This is kind of long, I'm sorry, but it's a difficult situation. If you can take the time to read and you have any suggestions, I'll be so grateful.
My SO lives on the property where he works. The business owners also live on the property. He lives in their trailer, and the original deal was that he could live there rent free, the trailer's utilities would be paid by the owners, and he would work for them 40 hours per month. He was also due to receive some payment each month, I think it was around $200.
The owners made increasing demands on him to work more. They have several renovation projects going on around the property, none of which have been finished before new projects are started. My SO is expected to work on these projects, alongside his usual chores, as well as the work he does independently of them. To the best of his ability, he did this. He worked far in excess of his 40 hours per month, often being the only person on the property over weekends when the owners were away, and picking up the slack when other helpers (volunteers) didn't show up.
The owners claimed he was doing his job "wrong". I'm not sure how wrong you can go with cleaning horse stalls and ensuring the animals have food, but I'm sure my SO knows what he's doing. He's been doing this kind of work for years. The owners then suggested that he should get rid of his dog, because they thought there was dog poo everywhere - they have three dogs that defecate anywhere they please, including inside the house, but my SO's dog usually does his business as far from the house as possible. They used to feed my SO's dog so he would come and sit on their porch, and on one occasion, the dog did what all the other dogs were doing and took a dump on their front step. Their response was to pick up the turd, and put it on the front step of the trailer.
The propane for the trailer ran out last week. My SO has been keeping track of his hours that he's been working, and told the owners that he was out of propane. It's now getting down to below freezing at night, and they worry that the horses are getting cold at night. They refuse to buy more propane for the trailer until the 1st of December, when he'll turn in his hours. Until then, he is sleeping in the freezing cold with no heat, no means to cook for himself, and no money.
He told me this morning that he is ok, and I shouldn't worry, but it makes me so angry to think of these people denying him such basic things as heat and the means to make food, because they have some sort of grudge against him (which nobody can explain, it's just an unspoken mood as far as I can tell). They don't seem to understand how much work he puts in for such little reward, and he feels more and more as if they are trying to make him leave. He currently has nowhere else to go, and doesn't have the money to get his own place. He also needs their facilities to run his business.
I really want to say something to the owners - when I first came out to visit they would invite us for supper, take us out, and we got on really well. I classed them amongst our friends. Since I've come home from my second trip this summer, things have become worse and worse. I took on running their company website in exchange for board for my horse at their place, and they still implied that I owed them the full amount of money.
I'm mostly outraged by the propane issue. How is it ok for them to be concerned for the horses but allow a human being to shiver all night with no heat, and expect him to be happy to get up and go to work in the morning when he can't even make a cup of tea or coffee? How is it ok that they are warm and comfortable up in the house but he is wrapped up in every blanket he can find?
My SO has no written contract with them, and he's not an official employee in any sense, so it doesn't look like he has any rights. I want to say something to them, but I'm worried I will make the situation for him worse. I have no idea how to deal with this problem. There isn't really anywhere else that he could go to work, locally, and because he has been working for trade, he doesn't have a lot of money available. I can't afford to help him get away from the place, but they're treating him so badly. I don't know if the best thing to do is just support him as best as I can and keep my nose out of the dispute itself, or if I should get involved and take on the battle with him.
Any suggestions?
My SO lives on the property where he works. The business owners also live on the property. He lives in their trailer, and the original deal was that he could live there rent free, the trailer's utilities would be paid by the owners, and he would work for them 40 hours per month. He was also due to receive some payment each month, I think it was around $200.
The owners made increasing demands on him to work more. They have several renovation projects going on around the property, none of which have been finished before new projects are started. My SO is expected to work on these projects, alongside his usual chores, as well as the work he does independently of them. To the best of his ability, he did this. He worked far in excess of his 40 hours per month, often being the only person on the property over weekends when the owners were away, and picking up the slack when other helpers (volunteers) didn't show up.
The owners claimed he was doing his job "wrong". I'm not sure how wrong you can go with cleaning horse stalls and ensuring the animals have food, but I'm sure my SO knows what he's doing. He's been doing this kind of work for years. The owners then suggested that he should get rid of his dog, because they thought there was dog poo everywhere - they have three dogs that defecate anywhere they please, including inside the house, but my SO's dog usually does his business as far from the house as possible. They used to feed my SO's dog so he would come and sit on their porch, and on one occasion, the dog did what all the other dogs were doing and took a dump on their front step. Their response was to pick up the turd, and put it on the front step of the trailer.
The propane for the trailer ran out last week. My SO has been keeping track of his hours that he's been working, and told the owners that he was out of propane. It's now getting down to below freezing at night, and they worry that the horses are getting cold at night. They refuse to buy more propane for the trailer until the 1st of December, when he'll turn in his hours. Until then, he is sleeping in the freezing cold with no heat, no means to cook for himself, and no money.
He told me this morning that he is ok, and I shouldn't worry, but it makes me so angry to think of these people denying him such basic things as heat and the means to make food, because they have some sort of grudge against him (which nobody can explain, it's just an unspoken mood as far as I can tell). They don't seem to understand how much work he puts in for such little reward, and he feels more and more as if they are trying to make him leave. He currently has nowhere else to go, and doesn't have the money to get his own place. He also needs their facilities to run his business.
I really want to say something to the owners - when I first came out to visit they would invite us for supper, take us out, and we got on really well. I classed them amongst our friends. Since I've come home from my second trip this summer, things have become worse and worse. I took on running their company website in exchange for board for my horse at their place, and they still implied that I owed them the full amount of money.
I'm mostly outraged by the propane issue. How is it ok for them to be concerned for the horses but allow a human being to shiver all night with no heat, and expect him to be happy to get up and go to work in the morning when he can't even make a cup of tea or coffee? How is it ok that they are warm and comfortable up in the house but he is wrapped up in every blanket he can find?
My SO has no written contract with them, and he's not an official employee in any sense, so it doesn't look like he has any rights. I want to say something to them, but I'm worried I will make the situation for him worse. I have no idea how to deal with this problem. There isn't really anywhere else that he could go to work, locally, and because he has been working for trade, he doesn't have a lot of money available. I can't afford to help him get away from the place, but they're treating him so badly. I don't know if the best thing to do is just support him as best as I can and keep my nose out of the dispute itself, or if I should get involved and take on the battle with him.
Any suggestions?
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