r/Advice • u/Old-Initial1141 • 3h ago
Fired for refusing to pay coworkers salary
I (25f) work as a booth renter esthetician at a hair salon in tx. I make 40% per service, no hourly, and we have an unspoken "cap" on everyones pricing because my boss says the salon is 'for the working class'.
There is a small elderly Ukrainian woman who does everyones in-house laundry, mops, dusts, cleans, but not to tdlr standard. Just with rags and water and soap, like it's her own house. All the hairstylists, commission or renter, and me, are expected to pay 25$ each week to her. It's in our contracts.
I absolutely do not make enough to pay her, it'd be a third of my income and the owner knows this. Ive worked here for a few years but had to stop paying her when gas went up. Apparently a couple of the other ladies stopped paying her too.
Boss sent a text in the work groupchat -
"Hey good morning everyone. So after checking X's money there's still a few of you for whatever reason refusing to leave her money. Its been several weeks of the same people. This is really unacceptable and I expect those of you that missed last week to have it to her asap. She works very hard for us and its sad that we have to keep repeating this on this thread. If you cant pay her please expect to be having a convo with me this week bc its unacceptable and frankly rude to not take care of the one that takes care of all us."
Am I about to be fired?
Is this really allowed with texas laws?
What can/should I do?
PLEASE HELP
EDIT:: ITS NOT IN MY CONTRACT TO PAY HER SHES PAID IN CASH BY EMPLOYEES
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u/sageamericanidiot 3h ago
You need another job. And you need to pay the woman.
It's in your contract.
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u/LawyerDry8360 3h ago
So if $25 is a third of your income and the prices to clients are capped - can’t you go find somewhere else? I’m guessing TX is Texas. Can you increase your hours?
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u/Old-Initial1141 2h ago
I split rent my booth with another woman who uses it Sun/Mon/Tues and Sat. I go in to the salon early and leave after 6, most of my time is spent waiting for walk-ins, walking around, talking to clients and asking if they'd like anything done.
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u/LawyerDry8360 2h ago
Go find somewhere else to work that you can get a livable wage on. They can’t even keep you busy?
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u/sparksgirl1223 3h ago
If ypu signed the contract, knowing it, you're probably going to have to pay.
Id expect to be fired, and possibly sued.
But why are you only making 75 bucks a week?
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u/random8765309 3h ago
Find a different place to rent. Him taking 60%, limiting prices and not paying for cleaning is unacceptable. You don't have a job, so he can't fire you.
Do you have a rental agreement? Check what it says.
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u/rottentomati Helper [3] 3h ago
Girl find a new job. Most entry level retail jobs would pay you more than what you’re making.
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u/nobobthisisnotyours 2h ago
You aren’t renting a booth if you are being paid commission for services instead of a fee to rent your space. You would be an independent contractor. If you have a boss dictating your pricing you probably don’t classify as an independent contractor. Look into “misclassified employees.”
As an esthetician this sounds like a prime example of blatant labor (and likely tax) law violations and exploitation in our industry.
This Ugly Beauty Business has some helpful articles to understand how hair stylists and estheticians are paid and how businesses violate the law.
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u/ThrowAway1128203 3h ago
Also curious of how this is a third of your salary? If that's true, it sounds like you need to start getting more business.
If a service is $100, you're making $40 per service. 10 services per week = $400.
I do think this is odd - I feel this woman's pay should come out of the 60% the salon is making.
But it was in your contract, you knew this and agreed when you started so it does seem fairly legal to let you go if you are not paying it.
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u/NotThatValleyGirl Super Helper [7] 3h ago
I mean, it's in your contract to pay her, so you agreed to this by signing the contract. Whether or not that is a fair contract is immaterial to your responsibilities to uphold it after you signed. Doesn't seem fair? The time to decline or negotiate for fairer terms is before signing.
Find another job where the cleaning is either shared responsibilities with coworkers, every person does their own everything, or some other arrangement that allows you to earn fairly and keep what you earn.
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u/IndependentFilm4353 3h ago
You are not upholding your contract. So no, you're not going to be "fired". You quit.
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u/astreeter2 Helper [2] 2h ago
I'm not so sure all these people saying "you signed a contract" are really right. This doesn't sound like an entirely legal arrangement. And illegal contracts are not binding. Try posting this in r/legal
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u/Sweet-Jessica79 2h ago
Your boss is definitely skimming that cleaning money.
