Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I had to pay social charges of several thousand or 47 per cent of my income, whichever was
the largest, per year.
'As soon as you start working, even if you are not being paid, you have to pay. It doesn't
matter what you get from us. That's not the issue. If you are working for the farm, even if
you are making no money, you have to pay,' he said.
Remembering Ellie's tough-guy 'Stop!' routine with him the last time, I considered asking
him to hold on while I fetched my three-year-old bodyguard from school.
'The farm isn't making any money, not even enough to pay Sean the minimum wage. I'm
looking for a job off the farm or to start another business. At the moment the farm can't
support one person, let alone two.'
'You still have to pay the social charges. Unless you have a full-time job off the farm you
have to pay the social charges as if you are the
exploitant
. You could declare yourself as
working part-time on the minimum wage but then you have to declare exactly what you
do for the business on the declared days and keep detailed records. If we find you doing
something that is not on your declared activities or working out of the hours you declare,
it will be bad for you. Anyway, that will land up being more expensive than the minimum
charge as
exploitant
if you are making a loss.'
I wondered if I had fallen into the well in
Alice in Wonderland
. How could this be the
only option? It would break us.
'If you don't agree to this, I will check you regularly and you can be sure we will catch
you doing something that could be considered part of the business even if it is a bit of DIY.
Then you will have to pay a fine and still pay the social charges. There is no other option
for you. I highly recommend that you sign up for the full plate of charges right now.'
He held out a pen to me.
My throat was tight with stress. I felt like shouting 'Stop!' but no sound came out. Our
finances were way off healthy and this would tip us over the edge.
He wasn't going to leave until I had signed the papers. It was that or be constantly houn-
ded, unable to even paint the walls on the weekend without being caught and fined for
working undeclared. The huge man loomed ominously over me with the pen. He gave me
a big smile.
'Don't worry, I will write the letter saying you are now working full-time for the farm. All
you have to do is sign it. Our objective isn't to put you out of business. Of course, it's im-
portant that you survive so you can pay us.'
I felt like vomiting onto his pristine white shirt. Under his pressure I signed the docu-
ments. He gave me a satisfied smile.
That evening Sean and I went through numerous scenarios. No matter what we did, with
this new burden we would be working to pay our suppliers and the social charges and not
even covering that.
