Q2A
Got a question from someone who said......
I have just completed my third year appretice course for plastering at Burnley college.
I am still employed by the plasterer who took me on three years ago as an appretice.
I have passed all my 3 years but I am still only paid £120 per week.
I am looking into going to university next year 2010.
I need some advice and to talk to someone about this option.
As I work full time I cannot get down to my local office and my employer would not give me time off.
What is the best step that I can take
I am 19 years of age.
Thanks
This is our reply.......
Hi thanks for your enquiry. You sent it to QuickQ2A but gave us so much information that we are answering it here in the Answer File so that we can give a full answer.
We hope we're right in thinking that you've finished your Apprenticeship now: if so,
congratulations! We'll give you information about the ways you can get into Higher
Education because you've asked about this specifically, but we'll also give you some
information about your pay which you may find helpful as we get the feeling that you're feeling disappointed about this even though you haven't asked us about it.
We don't know which level of Apprenticeship you've done, and we don't know what you intend to study at university, but here are some suggestions for if you're thinking of staying in the construction industry:
# If you've completed a Level 2 Apprenticeship which is equivalent to 5 GCSE's
grades A*-C you could move on to an Advanced Apprenticeship which will give you the
equivalent of two A levels. This will probably be enough to get a place on a Foundation
Degree or a Higher National Certificate or Diploma (HNC, HND). For example, the
University of Central Lancashire ask for one A Level for entry on to their 2 year full-time Foundation Degree in Construction and the Built Environment.
# If you've competed a Level 3 Apprenticeship which is equivalent to two A Levels
this, along with your work experience, may be enough to get on to a degree course. For example the University of Bolton ask for a minimum of two A Levels but prefer three for entry to their 3 year full-time degree course in Construction.
It's important to ring up and talk to your chosen colleges or universities because there's usually a certain amount of flexibility about what qualifications they ask for. You can find all the colleges and universities, and the courses they offer at http://www.ucas.co. Alternatively, UCAS produce all this information in book form called The Big Guide, which you may be able to look at in the Burnley Infocentre for Young People or in the reference section of your local library:
# The Infocentre for Young People, 9-11 Hall Street, Burnley. BB1 1JQ. Telephone:
01282 478600. Open Monday - Friday 9.30am-5pm except Tuesday 10am-5pm. Closed
for lunch 12.30pm-1.30pm
# Burnley Library, Grimshaw Street, Burnley, BB11 2BD. Telephone: 01282
437115. Open: Monday-Friday 9.30am-5pm except Monday and Thursday open until 7pm, Saturday 9.30am-4pm
You tell us that you're 'still only paid £120 per week'. Your employer has been paying you above the minimum wage rate for Apprentices (which was £90 per week, £95 from August 2009) which is generous but, if you have completed your Apprenticeship and are now working as an employee with a definite employment contract, you should now be receiving the National Minimum Wage which for your age group is £4.83 per hour before deductions of Income Tax and National Insurance. If we assume you work a 40 hour week at £4.83 per hour, your gross pay per year (before deductions) would be just over £10,000, making a gross weekly wage of just under £200.
The best way to start would be to have an informal chat with your employer if you can, and if there are other employees in the same situation you could get them involved as well so that you're not on your own. You could start the conversation along the lines of 'I'm really grateful for the opportunity you've given me to train with you as an Apprentice, and also for the money you've paid me while I was training, but I am now wondering if you would be prepared to pay me the National Minimum Wage to which I feel I am now entitled.'
We recognise that you may be worried about the effect on your job in talking to your
employer about this but we hope that having worked for them for the past three years you'll have built up a good relationship. Some employers are unaware of their employee's rights to the National Minimum Wage so it may just be that your employer needs to be given the information, or perhaps they just need reminding that you are no longer an Apprentice and should now be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.
Rates of pay for qualified plasterers vary depending on the level of qualification, the
employer, whereabouts in the country people live and work, and the availability of work. The following figures from the Building and Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council are only a guide:
# Standard minimum wage for a plasterer with NVQ Level 2 qualification: £18,150
# Standard minimum wage for a plasterer with NVQ Level 3 qualification: £21,111
# Higher earners e.g. self-employed, may earn more than £35,000
If you would rather get help first about this here's where you can go. Some of these
maybe difficult to get to if you can't get out of work but you could perhaps take a day's
holiday from work, or there is always the Pay and Rights Helpline:
# The Pay and Work Rights helpline, 0800 917 2368, open 8am-8pm Monday -
Friday, 9am -1pm Saturday
# The Infocentre for Young People, 9-11 Hall Street, Burnley. BB1 1JQ. Telephone:
01282 478600. Open Monday - Friday 9.30am-5pm except Tuesday 10am-5pm. Closed
for lunch 12.30pm-1.30pm
# Citizens Advice Bureau, 144-148 St James Street, Burnley. BB11 1NR.
Telephone: 01282 450535. Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9.15am-
10.30am for an introductory interview, door opens at 9.00am
We hope we've given you enough information to help you decide what your next move will be. If you think we can help further please email us again, about this or anything else. Whatever you decide to do we wish you every success!
Best wishes from q2a.
Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information in this answer is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. |
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