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Been banned from working at site, but for reasons that would break the employment law
Angel89_2
Posts: 362 Forumite
Hi i currently work in security & cctv surveillance, work through a main company and am contracted out to various sites like councils/estates... ect
At the current site where ive been working, cctv control room over a housing estate, ive been doing it as cover for someone who was unable to work here for last few months due to work permit issues.
My work hours are 6pm to 6am, 4days on/4off,
and i work here alone single crewed.
On saturday night at around midnight i had gone out of the main control room and down the corridor to the kitchen area to make a sandwhich to eat, have a cup of coffee,
and then went to the bathroom to splash some water on my hair, face and arms/shoulders to refresh and cool myself down...
As the control room is a small room with no windows and 50 tv screens all emitting heat constantly,
and the air conditioning is broken in there, and so even though we have been given an air circulater fan its still very humid and stuffy, and so iw as getting abit itchy on my body cos the heat.
We have a system here where you have to make a 'check call' every 1hour to the main company control room to show them that you are still there, awake, and safe,
and so id just made it a few mins before i went to the kitchen and bathroom.
But a few mins after i had gone one of the managers from the estate's office came here for some reason, (dunno why as it was midnight on saturday night, when they are a 9-5 mon-friday office).
But he had come and had rung the buzzer for the control room lots of times and phoned the control room phone 6x he said.
Naturally i didnt hear any buzzer or phone, as i was on the other side of the building in the kitchen having my food and drink.
I came back to the control room 16minutes later,
sat down on my chair, un-buttoned my shirt as it was hot as i was starting to get itchy-heat rash, and continued on with my job then.
1minute later i heard knocking on the inside door though (door from control room to corridor).
I was very scared and concerned as who it was, since the building is closed and locked, and i was the only one in there.
But i went over and opened it, and was relieved to see it was just one of the managers from the estate.
I said ''Hiya, comes your here??''
As it seemed very odd why someone would be at their office at midnight on a weekend,
so i was thinking that there may have been some kinda silent alarm triggered in the building or something and he was here to warn me.
But he just started saying rudely ''I can come here whenever i want. Its my system! Why have you been sleeping and not answering the door or phone ive been outside for 15minutes! why is your shirt undone?''.
I was quite confused and had no idea what he meant by me 'sleeping'.
And so i just told him ''ive been in the kitchen having my 20mins food and coffeee break and then i went into the bathroom and sprinkled some water on my hair n face and arms as its very hot in there and the air conditioning is still broken, and so i wouldnt have been able to hear the phone or buzzer ringing in here''.
He then just went away into his little office area, and i continued with my work.
But today when i came in my manager was here and he said he needed to talk to me for a minute, and he said that he had got a call on saturday night from the esate office manager saying that i hadnt been answering the door or phone for 15mins, and that he had been saying that i must have been sleeping.
(My manager is a nice decent guy, and i explained it to him, and he said that he knows that i hasnt done anything wrong but that other guy had said he didnt want me to work there anymore (it was my last shift here anyways tonight), and as hes the client that he has to listen and cant have me work here anymore.
I looked at our email system just now though and in the sent items i saw the email that he has sent to the higher up company managers and it says-
I got call from guy on saturday night, he said (me) hadnt been answring the door or phone, when anbswered the inside door 20mins later i was ''semi-naked'', and i had the ''cheek'' to ask him what he was doing there.
That i had said i wa sin the kitchen then in the bathroom splashing some water on my face and arms as i was getting itchy heat rash, even though theres no mention in my application of me having any 'skin conditions'.
They now say they dont want him (me) here ever again.
Now i am really really not happy with this at all!! :mad::mad::(
As they have worded it to make me look like im some kinda freak who walks around naked indecently exposiing myself to people,
that i 'lie about medical conditions',
and that i sleep and bunk off work, and then am rude to managers. :mad:
When in reality all that happend was ''I took a 20mins break that im entitled to by law,
i unbuttoned my shirt as i was all alone in an empty room, in an empty building, at midnight on a weekend, as i was very hot due to no airconditioning,
and i politely enquired why someone who works in the office during the weekdays was here at midnight on the weekend to see me when the office was closed.
