hi all,

my GF has come home in tears once again. she is a assistant manager at a shop in colchester and the other manager and her son have been giving her a very hard time, along side the other emplyees, who quite simply, take the
p1ss.

they undermine her, (for want of a better word) 'slag' her off behind her back (infront of other employees'), have created numerous stories / rumors about her and have blamed multiple things on her to name just a few things.

to cut to te chase, i dont personnally think my GF can mentally handle this much longer, she is a very sweet, quet person and not one for confrontation so tonight things have come to a head

the store manager is aware of the situation, but, to be honest, is not doing a great deal about it. usually i would go doen the store manager route but she simply doesn't have the respect of other employees or the guts to do anything ( she would have done something by now).

the GF is physicly sick with worry about going to work tomorrow. she has a history of 'issues' so i have suggested going to the docs etc etc and maybe getting sighned off work.

before everyone goes on about ' smack the lad' etc etc - that is in hand but i DO NOT want to jepadise anything at this point.

finally - LEGALLY what can we do. I DO NOT want my GF going through that again, i worrk over 60 miles away from her each day so i can hardily swing by. we haven't got the money for her to just walk out..

any help would be greatly appreciated... in seriousness im at a real loss on what to do.

thank you in advance.

Matt

 

take it to head offices human resources team and make a formal complaint is the legal thing to do.

Not sure if it will do much good as if everyone in the shop is in on it then very quickly things will turn nasty and theyll force her out.

Might be time to look for another job sadly!!! Alternatively go on the sick with stress and milk the bastards for it

 

assuming this store has a head office & area manager?

secondly; tell your Mrs not to worry; the law is very much in her favour for this - report it to head office or area manager. Get your Mrs to write down every occurance of bullying (dates, times, who's involved, details) (even previous incidents)

present this evidence to the head office and advise you will be seeking legal action if nothing is done

 

Throw a sicky tomorrow so she'll have three straight days off to clear her head. Get on the phone to head office and request a meeting with personell manager. State you do not have confidence in the shop manager to sort it out.

 

really sorry to here this bud,the only advise i could give is to try the governmant website,gov.something ... it was good when i had work related issues and will probobly be able to help.it should tell you who to see,whta to do etc.

beating someone up wont help at all,itll create more problems later,especially if it goes to court etc.but it will make you feel better.

citizeons advise would be good and you could always pop into a solicitors/ lawyers for free advise on what they could do for her,theyd want your trade after all.hope this has helped abit,sorry if it aint.

 

thank you for the replies. I don't think it would be wise to mention the store. but its a worldwide chain aimed at kids soft toys if thats any help. thank you for the advice so far. i am about to look on the GOV webiste now.

SQ and LHD220Turbo, cheers guys, that is helpfull.

WarrenP... -- cheers mate, thing is, she hs been applying for jobs left right and centre for the last month or so... its sodding hard to get another job ..if she could, she would be gone in a flash - i personally dont think things could get much nastier.

Longun - thank you for the advice - checking the gov sight now

 

+1

 

If its that big a company get in contact with the union. They can help you out legaly and they never back down.

 

 

she works sundays so it wont be a 2day weekend sadly!

my worry is she will complain and the other people will make a counter claim about her in some shape or form. the woman in question is particulary manipulative and has seemingly pushed us into a corner. whatever the GF does about this she is worrying it will go pete tong.



in regards to the union. i will enquire into this, but again, if they have one, you can pretty much guarentee the person in question is part of it. she's worked at the company for years and years.

again, thanks to all for the help, the Direct.Gov has been very usefull so far.

 

I have only skipped through this but if its a shop get some people from the same area to go in and kick up a fuss about something and then get them complain about the said people.Complaints from the the public about them being rude or not knowing their job will work for the bods above them.

 

i was just about to post this very idea your mate saying they have been treated badly would work just dont go overboard with it

 

v.good idea - perhaps not quite as 'by the rules' but something i was thinking about aswell - as long as it didnt look obvious i guess!

 

personally i think this is a very bad idea!

 

hm, thinking about it - it sort of undermines the whole 'by the book' approach. and creates another worry. no doubt it would bite us in the ass at some point.

 

its jealousy,this is not funny,the poor girl is trying to be professional at work and due to some petty behavior is makeing herself ill,nip this in the bud right away,or the doc will be prescribing her tranquilizers, i know you want to pour a litre of petrol over them but your hurt them more if your professional,get head office involved,once they are made aware of this it will screw any prospects of promotion on their part,keep us updated pal.........

 

my GF went through the same as she worked for Orange, she took out a grievence against her supervisor and my GF actually got sacked over it basically saying she was a liar & she is now currently trying to take them to court

 

i dont really think youll get something done unless you have lots of evidence, i know this sounds harsh but it means effort from the people high up and their not likely to be that interested.

they would just look at it that people higher up always get abit of jib (how many of you have slagged the boss off?) so present your problem then take down each incidente and report it to however you told about the problem each time their is an insidense. if dsomething isnt done sharpish take up legal advise then theres bound to be something done

hope you sort it all out pal

 

My approach was so no one can be accused of anything underhand or accused of making stuff up.Like I said complaints made by joe public are worth more than 20 co workers and will get noticed more imo.I cant even belive myself I have put this,I am more likely to kick off myself and put the job in jepordy kind of person if I am pissed with whats going on.Act now think later
wont do anyone any favoures though that.

