Being paid below minimum wage?

Rosa123

Hi, I'm hoping you can help me on a matter regarding employment law and the minimum wage. I work as a cleaner for a holiday company, not self-employed but as an ordinary employee. For 2 days a week I get paid an hourly rate of £6.15 per hour. However, for 3 days a week I am paid £3.35 per caravan cleaned.

For example, on Saturday I cleaned 9 caravans and got paid a total of £30.15 for 8 hours work. This works out at £3.77 per hour. which is below minimum wage.

My question is this: is this legal, and if so how can the company get away with this. Remember, I'm not self-employed and I get no bonus or anything which could boost my wage. Also, this is a major holiday company (Parkdean). Per week I'm making less than minimum wages.
Sorry for the long question but I need help , and £3.77 per hour is insulting and am seriously thinking of giving the job up, even if I can't afford it. Thanks, Rose.

p.s. Caravans have to be passed by a manager before they are deemed clean enough for holiday makers. So I can't do a shoddy job and only half-clean the caravans and do twice as much. Also, I'm not paid for waiting for the holiday makers to leave the caravan. So, if I'm waiting 30 mins for someone to leave the caravan, I don't get paid for those 30 mins (same for launch break). Hope this makes sense. Thanks.

McKneff

What is in your contract

corbyboy

The rules on minimum wage are different when you are getting paid depending on your work output (sometimes called piece work).

Here is a very useful bit of information from Directgov.

Does your employer set a guideline on how long it should take you to clean a caravan? How does your rate compare to this?

Rosa123

Hi McKneff and Corbyboy. Thanks for replying so fast. The link was very interesting.

My contract states 20 hours average per week hours worked and a rate of pay of £6.70 per caravan cleaned. It doesn't mention a 'fair' piece rate, or what speed the employer expects you to reasonably work at. This wasn't mentioned to me at anytime either. The £6.70 is split between the two people cleaning the caravan, so £3.35 per caravan each. To achieve a minimum wage, I've worked out that I would have to spend 30 mins approx per caravan. This isn't realistic or achievable, especially as it is checked for cleaniliness before being given the o.k. Holiday makers are a messy lot, and a caravan can and does often take more than 90 mins to clean. Thanks.

McKneff

Have you brought this to the attention of your supervisor/HR dept.

Rosa123

Haven't yet, but think I'll ask what their reasonable expectation of a 'fair' rate is and work to that. Or maybe just speed up by cleaning less, and wait to see if they say anything.

I never thought about being an output or piece worker, just assumed that all employees had to be paid NMW at an hourly rate. It's annoying as last year I was being paid an hourly rate for everything, and suddenly this new way was introduced without any real explanation. It's obviously a way for the company to cut costs and still get the same amount of work done. I'm going to have to do more work but, compared to last year, receive less. And, according to that link, not even entitled to pay for waiting around even though I'm at work.

Thanks for all your help anyway.

ceridwen

I must admit that when I saw what the rate per caravan is I assumed that they expected a caravan to be cleaned per hour and by one person working on their own in order to make it an "acceptable" amount per hour.

My reaction was "Its not possible to clean a caravan properly in an hour - so they must be expecting the cleaners only to do a 'lick and a promise' level clean - ie take out rubbish, sweep floor, clean sink and thats it (ie totally forget the bathroom section)".

If they expect you to clean a caravan in only 30 minutes or so - which is what that rate of pay implies - then you would be best getting together with the other cleaners and, as a group, putting in an official request for "clarification of what constitutes a caravan clean". Once you have that detailed list of duties involved - then invite management to watch AT THAT TIME whilst you do that list of tasks at all reasonable speed and time how long it takes. When it turns out to take more than half an hour (as it obviously will) then say "Well - according to meeting our rate per hour or even NMW - there isnt the x number of minutes available that we need to do that level of clean. So - can you please tell us which tasks we are to delete from that list in order to be able to do it in the time available?"

Thats me - I would put the onus back onto them to tell me just HOW a full caravan clean could be done in 30 minutes or which bits I should skimp on.

Re - waiting for people to vacate caravans before you can start - then management needs to change the cleaners' hours - so that cleaners dont start work until all holidaymakers have left the caravans at the end of their holidays.

My only other thought on this was that part of the reason I assumed that it would just be one cleaner per caravan is that, with the small size of caravans, it seems to me that two people trying to clean it at once would mean you were both slowing each other down by getting in each others way. Would it be possible to change to just one cleaner per caravan and the second cleaner does another caravan at that time? - and then there wouldnt be the "falling over each other to clean syndrome" I imagine must happen...

If all that sounds like the bosses are living on a different planet to reasonable onlookers and you have asked them for the adaptations and they have refused - then it would appear there is only one option left (ie find another job).

Sorrees - and hope it works out for you.

Sambucus_Nigra

They can't specify a rate in your contract, and then split it between you! It's your contract, so you should get the rate specified.

Call ACAS and read out to them the exact wording.....however anyone who does this is not going to be a good employer nor is going to make it easy for you. So be prepared to fight.

Rosa123

Thanks everybody. All the cleaners are unhappy and we're planning to see the supervisor tomorrow. Agan, thanks for everybody who replied.

getmore4less

If you have all your time keeping records going back make sure they are save or try to get them before raising the issue.

Since you have just now relaliszed and about to raise the NMW you will have 3month to make any claims going bag,

If they don't cooperate and try to delay in any way take legal advice and think about an ET1 for NMW just to protect the back pay due.

Mudd14

I work in the hotel industry that pays employees by the piece rate so do have a lot of experience with this and making sure that employees are paid at least NMW. Peice rate is great when it works and employees are not being exploited like you seem to be. What is happening is illegal. The piece rate they have set is obviously not achievable, infact NMW guidelines state a work in time motion should be used to asses whast the mean time is for each piece and the rate then set at 120% to ensure slower workes achieve NMW.

What is happening here is illegal and your pay should be made up to meet the NMW.

If you wish to discuss further please let me know. Do not back down, you and your colleagues are correct and the company are exploiting you.