Bullied at work, anyone help

biglad

Ok so this might be a bit long winded but please stick with me, its not exactly debt related but could end up that way if i dont sort a job out and i thought someone here might be able to help

Ive just started a DMP so my work is important to me, i work part time employed in a gym and the other work i do there is self employed personal training and classes. I love doing this but in the part time work i am getting bullied. i cant afford to do just self employed as its the difference of £700 a month ( working for them i get £500 and rent is only £120 a month, working just self employed i only get what i earn and rent is £340 a month). My contract is up the 8th of august, and two weeks ago at the start of the week i got told that my contract was safe and it would be renewed, great i thought, till thursday came and i got told i wasnt going to have it renewed but they would extend it to the end of august. Im applying for a few jobs, one which the interviews wont be till 22nd august but i feel like i have a good chance of getting it all being well.

Ok here is the main problem, my line manager left his wife for a girl who is doing a similar job to me but full time. This may not sound a lot to some people but some of the things that is going on is just not acceptable and i see it as bullying. ok here goes

• they both do the same shifts and just sit in an office all day (she is meant to be on the gym floor)
• she will come in and do whatever time she wants
• i get given all the cleaning of the machines to do
• they purposly do nothing and then text me (which i think is very unprofessional) of my duties to do
• i get called into the office when im having a break after id worked for 7 hours, i was told i should have waited for them to arrive so someone was on the gym floor, when they work they sit in the office and no one is on the gym floor
• i have been bombarded with phone calls and texts all weekend asking me to cover shifts for them, and this happens every day off i get
• the manager is even giving ME his jobs to do cos he doesnt know how to do them
• the final straw, today i got a text saying ALL my shifts have been changed to lates, i had half earlys and half lates before, he says i cant change and dont care what i have arranged i work for the gym
• it is constant one rule for me and one for them
• when he gets into work he demands to know what ive cleaned, him and his moose never do a thing

i am on a weeks holiday the first week of august but im just really unsure what to do. he has just totally messed up my week. i dont want to go into work for them when i get treated like !!!!e, ive put up with for ages, and its just getting too much. I have a severley autistic brother and a very understanding girlfriend who is just as annoyed as me, we dont get much time to spend and its been took up this weekend by this idiot.

now i need to keep having a wage coming in and need a job to sort out my debts. im not sure whether or not to try go and get a temp job just for a bit until i hear about some of these jobs that i actually want. Its annoying cos i could do loads of stuff to do with personal training but just havent the money and the time space to set things up.

do i have grounds to not go into work next week and wait till i see the general manager of the gym

any help would be appreciated

lynsayjane

i personally wouldnt wait till next week to speak to the general manager!

one thing my mum always says to me when i have problems at work si write everything down. so everytime they are skiving in the office, write down the date time etc what jobs of his he's making you do blah blah blah you see where that goes, then take that diary into the general manager and you'll have some form of proof to back up your claims. also is there any other staff suffering over their affair or is it just you? if there are others and they are willing to back you up over it thats a bonus too!

good luck getting it sorted

xx

biglad

i know i prob should have wrote stuff down. the main thing is there are other people seeing it for sure. i was going to see the manager tomo, but the thing is i dont want to work there next week, its really messed me up and im just a little sick of it all now.

im going to be leaving to get another job soon cos basically im being pushed out and they know this, they even keep saying, hows the job hunting going. but if i mess things up its 2 weeks pay i could miss out on because ive got a weeks paid holiday i need to take.

kiwigirl

Hi - I recently got bullied out of a job that I loved by a manager who was completely out of his depth so I understand how you feel.

I would recommend that before you see the GM, do a diary of events, if you have the text messages keep them as evidence of the changes and unproffesional way your colleagues are working.

Why don't you go to a few nice hotels who have gym's there and see if they have vacancies, maybe you'll be lucky enough to get a better paid job and better conditions? I would also (although easier said than done I know) try and sort your SE work out too, put flyers in physiotherapy places, around your nearest sports shops etc. Maybe if it gets you one or two new clients then they tell someone else then it snowballs etc.

