457 Warning

[mandy b]

Hi Guys

Hope you are all well. Sorry not been online for a while since we got here. Just thought I would give those of you that are going on a 457 a bit of advise.

We found out last week due to my O/H being over 45, you cannot be self employed, and must remain employed by the company, until you have your PR.

Also the amount my O/H was promised as a living wage, has been reduced by $13 an hour.

Check what ever Contracts that you receive from your future employer to ensure that you will be receiving the correct amount and not end up, unfortunately, having to bite the bullet, and earning half then what was expected. Just be careful.

This was even when he had signed the contract. Bearing in mind this was signed some 8 months ago.

As he is a Bricklayer, there are not many Companys that will Sponsor people over 45, unless they are employed.

Anyway guys hope you are all well. If I son't speak to you all or some of you before.
Have a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Will be thinking of you when we are tucking into our Bread & Dripping Sandwiches

Lots of Love

Mandy BXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[billy braveheart]

Hi Mandy

We found out last week due to my O/H being over 45, you cannot be self employed, and must remain employed by the company, until you have your PR.

One condition of the 457 sponsorship visa is that they have to stay with the sponsor for 2 years/or until you get PR otherwise you have to pay back the costs that the employer has paid out to sponsor you (did your migration agent not inform you of this). Once you have PR you can then become self employed ie start up own business.

Im totally shocked that the company have reduced your hubbys hourly rate as to what is on his contract. Surely they cant do that !!!!!!! Did you use a recruitment agency to get the job & if so can they not hold the employer to the contract????

We have been over here on a 457 visa since August & OH is loving his job just starting the process for PR so should get that in 7-9 months.

Good Luck

Janette

[EM&M]

Originally Posted by mandy b

Hi Guys

Hope you are all well. Sorry not been online for a while since we got here. Just thought I would give those of you that are going on a 457 a bit of advise.

We found out last week due to my O/H being over 45, you cannot be self employed, and must remain employed by the company, until you have your PR.

Also the amount my O/H was promised as a living wage, has been reduced by $13 an hour.

Check what ever Contracts that you receive from your future employer to ensure that you will be receiving the correct amount and not end up, unfortunately, having to bite the bullet, and earning half then what was expected. Just be careful.

This was even when he had signed the contract. Bearing in mind this was signed some 8 months ago.

As he is a Bricklayer, there are not many Companys that will Sponsor people over 45, unless they are employed.

Anyway guys hope you are all well. If I son't speak to you all or some of you before.
Have a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Will be thinking of you when we are tucking into our Bread & Dripping Sandwiches

Lots of Love

Mandy BXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hi Mandy,

The idea of the 457 is that the company sponsor you in, ie you have to work for them if u leave them then you no longer hold a visa to work unless you get PR first. This was obviously not explained properly to you in the first place, whoever it is a good system if you have no other option (like us).

As for the contract, then I would imagine that the company is in breach of contract if everything has been signed etc, which means that you could if you wished report them to the dept of immigration?? Immigration do check annually to ensure that the employer is getting paid as per their contract and not being exploited. I was just reading an article in the paper here recently where they said they are tightening up on this due to employers bringing in poeple from less well off countries, paying them less than minimum wage on 100 hours a week.

Good Luck

Em x

[tonyandlynne]

Immigration rules for sponsor visa is that the company has to pay the minimum wage full stop so i cant see how the company can reduce his pay because in my eyes the company are breaking the immigration rules so if it was me i would be checking this out to see if they are allowed to do this Mandy hun. I dont want to worry you but do you remember the 1st sponsor we had where i visa got withdrawn, well this was due to the company not sticking to immigration rules with the sponsorship as the company were allowing people to work 2 weeks worth of hours all in one week so that people could have a week off but the rules state you have to work your minimum hours each week , also it was something to do with pay too but not sure full details what the pay bit was etc so immigration stopped the company from sponsoring and 5 families the company sponsored had to be shipped back to the UK (i am not exagerating or lying) the company only just got the sponsorship back this september. Mandy i dont want this to happen to you so get it checked out as this company i am with have to pay me what is on my contract and cant change it. Someone please correct me if i am wrong with any of this but i do know 110% the bit about the company being refused to sponsor is true.

