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Paying an unemployed friend

Q

Qacer

Platinum Member
My friend is unemployed. I'm trying to help him out by hiring him to do some home renovations. Mostly it will be fixing the fence, sealing the wood, some landscaping job, and some painting. What would you use as an hourly pay for labor?

I was thinking maybe $10.
 
If I was unemployed and getting some under the table help I'd be happy with $10/hr for easy stuff. Maybe like $15 if there's anything intense like excavation or concrete work.
 
If you have me taking a sledgehammer to your parking lot that you want ripped up, I would probably politely pass at $10/hr. But for more typical tasks that seems fair.
 
I think it depends ...
If that is his trade (skilled labor) - it could be low.

If he was a highly compensated person, even though he's unemployed - it may be low (not saying I agree with this, $ is $ - and he needs it).

For $10/hr - he can put some food on the table ...
 
I've been in your situation... Some advice... If it's a good friendship then bid the work out as a whole job rather than pay him hourly.
 
I agree. The last thing you want is having to second guess how many hours he did actually work and if he's being totally truthful in his reporting. Pay a rate of a the whole job and be done.
 
This is why so many people are unemployed. They pick and choose what they want to do, when in reality, they don't actually do anything. When they're out of work for too long, employers like myself tend to pass on them, because we see no motivation in getting back into the work force, thus no motivation to do the actual assignment we give them when hired.
 
$10 is minimum wage (or is it higher now days?), so seems fair to me for basic work that's not too intense. People work harder in places like McDonald's and only make minimum wage.

Paying on a per job basis may be better too as suggested.
 
Red Squirrel said:
$10 is minimum wage (or is it higher now days?), so seems fair to me for basic work that's not too intense. People work harder in places like McDonald's and only make minimum wage.

Paying on a per job basis may be better too as suggested.
Click to expand...

$10/hr is minimum wage? Darn Canadians.
 
Red Squirrel said:
$10 is minimum wage (or is it higher now days?), so seems fair to me for basic work that's not too intense. People work harder in places like McDonald's and only make minimum wage.

Paying on a per job basis may be better too as suggested.
Click to expand...

No, it's not. Only one state has a minimum wage that high. It can be as low as $7.25.
 
I guess it's a good deal if he's able to collect unemployment while getting paid by you under the table. But if that's the case then he's committing fraud.
 
I like the 'by the job idea' but that may be hard to estimate. I would see what a company would charge for the renovations you want, so at least you have a ballpark number. If you are going to do hourly, I would start at $10/hr, but you are probably going to end up negotiating with him. I think home renovations would demand a higher wage if he was skilled, but I think you two can negotiate a fair price.
 
Qacer said:
My friend is unemployed. I'm trying to help him out by hiring him to do some home renovations. Mostly it will be fixing the fence, sealing the wood, some landscaping job, and some painting. What would you use as an hourly pay for labor?

I was thinking maybe $10.
Click to expand...

No experience, not much.

If this is what he did for a living and hte market suck, up to $35/hour.
 
Oh and if he does a good job tell him to come here (or probably anywhere in Canada). 😛 We have trouble finding contractors. Lot of projects are at a stand still because there's not enough people to do the actual work. For example there's like 4 hotels in the works but not a single one started because of lack of workers.
 
Yeah.

Be the cool friend and pay him by the job, not by the hour. I realize you have good intentions by trying to help your buddy out but paying him by the hour is lame.
 
Send him to my house next please 🙂

If he's skilled in those areas then $10 is insulting. If he is not and you're expecting to have paint in places you didn't intend then $10 is great.
 
paperfist said:
Send him to my house next please 🙂

If he's skilled in those areas then $10 is insulting. If he is not and you're expecting to have paint in places you didn't intend then $10 is great.
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This is very true. If he does a professional job then pay him by room for painting. Landscaping, pay him by yard, sealing a deck, pay him for that job, fixing the fence, pay by the job as well.
 
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