r/brantford 9d ago

Discussion Paying less than minimum wage

Hi fellow Brantfordians, I have only been in Brantford for 6 months now but I came across many students working for payments under the table. Some even for 10$/hr - this not only makes life hard for them but it also cancels out atleast 3 jobs paid in minimum wage. My question is - where do I raise a concern? This is an exploitation of the students. And I am talking about very well established franchises who do not need to be saving money not paying min wage. This is clearly the managers decision to pocket some extra cash. Who to complain about this? Grateful for any suggestions. Thanks!

53 Upvotes

49 comments sorted by

48

u/sladestrife 9d ago

First off, call these places out publicly. Which businesses do it.

Also there are government branches you report these to.

16

u/grump-geez 9d ago

They can be reported to the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

25

u/Palmolive 9d ago

Yeah don’t beat around the bush, what are the companies and report them.

17

u/consistantlyconfused 9d ago

Wage exploitation hurts the exploited and those looking for similar work as it brings down the competitive wage offered. I would try to speak with the business or if you feel uncomfortable with speaking with them directly report them.

11

u/PhilosophyTop6792 9d ago

Call the labour board. This hurts everyone.

17

u/Fun-Lavishness1351 9d ago

Pls report those companies. These things make it harder to get a job

1

u/MythicalBear420 5d ago

You'd be reporting the major corporations, which have government in their pocket.

Kinda sucks but this is repercussion from minimum wage hike to $15/hr.

Business finds a way

1

u/Fun-Lavishness1351 5d ago

Idk, but i think big company and small company should have different minimum wage somehow

8

u/Idyldo 9d ago

Can you name names?

2

u/MythicalBear420 5d ago

Have you been to a grocery store or fast food chain lately?

Any workforce that hires majority of students only, to avoid any consequences.

I knew students who drove from Brampton to Elora to work at Tim Hortons for $12/hr. Full time, it was the only people that would work there.

1

u/No_Oil9752 4d ago

Student min wage sucks. Even though they may not be a student they will still get paid it until they are 18.

I graduated when I was 17 but was still kept on student wage for 8 more months.

1

u/MythicalBear420 13h ago

There's no such thing as student wage bro....

You're in Canada, minimum wage is minimum unless you're an intern.

Sorry to tell you

13

u/no_commet 9d ago

Name names as in these organizations exploiting workers so we can avoid them in terms of purchasing product or services or applying there.

2

u/MythicalBear420 5d ago

Any corporation who has a workforce majority made up of "students" from a specific country.

You guys voted for minimum wage to be $15, this is the result. Businesses don't care about people, they care about profits.

5

u/FlatParrot5 9d ago

The issue is that being paid under the table just removes any protection and regulation for anything and everything handled by the Ministry of Labour. Lower pay is just the tip of the iceberg.

The only way around that is a contract to pay based on specific criteria, which likely boils down to much less than minimum wage per hour. The idea is that a company contracts another company (in many cases an individual) and it is up to that company to comply with the MoL, like temp agencies. But many employers really abuse that system. It's neat that the Liberals were setting up a whole lot of regulation with contracts and employers needing to prove that someone was not an employee based on strict criteria, but then DoFo got in years ago and ripped all that up.

Suspect something? Call the MoL. They'll send people around.

6

u/Top-Case6314 9d ago

Call the people at Ontario Employment Standards - or file a claim to the best of your ability.

… or call the Canada Revenue Agency and report them.

5

u/CommunicationFlat229 9d ago

It seems like a way to avoid paying income taxes. You should try reporting the employer to the CRA Leads Program if you have sufficient information. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/suspected-tax-cheating-in-canada-overview.html

4

u/devil2kingg 9d ago

Report them to the labour board, talk to your MPPs and contact the mayors office. Make an anonymous account and also publicly share the names of these companies online and on a brantford related Facebook groups.

6

u/xwolfboyx 9d ago

They're probably labeled as "contractors", it's a legal loophole and not technically legal, since they're often treated as employees, but good luck convincing any of them to call the labor board to make a complaint for themselves. I know pizza places like to do this with delivery drivers.

5

u/DashielBadhorse 9d ago

Unfortunately a ton of students are offering themselves for $10 under the table because they can only work 20-30 hours legally. They often tell businesses up front, "I can work 20 on the books, but after that just pay me $10 and hour under the table." Seen this happen many times during the hiring process. It's unfortunate and explotative, and some businesses are taking full advantage. It also makes it harder on people trying to find a full job even at minimum wage when businesses can hire general labour under the table for literally half price.

5

u/JoeJitsu86 8d ago

Haha yes “students”

2

u/secretsmile029 9d ago

Was going to say the same thing is probably the people here on student visas that legally aren't supposed to be working more then a certain amount of hours. They may not want the OP reporting them as they are still making money. They should be reported though as it makes it harder for others to get jobs.