[EM&M]

Hi Lynne,

Yeh I believe the minimum is $43,000 pa plus super (or $45,000).

Em x

[Life on easy street]

.
Have you tried contacting a Trade union ?

I am sure there are some good companies out there but just like the U.K there are some very bad companies.

But 13 Dollars is less than minimum wage?

And this is when there is a boom what happens if there is a recession?

This is one of those loose loose situations
If you say anything you may loose the right to stay is Australia if you give in and say nothing
They will continue to rip you off 2 years is a long time to try and survive on $13 an
hour .

[billy braveheart]

Hi Life on easy street

Mandy was saying her OH's wages were cut by $13 per hour not that is what he earns a hour OMG could you imagine no one could survive here on $13 per hour.

Janette

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Mandy


I am sorry to read your news.

Please see this link, but bear in mind that your employer may be able to claim the Regional Concession, which allows for a lower salary level of $37,000 odd:

Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457)

Be a little careful of making waves without getting proper advice first. Do Not go anywhere near DIAC either at this stage.

There was a case last year where one of the rort employers (rort is Australian for "exploit") imported a load of workers from China on 457 visas with promises of rich pickings in Oz. None of them could speak a word of English so the applications were obviously faked in some way.

When they got to Oz, the company treated these Chinese workers mercilessly badly and threatened them that they would be deported if they blew the whistle to DIAC.

Eventually one of them couldn't stand it any longer so he blew the whistle to DIAC all the same. DIAC went blundering in to the situation with all the airy brains, sense and sensitivity of a duck billed platypus with flat feet, which is typical of the thick-witted Civil Service the world over.

They shut the company down as soon as theiy realised that the worker was telling the truth. Then they turned their attention to the employees. They deported 6 of them (because shutting the company down automatically cancelled all the 457 visas) on the grounds that these guys had no English before an MP and a Human Rights Group got involved and rescued the situation for the remaining workers.

Therefore I would say that if the Migration Agents whom you used were in Perth, either go back to them or go to Stephen O'Neill of ISCAH before you do anything else. Stephen is in Perth. His website is here:

Contact Us

I doubt that a Trade Union wuld be your best bet at the moment because they won't understand the visa end of things and if you are inadvertently dealing with rorters, a Union might simply serve to make matters worse.

If it were me, I'd definitely be starting with a good, strong, Registered Migration Agent on this one.

I will try to see if I can get one of our Agents to give you some better help about this.

Best wishes

Gill

[BullcreekBob]

Originally Posted by billy braveheart

Hi Life on easy street

Mandy was saying her OH's wages were cut by $13 per hour not that is what he earns a hour OMG could you imagine no one could survive here on $13 per hour.

Janette

G'day Janette

I think Mandy was saying her OH's wages were $13 per hour, because at first she said

Originally Posted by mandy b

Also the amount my O/H was promised as a living wage, has been reduced by $13 an hour.

... then she said

Originally Posted by mandy b

... having to bite the bullet, and earning half then what was expected.

Anyway, there is good news, as a brickie your OH's minimum wages are according to schedule A of the 457 visa legislation are $41,850pa. So $41,850 / 52.1775 (weeks per year) / 38 (hours per week) = $21.10/hr.

Still $21.10/hour is pretty crap, some brickies are getting $2/brick !! I think your OH's best option is to find another sponsor that is paying more. It should be easy to do, theres such a shortage of tradesmen. Then tell the current sponsor to go to buggery, then report him to DIMIA, get your OH's extra $8 / hr refunded and get the company closed down, or at least loose their ability to rip off cheap migrant labour. If your oh has been working more than 38 per week (who doesn't ?) then he is owed more. Either way DIMIA will sort it out, just don't contact them until the next sponsor is lined up.

[billy braveheart]

Hi Bob

Nope I still read it as being reduce by £13 per hour maybe its just me. Whatever the company must be in breech of contract.

Janette