Im now extremely scared that when the higher managers of the company i work for see that email and the way its all been worded to make me look that i will get either get fired or just made redundant,
even though ive done nothing wrong at all!
*I looked and i saw that by law im entitled to a 20mins break AWAY FROM MY WORK STATION OR EVEN WORK PREMISES if i work 6hours or more, (and i do 12hour shifts).
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029451
And so they cant legally claim any wrong-doing on my part for me not being in the control room for 15mins while i had my lunch break.
*They also have to provide a suitable place to work with suitable temperature,
and so if im required to wear a suit and tie for work they have to provide a work place with a suitable temperature and air quality for that.
And i really really just dont believe that me un-buttoning my shirt while i worked ALONE, in an EMPTY building during a night shift can be classed as ''Indecent'' or anything wrong at all.
So if needed i would be willing to take this to an employment tribunal,
but can i just check if anyone knows anything ive missed or got wrong... ect??
Thanks, and sorry its soo long
At the current site where ive been working, cctv control room over a housing estate, ive been doing it as cover for someone who was unable to work here for last few months due to work permit issues.
My work hours are 6pm to 6am, 4days on/4off,
and i work here alone single crewed.
On saturday night at around midnight i had gone out of the main control room and down the corridor to the kitchen area to make a sandwhich to eat, have a cup of coffee,
and then went to the bathroom to splash some water on my hair, face and arms/shoulders to refresh and cool myself down...
As the control room is a small room with no windows and 50 tv screens all emitting heat constantly,
and the air conditioning is broken in there, and so even though we have been given an air circulater fan its still very humid and stuffy, and so iw as getting abit itchy on my body cos the heat.
We have a system here where you have to make a 'check call' every 1hour to the main company control room to show them that you are still there, awake, and safe,
and so id just made it a few mins before i went to the kitchen and bathroom.
But a few mins after i had gone one of the managers from the estate's office came here for some reason, (dunno why as it was midnight on saturday night, when they are a 9-5 mon-friday office).
But he had come and had rung the buzzer for the control room lots of times and phoned the control room phone 6x he said.
Naturally i didnt hear any buzzer or phone, as i was on the other side of the building in the kitchen having my food and drink.
I came back to the control room 16minutes later,
sat down on my chair, un-buttoned my shirt as it was hot as i was starting to get itchy-heat rash, and continued on with my job then.
1minute later i heard knocking on the inside door though (door from control room to corridor).
I was very scared and concerned as who it was, since the building is closed and locked, and i was the only one in there.
But i went over and opened it, and was relieved to see it was just one of the managers from the estate.
I said ''Hiya, comes your here??''
As it seemed very odd why someone would be at their office at midnight on a weekend,
so i was thinking that there may have been some kinda silent alarm triggered in the building or something and he was here to warn me.
But he just started saying rudely ''I can come here whenever i want. Its my system! Why have you been sleeping and not answering the door or phone ive been outside for 15minutes! why is your shirt undone?''.
I was quite confused and had no idea what he meant by me 'sleeping'.
And so i just told him ''ive been in the kitchen having my 20mins food and coffeee break and then i went into the bathroom and sprinkled some water on my hair n face and arms as its very hot in there and the air conditioning is still broken, and so i wouldnt have been able to hear the phone or buzzer ringing in here''.
He then just went away into his little office area, and i continued with my work.
But today when i came in my manager was here and he said he needed to talk to me for a minute, and he said that he had got a call on saturday night from the esate office manager saying that i hadnt been answering the door or phone for 15mins, and that he had been saying that i must have been sleeping.
