advice plz, possible bullying / harrassement

relynutz

have posted here, might be more appropriate (sorry if not )
i work for a large company , we got a new manager approx 8 months ago, all seemed ok, but he has no people skills!!!!

i am married and have 3 children.

we have had several very heated discussions, but on sunday he wanted me to stay on 4 1 hr UNPAID
i refused and he told me that he was going to give me a disciplinary for it !!!!
he was also saying that i didnt deserve to work there and that he was going to cut my hrs down.

i told him that he could'nt because of my contract .........he said that he could do what he wanted , hes the manager and if i looked closely at my contract it says that " you could need to work more or less HOURS DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS", so he could cut them.
i told im that if he cut them now i would know why and he just cant do that.


he then went on to tell me that i dont dersrve to be there.
he has perviously told me that this isnt the place to work if you have children.

( all these things have been said in front of wintnesses)

i absolutely love my job with a passion, i work hard at it too.
i have had several letters of compliment from customers.

the manager has had other members of staff in tears on several occasions.

he took on a new member of staff back in feb, then dcided that he didnt want him to work to work there but the boys parents kicked up that he had done 7 hrs work and that they want him to be paid for it.
this infuriated my manager, and he then paid to pay the persons wages into mine to save paperwork!!!!

i didnt want him to , neither did the boys parents and , my manager really had a go at me because it made him look bad that he had to put someone on the books then take him off!!! ( he said it was my fault because i recommend the boy and he wasnt suitable)

anyway, i contacted my head office and put it in writing they contacted my area manager and i have a meeting on tues morning with him and my manager

i am terrified about it, i keep being sick, i have upset stomach, its all related to the strees of the whole thing.

I WENT IN TO THE STORE TO CHECK THE ROTAS FOR NEXT WEEK AND HE HAS CUT MY HRS 2 4 FOR THE WEEK!!!!!!!!!


i did go to the cab and she said i have grounds for constructive dismassal.
i dont want to leave my job because i enjoy it but not really sure what to do now.
i thought about going back to cab on mon morning to see what they say now that my hrs have been cut and i have the meeting

any advice greatly appreciated, amd really sorry if i posted in the wrong place and am sorry for going on and being so long, just dont know where to turn really.

LittleVoice

I think you made the right choice of MSE board.

As it is a large retail store I wonder whether they have what is generally known as an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). If they have it is generally advertised on staff notice boards. Generally it is a phone line and you can speak with someone who is from an organisation contracted to offer help.

As there are bullying issues, you might find further information at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026670 (including information on constructive dismissal) or http://www.andreaadamstrust.org/

Best wishes

LV

Browntoa

theres a paralell thread they have started here with more replies

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=451190

poe.tuesday

raise a grievence about him straight way, note down exactly what he has said and when whilst it is fresh in your mind, do not talk about other peoples situations just yours

TrikerAndBiker

The main thing is to remain calm!. You have done the right thing by raising this with HO, now sit down and list out all the problems that have occurred since this new manager started. At the meeting try to stick to the real facts, be clear and concise and give examples of incidents particularly if you had witnesses to these.

I wouldn't suggest you leave and try for constructive dismissal without first trying the full grievance procedure. You need to give your company the opportunity to rectify this 'problem' first to be fair. If they fail to do this then maybe consider trying this more extreme measure.

At the end of the day you need to feel happy (well at least OK!) in the workplace and it isn't fair that one 'bully' should ruin this for you.

Good luck and let us know how this pans out. (and stop making yourself ill over this, it really isn't worth it)
Ladybiker

ohreally

You have some sound advice from some of the above posters.
For further reading have a look at...http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=797

Is there a union available for you to join?

debsky

hi, i've recently had a similar experience to you, i was working for a big retail company for 3 months, i was off sick for 4 days, the day i went back to work the area manager came to the shop to see me, he called me into the office and started ripping into me because i had taken time off on the sick, the way he spoke to me was terrible (i wouldn't talk to a dog like that), he told me that if i took time off again i'd have the sack, needless to say when i got home and told my husband the way the area manager was speaking to me he wanted to go around there and sort him out. A few days later i was 5 minutes late for work due to the bus being late that day, i apologised to the manager when i got in and offered to stay on 10 minutes extra at the end of my shift to make up the time, she told me not to bother and told me not to be late again.
Last tuesday i was due to go into work at 12.00, i didn't make it. I got a phone call at 9.30 from the shop telling me that the manager and the area manager had a meeting on saturday and decided that i wasn't suitable for the job (i worked sunday and nobody said a thing to me) then had the cheek to tell me that they were expecting me to work that afternoon and the following day, my answer to them can't be printed, so i am now out of work again.

Jarvisma

Well done you for having the guts to stand up to him!!

The thing to bear in mind is that at the moment it is not the whole company against you, it is just this one individual. They may have no idea what he is like and may be grateful for you bringing it to their attention.

There are several points I would make and hope you take on board:

Firstly before you attend your meeting, write everything down in as much detail as possible. Times, dates, what was said, what was done. Try and concentrate on the facts rather than allowing enotion to creep in.

Secondly, take someone with you. I would advise that you call your area manager in advance and just ask if he would mind if a friend or a colleague sat in on the meeting with you. Or if that isn't acceptable someone impartial or a representative of the HR team. No decent company will refuse this and it will help your confidence.

Thirdly, and most importantly, what you describe of him paying someone else's wages to you (presumably for you to pass on) to save on paperwork is highly illegal. This completely contravenes HMRC regulations and is tantamount to tax fraud. This should certainly be brought to the area manager's attention as should be the fact that you were extremely uncomfortable with it being forced upon you as you belived it to be illegal.

Don't leave you job because of this man. If everything you have said his true he is an unfit manager and does not deserve to keep his job. There are far too many people like him in the workplace and not enough people to stand up to them.

Good luck and keep us posted!