Anonymous

I rely on casual hospo hours to pay my bills while establishing my sole trader business. Both of these have suddenly disappeared. My boss has put me on a token 22k salary to avoid paying me award or penalty rates- my sick leave is so small that I can’t survive on it for a week, but it also prevents me from accessing stimulus income support.

I feel like most hospo workers that I know- like me- are in some unusual employment arrangement that makes income categorisation difficult. Many are migrant workers who can’t go home and can’t pay their rent next month. We’re slipping through the cracks.