Latest news with #wages
The Sun
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Former Premier League giants ‘fail to pay wages on time for second time in three months' as fans blast ‘worst run club'
FORMER Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday have failed to pay players and staff for the second time in three months, according to reports. The Owls have recently experienced chaos in the club hierarchy under owner Dejphon Chansiri, whose family control canned tuna producer Thai Union Group. 1 And the Championship outfit are now at risk of a three transfer window embargo. The latest round of payments had been due to go out on Friday. However, players, coaching staff and also general club staff have been hit by a lack of wages being paid out. According to the Sheffield Star, this has affected staff by varying degrees, with some receiving full payments, others only receiving part of their payment and some getting nothing at all. A letter sent to players and staff allegedly told them they would not be receiving payment until at least Monday. If everyone at the club is not paid in full by the end of next week then a sanction from the EFL will be forthcoming as they sit on the brink of a 30-day default. That would see them banned from signing players. The letter sent to club staff says: "We anticipate outstanding payments will be made in full during the course of this Monday and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. "We understand that such delays create financial pressure and want to reassure our staff that the club is here to support you and ensure that no one suffers any financial hardship… "If you are facing any immediate financial difficulties as a result of this delay, please don't hesitate to contact your Line Manager or Department Head, who will aid the access of emergency funding we have in place." When the same issue occurred in March, payment was eventually made on April 7. The club is in the situation it is in due to debts owed to the owner, who has been at the club for a decade. Reacting to the news on social media, fans blasted the club as the "worst run club in football league". The team's Supporters Trust was also fuming in a statement, which read: "We are once again appalled to hear reports that employees of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, have reportedly not been paid again. "If these reports are accurate, this is simply unacceptable. We demand that the club immediately provides a clear and transparent explanation of the situation. "Silence and ambiguity are no longer tolerable. "We reiterate our firm belief that Dejphon Chansiri must sell the club without further delay. "His continued ownership is proving catastrophic for Sheffield Wednesday and everyone connected with it." Protests against Chansiri have gathered pace in the last year as he seeks to sell the club. A second bid to buy the club was reportedly made by an American consortium recently. Wednesday finished 12th in the second tier this season under manager Danny Rohl. Despite being a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, they last appeared in the top flight in 2000.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sheff Wed wage payments delayed again
Sheffield Wednesday players and staff have not received their monthly wages on time for the second time in three Radio Sheffield understands payment had been due on Friday and has contacted the club for a wages were eventually paid on 7 April after what the club called a "temporary issue" because of debts owed to owner Dejphon Chansiri, whose family control the Thai Union Group, the world's largest producer of canned has been in charge of the Championship club for 10 years and last month said there had been "no substantial interest" in buying the club after fans protested against his have been placed under a registration embargo in each of the past two seasons amid financial problems and were deducted six points in 2020-21, a season where they were relegated from the second tier, for breaching spending South Yorkshire side finished 12th this season, 10 points off the play-off places and nine clear of the relegation zone. 