 

I was on the union at my previous place of work and we fought the corner for anyone being bullied,regardless of who's toes we stood on BUT the previous regime were very corruptable so were not all perfect.the problem with this is that if she's not a member and the other person is it will be very unlikely that by simply joining now they will help her in anyway.verbal harrassment is very hard to prove without say a recording perhaps,but physical/sexual would be taken far more seriously.horrible scenario this,my girlfriend suffered something similar where she used to work from someone visiting the garage as her boss had asked her to take the flak for something and never backed her up.after I put the boy abusing her straight about what happenned he apologised fully and they've got on fine ever since.perhaps if you were to speak to the son who's hasselling her before/after work this could be resolved without the need for violence?

 

RAX - deffo get your point . i think i would be more inclinded to do the legal thing, but on the other hand - i like the idea and agree with the thought that a customer complaint is worth more in some way.

as it goes, the company is VERY customer orientated

 

it may sound a bit sad but if these pathetic excuses for people ar saying things directly to her have one of those recording things they use in interviews in her pocket. its hard evidence so they cant turn round and call your girlfriend a liar.

 

tell your GF to get a diary and log every incident, and try and get as much evidence as she can, anything that would point to bullying or victimisation.

i wouldn't take any time off on the sick until you've had legal advice, maybe the citizens advice bureau. any sick days could be held against her if it does go tits up.

 

Obviously it all depends on how good the company is.

In my opinion a lot of big retail companys you wont get far actually working hard because everyone else gets pissed off as you work harder than them and it makes them look bad. I found that in a few temping roles ive done. if you work hard, others will hate you and apparently your now the cunt for showing them up They seem to have the attitude of doing the least work they can get away with. And of course its not what you know or how good you are at the job that gets you promoted, but who you know and how popular you are.

Is it any wonder the UK is fucked???

 

TBH, best bet is probably to stick it out and apply for another job, I doubt she will ever be happy there by the sounds of it.

 

chips right there will always be that thing if you know what i meaneven if you get it sorted out fkn pish news though bud

 

I'm a manager for a well known retailer and trust me, complaints from other people regarding staff will only be taken further if its very serious such as swearing at a customer etc.

IMO, the best way if she cannot get proof such as evidence provided by another colleague would be to look for another job. And fast, before they start to twist things. I know this sounds harsh but sometimes its just best to move on... and this sounds like one of those....

 

i find it funny how supposedly the retail industry is on its knees because of the recession yet from what i see, the vast majority of the staff are either incompetant or lazy or both and most the managers are weak leaders and selfish. Maybe if they got rid of all thier shit staff and got in decent ones then theyd actually sell more and hence make more profit

or is the standard of your average retail employee/jobseeker just that bad these days??

 

Like you said mate, the only companies that are on their knees are the badly managed ones.

I didnt realise she was the assistant manager, I would o thought that they will have an Area HRBP, I'd definately get onto them and see what they have to say about the matter.
She should also be able to find out as a manager if the other staff are members of USDAW, the monthly deductions should be in their wage slip.

 

only skipped through as in a rush, but money is money health is more important, if something doesn't get done sharpish your gf will become ill. Is it worth it for a pay cheque?

I don't know your situation and im sure you have worked all corners out, but for me personally i would rid of anything that i don't need at home and do my best to make ends meet without your gf working for a few months.

Hope you get this sorted keep us informed

 

Quit. I know you say you can't afford that, but trust me, the other route will cost a hell of a lot more in the long run. If she is as unhappy as you say she is, you will be causing her a whole heap of psycological problems keeping her there.

 

She needs to be logging everything that goes on, dates, times, what's been said etc.

Get her to join the unite union, they cover shop workers etc. She needs to let the manager know she is being bullied, otherwise they will say they were not made aware of the situation, and didnt have time to sort it out blah blah.

There will be people at unite that will help her deal with it, and will sort it out. Most companies will have procedures in place for bullying, but they very rarely follow them. It would be worth following it through even if she leaves, would be a confidence boost to her knowing that she was able to tackle it rather than 'run away'.
Things like this really piss me off.

 

In the current climate i would seriously not quit. go on sick with stress maybe as it buys you time, but not quit!!

If she quits, shes going to struggle to get a job anyway and also she'll get an unfair shit reference and have to explain why she left in new interviews/job forms which in the current climate means she'll likely get rejected as shes a "risk".

 

sorry to hear this shit
read most of the thread this is what i would do
i would arm myself with all the evidence needed to make a strong complaint
act on it now rather than later as it only eats away
the situation will never be the same imho again within that company
get another job don't but don't let the fuckers win