posted
Did you know if you are a business and are planning on hiring a full-time year round employee for a completely new position in your shop that you can receive a wage subsity of upto 60% for that individual for a period of time of 20 weeks or longer depending on the training involved? Its Called the TWS program (targeted Wage Subsity) Throught HRDC.
------------------ Julie
Posts: 44 | From: Tehkummah, ON Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
it's a great idea for honest people who want a good employee. . .
but, i was hired by a guy years ago on it (or similar), he got the gov't to pay most of my wage for 6 months, then managed to get it extended for another 6 months. . .
during that year, he worked me like a dog for $10 an hr, no overtime pay (40 hrs. a week, no matter what). i worked 7 days a week, early morning til late at night; trained his new employees; did work that needed to be done, just cause no one else would come get it done, etc, etc.
but, i enjoyed my job very much and they were promising to let me manage the business in the new town they were going to expand to. with a raise and everything, of course.
then, when the gov't wasn't paying, suddenly, there were no hours for me. he said there was no work "?" (right up til that day, i was doing the work of 2 people)
of course, there was work for the new employees that were on the gov't program and work for the min. wage p/t employees. . .
after a few months of that, when i had to quit, with 2 weeks notice, he tried to screw me royally. it's a long story, but, it was a nightmare.
plus (though i don't know how it works now), my unemployment insurance was based on the hours in the last weeks of work, which were nominal. . .and the year of overkill meant nothing....
i had just started airbrushing, for a hobby. i wasn't ready or planning to do it for a living, but, i had to.
i landed on my feet, of course, and have been airbrushing and painting since....11 years now....
i know it's a negative story. all i'm saying is. . .for the employee, be careful. check out the employer as much as they check you out!
and don't work for promises!!!! ------------------ airhead by day. pizza queen by night Gailforce Graphics Squamish, BC, Canada www.gailforce.homestead.com
[This message has been edited by Gailforce (edited May 30, 2000).]
posted
On the other side of the coin, we took advantage of that program as an employer two years ago. It really helped us take the plunge to add to our staff. When you have 3 people and are adding a fourth, you're increasing your staff by 33%. That's a big jump. Plus it's a big investment in time to do the training necessary (which, essentially, is what the Government is paying for) The employee we hired has been with us for two years and has worked out great.
Sorry about your experience, Gail, but the type of employer you described will always take advantage of people no matter what the situation. Most small business people really can't afford that kind of nonsense. Once you get an employee who knows their job and does it well, it's like gold. I know I can't afford to be dropping people who know their jobs just to train someone else for a few dollars less. There are some who'll play that game, but I think most of us don't have the time nor the inclination to do so.
I guess it's pretty hard to determine that before you're hired, but one way might be to talk to the other employees and ask a lot of questions. If the employer doesn't want you to do that, I'd sense a red flag. I actually insisted that people I was seriously considering talk to our staff for two reasons: 1) they could ask questions they wouldn't be comfortable asking me about and 2) our people could determine whether they'd be comfortable with the potential coworker. That's how we got such a good fit.
------------------ Diane Crowther, Metaline Graphics Ltd., Nova Scotia, Canada, ID #285
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don't mean to be a wet blanket, it's just I've heard quite a few stories about employers abusing these type of government programs. there's always an *@$hole out there. i used to work for social services, so i knew quite a bit about getting people work by using these programs. and when and why they didn't work out. then, of course, there's my own personal experience.
as a business owner now, i would definitely consider grants if i wanted an employee.
i just shared it, to share it. and if there were young people reading this, i learned to research my potential employer as well as letting them research me.(!!!)
when i learned about that program, so many years ago, i would've used my ability to fit into the guidelines of that grant as a selling feature on hiring me if it could've got me a job i thought was right for me
depending on the job, i had more potential than skill, right?
use these programs. it's already our money that we gave in. get it back, enjoy it!
i mean, i know, anyone on THIS board would be a wonderful employer or employee
------------------ airhead by day. pizza queen by night Gailforce Graphics Squamish, BC, Canada www.gailforce.homestead.com
[This message has been edited by Gailforce (edited May 31, 2000).]
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