So a while ago I used to work at a small business near my university from the start of my second year. Never signed a contract, didn’t really have fixed hours( it mostly depended on the number of costumers), never had any sorts of breaks even after 4 hours of labor, and all hourly wage payments were done in cash. Aside from that,my former boss had certain items that were not listed on the menu he would only take cash payments for.
I’m not really sure if he was any cutting corners and I never questioned it, as I didn’t really have any problems, the job was relatively easy and 15 minutes away from where I lived. The amount I was making wasn’t really significant either (under 30k each month).
Ultimately, I got fired/quit due to some personal disagreements with the owner but I did receive all the money he owed me for the shifts I worked the last month I was there.
In hindsight was it a bad idea working there? Is he really cutting corners? Could have something gone wrong legally speaking if I had kept working there?
I already read some other posts about similar situations but would love to get some insight
by niooosan
3 comments
Working somewhere that’s doing things illegally is generally a bad idea yes. If they’re willing to break labour laws one way then they’re probably breaking other laws too. E.g. if you got injured while working there, would your medical costs be covered by insurance? Was income tax properly withheld from you pay, and do you have proper receipts for that? If the police ever raided that place and found crime going on, would they have detained you as a suspicious foreigner for 23 days and tried to make you confess to everything?
Cash in hand is not illegal. Working beyond the legal limit, especially without a break is illegal, but the government doesn’t care (every big company does it as well, even government employees do). If the working hours go beyond what your visa allows, you could lose your visa, that’s pretty much all.
Nothing you said is actually proof of anything really illegal going on to be honest. It all seems shady, but not strictly illegal.
There’s nothing wrong with accepting cash payments but it’s on you to report the income although many people never report it and get by with reporting lower income earned then they actually earned to lower their tax bill.