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Offered a too-good to be true role, thinking it could be a scam!

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  • 05-04-2019 1:21am
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭


    I'm unsure if this is the right forum for this so apologies in advance.

    Looking for some help and a few pointers for a position I was just offered. Bit of context, I work in the video production industry and have worked freelance for 4 years now since 18 so this is my first role as an employee.

    I started the job-hunting in January fully prepared to get less money in return for some stability (currently I can have no work for weeks and then a few weeks of 70+ hours of work). I got offered full-time positions at a couple of places but both were under €30K so I declined.

    Then Wednesday I interviewed at a place and got a call back the next day offering me the job. All great, the role seems easy compared to what I'm used to, appeared to be a mid-sized startup and a laidback enviroment and they're based not far out of Dublin. Here's where the problems start.

    The role & compensation are honestly too good to be true, so much so everyone I've told about it says it has to be a scam, and I agree but I don't know how. I was offered €42k salary (which is 20-25% above market for this role) and told I should expect to recieve €100 - €150k per year from their "profit sharing" bonus pool. Yes.. nearly 4x the salary as a bonus..

    The way they explained it at the interview was that 30% of company profits are added to a pool every 3 months and 20% of that is split between all employees, 5% between senior management and 5% to charities. The annual numbers they gave me were based on their last payout or something. But honestly this makes zero sense to me, I've never heard of a company doing that before..

    Sorry for the long post, here are my questions:

    - Has anyone heard of a company doing this before? What is the catch here, is it some sort of scam or tax dodging attempt?

    - What are the legalities around this sort of structure? Would I pay normal tax on any income from the bonus scheme?

    - They told me this bonus only kicks in after a 3 month probation period. Is there anything I should look out for there? It was suggested to me that they could try and let me go before the 3 months is up..

    Thanks!!


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