Worrying rise in commission-only work
There seems to be a worrying increase in commission-only work which is exploiting young unemployed, writes Charlie Cashdan.
There seems to be a worrying increase in commission-only work which is exploiting young unemployed,
.
I interview and employ regularly in my line of work and increasingly since the recession I'm hearing the same story from job seekers about being exploited by companies who don't pay any basic wage, only commission if they achieve sales targets.
I've just taken on a lovely young girl who took a job with a company who promised management opportunities, training and full time work then paid her only £20 for six days work!
Two other members of my team had similar experiences with commission only work, often working twelve hour days without receiving any payment if they didn't make a sale or hit a certain target.
Companies seem to be using this as a way of getting out of paying the minimum wage and basically gaining free labour.
I did some commission only work years ago when I was a starving student but it was different back then. I sold credit cards at airports and though the commission wasn't very good, it was really clear what you were getting into and you could work whatever hours you chose, so no twelve hour days without pay!
The companies only took on seasoned promo girls and sales staff so that we would all understand exactly what we were doing and let's face it, doing something like credit card sales has always been a commission job so everyone knew what to expect.
Now, companies are setting up big, shiny, expensive stands in large city centre stores that look perfectly legitimate and making grand promises to naive jobseekers often from other countries or young people desperate to find work.
Shoppers are being subjected to hard-sell tactics by people who they probably don't realise won't get paid unless they make a sale.
It seems that while workers' rights have improved considerably for many people including more holidays, long maternity periods and sick pay, shorter working week, flexibility for parents etc, other people have just completely slipped through the net.
