smokie36]

well I have been to see her boss this afternoon and he is reducing her hours and paying minimum wage and will give her payslips my wife still wishes to work there untill she has finished collage in 6 weeks , we have plenty of funds to pay any tax she owes and will put in the needed paper work to pay and report him to the authorities (he of course dosnt know this bit) while I was there I took the oppertunity to photograph the the fire door propped open and blocked with a trolly (he also dosnt know about that either) he is under the impression that everything is ok now, in a few weeks he will find he was mistaken and maybe he will be eating English porridge for breakfast for a while

many thanks to everyone who gave us advice

That will be a weight off your shoulder......wait until your wife sees the real wage she is due, even taking into account shorter hours, she'll be delighted and angry at the same time. All the best to you and your wife OP

I'm also glad to see this being resolved in a proper way which will give your wife insight into how things work in the UK.

That is that the law of the land must be followed and she has far more rights than she ever could have imagined.

Well done OP!

I wish you both all the very best for the future.

Edited May 24, 2012 by smokie36

[smokie36]

It should also be mentioned to all of those advising her to sit tight and accept it in the meantime.....she didn't need to do that at all.

Its one thing to consider her immediate emotional wellbeing as many here commented upon but in terms of looking at her wellbeing and future in the UK I believe you judged this situation wrongly.

At least worth reflecting upon for some I hope. Maybe this thread will encourage more people to speak up regarding such corruption and exploitation.

[SimonD]

It should also be mentioned to all of those advising her to sit tight and accept it in the meantime.....she didn't need to do that at all.

Its one thing to consider her immediate emotional wellbeing as many here commented upon but in terms of looking at her wellbeing and future in the UK I believe you judged this situation wrongly.

At least worth reflecting upon for some I hope. Maybe this thread will encourage more people to speak up regarding such corruption and exploitation.

Couldn't agree more.

Congrats to the OP and his wife.

[smokie36]

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.

Just to say I like you. Please post more often.

[David48]

<snip>

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

Just to say I like you. Please post more often.

Oh you smooth crooner ole' smokie36 ... but I saw her first

However I think that she might have an opinion on this!

Edited May 24, 2012 by David48

[smokie36]

<snip>

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

Just to say I like you. Please post more often.

Oh you smooth crooner ole' smokie36 ... but I saw her first

However I think that she might have an opinion on this!

Lucky we're both spoken for then David.

[theblether]

<snip>

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

Just to say I like you. Please post more often.

Oh you smooth crooner ole' smokie36 ... but I saw her first

However I think that she might have an opinion on this!

Lucky we're both spoken for then David.

You have no idea how lucky you are Smokie, that is David48's nemesis

[David48]

<snip>

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

Just to say I like you. Please post more often.

Oh you smooth crooner ole' smokie36 ... but I saw her first

However I think that she might have an opinion on this!

Lucky we're both spoken for then David.

smokie36 ... speak for yourself.

Oh, wait, I hear the Boss speaking ... one moment please.

Boss Me

Cough ... I stand corrected ... the Boss just told me so.

I might rest up a bit now ...

Note to those who know me ... I searched far and wide for that fish in the smilie

Edited May 24, 2012 by David48

[smokie36]

No probs David. You're lady is lovely.

[simple1]

well I have been to see her boss this afternoon and he is reducing her hours and paying minimum wage and will give her payslips my wife still wishes to work there untill she has finished collage in 6 weeks , we have plenty of funds to pay any tax she owes and will put in the needed paper work to pay and report him to the authorities (he of course dosnt know this bit) while I was there I took the oppertunity to photograph the the fire door propped open and blocked with a trolly (he also dosnt know about that either) he is under the impression that everything is ok now, in a few weeks he will find he was mistaken and maybe he will be eating English porridge for breakfast for a while

many thanks to everyone who gave us advice

Well done, great outcome

[brit1984]

Just to provide my prediction on what will happen next (from my observation of a very similar situation with a Thai restaurant in London), as soon as the boss realises he is going to get lumbered with big fines and legal costs (and he foresees a whole new economic reality of having to double his wage bill, pay taxes, employers' NI and budget for other legal requirements such as maternity pay), he will go AWOL (leaving wages, rent and other suppliers unpaid).

The OP's focus should now be on helping his wife to find a better job (or start a small business). I suggest having something lined up before lighting the fuse to blow up her boss. Also, if she thinks any of her colleagues are dependent on their wages for survival, she should tell (or hint) to them that they ought to dust down their CVs (and they should demand to be paid daily or weekly, as anyone being paid monthly is likely to be in for a nasty surprise).

[farang000999]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

This is a ridiculous post. She is making 3 pounds an hour. What do you think property taxes/rent/utilities/food/transportation/clothing/plane tickets/etc costs in the UK. Oh that is right, it is her husbands job to pay for all of that stuff. But she is happy cause after he pays for all of that, she can still send some money home on her salary. This is like when a farang opens a mini-mart for his in-laws and they sell everything out and go "We made 15,000 baht. Thank You. Can you buy more product now so we can sell again?". She obviously does not see or care about the big picture, which is that her husband supports her and she is allowing not only herself but her husband to be exploited by not recieving a fair wage or future benefits/contributions to social welfare programs. The most troubling part of this whole story is the Isaan Villiage Mentality IVM (new acroynam for Thai Visa) the wife is displaying. I spent all of yesterday in an Isaan villiage visiting some of my wife's family. It is quite lovely in some ways but also quite depressing and I am not talking about the toilet.