'A worrying time and many want change' - Analysis BBC Radio Sheffield reporter Rob StatonSheffield Wednesday fans ended the season protesting against chairman Dejphon Chansiri in a way we haven't seen from this fanbase in the was concern the last time wages were not paid on time - in March - that if it happened again within a certain timeframe, the club faced a potential transfer embargo. I suspect that can still be avoided, depending on the length of the delay. However, it is clearly a big concern that on the final Friday of the month, wages have again not been paid on has been reported that a second bid to buy the club from an American consortium was made recently and the pressure will only grow on Chansiri given today's so much uncertainty around Hillsborough. What is happening with manager Danny Rohl? What kind of plans are being made for next season? More importantly, though, how financially stable is this club? What is the future?There simply aren't any answers coming from the at what is being said online and speaking to supporters, many have had enough. They worry about the reputational damage of their club. They wonder if there's a financially viable future. They look at the troubles at Reading recently and wonder if that could happen to them. It's a worrying time and many want change.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Swimming coaches recruited from Philippines win back almost €12,000 in wages deducted by employer
Three swimming instructors who were brought over from the Philippines to teach in Ireland and had hundreds of euro a week docked off their wages for 'training costs', before being let go, have won back their pay. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found there was 'no evidence' to back up a claim by the operator of a swimming school that it had spent €3,000 to train each of the workers. One of the workers' former colleagues told the WRC she was hired on the promise of 'a better life in Ireland' only to be 'forced' into taking a pay cut out of fear of dismissal. They were among a group of six Filipino instructors to pursue rights claims against the unidentified swimming school, which were heard in Ennis, Co Clare, in November and December last year. READ MORE Five of the workers have now secured a total of nearly €12,000 between them for breaches of the Payment of Wages Act 1991. An allied claim by the sixth worker has yet to be published by the WRC. All the workers are Filipino nationals. The company's legal representative said it was 'the first European company to obtain a work permit for Filipinos as swimming instructors'. Two of the six instructors started work for the swimming school in June 2022, then four more instructors were recruited in the Philippines in August 2022 and brought to Ireland in January 2023, the WRC heard. However, within months of securing work visas and flying in the new instructors, the school's management moved to shed staff, citing 'financial reasons' for terminating the employment of three of the new recruits during their probationary periods. The employer's position was it had conducted 'intensive' training with the newer instructors for the first three or four weeks they were in Ireland, which had enhanced their skills, and it had paid each of them throughout that period while making no income from them. The owner of the swimming school delivered the training personally and provided employees with 'instructional videos', the workers told the WRC. The employer's position was that this had cost €3,000 to provide. Andrea Montanelli, for the employer, said the company had 'highly invested' in bringing the workers from the Philippines, 'paying for their work permits, for the visa, flights' and so on. She said a total of €1,692.38 was taken from three of the workers' last four pay packets in 'instalments' of €641.45, €497.97, €276.48 and €276.48. The company relied on a training agreement and a deductions-from-pay agreement signed by the three new recruits in the Philippines in August 2022 as the basis for taking the 'instalments'. Under questioning from Elaine Davern-Wiseman, for the group of workers, the employees said these agreements were provided to them in English, without a translation into the Tagalog language, and that they signed them without having an opportunity to take legal advice. The workers each said they were already qualified swimming instructors when they were recruited and they said the only training they had was in how to teach swimming lessons 'the [company] way'. In her ruling, WRC adjudicator Orla Jones wrote that the employer 'did not provide any evidence to support the claim' that the training for the three new recruits actually cost the business €3,000 each. It could not rely on the agreements signed in the Philippines by the workers when they did not have the benefit of legal advice or an interpreter, she said. She said in her decision that the wording of the training costs agreement was that €3,000 referred to charging €3,000 to each worker if they were to 'leave' the employment. Ms Jones wrote that each of the workers had their jobs terminated and had not chosen to leave. The names of the company and the employees were anonymised in WRC decisions published this week because they were linked to parallel proceedings under the Industrial Relations Act 1969, which must be heard in private.