(My manager is a nice decent guy, and i explained it to him, and he said that he knows that i hasnt done anything wrong but that other guy had said he didnt want me to work there anymore (it was my last shift here anyways tonight), and as hes the client that he has to listen and cant have me work here anymore.
I looked at our email system just now though and in the sent items i saw the email that he has sent to the higher up company managers and it says-
I got call from guy on saturday night, he said (me) hadnt been answring the door or phone, when anbswered the inside door 20mins later i was ''semi-naked'', and i had the ''cheek'' to ask him what he was doing there.
That i had said i wa sin the kitchen then in the bathroom splashing some water on my face and arms as i was getting itchy heat rash, even though theres no mention in my application of me having any 'skin conditions'.
They now say they dont want him (me) here ever again.
Now i am really really not happy with this at all!! :mad::mad::(
As they have worded it to make me look like im some kinda freak who walks around naked indecently exposiing myself to people,
that i 'lie about medical conditions',
and that i sleep and bunk off work, and then am rude to managers. :mad:
When in reality all that happend was ''I took a 20mins break that im entitled to by law,
i unbuttoned my shirt as i was all alone in an empty room, in an empty building, at midnight on a weekend, as i was very hot due to no airconditioning,
and i politely enquired why someone who works in the office during the weekdays was here at midnight on the weekend to see me when the office was closed.
Im now extremely scared that when the higher managers of the company i work for see that email and the way its all been worded to make me look that i will get either get fired or just made redundant,
even though ive done nothing wrong at all!
*I looked and i saw that by law im entitled to a 20mins break AWAY FROM MY WORK STATION OR EVEN WORK PREMISES if i work 6hours or more, (and i do 12hour shifts).
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029451
And so they cant legally claim any wrong-doing on my part for me not being in the control room for 15mins while i had my lunch break.
*They also have to provide a suitable place to work with suitable temperature,
and so if im required to wear a suit and tie for work they have to provide a work place with a suitable temperature and air quality for that.
And i really really just dont believe that me un-buttoning my shirt while i worked ALONE, in an EMPTY building during a night shift can be classed as ''Indecent'' or anything wrong at all.
So if needed i would be willing to take this to an employment tribunal,
but can i just check if anyone knows anything ive missed or got wrong... ect??
Thanks, and sorry its soo long
0
Comments
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If the client has said that they don't want you there then there is not a lot you can do really. One wonders why your manager was there in the middle of the night unless it was to check up on you.
If you feel aggrieved as to the way in which you have been treated then I suggest that you put in a formal grievance to your immediate line manager or failing that to HR - highlight the lack of air conditioning and the fact that you are entitled to a 20 minute break and it is unfortunate that the area where you have your break is on the other side of the building.
As for having your shirt unbuttoned - I guess it depends on the sensitivities of the person who saw you - they could just be having a gripe because you didnt answer the door.
Your comment about covering for someone who has work permit issues is neither here nor there.
You cannot really take a case to the tribunal because you haven't instigated a grievance.0 -
If the client has said that they don't want you there then there is not a lot you can do really. One wonders why your manager was there in the middle of the night unless it was to check up on you.
If you feel aggrieved as to the way in which you have been treated then I suggest that you put in a formal grievance to your immediate line manager or failing that to HR - highlight the lack of air conditioning and the fact that you are entitled to a 20 minute break and it is unfortunate that the area where you have your break is on the other side of the building.
As for having your shirt unbuttoned - I guess it depends on the sensitivities of the person who saw you - they could just be having a gripe because you didnt answer the door.
Your comment about covering for someone who has work permit issues is neither here nor there.
You cannot really take a case to the tribunal because you haven't instigated a grievance.
Hi and thanks for your reply.
It wasn't actually my manager who was there (i would have felt less confused if it had been as it could be for operational reasons),
but the guy who was here was just the liason manager between the housing estate (whos the client), and between us as the department.
He just works in the office doing paperwork stuff though, doesnt get involved directly in our operations with police... ect
And so thats why i just felt very confused and curious when i saw one of the office workers at his office at midnight on the weekend.