[soi41]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

This is a ridiculous post. She is making 3 pounds an hour. What do you think property taxes/rent/utilities/food/transportation/clothing/plane tickets/etc costs in the UK. Oh that is right, it is her husbands job to pay for all of that stuff. But she is happy cause after he pays for all of that, she can still send some money home on her salary. This is like when a farang opens a mini-mart for his in-laws and they sell everything out and go "We made 15,000 baht. Thank You. Can you buy more product now so we can sell again?". She obviously does not see or care about the big picture, which is that her husband supports her and she is allowing not only herself but her husband to be exploited by not recieving a fair wage or future benefits/contributions to social welfare programs. The most troubling part of this whole story is the Isaan Villiage Mentality IVM (new acroynam for Thai Visa) the wife is displaying. I spent all of yesterday in an Isaan villiage visiting some of my wife's family. It is quite lovely in some ways but also quite depressing and I am not talking about the toilet.

First, thanks for your friendly rating of my previous post. "She obviously does not see or care about the big picture", well isn't she lucky posters like you and many others can help her getting it right. To me it doesn't seem like the OP cares to much about his wifes wellbeing, more like he needs someone to share the bills. An impressive lady by the way, she "slaves" 60 hour an week and still manages to attend college.! As the OP mentioned above. he has talked to her boss and had him agreeing on tripling her wage and cutting her workhours, in your dreams: Within a week she will be out of that job, and if her husband really intend to gras on her boss, which according to most posters here is the right thing to do, her Thai friends and collegees working there will lose their livelyhood. Will make her a pariah within the Thai community, who ofcourse will know where it is coming from. Interesting is when you are talking to English expats, it doesn't take long before they get to the subject of immigrants exploiting the welfaresystem in the UK, here it seems like you are tripping over eachother to get this little lady into the very same system. All because she is sharing bed with an English ??

[BigJohnnyBKK]

well I have been to see her boss this afternoon and he is reducing her hours and paying minimum wage and will give her payslips my wife still wishes to work there untill she has finished collage in 6 weeks , we have plenty of funds to pay any tax she owes and will put in the needed paper work to pay and report him to the authorities (he of course dosnt know this bit) while I was there I took the oppertunity to photograph the the fire door propped open and blocked with a trolly (he also dosnt know about that either) he is under the impression that everything is ok now, in a few weeks he will find he was mistaken and maybe he will be eating English porridge for breakfast for a while

many thanks to everyone who gave us advice

I think we would all be most appreciative if you could resurrect this thread from time to time to let us know the long-term outcome, if this guy is still in business in six months etc.

[GuestHouse]

This is why we created Employment Law, so that families that don't have relatives like theblether can get help. I think it is one of the greatest achievements of my society, and it makes me proud to be a citizen of the UK.

The OP's wife is now a legally landed member of my society, she is entitled to the same consideration and respect as any other spouse, or for that matter any other member of my society. This situation that she finds herself her should not be tolerated, and the OP must take charge of the situation.

I've not quoted your full response TB rather the nugget above - To my mind a stunning post which gies to the heart of the civilised values that UK society has been built - Values that people had in mind when they fought for the rights we have and share with those who come to live amongst us.

So thank you for posting.

To the Yank further up the thread moaning about the rights we in the UK have fought for and enjoy.

We thank you for your concern, but we are not a puppet state and we rather like our civilised ways the way they are.

The 'American Centuary' lasted about 8 years, enjoy the decline and do try to get some good out of it.

[F1fanatic]

Quite amusing to follow this thread. Don't all you socalled experts out there understand that the OP's wife has got exacly the life, she dreamt of, when moving to the UK. She don't need to speak English, or at least very little. Getting to spend most of her time with people from Thailand, can eat her somtam on the floor, without being told: "that's not considered civilized". She can send 30.000 baht to the village every month, enough for her parents to have a good life and see her 2 kids with Somchai through school. Don't you understand, she has won the lottery all for the very small price of spending a couple of hours a day with her husband ! You all want to "save" her, not realizing that she are in no need of all your wellmeaning western advice.

This is a ridiculous post. She is making 3 pounds an hour. What do you think property taxes/rent/utilities/food/transportation/clothing/plane tickets/etc costs in the UK. Oh that is right, it is her husbands job to pay for all of that stuff. But she is happy cause after he pays for all of that, she can still send some money home on her salary. This is like when a farang opens a mini-mart for his in-laws and they sell everything out and go "We made 15,000 baht. Thank You. Can you buy more product now so we can sell again?". She obviously does not see or care about the big picture, which is that her husband supports her and she is allowing not only herself but her husband to be exploited by not recieving a fair wage or future benefits/contributions to social welfare programs. The most troubling part of this whole story is the Isaan Villiage Mentality IVM (new acroynam for Thai Visa) the wife is displaying. I spent all of yesterday in an Isaan villiage visiting some of my wife's family. It is quite lovely in some ways but also quite depressing and I am not talking about the toilet.

First, thanks for your friendly rating of my previous post. "She obviously does not see or care about the big picture", well isn't she lucky posters like you and many others can help her getting it right. To me it doesn't seem like the OP cares to much about his wifes wellbeing, more like he needs someone to share the bills. An impressive lady by the way, she "slaves" 60 hour an week and still manages to attend college.! As the OP mentioned above. he has talked to her boss and had him agreeing on tripling her wage and cutting her workhours, in your dreams: Within a week she will be out of that job, and if her husband really intend to gras on her boss, which according to most posters here is the right thing to do, her Thai friends and collegees working there will lose their livelyhood. Will make her a pariah within the Thai community, who ofcourse will know where it is coming from. Interesting is when you are talking to English expats, it doesn't take long before they get to the subject of immigrants exploiting the welfaresystem in the UK, here it seems like you are tripping over eachother to get this little lady into the very same system. All because she is sharing bed with an English ??

I agree apart from one thing - the employer isn't tripling her wage, he's increasing it from 3 to 6 pounds (assuming she's over 21).