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Home care support worker blasts government over growing wage discrepancy
A private home care worker is blasting the government of Newfoundland and Labrador over its handling of the industry's wages, saying the gap between private and agency workers is only growing. In November, former provincial health minister John Hogan announced federal funding to help boost the hourly wage for agency home care workers over the course of five years, going from $17.05 to $21.05. Sarah King, a private home care worker who isn't included in the plan, told the CBC she was shocked when she saw the news. "It was like getting punched in the face," King said. "It was very upsetting because I already knew I was getting paid less, but now the gap is just growing." As a private home care support worker, she is also paid by the provincial government. The current wage is $17.05 an hour. "So every year now they're going to get a little bit more. My wage has not increased since 2023. Minimum wage continues to go up, but my wage does not," said King. King said she also doesn't get benefits like sick days and isn't included in workers compensation if injured on the job — something agency-based home care support workers get access to. Building relationships When a social worker recommends a home care support worker, King said the client has a choice on whether to use a private or agency home care worker. She has worked with an agency before, but made the leap to private three years ago and currently has two clients she works closely with. When she was with an agency, she said her client could change regularly and she felt micro-managed. "Working for myself ensures that I can build a relationship with my clients. I can be there. They know who's showing up for the shift every day. We can be flexible with each other's schedules," said King. Since she made the change, she said she's been happier and less stressed. Review underway: Hogan For months King has been trying to get answers from the province about the wage discrepancy, initially reaching out to her MHA John Abbott in late December. Her questions were then forwarded to Premier John Hogan, who was health minister at the time. In a letter dated Jan. 15, which CBC News has reviewed, Hogan wrote the pay difference is because of the hiring requirements agency-based home care support workers have, which include first aid certification, medical clearance, tuberculin testing, reference checks and a certificate of conduct. "Our government remains committed to reviewing compensation rates to ensure adequate compensation based on scope of employment and to align with funding models in other jurisdictions," Hogan wrote. While King says first aid training should be required for anyone working with vulnerable clients, she said she can understand the reasoning she was given over wage discrepancies. "OK, that's fine. That is an explanation to why I would get paid less, but what about those of us that do have those things?" she asked. She said there are private home care workers like herself who do meet those requirements, adding she recently paid out of pocket to keep her first aid certification current. Moreover, King said clients may not understand the different standards between private and agency home care workers and think they have the same skill sets. King said she doesn't want to go back to working for an agency, but given the cost of living she might have to. Also on the table is leaving the profession altogether, she added, pointing to how minimum wage is approximately a dollar less than what she makes. "There's a lot of jobs out there that are a lot less stressful, a lot closer to home and provide benefits," King said. Ultimately, King said she would like to see additional benefits for private home care support workers and for her wages to keep pace with agency workers. CBC News asked Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell for an interview. Instead, in a statement department spokesperson Jennifer Konieczny reiterated the requirements for agency-based home care workers. "There are provincially established compensation rates for service providers in the Home Support Program," she wrote. "The rate of pay for self-managed care providers is applied consistently to ensure equal pay for all self-managed care providers." Konieczny added a wage compensation review is still underway and any changes will be communicated at an unspecified time.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Toronto private college, director fined more than $400,000 for failing to pay wages to 14 employees
A private college in Toronto and its director are each facing significant fines for failing to pay almost $185,000 in wages owed to 14 employees. In a May 28 court bulletin, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development identified the business in question as Ontario International College Inc./College International De L'Ontario Inc., located at 16 Wellebourne Cres. in Toronto. The workplace of the corporation's director, Anchuan Jiang, is 3550 Victoria Park Ave. in North York, it said. According to the ministry, Ontario International College Inc. 'failed to comply with orders to pay wages,' which was issued by an employment standards officer (ESO) under section 103(8) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which is an offence under section 132 of the Act. It further said that Jiang failed, as the corporation's director, to comply with a director order to pay issued by an ESO under section 106 of the Act, which is an offence under section 136. The orders to pay the unpaid wages were issued between October 2019 and October 2020. However, the corporation did not comply, nor did it seek a review of the orders to pay, the ministry said. The ESO then issued a direct order to pay to Jiang, who also did not follow through with the order, nor did he apply for a review. At that point, the ministry took the corporation and its director to court for failing to comply with the respective order to pay were both convicted on March 28 following guilty verdicts on all counts in the Provincial Offences Court in Toronto. Justice of the Peace Ruby Wong fined Ontario International College Inc. $270,000 and its director, Anchuan Jiang, $140,000. This amount does not include the owed wages. The court has also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge on the defendants, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge will go to a special provincial government fund that helps victims of crime. Dave Simpson and Alexsis Qi served as the provincial prosecutors for both cases.