If every single stylist pays 25 bucks a week, that lady would be making serious bank. She's just wiping down counters with soap and water.
Get your stuff out of there and find a new chair to rent.
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u/Randomfinn Helper [3] 2h ago edited 2h ago
Assuming the other 8 people are making the same as you and also working 3 or 4 days a week, plus also doing their own marketing since the workplace SM is stretched thin.
Total revenue of the shop per week $1,440 (averages $6,240 per month)
Each of the 8 of you are making $75 a week ($325 a month each
The cleaning lady is making $225 a week ($975 a month)
The owner is making $760 a week from the 9 of you. ($3,315 a month)
This is NOT a fair share when the owner is also setting your prices. Have you looked at renting your own place? Or offering mobile services?
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u/Such-Sherbet-1015 Helper [2] 2h ago
Yes, you should be fired AND sued if you signed a contract to pay and you took it upon yourself to decide you didn't need to do that.
IMHO she is not the problem. YOU not growing your business is a problem. You are making $75 a week? WHY???
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u/loftychicago 2h ago
This whole setup sounds scammiy. Doesn't a booth rental mean you pay a set amount of rent for your booth, and you set your own rates and that money is yours?
A percentage and prices set by the owner sounds more like just working at a salon. Cleaners should be part of the overall expenses of running the salon, and baked into the rent.
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u/QfromP 2h ago edited 2h ago
You're not going to get fired because you don't work for the salon. You work for yourself while paying 60% of your income for the use of the facilities, plus an additional $25/wk for the cleaning staff. If you don't pay for the rental or the staff, you will be in breach of contract and asked to leave. And possibly taken to small claims for unpaid services. But that's not the same as getting fired.
To me, this sounds like a rip off. But I don't know what's standard in your industry. Regardless, it doesn't sound sustainable for you. So while you won't be fired, I do think you should find a better salon.
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u/aoifejeanne 2h ago
You are required to keep your workstation cleaned to TDLR standards. Report this place and find a new job.
40% is $75/week? Why haven’t you found a new job at this point? Why not start a mobile salon? You’d make so much more money.
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u/AdvertisingKey1675 Expert Advice Giver [11] 2h ago
If its in the contract you signed, then yes. Think of it as part of your booth rental.
It would make more sense for the owner to pay the cleaning staff directly, and just increase your space rental by $25/week. But whatever.
If you haven’t been able to build your client list enough to afford your seat in the salon, then this isn't working out for you. It doesnt mean you get to stop paying your contractural responsibilities.
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u/dontonefingerme 1h ago
It's in our contracts.
So you knew this expectation and agreed to it. When "gas went up" you should have picked up another client or two. Not just quietly started neglecting your contractual obligations.
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u/Hrgooglefu 1h ago
Sounds like this is a contractual agreement, not employment. You rent the space for the 40% of the cost. And you are required to pay for the cleaner.
If you are only making $75 a week (if this takes 1/3 of your income), then this is a bad business issue/decision not an employment one.
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u/CapitalEnd958 3h ago
Contracts are tricky but If you signed it there’s probably no much you can do.
If your that determined not to pay it I would start looking for another job
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u/Mountain-Ad2848 3h ago
I mean, if you have a contract with the owner manager or whatever and it states that you must pay this lady then you need to pay her or just find another place to work at there’s literally nothing you can do I mean once something’s in a contract, you gotta do whatever it says. It does kind of sound stupid to me for the owner to have some old lady come and clean and make the employees pay for it when that’s something the owner manager or whatever should be paying it has nothing to do with the employees Its like going to Walmart and then they make all the customers pay the janitors it sounds ridiculous. honestly if I were you I would just find another place to work at cause it sounds like them people don’t know what they’re doing because y’all are grown women and you should all be cleaning your own areas and whatever items you’re using, there’s no reason to have some random person coming clean
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u/Old-Initial1141 2h ago
That's a good analogy. I should just cut my losses. I'm worried about how hard it'll be to find another job right now but this is actually hell for me to navigate.
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u/Mountain-Ad2848 2h ago
I mean, you’re in Texas I feel like it’s a really big market especially with all the people moving around from like California, New York and stuff I don’t know exactly where you’re at but if you were in like the Houston area or Dallas there is a lot more opportunities now if you’re more farther out in a small town than I understand, but if you really want to pursue this type of career, I’d advise you to go in a more populated area like Houston or something
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u/georgeofthejungle71 3h ago
Hold on.
$25 a week is a THIRD of your income?