Employer caused injuries, didn't pay minimum wage, discrimination etc.

samantham06

Hi all,

I won't say the employers name, it was a well known coffee shop chain. 

Cut a long story short, I left there in August 2023 because I was so Ill from it all and after the 2nd totally avoidable accident I ended up breaking down. 

I had 2 chemical eye injuries, one resulted in a&e and lengthy treatment for a chemical eye burn, I have to now put in drops everyday, migraines etc- still ongoing issues. Both were due to no training - 1st date this on accident report. 2nd they didn't even bother doing an accident report.
The first one I put through their insurer and they've admitted liability, I've now been waiting 2 months for any settlement amount to be given. There is no solicitor involved presently.
2nd one they've basically tried calling me a liar, I told them to look at th CCTV! And haven't stuck to the 3 month decision on liability. 

I ended up with RPI injuries in my hands / shoulder. Had to have x-rays to rule other things out and months upon months of physiotherapy. I couldn't drive or sleep properly due to such bad pain. Ongoing now I've lost a great deal of strength in my arm. This was due to them not following h&s and not rotating us baristas on work stations every 2 (I believe) hours
They denied responsibility - as apparently multiple choice questions on an app, after watching short videos on the app, constitutes adequate h&s training. (I will add to this part)
They had reems of medical evidence clearly stating this was work related. Yet still denied. 

I was discriminated against because of my disability and missed promotions I was capable of and told I could have, because work place stress made me have to be signed off, when I went back I was told "we don't think you're up to it"
I should have had risk assessments and accommodations for my disabilities I disclosed early on - never happened. I've no seen the forms they should have filled out, but failed to.
I did get one extra break that a kind manager put on, but prior to that I had nothing.
I think it's too late to raise this?

I was forced to complete the online training at home, unpaid, at least 30 hours I suspect. If not we were named and shamed on the work group chat and threatened our shifts would be removed. 
How can I claim for these unpaid hours please?

I watched people be bullied, really bullied, I saw unfair dismissal. I saw people sob with how much pressure was put on us. Because all the company ever did was "work harder, quicker, faster"- with less and less staff to "save money"- we would even get calls throughout shifts to HURRY UP WE CAN SEE RGE DRIVE THRU TIMES - when we had 2/3 staff, queues of 20 plus and legally should have had 5/7 staff on.
On the hottest day of the year I couldn't even stop to drink water, ended up with heat exhaustion.

They broke GDPR laws, I've reported to ICO months ago but heard nothing. After my eye claim was put on, they publically interviewed a staff member in the open case about it and me. By sheer fluke my friend was there and overheard, so found out about it and contacted me. They denied they did this, and said it was fine as "no personal things were spoken about" ... My friend heard what happened... And heard it was me! 

I only worked 11 hours a week, but even that made me ill. 
Frankly I want to take all of this as far as I can because I'm so upset about it but also as I pray it'll help other staff, but I don't know how? As their insurance gave denied the RPI and I'm autistic so I've no idea how to go through legal channels and am not sure I can manage more stress.

FlorayG

A lot of these coffee places are franchise and that will mean your claim against the franchisee not the main company (although then you could also report them to the main company for not following due process); which situation is it? Did you work for the franchise or directly for the main company?

DullGreyGuy

samantham06 said:

when we had 2/3 staff, queues of 20 plus and legally should have had 5/7 staff on.

There is no legal requirement on how many workers a coffee shop should have on. 

Experience doesn't sound too different to Neros but in practice it depends heavily on which store you're at. Those that are proper cafés tend not to be too bad places to work, those that are kiosks in train stations etc are horrible. Other brands may be better or worse but suspect most are similar. 

Ultimately, check to see if you have any legal expenses cover from anywhere, most likely is going to be your home insurance that was in force at the time you were working there. Alternatives can be things like unions. They will be able to guide you in the process and potentially manage the claims for you if they deem there are good prospects of success and their costs will be reasonable -v- the amounts you're claiming for. 

samantham06

FlorayG said:

A lot of these coffee places are franchise and that will mean your claim against the franchisee not the main company (although then you could also report them to the main company for not following due process); which situation is it? Did you work for the franchise or directly for the main company?

It was a franchise. 

samantham06

DullGreyGuy said:

samantham06 said:

when we had 2/3 staff, queues of 20 plus and legally should have had 5/7 staff on.

