Two months ago, I came home for the summer after my second year of university. A friend of mine got a cool gig working for another friend of hers. The pay was good, the hours acceptable. She asked me if I wanted a job for the spring months. I said yes.

It was a fun job and we worked hard. After the first two weeks, they gave us half our money in cash and said they would give us the other half after the next two weeks by cheque.

We thought that was odd, but I trusted my friend who trusted her friend. After another two weeks, they again gave us half in cash. Essentially, they owed us 50 per cent of our wage. My friend asked her friend what was going on and she apologized but said they were having cash flow issues. She promised we would get what was owed us after the next two weeks.

You guessed it – another two weeks went by and they gave us half in cash. We were so mad and couldn’t understand how they could get away with this. My friend called up her friend and I could hear her apologizing but no promise of our money.

We said we wouldn’t work anymore. She brought us each a cheque, for what we were owed, but postdated to the end of the originally agreed upon eight weeks. And she said that if we didn’t work the last two weeks, she would cancel the cheques.

So, we worked the last two weeks, cashed our cheques, and ran. In the end we got screwed out of 25 per cent of our promised pay.

What should we have done differently?

Hard workers

You two didn’t do anything wrong…. It was the people you worked for who were in the wrong. My guess is that they thought they could take advantage of two young students…. And they did. Lesson learned.

But how do you put that into future practice? Get it in writing. It doesn’t matter if the job is only eight weeks. It doesn’t have to be a formal document, just something that says how long you plan to work, the hours and the intended pay. Have them sign and you sign, and take a photo for proof.

My other suggestion is more for your friend, which is to not mix work and friends. I’m guessing their friendship was hurt by this incident, since relationships of any kind, including friendships, are built on trust.

I applied to several jobs in the city and out of country for the summer. The first job offered was probably my last choice, but I was worried I wouldn’t get anything else. So, I accepted.

They wanted me to start two weeks later. However, I received another offer from a job I wanted more, in the States. The only problem was the expense for travel and accommodation.

I figured out how to make that job work without spending too much up front, and then “quit” the first job. Now the American job is giving me the run around with visas, etc., saying it will take them another two weeks to get organized.

I’m just sitting here wasting time. What do I do?

Unemployed

Call the first job back, ask if you can do a short stint for two weeks. Explain that your summer changed and your leaving town, which is why you “quit.” But you have two weeks before you go and would love to work for them during that time, if they still need you.

If they say yes, great! And that’ll help you make money to go to the States. If they say no, look around for something else, but be honest.

FEEDBACK Regarding the child whose playdate ended weirdly (May 24):

Reader – “The very young child might, or might not, be able to adjust to a friend's much-smaller (or otherwise ‘different’) home on playdates.

“You didn't suggest the obvious: playdates with this friend outside, for now and the summer at least. That can easily be explained to the other parents: ‘We find that right now, Johnny is more comfortable playing outside than inside other friends' homes.’”

Lisi – This is a very practical and easy response. I like it.

Little kids have very big emotions but they lack the maturity and verbal prowess to express themselves. Parents have to be their children’s advocates. They have to try to do best by their children. Sometimes they’ll get it wrong. As long as the child knows they can count on their parent for support.

There will be other awkward moments in this kid’s life.