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@cassius
Hello,
I would like to point out the opportunity above advertised is not a trick to get someone to work for free or minimum wage with no benefits. Due to various circumstances external to the shop, it may well be that the work shop would be unmanned for up to 4 days in the next year or so.The shop is currently equipped with many specialist tools, which have taken years to collect, that are difficult to source and are expensive. The idea of someone using the space and the tools at hand for a small fee is an idea that is used quite frequently in hairdressing, where hair dressers 'rent a chair'.
Sargent and Co are not asking someone to undergo any kind of indoctrination and swear allegiance to a 'pretentious ethos' is about making sure it's the right person for the job, for example a mechanic with vast experience in servicing suspension forks would not have the necessary tools or customer base to work from this shop and may find they that they do not relate so well to the customers we get, as the majority are passionate about Classic Steel bikes.
A mechanic working form the shop would keep all of their takings and have access to many trade accounts, again which take time and money to invest and build up. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that they could manage to draw a pretty good wage from here.
In response to 'yup no redundancy money , no sick pay , no holiday pay no unemployment benefit cos you were self employed and didnt pay your stamp etc'
As someone else mentioned tax returns are every easy to complete for anybody with a reasonable degree of common sense, and made even easier when you pay one fee per week for your space and do not have multiple outgoings. It is also very easy to set up NI contributions as a monthly direct debit. Managing cash flow is key to managing any business regardless of takings, and this includes setting money aside for holidays, which when you work for yourself are not limited like they are when you work for most companies. Also I would say the glory days of private sector companies 'looking after' you when you are ill, pregnant, retiring are fading away and the public sector is looking like it will follow suit slowly, but surely.
I think many of the comments made here are presumptuous and to an extent naive. It is quite feasible that someone operates from here with their own existing business and uses the space to build their business, albeit a business that 'sits' comfortably with Sargent and Co, 2 business can compliment one another not just compete. This is not about exploiting people, exploiting people could be said to be paying them £15,000 and generating £50,000 of profit out of them , not letting them have share of it, making them sign a contract which stipulates they must take holidays at a set time of the year and must be able to work bank holidays and any other time 'the company deems fit'.
Everything is open to interpretation, and I like to think as adults we have the ability, courage and intelligence to view things from different angles and not be make caustic remarks without any real though to them and in response to 'UK this place fucking sucks', please do feel free to fuck off.