There is no legal requirement on how many workers a coffee shop should have on. 

Experience doesn't sound too different to Neros but in practice it depends heavily on which store you're at. Those that are proper cafés tend not to be too bad places to work, those that are kiosks in train stations etc are horrible. Other brands may be better or worse but suspect most are similar. 

Ultimately, check to see if you have any legal expenses cover from anywhere, most likely is going to be your home insurance that was in force at the time you were working there. Alternatives can be things like unions. They will be able to guide you in the process and potentially manage the claims for you if they deem there are good prospects of success and their costs will be reasonable -v- the amounts you're claiming for. 

Unfortunately not, my policy began after I left. Thought the RPI didn't become apparent that was what it was until after. 

Undervalued

samantham06 said:

Hi all,

I won't say the employers name, it was a well known coffee shop chain. 

Cut a long story short, I left there in August 2023 because I was so Ill from it all and after the 2nd totally avoidable accident I ended up breaking down. 

I had 2 chemical eye injuries, one resulted in a&e and lengthy treatment for a chemical eye burn, I have to now put in drops everyday, migraines etc- still ongoing issues. Both were due to no training - 1st date this on accident report. 2nd they didn't even bother doing an accident report.
The first one I put through their insurer and they've admitted liability, I've now been waiting 2 months for any settlement amount to be given. There is no solicitor involved presently.
2nd one they've basically tried calling me a liar, I told them to look at th CCTV! And haven't stuck to the 3 month decision on liability. 

I ended up with RPI injuries in my hands / shoulder. Had to have x-rays to rule other things out and months upon months of physiotherapy. I couldn't drive or sleep properly due to such bad pain. Ongoing now I've lost a great deal of strength in my arm. This was due to them not following h&s and not rotating us baristas on work stations every 2 (I believe) hours
They denied responsibility - as apparently multiple choice questions on an app, after watching short videos on the app, constitutes adequate h&s training. (I will add to this part)
They had reems of medical evidence clearly stating this was work related. Yet still denied. 

I was discriminated against because of my disability and missed promotions I was capable of and told I could have, because work place stress made me have to be signed off, when I went back I was told "we don't think you're up to it"
I should have had risk assessments and accommodations for my disabilities I disclosed early on - never happened. I've no seen the forms they should have filled out, but failed to.
I did get one extra break that a kind manager put on, but prior to that I had nothing.
I think it's too late to raise this?

I was forced to complete the online training at home, unpaid, at least 30 hours I suspect. If not we were named and shamed on the work group chat and threatened our shifts would be removed. 
How can I claim for these unpaid hours please?

I watched people be bullied, really bullied, I saw unfair dismissal. I saw people sob with how much pressure was put on us. Because all the company ever did was "work harder, quicker, faster"- with less and less staff to "save money"- we would even get calls throughout shifts to HURRY UP WE CAN SEE RGE DRIVE THRU TIMES - when we had 2/3 staff, queues of 20 plus and legally should have had 5/7 staff on.
On the hottest day of the year I couldn't even stop to drink water, ended up with heat exhaustion.

They broke GDPR laws, I've reported to ICO months ago but heard nothing. After my eye claim was put on, they publically interviewed a staff member in the open case about it and me. By sheer fluke my friend was there and overheard, so found out about it and contacted me. They denied they did this, and said it was fine as "no personal things were spoken about" ... My friend heard what happened... And heard it was me! 

I only worked 11 hours a week, but even that made me ill. 
Frankly I want to take all of this as far as I can because I'm so upset about it but also as I pray it'll help other staff, but I don't know how? As their insurance gave denied the RPI and I'm autistic so I've no idea how to go through legal channels and am not sure I can manage more stress.

Realistically you are going to struggle to progress this without professional help.

Any employment tribunal claim will almost certainly be out of time I'm afraid. You left over a year ago and there is a strict ET time limit (with only a few exceptions) of three months.

Any unpaid wages / holiday etc can still be claimed via the county court (six year time limit - five years in Scotland).

Personal injury claims must normally be started within three years so that remains possible.

If you have no insurance cover or other access to free advice then the only option may be a conditional fee arrangement (i.e No win No fee). Be very very careful you fully understand any such agreement before signing as it can sometimes be very difficult to pull out, should you want to, without being liable for fees.

