Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2006
1st October 2006, 05:29 PM
Hmm..Mr Bajr you may be right.
What about insurance?
Are you covered by the company that takes you on or do you have to find your own? What I mean is, if you get crushed by a machine (extreme example for illustrative purposes) I bet there would be a conflict of whose insurance would cover any subsequent claims/investigations by H&S Executive. No?
[?]
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2004
1st October 2006, 06:05 PM
Indeed there would... if it came to an insurance payout... you could bet yer bottom $ that they would look at what was exactly coverd
"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2006
2nd October 2006, 02:32 PM
I think the issue here is that being self-employed seems to be the only way to ensure getting paid above the usual £50 a day *&:face-approve:%-taking rate. The real villains here aren't the self-employed diggers but certain units who force people to go self-employed and then dictate how much they get paid, what hours they work, et al.
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2006
2nd October 2006, 05:02 PM
I agree with Mesolithic Viking, I know of people who have had their hours and rate of pay dictated to them, which has been the rate of take home pay that employed workers get, after sick pay, NI holiday pay etc has been subtracted. So they have to fork it all out of their already small wage packet. It is a shocking state of affairs and should be properly regulated, so companies cannot take the mick.
the future's bright; the future's trowel shaped
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2005
2nd October 2006, 06:10 PM
Companies may be taking the mick, but they get away with it because their workers allow them to, either because they are unaware of rules and regulations or they are willing to ignore them in order to get the job. If you are not being offered the correct terms of employment for the work involved don't take the job, simple as. A letter to the Inland Revenue wouldn't go amis either, telling them what terms were offered and rejected. The companies couldn't get away with it for long if they were investigated.
It is not hard to find out the information and regulations. A quick google search brings up the HM Customs and Excise guidance noted above by our host.
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2006
3rd October 2006, 10:42 PM
Yes, I agree. It is only the experienced diggers that say 'employ me if you need me, I am £100 a day' whereas the relatively new diggers get told - 'if you want a job, then we pay £50 a day.' I was in the latter position 6 years ago, and believe me, the daily rate hasn't gone up that much for new diggers, but I guess it varies from unit to unit.
Are there any unit managers willing to come forward out there and say how much they pay their sub-contractors (if they use them)?
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2005
4th October 2006, 10:53 AM
I don't see what the amount you get paid has to do with it. If a unit is "employing" people as diggers they are by definition not self-employed. It doesn't matter if the unit pays extra to cover NIs etc, it is still against Inland Revenue regulations. Self-employment is all about being your own boss, being able to pick and choose when you work, how long your day is, when you have a day off, what tasks you do when you are at work, being able to employ someone else to do the work for you etc.
If you are working for as a digger for a unit then I can't see how any of these things apply as you will be expected to be at work at set times, have to ask the supervisor for time off, be told what tasks to do, and you will have to do the work yourself.
I think it is everyone's duty to know their rights, what is expected of them under the law and what the law expects their employer to do. With contract work like archaeology this is especially important and before I started applying for jobs I checked things out and made sure I was as informed as possible.
