Thread: A lot of problems at work

i work ina retail shop this has been an ongoing problem and i have a lot of things to bring up. But i would like any advice on anything i bring up. Thanks in advance


I have been working at this company for 3 years. 1 of the problems i had was when i joined my contract was put up to 20 hours a week. I signed the contract and all was fine. Recently management informed me as part of head offices cuts i am now on 8 hours a week. It has been like that for a few months however they never got me to sign any contract stating my new contract would be 8 hours a week. Do they have any rights in doing this?

Next is the issue of blackmail. Management has told me time and time again that if i voluntered and worked for free (due to the hour cuts) then when they get more hours they might give me some extra hours. In fact a few times i have done a 4 hour shift there and gone to leave after my 4 hours were up and i was told some things along the lines of "we will remember this, when we get more hours you wont be getting any extra hours". can theyactually do this? refuse to give me extra hours because i wont work for free? Relating to this issue i was informed the other day i had training to do and i could either come in for free 1hour earlier and do it or i would have to stay behind after and miss my bus to do it.


Another problem i have there is when they change hours, we have 3 managers. Many times i have checked my hours, seen it was a certain day i was in, then iv gone in that day and they have told me im not in that day but im in the next day instead. On at least 7 occasions this has happened and twice its happened where i saw it was my day off and they phoned me saying my name was on the timesheet to work that day. When i said the hours must of been changed they all stick together and say that i must of misread it (other staff members have also said about them doing this) however i have nobody to back me up.


I often get "bullied" at work. By "bullied" i mean things like being verbally made to feel low. I'm told quite often by managers things like "we do all the work here, if it wasnt for us then you lot would be in the s**t" when the reality of it is they often have their family in and let them walk around staff only areas as well as going for cigarettes every 20 minutes and eating stock without paying for it.


When we have deliverys a lot of the stock has to be manually taken upstairs to be put out on higher floors. Quite often i am made to take all this stock upstairs and many of the items are rather heavy and meant to be "2 man lift" products. The other day i was made to carry a pallet worth of garden chairs upstairs. Each box was over 20KG and clearly stated on the box "2 man lift only", however i was forced to do it myself with no help off anyone. I was close to passing out after and the manager said to me "see your lazy usually so you arent used to it" then when i explained that it was heavy to carry and i felt dizzy the manager replied saying "well, we do it all the time" even though that isnt true because they usually make other people "run up the delivery"



we have a cellar at work thats used to store old equipment that isnt used anymore. A few weeks back they made me carry about 20 old clothes rails down there. Due to it being completely flooded with old stock and equipment i was struggling to carry it down. I was given no help and almost fell down the concrete stairs.


If a friend/family member comes in and says hello to me, they rudely tell me to get on with work and ask them to leave.



for now that will do, any advice is appreciated. I know there are lots more problems at work and if i can think of them i will post them up


thanks

Hi Sparkz

Sorry to hear of the problems that you've been having.

1. Have you got a copy of your contract? In there, there should be something regarding the hours of work that you are contracted to do and a proviso should be in the contract which would state what would happen if your hours were to be cut.

2. Did you have a formal letter or contract stating that your hours were to be cut?

3. Are you a member of a union? If not, join one immediately. Unite is a very good one. You can find them on the internet and take it from there.

4. Raise a grievance immediately - go to the DWP site on the internet and it will give you guidance and a template letter to use. You must however, state that you give the company 28 days to respond with a date for the grievance.

5. The grievance must be held with someone else other than the managers of the store - I presume that this is a high street store so they should have an area manager that can deal with the situation.

6. Log everything that happens to you in a diary. This is very important and will be valuable if a case has to be brought in front of a tribunal.

7. Take a copy of your shift sheets and should they be changed after you have noted your shifts, then again that is proof. However, if the manager's have contacted you by telephone to change the shifts (although I doubt that this has happened), log this down in your diary.

I cannot emphasise enough that you definately need to put in a grievance now. This cannot continue.

Every company has a DUTY OF CARE towards its employees and must have a STRESS RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY as I believe, from your comments, that you are severely under stress. Ask for a copy of the Stress Risk Management Policy, they have to give you a copy.

Also, again, check your copy of your contract, or ask for a copy again.

Let me know how you get on.

Heb

hey thanks for the replys...


concerning my contract i was given a copy ages ago but it was incomplete and didnt say much about anything, i asked for a full copy and a copy of the retailers handbook and they refused, they claimed i had been given 1 already which i hadnt


there was no formal letter or anything concerning my hours being cut, simply i was taken into the office 1 day n they said that im only on 8 hours a week now


i agree i will have to log everything, even today i walked past work n managers were outside smoking, they rudely said "oh your working monday remember" even my girlfriend who was with me said i should have to be spoken to like that

Hi Sparkz

I would suggest that you contact your HR department and ask for a copy of your full contract - they will definately have a copy.

As above, I would now instigate a grievance and again speak to your HR department who will advise you on their grievance procedures.

Best of luck

Heb

thanks again for your post Hebweezle

i am going to get that all sorted out asap,

im going to also have to find a cunning plan because i know what will happen if i do report them to HR, managers will deny it and stick together to make to its me who gets in trouble,

what i have been trying to do is gain income support from the jobcenter (because i need the extra cash and i am actively seeking extra hours somewhere) .. the rate for normal jobseekers is around £49 a week, based on my 8 hours a week they pay me around £10 a week,

work know full well that giving me an extra hour or 2 a week there will not benefit me, becuse if i did anything between 8 and 10 hours a week then the extra hours over 8 hours will be deducted from my income support so in effect id be working for free

relating to that matter, recently i worked a bank holiday and ALWAYS its been time and a half pay, i had my wage slip for april, and nope.... they hadnt given me time and a half for that bank holiday, just standard pay.... i was not informed that i wasnt being paid time and a half for that day. That was unfair because working bank holidays in a complete inconvenience for me as theres no busses.

anyways, back to the matter in hand. They are making me work this bank holiday monday for 5 and a half hours (usually i do 2 days at 4 hours to total my 8) so clearly they are giving me 1 n a half hours overtime aka working there for free because i'll have that extra 1 n a half hours taken off my income support. They know full well about this but are doing it deliberately to leak "free" hours off me.... but then again wheres the proof??


the thing with taking it up with head office is that i have a feeling they wont listen. Customer complaints are laughed at in this company, and at the moment they are doing everything they can to make sure workers are as miserable as possible (no staff discount anymore, theres hour cuts as mentioned and the fact they pay everyone on the lowest possible wage) and it will end up as my word against theirs where clearly 2 managers siding with eachother against me will always come off a lot better


i should really keep stuff to myself there, but once even managers kept opening sweets and food for their own consumption without paying for it, and i did mention this, of course they denied it


maybe its time i took it further than head office and documented everything over the past 3 years that they have done? but on the other hand they can more than likely deny it all and twist it round so it seems like my fault


will keep you posted