What else could I have done with this company?

lalande21185

Hi

I worked for a company called ****** in Luton.
**************

I was doing soldering and assembling, that was my main job.
I was asked one day to drive a van. I said yes but I changed my mind that night and said to them the next day I do not want to do it as I was a coach driver before and wanted to get out of driving. Plus all the heavy lifting was not what I wanted this job for, let alone the driving. I just had time to think it over and decided not to, thats all.

After telling the supervisor I did not want to do it, I was told I will be on Disciplinary proceedings .
Basicly 3 strikes and you are out type disipline.
So I recieved a letter that my supervisor gave me with a big smile on his face, saying I am on a warning and if asked again to do the job and I refuse, I will go on a second warning.

He asked me the next day to drive the van.
I said no again, and told him the day before that I said I would say no.

He handed me a second letter with a smile on his face. Then he said that I am on my last chance. So I appealed.
Had to get someone from the company to sit in with me while I get questioned.

I asked for advice from an employment solicator. they said without doubt THIS IS WRONG. A company hires you and to say that you have to do ANY JOB REQUIRED is too massive a scope of jobs.
MTL Ltd said I can be asked to DO ANY JOB REQUIRED, and refusal can lead to the sack. the solicator said this is wrong.
To say that in a contract of employment is wrong.
So a company can hire you as a solderer and assembler, then ask you to drive a company car.

I ended up asking the guy who drives the van when his next days off are. Just so I could prepare myself for my supervisor asking me to do the job he knows I will not do.
Ended up the driver was off in the next couple of days.
That stressed me out so much I was sick as knew I was going to get the sack for it.

So was off sick for a couple of days. I was ill though.

Then I had to hand my notice in.
I could not take it anymore.

We wrote a letter to the Chief Exectutive and he sent a letter to HIS staff to sort the problem out, they sure sorted it out. They just asked advice from there solictors and made sure they don't look bad.

Said if I ever wanted a reference they COULD NOT BE CERTAIN to not put these preceedings on my file.

Luckily never needed a reference from them.

I just could not believe they could be so petty. It got to be a standing my ground as opposed to driving the van. But to be treated like this in such an International Company, I was not going to be bullied into anything.

Put a gun to my head to drive the dam van, I would of drove the dam thing.

I also put my back out, nothing major, while doing a pond in the middle of all this.
They PAID for a medical in a place in Hitchin which cost god knows how much.

What could I have done differently?

I know, maybe should of drove the van. But the supervisor smiling while handing me the first letter, I was never going to do it from that point on.

I was never going to want to take it to court, just someone to say why a company can be so petty and pathetic.

paulwf

OP I would suggest removing the name of the company from your post. As it has nearly come to legal action between you and the other party there is no point in aggravating the matter further. Without the company name others will still be able to post advice.

pop_gun

paulwf wrote: »

OP I would suggest removing the name of the company from your post. As it has nearly come to legal action between you and the other party there is no point in aggravating the matter further. Without the company name others will still be able to post advice.

it's good that he puts the company name for others who might be looking to join the company. MTL won't litigate and if they did the OP would win any such case.

maninthestreet

TBH, asking you to drive a van is NOT an unreasonable request. How much heavy lifting would have (not OF!) been involved in this van driving task? Why did start to dig a pond when you are adverse to performing tasks that involve lifting??? You say you were sick with worry because you knew you were going to get the sack - but all you had to do was to agree to drive the van and you would not have been sacked.

Jo_F

A couple of questions

You say you were a coach driver, so you obviously have a PSV, but do you have the right licence for driving this van? (you haven't specified what the van is, but if it's above 7.5t you may not have the right licence ~ hence not legal to drive it)

And insurance, what facilities have the company made with regard to insuring you to drive the vehicle? My other half in just getting into driving, and even to have a test run with one company they had to get his name put on the insurance for that one drive. The company that he now works for has all the drivers named on the policy. If it works that way at your company, then you would not have been insured to drive it, again not legal.

Points that may be worth raising.

lalande21185

Thats was the whole point.

I was asked to drive the van, I changed my mind and company did not like it. Also worried about the insurance. I asked , what happens if I have a accident? No dam answer.

If the supervisor did not smile while handing me the letter I might of. I dont care about lifting heavy stuff. That did not bother me at all.

maninthestreet Always someone on here isnt there.
Don't you get it, it was the fact that they took this route that I though I am not being MADE to do it. Like I said I dont care about lifting stuff. Crying out load.
So what, I dug a pond.

I want to go into work, and driving was not my intention in this job as have done alot of driving in the past. The company should not of made me by taking me the dicipline route. At the end of the day my defences went up and no one was going to make me drive that dam Van.

Anyway, I should not of said I will do it then next day say no. But to be made to do it by the threat of the sack, no way at all.
I was driving 1 and a half hours into work every moring. just did not want to drive anymore when I got to work as meant driving ALL DAY, then a 1 and a half hour yourney back home.

Just unreal that a company can take this kind of silly pathetic action when they had over 200 employers and plenty who could drive a van.

Anyway, in the past now. I am not worried and does not bother me to be honest. Just how petty a supervisor can be. He had a book on his desk on "How to Control your employee's" or words to that efect. A book for supervisors.
Dont know if he was trying to impress his boses.

Much better Job now and all worked out fine for me in the end.