Racism, Discrimination, illegal contract from Marks & Spencer what are my options?

MDW

Hi there, i don't really know how to start this but here it goes.

Basically, i had an interview for a job in Marks & Spencer. I went for the interview and i was told that due to me previously working for M&S i wouldn't need to go through the innital assessment.

This wasn't going to be the case in the end, as i was told that i must carry out the assessment, i.e carrying out a role play.

I can't remember the full details of the role play but here are the key points of it.

- Lady came into the store last week she ordered a cake for her mother's birthday

- The cake hasn't arrived into the store where she has come in to collect it (system says ready to be dispatched)

- Your manager is out on lunch and there is no one around you can turn to for advice

- Cake Takes one week to make

Anyway, the role play started when she confronted me, saying that she has ordered a cake, and she has come into the store to collect it, - me acting out the role play, i asked her details and pretending to look it up on the system. - I told her it hasn't arrived in the store, i did apologize to her about this and explained that this is was our fault and i was ready to offer her a full refund.

She accepted to have a full refund - I processed it, and that was it.

Anyway i was then told to wait in a room, where i was then introduced to a line manager of the store, which then asked me a few questions about my background, there were no right or wrong answers.

After answering these questions i was then told to wait in a room again only to have been told unfortantely, i haven't passed on this occasion and when asked why i didn't pass - The line manager responded into saying "We don't tell you the reason why you didn't pass"

However, i do not understand this as i strongly believe i did my best i mcould possibly do in the role play. I was going to offer the customer a discount such as 20 or 25 % off but i decided not to do this as my manager was not around and you can't really dish out discounts when situations like this pops up, without the consent of your manager, and these situations do pop up all the time.

I am really unhappy about this, i really am. I believe that due to the location of the store where generally a white ethnic background go to do their shopping, i was turned away due to my skin colour and because i wouldn't have fit in.

Also, i used to work for Marks & Spencer last Christmas, i was given the postion as store ops, and before i even started to properly work there, the person who interviewed me, strickly told my would-to be line manager that due to my age, (16 at the time & my line manager was there) that i was not to be handing any heavy loads or work in the loading bay. For the whole time i was there i was doing exactly this, pushing heavy loads, working in loading bay. the i was left on my own to handle heavy loads and working in the freezers for long periods. Basically, i was only meant to be breaking down stock, but this wasn't the case.

I also had an issue with one of the workers i was working with, i didn't have a problem with him, but it seemed from day one, he just didn't liked me. He kept on shouting at me, being nasty to me and generally he didn't treat me how he treated other people who he/i worked with.

I complained to the manager at the time, and he didn't do much about it.

My manager was funny to me too, i had to take some days off because i came down with a fever and i had back problems - i believe it was due to me working in the freezers and pushing the heavy loads. When i came back into work, he made a sarcastic comment to me and these were his exact words - "Did you enjoy your days off"

In the end, i just had enough, i decided to phone in and i said i wasn't going to came back in. When i spoke to my manager about this, he couldn't care any less, he didn't even ask me why i wanted to leave.

Overall my experience of M&S one isn't a pleasant one - I didn't really wanted to work for them in the first place, as i know many who work for
m&s and they said there's no way to move yourself up the ladder anymore. - basically if you was a customer assistant, you could be doing that for m&s until the day you decide to quit/retire but because i am half way though my driving lessons i wanted to get a job to help pay for a car and the insurance.

This has really put me off working for M&S, or even shop in their stores ever again. We usually do our weekly shop in their.

Can you really blame young black kids as myself and why society has failed for us young black kids? Most of us try and better ourselves yet we generally get turned down every way we turn to.

Sorry for the essay and the grammar mistakes - i believed i had to say all of this in order to get the full point across. If your interested, please read my draft complain letter i written and tell me what you think about it and this whole situation thanks!

Ash

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Hi Tony, yes i would just like to make an complaint.

Basically, i went for my interview in

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. I was told that because i worked for Marks & Spencer before, (last 12 months) i didn't need to go through the interview stages.

This wasn't going to be the case, as i spoke to someone else and they said i will be going through a role play.

The role play was a customer who ordered a cake for her mother's birthday last week and was in the store to pick it up, however, the cake hadn't arrived at the store and on the system it said it was "ready to be dispatched".

I did everything what i could and should of possibly have done in my position as well as what a Customer Assistant at M&S should also do. The only thing i didn't do was offer a discount to the customer, as my manager was not around, and i couldn't just hand out discounts just like that without the permission of my section manager, so i offered a full refund and made sure they the customer was happy before she left.

After the role play assessment, i was then introduced to the line manager who asked me a few background questions, there wasn't any right or wrong questions he told me.

I was then told to wait in a room and i was called back to say unfortunately, i didn't pass on this occasion.

I was very upset about this as i strongly believed that i did everything right, and i couldn't of handled the role play any better.

The Line manager who asked me the questions couldn't even tell me why i didn't pass the assessment when i confronted him about this, he then said and these were his exact words ''Marks & Spencer don't tell you the reasons why you didn't get though when having an interview.

I'm just not happy about this, i believe that due to my skin color and because of the location of the store where most of the customer base is from a white ethnic background i was turned down as i wouldn't fit in.

This experience really has put me off ever applying or shopping at a Marks & Spencer store again.

Also i worked for M&S last Christmas and i was given the position as Store Ops, i was told that due to my age (i was 16 at the time) that i should not be lifting/moving any heavy loads i was only meant to be breaking down stock and this was even told in front of my section manager. The law states that i must be 18 and over to work in the position i was given and this wasn't the case.

Yet for the 2 & half months i was working at the Birmingham Marks & Spencer i was in the freezers, pushing heavy loads, on the delivery bay bringing stock from the delivery lorries and eventually, really felt the strain of all of the heavy tasks on my back and because i was in the freezers for long periods i had to have a few days off. I have had back problems ever since taking on the role i was given at the Birmingham Store.