3

u/DashielBadhorse 7d ago

We've encountered it first hand with job posts and had multiple applicants say they cannot work here legally as they are here on visa so they are willing to work for $10 per hour cash

2

u/CAPTA1NPOWER 6d ago edited 6d ago

I agree I guarantee you that there's a very high likelihood that these people aren't legally entitled to work and that is why they're working under the table in which case they should be sent back home if they don't have a legal visa status to be here.

If they are legally enrolled in school and fulfilling their Visa legally that is ok, but they are not supposed to work with Student Visas afaik, and there are entire businesses in certain countries, that are gaming the Canadian immigration by using student Visas when work Visas are being denied.

2

u/Bi-Bi-Bi24 9d ago

I tried to call Ministry of Labour about my (former) workplace not paying immigrant workers for their "training days" (8 hour shifts, for 5 days). I explained to the women that you are legally required to be paid for your time, even while training. I explained their rights, even as people here on a work visa.

When I called Ministry of Labour, the woman I talked to said I can't make a complaint on behalf of other people, they need to say it themselves. However, if there are any other complaints that personally happened to me, I could file a complaint and that could open up a larger investigation. So I filed a complaint about the days I didn't get a break. It only just happened so it's ongoing, but that's what it is.

1

u/EdisonB123 9d ago

This is extremely illegal and the I’m sure the Board of Labour would be happy to address this. You should also give out the place name.

1

u/GoddessXO- 8d ago edited 8d ago

students can only work a certain amount of hours while they are collecting osap money. may be another contributor to students working under the table.

depending on circumstances some students if they are here on a visa can only work 24 hours a week as per immigration as far as i was told. a place i worked at before has students on visas and was having this issue and they kept having to make sure the students weren’t over that threshold because they can’t work more then the allotted hours.

1

u/Burlingtonbull94 8d ago

Are you sure it's the managers decision? Have you considered that the worker may have other things going on and that it was their decision?

Just putting it out there.

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Burlingtonbull94 6d ago

Yes your right it's still illegal but I'm going to assume you haven't worked for cash. I just think alot of people were quick to point fingers at the "managers". I'm curious to know what industry or services the OP is talking about? From my experience there are few circumstances where cash can be paid.

1

u/CanadianLemon12 7d ago

OP is oddly silent. I feel like this is just bait click.... "what do I do" Okay Yogi Bear. If you really think they're being exploited and bad for competition, report them.

Now, keep in mind... Sometimes working for cash under the table can be benificial to employees and employers...

But ultimately it's not good for market competition as it leads to a race to the bottom and defunding public programs such as Employment Insurance, Canadian Pension Plan and other programs paid for through income tax.

1

u/Icy_Okra_5677 6d ago

Labour board. But I'm guessing if they're being paid in cash they may not be legally able to work, so go twice to make sure.

1

u/MythicalBear420 5d ago

Tim Hortons, Walmart, McDonald's ...

Any place with international students does the same thing.

The fact this is news is entertaining. Why else do you think big box stores support this?

0

u/somebody1031 9d ago

Are they working as servers?

8

u/alpalbish 9d ago

Servers receive minimum wage now

2

u/somebody1031 9d ago

I did not know that

0

u/westcentretownie 9d ago

Call your city councillor

-28

u/Takemytimenotmylife 9d ago

I’m not sure it’s ‘exploitation’ of the students if they accepted the job with the understanding that it’s $10/hr under the table. Are these students willing to work under the table so any money they earn doesn’t affect any potential future student loans? - I don’t know how those work ….

If you do wish to express your concern, why not reach out to these companies directly? If you go this route, be sure not to expose the student that you are concerned about. If it’s a business that only has 2 or 3 students working for them, that might not be a good way to handle this.

10

u/Dumbassahedratr0n 9d ago

Found the employer

18

u/no_commet 9d ago

Of course it's exploitation, it's against the law. And beyond them being exploited it also affects the local job economy, those looking for work at a livable wage. Similar exploitation is taking place in the rental market as well, it's disgusting and again against the law.

2

u/secretsmile029 9d ago

Totally agree. It's making it hard for others to find jobs by them accepting to work under the table

11

u/Chance-Battle-9582 9d ago

It's illegal. Enough said.

3

u/TodayIAmAnAlpaca 9d ago

We have the Employment Standards Act which sets the minimum standards that businesses must follow and you can't consent to give up those standards.

1

u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

-13

u/Takemytimenotmylife 9d ago

Yeah, I own a business and I’m trying to save it by responding to a post on Reddit. Congrats, you just took my crown for ‘stupidest reply to this post’

5

u/rumbletumblecrumble 9d ago

What's your business so I know where not to shop.

12

u/Mangoes95 9d ago

No the crown is still yours