min director in small business 20% profit sharing: expected to be on call 24/7

[HomersCash]

Hi,

I'm a minority director of a small business, with 20% profit sharing.

M.D. runs a number of businesses, and is the 80% owner of this business.

In essence, I am the operations manager of the business, i.e. meet clients, proposals, quotations, sales, managing employees, managing commissionings, p.m., meeting deadlines etc.

I currently work approx 50+ hrs per week, on a fixed salary (no overtime), have a car allowance, no vhi, no pension.

All understood, all agreed.

However, recently M.D. informed me I should have phone on call at all times, i.e. late at night, and all weekends, because "you're self-employed, and self-employed people have to be able to respond to their client 24/7"

I don't agree with this view, as I believe if I was self-employed, I own 100%

Opinions?

 

[mickk]

I dont think anyone else can really comment beacuse nobody knows the more intricate details of your business relationship... Putting it in perspective is it really a big deal, how often is he really going to ring you out of hours and is it that bad if he does? Refusing could potentially lead to falling out and make for awkward working conditions...

 

[mathepac]

...
I'm a minority director of a small business, with 20% profit sharing.

...because "you're self-employed, and self-employed people have to be able to respond to their client 24/7"

I don't agree with this view, as I believe if I was self-employed, I own 100%

...

I don't agree that you are self-employed either. Unless you are a share-holder in the business in which you work, you are just an employee with a "20% profit sharing" which is just a bonus scheme and the title of "operations director" - or am I wrong?

 

[contemporary]

I am a company director with a majority shareholding, and I am not available to clients 24/7.

Your boss is taking the pi$$, although you are technically self employed as you are a director (you pay the self employed prsi rates if you own more than 15%), no one is under any obligation to be available at all times,

out of interest have you seen any of this profit over the last few years?

 

[HomersCash]

Contemporary.

As you pointed out, technically M.D. is correct in that Im taxed as a director, and uses this technically to really push the "self-employed" aspect.

In relation to profits, we did ok last year...but really after tax, the profit sharing % is more equatable to a standard company bonus.....

Essentially, employees are paid by the hour, so every hour overtime is just that - overtime.

I briefly worked out, that even after adding in the profit, over the course of 12 months, due to fact I'm not getting overtime, yet continually work 50+ hrs and the manager of the company blah de blah, I'm coming out with less than the employees....
i.e. employee flat rate plus overtime x 52 > my salary plus % profit

Somethings gotta give me thinks...??

 

[z103]

Why not just sell 6%? You'd get your PRSI benefits back, and also get your PAYE tax credits.
Get paid like all the other employees.

Sounds like you're getting the worst of both worlds at the moment.