{"id":1861,"date":"2019-07-17T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T23:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=1861"},"modified":"2019-07-22T15:44:27","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T05:44:27","slug":"how-does-your-income-compare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/07\/17\/how-does-your-income-compare\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Your Income Compare?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Rebecca Barnett<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Try this quick quiz …<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hands up if you earned more than $47,000 gross last year in massage therapy income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you raised your hand, then you\u2019re doing better than the 82% of massage therapists who responded to AMT\u2019s workforce survey back in September 2017. Yep, you read that right – 82% of us earn less than $47,000 from massage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also means that 82% of massage therapists are earning less than the full-time minimum award wage under the Health Professionals and Support Award 2010<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s pretty easy to forget that we have an Award when so few therapists are employed under it, but I am getting ahead of myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on AMT\u2019s 2017 data, only 27% of us are earning more than the current full time minimum wage ($38,520). It\u2019s a sobering statistic. (Before you get too depressed, I should probably point out that the minimum full-time award wage for a law graduate is only $51,766. Hardly enough to invest in a waterfront mansion in Point Piper while you\u2019re paying your HECS debt.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
from AMT Workforce Survey 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Round 2<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hands up if you or your employer made superannuation contributions last financial year on your behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you answered yes, then you\u2019re doing better than 57% of massage therapists who responded to AMT\u2019s 2017 workforce survey. Yep, you read that right too: 57% of us appear to be making no provisions for superannuation. Based on this data, we\u2019re facing a crisis, with an entire generation of massage therapists seemingly set to retire without any kind of safety net from super. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“That’s nuts!”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Round 3<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hands up if you were employed under the Health Professionals Support Award 2010 last financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations! You are part of only a tiny percentage of the massage therapy sector \u2013 8.4%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were employed full-time under the Award, you are the rarest of beasts: just under two percent of us have a full-time position, receiving holiday and personal leave, and all the other entitlements associated with the Award, including superannuation. Just over 2% are employed part-time and an (almost impressive) 4.5% of us are employed as casuals under the Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now, you could argue that the statistics quoted above are not terribly representative, since they\u2019re based on a small sample of only 479 respondents. But there\u2019s plenty of other anecdotal evidence I can provide that suggests we\u2019re in the midst of an epidemic of unstable or precarious employment and sham contracting. If the number of inquiries and calls we receive in AMT Head Office (from members and non-members alike) regarding employment contracts is anything to go by, there\u2019s a mountain of exploitation going on. Somehow, AMT has become the go-to Association for bringing your employment woes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other workers in the \u201cgig economy\u201d, many massage therapists are seduced by the false promise of flexibility and choice: they believe that they\u2019re financially better off working as subcontractors, largely because the fee they earn per massage – essentially earning piece rates – is far higher than the hourly award rate. Compounding the narrative of self-determination and choice is the fact that there are hardly any actual jobs out there \u2013 if only 8.5% of us are employed under the Award, then there can\u2019t be a lot of genuine employed positions being advertised on the myriad unfiltered social media sites, or RTO and association websites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of us then \u2013 the 91.5% not employed under the Award – are expected to flourish as entrepreneurs in one form or another, either working for ourselves as sole traders and contractors, or perhaps as a company\/business engaging other massage therapists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are massage entrepreneurs really faring better than the wage earners due to our higher hourly earnings and acres of freedom and flexibility? Are people engaged in non-Award positions and contracts really earning more? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Examples<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s have a look at a case involving Brisbane City Thai Massage who were prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman in the Federal Circuit Court last year (February 2018), Fair Work Ombudsman v Bishnu Laxmi Ganesha Trading Pty Ltd<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over a three-month period, one massage\ntherapist working in the business was underpaid $7708, which meant that she\nonly earned 39% of what she was entitled to be paid. A second employee only\nearned 41% of what she was entitled to under the Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges ruling on the case notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… this company, over the three month paid, was saving itself, on average, 60 per cent of what it should have been paying to what it did actually pay. In other words, it was giving itself a huge advantage over its competitors.
 
