Bethel layoff question

by CookieMonster 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  CookieMonster

  Hi,

  With the layoffs of Bethelites and Special Pioneers, does anyone know if they get some sort of "redundancy" payout?
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  jookbeard

  I very much doubt it
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  breakfast of champions

  Lol! This should be in the Jokes/Humor section.
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  _Morpheus

  Absolutely not. Their "service" ends at the conclusion of a month. They get no payment for the followimg month. If a bethelite gets sent home mid month your still outta luck. Whatever you got is what your going to get.
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  ZAPPA-ESQUE

  It will depend on the conditions of tenure of the Bethalites within a particular country - as it pertains to that nations Labour Laws.

  So if JW had to "employ" the Bethalites then they would more than likely be bound to specific legislation related to a "Retrenchment process" *- which should include a pay-out, and also the Bethalites should have been part of an Unemployment Insurance Fund which will allow you to draw a payment from the labour office for a certain very short period.

  * Generally this 'process" [yes its a process] cant take place overnight or even in a very short period of time. Its cannot be a unilateral process either and extensive negotiation has to take place involving all parties concerned.

  I would be interested to know the process that these Bethalites faced in various parts of the world. I feel that I stand to be shocked !
• 

  life is to short

  I can totally attest to it. YOU GET NOTHING! We were in Brooklyn Bethel for 90 Sands and when we left in 1994 it was your out of here. Nothing else. You barley get a piece of paper telling future employers where you were for all those's years. You have to beg for that, and I mean that you have to go to the construction office and ask for it and they they ask why you want it and you have to tell them well we need to find work and having a two and a half year gap will probably cause future employer's to question it, yad, yad, yad. It's totally crazy.

  Zappa we were at Brooklyn Bethel in the US. Maybe in other country's but not here. We took a vow of poverty and you get nothing. I remember the very first day when we were just starting orientation and the brother giving it was walking us down to the 50 building to show us somethings. My husband and I were standing right beside him and he told us he was sick of ones coming to Bethel and then when they left blaming Bethel for them struggling financially. I will never forget his exact words "No one made them come and they should have counted the costs" It really, really bothered me but I was so cult induced and told that Jehovah would never let his true worshipers go without that I shrugged off his words but they never left my mind.

  LITS
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  CookieMonster

  I found this interesting but someone with more legal know how may be able to comment on the Legal Status of Volunteers in UK

  Would Bethelites and SPs meet the definition of employment even though they are no employees of WT? Can they take WT to tribunal?

  Legal status of volunteers

  While volunteers are not included in employment legislation, a small number of volunteers have in the past managed to demonstrate that they were in fact employed in the eyes of the law. This means that they would have access to some or all employment rights.

  This issue typically arises where a volunteer has felt that they were discriminated against or unfairly dismissed, and attempted to bring a case to an Employment Tribunal. Before hearing the case itself, the Tribunal has to decide whether the individual meets the definition of employment in the relevant legislation.

  Legal definitions of employment are based on the existence of a contract in place between the employer and employee. Although we tend to think of contracts as written documents, the contract is actually the relationship itself (the written document is in effect a description of the contract, not the contract itself). To simplify slightly, the Tribunal would be looking for two key elements in the relationship, ‘consideration’ and ‘intent’. Consideration means something of value is being exchanged (or at least offered and accepted). It doesn’t need to be of much value – that’s where the idea of a peppercorn rent comes from.

  Intent can be inferred from the relationship itself, even if neither party explicitly stated that they wanted to create a legal relationship. To put it simply, if it looks like someone is working in return for payment, a Tribunal may well decide that there was a contract in place. They would be looking to see if there were clear binding obligations in place.

  If a ‘volunteer’ is found to be in a contract to provide their services (ie their work), they will meet a broad definition of employment shared by the anti-discrimination legislation and the minimum wage act. The relationship could even meet the narrower definition used by the Employment Rights Act 1996, which gives individuals full employment rights. This is harder to pin down, but a clear distinction is that there is an obligation on the organisation to provide work (and therefore payment).
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  jookbeard

  I would have thought if you get nothing after serving in the USA bethel you'd be getting nothing in other Bethels worldwide.
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  Mephis

  Wasn't there an issue in Spain where they require people thrown out to sign away their rights to what they could legally claim in compensation under Spanish law?
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  brandnew

  I work offshore on an oil platform......for many years we were payed a day rate. All that changed due to overtime laws in the US. Maybe some ex bethelites need to be talking to some tort lawers.

  Just sayin.