Ridiculous New "Rules"

[Lady Python]

Our workplace, a data entry organisation has come up with two new rules. As yet, I have only heard about this third-hand but expect to hear it from management when I go on my shift tonight (night shift).

 

Apparently, if we want to go to the loo, we have to raise our hands like little kiddies in school and ask for permission. Degrading and humiliating in the extreme, especially to female members of staff - there are only 3 of us on our shift.

 

Second, and utterly stupid "rule" is from now on, we cannot leave our desk. If we want something on another desk we have to stretch across. We are not even allowed to stand up!

 

You can imagine what's going to happen. Someone is going to stretch across, the chair is going to go out from underneath them and they are going to get injured.

 

You couldn't make it up.

 

Seriously, if I wasn't the chief breadwinner (the only breadwinner) for my household and wasn't nearly 60 years old, I would tell them where to stick their job.

 

We also have a manageress who is an out and out bully (to everyone except her "pets") who is a bully, tyrant and liar but that's another thread for another time.

 

If anyone can give any advice on how to deal with this, please let me know. Tried the HSE but they don't give advice over the phone and it can take up to 30 days for a response to their online form.

 

I am not a union type person but I'm now seriously considering joining a union as the petty rules and bullying are getting out of hand.

[renegadeimp]

Breach of health and safety rules on second part for a start. For the first part they can say you have to notify someone, but they cannot stop you going if you need to go. Breach of health and safety and human rights there I'd they stop you. I would join a good union anyway to protect your rights. If your employer doesn't recognise a union, it can be pretty telling.

[honeybee13]

Sitting in your chair for hours on end isn't that good for you, anyway. What if people have bad backs or just need a screen break?

 

HB

[Sparks_]

I wouldnt demean myself by raising my hand when I needed a toilet break....what if they refuse you permission to leave your desk?

[reallymadwoman]

I'd be getting together with as many of the non-pets as possible and arranging taking turns to raise hands so that the boss spends the whole shift dealing with them. Alternatively, arrange a time when you all ask at once. What are you expected to do for drinks? Are they allowed on your desks or do you have to fetch those? You can't be denied access to water, especially if you're spending a lot of time talking.

I'd also be regularly reaching across for stuff only to find it's out of reach resulting in me raising my hand again to ask the boss to fetch it for me, then I'd wait til he/she got back to their desk before asking them to put it back again. I might even consider an 'accidental' fall when she's definitely not looking - primed nearby colleagues would of course have to raise their hands for permission to get up and help you up.

In short, as well as joining the union, I'd be passively aggressively being a pain in the backside.

 

I once worked in an office (no dealing with the public involved) where a 'no jeans' dress code was introduced with no consultation, despite no one having ever worn anything scruffy - if anyone wore jeans they were designer and certainly not denim (it was the 80s!) so for a week every single member of the department either wore something denim that wasn't jeans, or something not denim but still really scruffy. The dress code was quietly withdrawn.

[king12345]

This won't last long, so don't worry.

Anyway, as you're 60 and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, why not go with a boom?

A boom of a tipping chair while you're stretching to fetch the stapler.

That might give you back pain for a long time.

Plenty of ambulance chasers solicitors will squeeze the last drop of blood out of them.

But as said, if they really implemented these new rules, they won't last long and you will soon go back to the old ways.

Been there, done it several times (forgetting the new rules I mean)

[renegadeimp]

With computers you have to have a 15 min break every hour or so anyway

[renegadeimp]

I wouldnt demean myself by raising my hand when I needed a toilet break....what if they refuse you permission to leave your desk?

They're not allowed by law. They cannot stop you going

[Mr.P]

I once worked in an office (no dealing with the public involved) where a 'no jeans' dress code was introduced with no consultation, despite no one having ever worn anything scruffy - if anyone wore jeans they were designer and certainly not denim (it was the 80s!) so for a week every single member of the department either wore something denim that wasn't jeans, or something not denim but still really scruffy. The dress code was quietly withdrawn.

 

One establishment that I used to frequent introduced a dress code: No leathers.

I walked in wearing a full one piece leather motorcycle suit and promptly got asked to take it off, so I did. The management very quickly decided that having me standing there butt naked would put customers off, so the rule was quickly rescinded

[Lady Python]

One establishment that I used to frequent introduced a dress code: No leathers.

I walked in wearing a full one piece leather motorcycle suit and promptly got asked to take it off, so I did. The management very quickly decided that having me standing there butt naked would put customers off, so the rule was quickly rescinded

 

Just home from 'nother night at'mill, sat down with cup of coffee and nearly wrecked the second keyboard in a week.

 

The vision of that just made my day

[think about it]

So were the 'rules' implemented?

[sillygirl1]

I once worked where they said you could wear teeshirts but no designer logos - every time somebody saw a member of HR breaking ANY of the silly 'behaviours' they implemented they got reported - after two weeks a new slimmer 'staff behaviours' book was implemented.

 

Again at school we had to have stripes on the tie in school colours showing, so me and a couple of friends who were good at needlework dismantled some old ties and beaded the stripes in school colours...the rest of the tie was dreadlocked in school colours!

 

Plenty of ways of upsetting petty management rules - I like the idea of everybody putting their hands up at the same time.

[Lady Python]

So were the 'rules' implemented?

 

Not sure yet but have learned that it doesn't affect our group. To let you understand we have a 3 shift system. As far as I can gather these "rules" only affect the day shift. The shifts are split in two. One lot do one job and the other do a different job in different rooms. It's not affecting us because we smash our targets every night and know our jobs so well, we don't need constant supervision.

 

That said, we heard before end of shift that there may well be a change made to our group which will mean half the staff will be cut. Over the past 18 months that I've been there our shift has been almost cut in half through natural wastage.

 

I'm always suspicious of bosses who take great pains to emphasise the "Your jobs are very secure" spiel. Heard it all before and it usually means the opposite.

 

I wish I could retire but thanks to the government putting up the retirement age for women, instead of retiring at the end of this year when I turn 60, I have to work another 6 years

[king12345]

Unless you slip off the chair while following company policy and stretching over to get something from another desk

[Ethel Street]

Breach of health and safety and human rights there I'd they stop you.

 

Not of human rights law because that only applies to public bodies. I assume OP's employer isn't a public body.

[ericsbrother]

So when do you get your rest from the screen under the DSR's

Is there a union presence at your workplace? If so persuade someone to organise a safety audit. The safety rep has a right to do this. Once the employer has digested the implications of this they may well change their minds about the petty things they want to introduce