MattMattMattUK

samantham06 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

samantham06 said:

when we had 2/3 staff, queues of 20 plus and legally should have had 5/7 staff on.

There is no legal requirement on how many workers a coffee shop should have on. 

Experience doesn't sound too different to Neros but in practice it depends heavily on which store you're at. Those that are proper cafés tend not to be too bad places to work, those that are kiosks in train stations etc are horrible. Other brands may be better or worse but suspect most are similar. 

Ultimately, check to see if you have any legal expenses cover from anywhere, most likely is going to be your home insurance that was in force at the time you were working there. Alternatives can be things like unions. They will be able to guide you in the process and potentially manage the claims for you if they deem there are good prospects of success and their costs will be reasonable -v- the amounts you're claiming for. 

Unfortunately not, my policy began after I left. Thought the RPI didn't become apparent that was what it was until after. 

Do you mean RSI?

tacpot12

You do sound like a good case for a No-Win/No-Fee solicitors, but using them is fraught with difficulties. Basically, they will only help if they think your case can be won easily. If it is going to be difficult, they won't take the case. You will have to do every thing they tell you, when they tell you. You will have to cope with not hearing anything for months. This might be quite hard for you but if you don't withdraw from the case, you will be in breach of the contract you have with them, and then you will owe them a lot of money (probably many thousands of pounds) which they will chase you through the courts for. You will end up with a CCJ, and worse employment and life prospects as a result.

In my opinion, you should only use a No-Win/No-fee solicitor if you are robust enough to cope with a difficult and trying case that will probably take two to three years to be settled - your industrial injuries are complex and it will take time to work out what happened and why. Be careful if you go down the No-Win/No-Fee route. 

samantham06

tacpot12 said:

You do sound like a good case for a No-Win/No-Fee solicitors, but using them is fraught with difficulties. Basically, they will only help if they think your case can be won easily. If it is going to be difficult, they won't take the case. You will have to do every thing they tell you, when they tell you. You will have to cope with not hearing anything for months. This might be quite hard for you but if you don't withdraw from the case, you will be in breach of the contract you have with them, and then you will owe them a lot of money (probably many thousands of pounds) which they will chase you through the courts for. You will end up with a CCJ, and worse employment and life prospects as a result.

In my opinion, you should only use a No-Win/No-fee solicitor if you are robust enough to cope with a difficult and trying case that will probably take two to three years to be settled - your industrial injuries are complex and it will take time to work out what happened and why. Be careful if you go down the No-Win/No-Fee route. 

Thank you, this is very helpful. I don't want all that stress. 

EnPointe

" legally  we should have  had 5-7  members of staff on "   what legislation would this be ? 

a lot of  organisations have a policy of having  a minimum  of 3 members of staff on duty  as to not need lone working  policies  etc.

as someone who has been an accredited Trades Union rep in an industrial setting,  and has worked in a variety  of other settings including  healthcare and   catering / restaurants   it seems that your 'case'   is muddled, confused,  and  has aspects  which  any one who actually knows the law could  drive  a coach and horses through 

The immediate  answer to your injuries  is ' if you  were not trained why did you undertake this task' - were you  instructed to do so by a  team leader or Manager ? and did you  report  this breach at the time ?

Unsure where the disability discrimination aspect comes from  based on what you have written, also  did you  disclose this disability when you applied and did you  request an Occupational health referral ? 

 

samantham06

EnPointe said:

" legally  we should have  had 5-7  members of staff on "   what legislation would this be ? 

a lot of  organisations have a policy of having  a minimum  of 3 members of staff on duty  as to not need lone working  policies  etc.

as someone who has been an accredited Trades Union rep inan industrial setting,  and has worked in a variety  of other settings including  healthcare and   catering / restaurants   it seems thatr your 'case'   is muddled confused,  and  has aspects   which  any one who actually knows the law could  drive  a coach and horses through 

 the immediate  answer to your injuries  is ' if you  were not triained why did you undertake this task' - were you  instructed to do so by a  team leader or Manager  ? and did you  report  this breach at the time 

unsure where the disability discrimination aspect comes from  based on what you have written, also  did you  disclose this disability   when you applied and did you  request an Occupational health referral ? 

 

You are incredibly rude.