Would You Work for no pay?

[cinema guy]

British Airways is asking staff to work one month unpaid, to help it get through the financial downturn. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...taff-pay-month

Would you do it?

[Aethian]

There is a restaurant here that was about to close. The workers got together and asked their boss what they could doto save their jobs. He had said it would take nothing more then some free help and so thats what they did. Two days a week they work free, get paid for four working days and have one day off.

The place is still in business and was able to start paying for five days work if he still got a sixth unpaid from each of them. The owner himself has not cut himself a paycheck since last year.

[PizzaDrone]

I voted no, but only in the case that the place I worked for was a franchise of sorts. If I worked for a local business or for someone I was close to, then I would lend a free hand. This would also apply if I genuinely loved the job and had no bills to pay. However, I feel that franchises often have more money that they're letting on and I know that are encouraged to run on the bare-minimum. In the case of British Airways, although air travel is considered to be safe, the crews are still required to be placed in situations where there could be an accident.

Its also worth comparing it to someone not having enough cash to pay their bills and rent...how many landlords would allow them to live there for free?

[Dips]

That wouldn't work in the US. It's against federal law to do work without pay unless you work for a non-profit. Even if you want to work for free to help out a great boss, you can't.

Employers and employees are free to agree to a wage or salary reduction to save the company or their jobs. However, the wage cannot go below federal minimum wage unless you are a tipped employee and make enough in tips to bring you up to the minimum.

[Greenday]

The only way I'd work for free was if someone else was taking care of all my expenses. So hell no.

[PizzaDrone]

Walsh, along with Keith Williams, the chief financial officer, has promised to work for nothing in July. But the idea has gone down badly with unions. They point out that Walsh, on a salary of £735,000, can afford a month with no pay, while his subordinates will seriously struggle. The average salary for BA's cabin staff is £29,900, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

^ This would also sway my opinion. How much money could have been saved by making cuts with the higher-ups?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Not only no, but hell no. I have bills to be paid.

[Aethian]

Staff works for Free

Note that their are some pop ups, sorry for that. This is not the place I was talking about in my previous post but the first one to do it in my home state.

[XCashier]

The only way I'd work for free was if someone else was taking care of all my expenses. So hell no.

Exactly. I'd be willing to take a temporary pay cut, but not work for free. I've got a family to feed and bills to pay.

[draggar]

THis is a tough decision because companies can fire you whenever they want (I'm sure anyone can be fired for something) so companies have the advantage now - the job makret sucks so they can say things like this. My company hasn't given out any raises in 2008 and will not in 2009 (heh, I wonder where in the ladder that stopped?).

The issue is that while it is a good gesture to help the company, as it was said, we have bills to pay - I'm sure my mortgage bank, my car loan bank, my electric company, me utilities company, my auto insurancre company, my health insurance company would quickly hit me every which way if I didn't pay them for a month (and that's not including gas, food, water, etc..).

Voluntarily - I'll say hell no but if it meant to save my job I really wouldn't have much of a choice. You can always still look for employment while working.

Work for free to help the company? Hell no. They can work it out - save budget from advertising or all those sponsorships. Maybe a VP not getting paid for a month can save 5 or 6 "grunts" and the CEO could probably easily save 10-15 "grunts" paychecks. They got us into this mess - why should I have to suffer?

To save my job? Again, no choice here. Hmm, work for free or get laid off and not have a job and not get paid (until unemployment kicks in - which can be a few weeks at least and barely anything - less than half of what I make now.

[sanchopanza65]

I would in a heartbeat, but then again, I've been going to the church I work at my entire life, and love everybody there, so it's a completely different situation for me. I already do that, kind of. If they have bible school and I'm not on vacation, then I'll do the whole week for free, just to thank them for giving me a job.

[Mr Slugger]

I think a couple of restaurants have done this with success, but mind you the wait staff ends up making more from tips because people know they're working for free.

But I had to say hell no for myself, and in all honesty I would say hell no to a paycut. But just looking at the working for free part. I mean what happens if you work for free and then the company still goes under. Now you worked for free and got no job.

The only thing I might consider is if it was a mom an pops with a small staff that I'd work a day for free in exchange for a piece of the company.

[iradney]

Depends on how long I'd have to work for no pay. If it was e.g. one day a week for no pay, that's doable. The company'd save money, and I'd still be able to afford rent, food and gas. Alternatively, I would happily work an extra day a week for free, but only for a limited time.

[crazylegs]

I already do time before and after my shift, but to do a whole month with no money coming in at all? That would be very tough indeed.

[CaroPhoenix]

I voted "yes" simply because I have done it before.

I worked for a company that made a security program for companies. All their contracts, paperwork, etc. was actually in one of the Twin Towers and so everything was lost when 9/11 happened. I went without pay for like 3 or 4 months before I really had to get a job that paid actual money. (I was saving up for my wedding at the time). The president of the company and his vice-president of the company paid for our health insurance out of their pocket (which was good because I seemed to have been terribly accident-prone a lot during my stay at the company). I loved working there. If they were hiring another receptionist, I'd work there in a heartbeat again.