Im seeing my base manager from the 1st every site i was contracted at tomorrow as hes called me in to talk about this, and so i will try explaining this to him then,
however he is very very very 'corrupt'. (cant think of any other word)
As hes already stolen hundreds of pounds of money from the company, through me and other employees (although we are in no way in any danger of wrongdoing if hes ever foundout or grassedup on),
and he takes the approach of ''threatening people instead of listening and having proper formal routes''.
My main fear though isnt to do with him, as hes just a manager at one of the sites, and so wouldnt really be involved in if im not wanted to work at other sites.
But instead im scared that when the higher regional manager reads that email, sees that im still within my 6months probation,
he will just terminate my employment with the company as it would just be far simpler for them to that,
instead of ''risk'' contracting me to work at other sites. 0 -
i wouldnt worry too much... ive worked with security personnel that have been banned from 20+ sites - usually from ones where actual work needs to be done (they have no interest in working so dont, then client bans them, afterall the client is probably paying 8-10 quid an hour for a guard on 6 quid ph)0
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Accusing someone of theft, (and implicating yourself) on the internet isn't the smartest thing to do.
Im not ''accusing'' him of it, he didn't even try hiding it from me.
And as far as 'implicating' myself, i wasn't involved in any acts of theft or dishonesty, was actually the victim.
What happend was when i got given the job he makes it so that i ''work for him'', not that i work for the company.
And so part of the deal of me getting from unemployment to being given the job was that id have to pay him £500 as a 'deposit'.
His reasoning for the depsoit was ''he was going to use his time training me, and so this was to make sure that i didnt just quit the job after a few weeks if i didnt like it there''.
(ALOT of bullying is done when i work there)
And there was no contract or paperwork about this, no documents or guarantees, i didnt even have a formal contract offer of employment as you have to be vetted for 2months 1st.
I paid by banker's-cheque to keep a trail, and made sure that h included the mentioning of this in a few emails that i sent him and that he replied to, so if ever needed i had proof that money was paid by me to him and for what the conditions and reasons were.
The act of theft by him came when instead of returning that money to me in cash/cheque after the 3months when i had had my vetting and stuff finished,
(i had to work unpaid for those 3months btw, but classed as on the job training not work to keep it not illegal),
but after that when he returned the money instead of giving it back to me from his own pocket where it had been paid into,
he did it by adding on 5extra days onto the work time sheets for the month that had just ended, for my shifts.
Its £9p/h at that site, and so it was abit under £500,
but he had my money returned by payment from the company,
instead of by him.
So he got to keep the £500 cash in his bank account, and had my money reimbursed by the company so that i wouldnt be out-of-pocket,
and therefore wouldnt have any reason to say anything.
End of the day while i may have been ''used'' as a tool in his theft,
i wasn't in any way an ''acomplish'', or committed any acts or wrong-doing or illegality.
I infact lost out on nearly £300, as i was taxed 35% on that money, which wasnt even the full £500.0 -
Digging a bigger hole.
If someone from the company reads this, do you think it will help your case?
I extremely doubt that anyone from the company will be trawling through this internet forum.
But even if they were theres millions of companies out there.
I dont name the one that i work for.0 -
How long have you worked there?
Was it a designated break session?
Bozo0 -
Hi Angel, just a thought, if you were using PTZ cameras, the recordings would show the cameras moving and the times etc., this should show that you were in fact working up to the time you went on your break. HTH.0
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karma:rolleyes:0
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My thoughts exactly.myothercarisaferrari wrote: »karma:rolleyes:0 -
myothercarisaferrari wrote: »karma:rolleyes:
See 'My Name is Earl' for reference.Don't lie, thieve, cheat or steal. The Government do not like the competition.
The Lord Giveth and the Government Taketh Away.
I'm sorry, I don't apologise. That's just the way I am. Homer (Simpson)0
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