Hi all, hopefully this is the correct sub for this question, if not and anyone knows where it would be better received please let me know! I'm going to keep things vague for privacy reasons, if this ever got back to me my work life would become even more hellish than it already is.
So at my place of business (smaller company, ~20-30 ppl) the incentive to work is based in a quarterly bonus system (since we are underpaid imo.) We have no idea what this bonus is until we receive it, but are constantly told it's based on our collective performance and it is docked as the owner sees fit. For example: we have recently taken on about double the accounts we already manage, and as a result the production department obviously produces more waste. We are limited to a single garbage dumpster that is roughly the size of a standard bathtub but slightly taller. It is only emptied once a week and it's so small that it's filled immediately after being emptied and as a result garbage piles up in the production areas indefinitely, literally piles of garbage bags. We've begged the owner to pay to get a bigger container or second one but he refuses. He's told us if he were to get a larger dumpster the added monthly cost would be directly paid out of our communal bonus. This is an ongoing theme not limited to the dumpster. Part of the company involves working in a greenhouse full of thousands of plants and no matter how good you are at your job, some plants will always die. There are an infinite amount of variables that can cause this and most are unavoidable, pest outbreak, heat wave, cold snap, crappy growers, etc. These are totally out of our control but anytime a plant dies the cost of it is docked from our bonuses which adds up fast. Other reasons for docking can include us using more supplies than the owner feels is necessary for whatever reason. There is no accountability and I feel like this is unethical at best and illegal at worst. I mentioned it to a few friends outside the industry and they were shocked and pushed me to investigate whether or not this is legally wage theft. I'm doubtful since it's a “bonus” but I'm not sure and would love outside feedback.