I started working for my parent in 2007,and was promised some amount of pay every month.They never actually paid me and said they are saving for me got my future.I have gone to work everyday until today.Three years ago,my brother came to work for my parent.Today is the first time I received my pay for the month and I know my brother was paid too.Should I forget about the past?Did they take advantage of me as a son,as a employee?Now they will pay me every month should I calculate and asked for my pay for the previous ten years I been working for them?
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Gosh! That’s a tough one. Personally, I would ask them for the back pay and tell them I won’t do any work for them any more unless they paid me, but I wouldn’t be too aggressive about it. Be fairly persistent, though. If you need for them to give you shelter I wouldn’t burn any bridges.
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I need for them for shelter.I am just feeling unjust that my brother got paid after 3 years working for them while I have to suffer for 10 years and more before I get my first pay this month and I already get it.They said they kept the money for me previously but how do I even trust them when they probably got no accounting for my pay in the previous 10 years,and now my brother joined and things will get even more complicated.I like that you said I should ask them gently and not make them angry.I hope I get what I deserve because I did served them as son and worker for 10+ year
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I would ask them if those wages you worked for are allocated in a certain savings account that you don’t know about.
Before making things complicated with family and stimulate dischord.
It might be OK to bring it up. They know what they did and have their reasons for it. But I would talk to them about it. I hope they didn’t deliberately cheat you, I hope they have a good excuse for not giving you anything.
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If they really did save for you then you should have a nice little nest egg by now. Maybe verify the money is there but keep it for retirement or an emergency.
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Do you have this promise in writing at all? I would suggest you seek legal advice.
My parent always said,any parent in the world will do the best for their children.They said I will understand when the time have come…I am still not very confident about it
Unfortunately, a parent’s idea of “what’s best” for their child is not always… What’s actually in the child’s best interest.
My parents had their own business for a while and used us kids as labor in various ways with promises of pay that never materialized. I think that it was their intention to pay us, I just think that they actually needed to use the money to pay bills etc.
I was fairly young at the time so it wasn’t a big deal for me, but I know that one of my older sisters did quite a lot of work for my parents instead of getting a job with a wage and it really put her in a tough place when a paycheck never materialized.
Small businesses can be hard to make profitable, especially in the beginning. The show Bob’s Burgers resonates with me, the kids in the show are basically used as unpaid labor, but the parents are genuinely struggling to pay the bills. It’s one of those things that sort of just is what it is. I don’t think that it’s necessarily “wrong” for family members to contribute unpaid labor to the family business that supports the entire family. For much of the history of the world that’s what small businesses looked like.
But if it doesn’t work for you and you would rather get a steady paycheck at a different job, that’s certainly understandable and reasonable. I think that it makes sense to have a conversation with your parents about what’s going on and get some clarification. Is the business profitable enough to pay you and your brother, or are they struggling to keep their heads above water? If you left and got a job elsewhere, would they still be able to keep running without the unpaid labor? Is there a plan in place to pay the back wages? That sort of thing.
Not in a confrontational way, but you have the right to decide if you want to work for them, and you have the right to know what your compensation is going to be and to receive it. If they genuinely haven’t been able to pay you and your brother so far they should tell you that, so you can make an informed decision about whether you want to continue to contribute labor to the family business.
I worked a year full time 2019 to 2020. I gave a big part of my income to my parents. Its to pay rent, food, electricity, my cellphone, etc But my parents also told me that they will use the money I gave them to help me in the future. Actually my mother put a few thousands in my disability saving account where the government double or triple that money.
But you can only start using the money once you’re 50 or 60y.o., can’t remember. Also you can’t draw more than 10% of the money in a year, I think. I am 31y.o. now. I wish one day I go back to work, I quit work in April 2020.
IDK, money is a funny thing. I trusted my mom completely; both my parents helped and supported me ever since I got ill. When I was doing good with money I lent my mom a $1000. She refused to pay me back, I couldn’t believe it. But she did a lot for me so I forgave her.
I never thought she would do something like that though.
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Putting that money into a long term savings account where the government doubles or triples the initial investment was an incredibly smart move. Future you will be grateful, that was an investment in future you.
I haven’t worked in a year and a half, it’s so flipping stressful not having an income, I also hope to get back to work soon.
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Yea its a special account only accessible for those on disability who didn’t work in the last 5yrs. I think I will lose the gains if I worked again.
It’s worth checking out the details of how it works if you’re concerned.
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