Nursery worker told she HAS to eat with children

azza21

Hi guys i need some advice. My girlfriend has worked at a nursery for the best part of 2 years. She used to enjoy her job as she has a great love for children and for what the job involves. However a year or so ago one of the managers left her position and was replaced. The new person who replaced her has introduced new rules one of which is the nursery workers have to eat with the children at dinner times. At first she changed the rules to, nursery workers had to look as if they were eating with the children. Now my girlfriend and other were told by no uncertain terms today they have to eat there dinner with the children. Now when i say eat dinner they have to eat what the children are eating with them not there own food. Now my girlfriend is a picky eater at the best of times and is getting herself in a right state over this. The boss said if anyone had a problem with it to go and see her but from what i understand she is quite an intimidating character and doesn't listen to her staff, she's knows best type. Their are many other issue's regarding this horrid boss as well but for now i just want to tackle this issue as i think this is one step too far.

"Yes to encourage them to eat the food. She was told in no uncertain terms she had to eat what her children had to eat, be it macaroni cheese, spaghetti anything. She has to eat it with them and yes she brings her own pack lunch in and has a seperate lunch break. She is not allowed to eat her lunch with the children, has to be what they eat.

Let me just clarify my girlfriend doesn't have a problem pretending to eat the food, she used to do this, has done it for the last 6 months. Never been an issue, now however she has been told she has to eat the food they eat and is not allowed to pretend to eat it. "

I've come on here because i care about my girl and hate see'ing her like this, i'd love to walk into this womens office and give her an earful but thats not going to resolve matters. So the way i was going to play this was to e-mail the company she works for and explain the situation and back it up with links or quotes explaining it is against the law what she is doing, if that is the case that is...

Any ideas of what to do next and where i stand she stands legally would be be greatly appreciated.

Aaron

paddedjohn

before i even read your post you might want to edit out the name of the nursery incase it can come back to you

azza21

Sorry i completely forgot about that.

Sambucus_Nigra

Does the nursery provide the food and what sort of food is it? I mean, this is a bonkers rule but lets look at it reasonably - if it's provided on site and your gf can go to a counter and choose - is she given heinz baby food and a plastic spoon, or a hearty cooked meal with veg?

ps - it's not you who does the emailing to complain - it would be your gf and she would need to follow the grievance procedure. Also - doesn't anyone else have an issue with it?

dandelionclock30

Can she not nibble a couple of fishfingers or a triangle sandwich for the sake of her job? She could just take a couple of bites and then just push the rest round her plate. I dont really see the problem, just get her to pretend.

specialkthefirst

i dont see what is wrong with that? my son goes to nursery and all the staff eat what the children eat with them. it encourages the children to eat and as they see adults eating the same stuff they eat it too. its just what kids are like. i guess its just one of thoese things that comes with the job.

no idea about laws and such but it doesnt seem a bad thing to me
x

azza21

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Does the nursery provide the food and what sort of food is it? I mean, this is a bonkers rule but lets look at it reasonably - if it's provided on site and your gf can go to a counter and choose - is she given heinz baby food and a plastic spoon, or a hearty cooked meal with veg?

No the food is stuff like macaroni cheese the type of food kids love. I mean the kids she looks after are 4 years old i think, i will talk to her later to clarify this.
Problem is my girlfriend brings her own lunch into work as do all the girls, she shouldn't have to eat macaroni cheese for example if she doesn't want to, you cannot be forced, surely...

She has no problems pretending to eat and so on, its the she has to eat it she has a problem with.

Sambucus_Nigra

azza21 wrote: »

No the food is stuff like macaroni cheese the type of food kids love. I mean the kids she looks after are 4 years old i think, i will talk to her later to clarify this.
Problem is my girlfriend brings her own lunch into work as do all the girls, she shouldn't have to eat macaroni cheese for example if she doesn't want to, you cannot be forced, surely...

She has no problems pretending to eat and so on, its the she has to eat it she has a problem with.

Is it cooked on site?

azza21

She has to eat what the kids eat, obviously not baby food. As far as i'm aware she does not get to choose again i have to clarify this.

azza21

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Is it cooked on site?

Yes it is. They have a chef who cooks the meals on site.

Sambucus_Nigra

specialkthefirst wrote: »

i dont see what is wrong with that? my son goes to nursery and all the staff eat what the children eat with them. it encourages the children to eat and as they see adults eating the same stuff they eat it too. its just what kids are like. i guess its just one of thoese things that comes with the job.

no idea about laws and such but it doesnt seem a bad thing to me
x

Not being funny, but as an adult, I don't want to eat what I see 4 yr olds eating; I want to eat what I - as an adult - have deemed appropriate for me - not what my boss has deemed appropriate for a 4 yr old.