There are some large and colourful egos in the floristry game. The stories are never-ending and always entertaining.
But the stories I just can’t stand to hear revolve around people being taken advantage of. The idea of any employer leaning on their staff’s basic rights is impossible for me to swallow.
The employers I have in mind are the kind that use fear to keep their staff, and when that looks like it may be ineffective, they make promises of higher pay and promotions that have zero chance of ever being fulfilled. They’re narcissistic, calculating and specialise in the art of cutting corners to get ahead.
On the other hand most are good operators, with a handful that just seemingly struggle with the mountain of administrational tasks that are typical in a small business. It's understandable.
Either way, whoever you have ended up working for doesn't distract from the fact that getting paid your superannuation is very much your right and it’s illegal for your employer not to.
It can be an especially delicate situation dealing with an employer who is knowingly using your super for their own benefit, so in this case I have collected some some really simple steps you can take to steer things back on track.
- Check your super statements. I also suggest speaking to your super fund over the phone as they may pick up on something you may have missed or misunderstood.
- Speak to your employer. If they’re doing something dodgy it’s actually in their best interest to pay you and hope you don’t share your experience with your colleagues who are most likely not being paid their super either. If on the other hand your approaching your straight shooting but buried employer, they’ll probably just be really embarrassed and sort it out right away. It may just be that they do not even have your correct details on file.
- You’ve tried but haven't had a result. It may be time to talk to the friendly gang at the ATO. If you’re not a phone in type of person, they’ve even made a handy little tool here for you to make life easier.