It also needs to be borne in mind that these two employees were vulnerable, having come here to the country on working visas. They are entitled to be protected under Australian workplace law and to not be taken advantage of in the way they have been by this company. <\/em><\/p>Fair Work Ombudsman v Bishnu Laxmi Ganesha Trading Pty Ltd & Ors [2018] FCCA 487 (7 February 2018)<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The \u201ccompetitive advantage\u201d enjoyed by the business ended up costing the company dearly. The judge ordered penalties to a sum of $120,225. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at another massage therapy business that the FWO found to be underpaying workers. Between 15 January 2018 and 11 March 2018, King\u2019s Day Spa and Massage underpaid 22 workers <\/a>$39,830<\/a><\/strong>.<\/a> That\u2019s basically 20 grand a month!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the FWO media release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspectors found that workers were <\/em>paid a percentage of each massage they provided<\/em><\/strong> to customers between 15 January 2018 and 11 March 2018, rather than the lawful minimum wage for each hour worked.
 
This resulted in underpayment of the minimum weekly wage, overtime rates, casual loadings and penalty rates for weekend and public holiday work they were entitled to under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010.
 
The company also failed to issue pay slips to employees, in breach of the Fair Work Act. <\/em><\/p>FWO media release<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Round 4<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hands up those of you who are paid a percentage of each massage you provide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those \u201cflexible\u201d work arrangements are starting to sound a bit less attractive, aren\u2019t they? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If the inquiries to AMT Head Office about work contracts are any kind of indication, the FWO cases quoted above are probably the tip of the underpayment iceberg. It\u2019s not unusual to hear stories of subcontractors sitting around at a clinic for six hours waiting for work and going home at the end of a \u201cshift\u2019 without a zac* to show for it. This is not OK. It\u2019s not even lawful \u2013 where an award exists, a business can\u2019t expect you to work for less than minimum rates in the Award. And remember \u2013 we do have an Award<\/a>. In fact, as of 1 July 2019, we got a 3% pay rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 5<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Put your hands up if you\u2019re getting paid a percentage of each massage you provide and you recently had a 3% increase in the percentage. Nah, didn\u2019t think so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, AMT is not in a position to provide legal advice to our members on contracts and employment conditions. We\u2019re a professional association, not a union. However, what we can do is provide members with information and resources, which we try to do, principally via social media, email and phone support. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog, where I talk more specifically about distinguishing between subcontracting and being an employee, and a wee bit about superannuation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*This means “nothing”, “bugger all”, “nada”, “zippo”, “zilch”, “worked for free today”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do the statistics in this article surprise or shock you? Or are they what you expected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Author<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"This<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As CEO of AMT, Rebecca Barnett cannot deny that her union roots run deep. Though she be but little, she is fiercely dedicated to massage therapists’ workplace rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How much are you earning compared to other massage therapists? Is your employer (or you) contributing to your superannuation? Are you a contractor earning more than the Award for massage therapists? AMT CEO Rebecca Barnett breaks down the data to reveal the truth about how massage therapists work and what they’re earning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[452,87,210,461,459,453,454,460,34,457,216,455,456,458],"class_list":["post-1861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-practice","tag-award","tag-contractor","tag-employment","tag-fair-work-ombudsman","tag-gig-economy","tag-health-professionals-and-support-award-2010","tag-payment","tag-piece-rate","tag-rebecca-barnett","tag-subcontractor","tag-superannuation","tag-underemployment","tag-wages","tag-workforce-survey"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2943,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2020\/11\/18\/a-tale-of-two-charts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":0},"title":"A tale of two charts","author":"admin","date":"18\/11\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In this week's very small blog post, we pose a question based on two ugly but functional charts.","rel":"","context":"In "Massage"","block_context":{"text":"Massage","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/massage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Dolar-sign-scaled.jpg?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Dolar-sign-scaled.jpg?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Dolar-sign-scaled.jpg?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Dolar-sign-scaled.jpg?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1954,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/award-winning\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":1},"title":"Award Winning","author":"admin","date":"07\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"You're a contractor so the Award wage isn't relevant to you, right? 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