Good luck

davesgirl_2

have a look at your contract, does it state that your shifts are subject to such harsh changes at late notice? does it clearly state what your duties include? if not then speak to the manager asap and tell themit is not acceptable to be treated this way. ((((hugs)))) its not a nice situation to be in and good luck with the job hunting, hope you get somthing you enjoy xxx

biglad

kiwi that is his problem, hes totally out of his depth

as for my contract, it says shifts can be changed but with advance and if they cant be completed then you and your manager need to comprise and sort out the situation.

as for getting another job in a gym, they are all paid rubbish and not sociable hours. what im looking to do is just get any job, and earn extra money by doing classes, if i can teach 2 a night its about an extra £150 a week after tax.

when i see the manager i was going to just write a list of what theyve actually done and ive got all this weekends text messages. do i just go to a job agency tomo lol

PeachPickle

Hi biglad

Sorry you're having such a rubbish time at work. I agree with the diary suggestion, log everything that happenes. A similar thing happened to other people in my workplace and it was resolved, so hopefully you'll get some help.

I'd advise that you continue working though, don't give them any ammo on you. You've got a fair list of gripes, don't give them any. If it comes down to it, it's only one more month and you won't have screwed a chance for references. Stick it out and speak to your manager's boss

nannaC

Hi, The diary is a very good idea, also keep a list of phone/text times. ACAS have a very good web site, https://www.acas.gov.uk click a-z them b for bullying, then click online leaflet. It sets out employers duty of care, they are responsible for preventing bullying. Get all your facts together then see the GM. Good luck from NannaC

kiwigirl

I'd suggest that you try and continue to work until you either get this sorted with the help of higher management - one's you trust, then as others have said, you'll get a reference etc. I had to fight for mine and had to comprimise then too (I had solicitor involved but I won! IMO anyway!) In the end I even took witnesses to meetings to ensure that things were being recorded correctly and they couldn't say "you've not told us about these problems"

I carried my no good manager for 7 months, and was already doing 2 people's jobs, so had 3 when he got post temporarily, previous boss came back for 5 months then retired, the work and bullying escalated severely so I complained and was asked to provide evidence - which I had in diary form, emails - he blocked leave 3 times and this was on email! Although 1 it had been booked for 7 months previously!! I had in excess of 200 things in evidence to support my claim, but they chose to ignore me so I sought legal advice!!! :rotfl:

If you fail to attend work or something unless good excuse they will make it worse for you - mum was seriously ill with cancer and I was put on disciplinary for taking a day off to keep her out of hospital as she wanted to be at home - I had 22 days leave left, I was refused = I took time off, I was put on disciplinary action.

It is after all easy to say but it's only a month, then you can go anywhere and do anything you want, be it stay at home with your gf and brother or go and work 80 hour week!

get your CV done, go to an agency whilst your not at work - if they've given you lates do it during day etc, I had to do a typing test on mine and scored highly as I'm always on PC. If your not fussy what you do that's better. If you can travel a bit that's a bonus too.

Good luck - KG

nannaC

Sorry forgot to say ALWAYS take someone in with you when you see your manager. Is there someone who you get on with. Also take a pad and pen in and jot down important bullet points.

LookingAhead

Good luck getting this all sorted out.

I despair at times at the complete unprofesionalism that goes on in this country by so called 'Managers'.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall one day if you just turned around to this lazy egit and his bimbo girlfriend (OK I don't know her so I have no right to say that but it makes me feel better...!) and said "No" and followed up with your rights i.e. contract details etc.

Their faces if you told them it's unprofressional to text you a list of duties etc....

What could they do? Sack you? I think not. Slap you? I definitely think not!!

If you could manage to say "NO" to at least one thing, no matter how trivial, you may find yourself feeling much more confident and more would follow. Even if it was just in the interim period of finding another job.

I know it's not easy though.

But really though, how DARE they? :mad:

Good luck mate.