My manager wasn't very supportive either, he was very funny with me, and when i came back in from being ill he made a sarcastic comment and the exact words were "Did you enjoy your days off"

I also confined to my manager also, as i was having some problems with one of my colleges, he was shouting at me, being nasty and you could tell he just didn't like me, yet my Manager didn't do much about this. It would be fair to say, my Manager wasn't very supportive of me and in the end, i had to quit.

When i phoned up i spoke to my line manager - i can't really remember what he said, but he really didn't seem to care.

I am considering taking further action on both of these occurrences as i believe i haven't been treated fairly, and i have suffered in the hands of discrimination, a big factor was due to the color of my skin.

Regards,

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saintjammyswine

Maybe you just didnt get the job, sorry.

MDW

saintjammyswine wrote: »

Maybe you just didnt get the job, sorry.

Sorry, but i do not understand what your trying to say here and if your putting a point across, what point are you putting across.

I was hoping for a better response, really, if you were in my postion im sure you wouldn't be expecting a response similar to the one you have just given me. Am i right or am i right?

Yes i didn't get the job but there must be reasons or a reason why i didn't get the job, and if they don't tell you why you didn't get the job why won't they tell u why they didn't get the job.

What do they what me to do? Just speculate on why i did not get the job? I did everything right, and i know the exact reasons why i didn't get the job.

Emmzi

In the role play I would have offered the customer one of M&S plain celebration cakes as an alternative, as you have left her needing to go and find a bakers now for her event!

It is possible the former colleague who shouted at you did so because you were not very good at your job. None of us know because we were not there. But the majority of people manage to work without being shouted at and it generally takes two to make an argument.

You were employed as a seasonal temp and in the few weeks you were there you managed to rack up sick leave.

That would be enough reasons for me not to employ you without any hint of racism. Sometimes, it is just the wrong job for you. You have also not demonstrated anything specifically racist that has happened to you, you seem to just "have a feeling." You need to be bale to prove it is due to your race, and you simply haven't. And throwing around racism allegations when there is no evidence makes it more difficult for genuine cases to be taken seriously.

LL30

I'm afraid shouting discrimination and racism isn't going to get you very far, particularly when there doesn't seem to be any. I would suggest that you seek some help if you are experiencing identity issues, life is hard, and even harder when you have a huge chip on your shoulder weighing you down. On the up side, it really doesn't sound like you wanted to work at M&S, so maybe its worked out for the best. If it's really bugging you, ask for some feedback (in writing) about your interview and role play - but don't go down the racism route. See what they have to say. If you're unhappy with their response, then take it from there (although I'm not quite sure what you feel your recourse is going to be, if I'm honest). Good luck!

jackieblack

I have excused the grammatical errors in your post, but you really ought to correct them in your complaint letter.

TBH I think it would be better to take the 'could I have some feedback as to why I was not considered suitable' approach rather than making unsubstantiated accusations of racism. There is nothing in what you've told us happened in your interview/assessment to indicate that the colour of your skin has any relevance at all.

Also, when complaining that they haven't offered you a job, it's not very clever to tell them that you didn't enjoy working for them previously and have complaints about your previous employment with them as well. TBH, I wouldn't have offered you the job based on your recount of your previous history with the company.

What are you hoping to achieve with your complaint? A job offer? Compensation?

Emmzi

PS I would take out the branch name from your post. And if that is your real name, that too. It labels you as a trouble maker which won't help if other potential new bosses are reading this.

Reggie_Rebel

I didn't really wanted to work for them in the first place

Perhaps this came across and they gave you your wish.

Jarndyce

I sympathise with a lot of your sentiments, but there is nothing in your post which suggests to me that your race or colour had anything to do with your rejection. You would have to make out at least a germ of a case that that was so for any claim to get off the starting blocks.

You obviously have something about you, both to get to the interview stage for such a job and also to be able to feel strongly about your treatment and articulate your views so well. It would be a great shame if that energy was channelled in the wrong direction. I would try and put this experience behind you and focus on getting another job - there are lots of Xmas opportunities coming up now in the retail trade even if nothing permanent is available for now.

Whilst I would be the first to help you if yuo had a genuine case of race discrimination, I really don't think this is the one to make a stand on. Good luck.

saintjammyswine

MDW wrote: »

Sorry, but i do not understand what your trying to say here and if your putting a point across, what point are you putting across.

I was hoping for a better response, really, if you were in my postion im sure you wouldn't be expecting a response similar to the one you have just given me. Am i right or am i right?

Yes i didn't get the job but there must be reasons or a reason why i didn't get the job, and if they don't tell you why you didn't get the job why won't they tell u why they didn't get the job.

What do they what me to do? Just speculate on why i did not get the job? I did everything right, and i know the exact reasons why i didn't get the job.

OK, my point being that there may well be no discrimination, there were simply other people who were potentially better at the job than you.

Sometimes you don't get told why you didn't get the job, sometimes the employer will give excellent feedback. There will be reasons but if they didn't tell you what they were then you can either review what you did, honestly and critique it, self assessing or, if you did everything you could then chalk it down to experience and move on.

My post wasn't meant to be flippant, just saying that it is not likely to be a sinister reason behind the decision. Not saying it doesn't happen though and if you really feel there is something more behind it then absolutely fight it but be very sure about it first.

Carl31

im not sure blaming your skin colour everytime something goes wrong is going to do you many favours in life

do you really think a high profile company like M+S would turn down good candidates for illegal reasons? theres not one hint of racism in what you say, yet thats your conclusion

even if they did employ you, how long would it be before you had then over some attempting legal case for something you didnt agree with 'because youre black?'