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My workplace sucks

Started by river_thames, 19-02-20, 01:24PM

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river_thames

I've been working at Tesco for one year (started in February 2019) and I find it horrible and I feel so miserable. I work in an Express store and my biggest problem is the management. My line manager just doesn't care about the store and the staff, unless you're part of a small clique. I feel like I'm bullied and singled out all the time. One of the shift leaders visibly hates me and treats me very unfairly. She effectively has more power in the shop than the line manager, as the line manager just doesn't care enough and doesn't even have the balls to challenge what she does. The shift leader considers me to be slow on the shop floor so she constantly puts me on tills, which I something I generally don't like. I understand that as part of my job as a CA I get to do till and that's fine, but it's just not fair that I get picked every time and there's no rotation with other people going. This mostly happens when she runs the shift, as other managers don't have problems with me on the shop floor. I don't feel confident speaking to my line manager about my issues as I believe he will diminish them and not take me seriously. I also feel constantly bullied by my line manager and the aforementioned shift leader, as I'm usually shy and not very vocal and they take advantage of this. So I definitely have zero trust in them. Another issue is about the clique and the favouritism around it. If you're part of it you get away with most things, I get fingers pointed at me for everything wrong I do. If you're part of it you get to have cigarette breaks that last up to 20 minutes and I, once, got asked why do I go to the toilet so many times a day (I've been asked what do I do when I go to the toilet and if I have any health issue. I just used to go 2-3 times during an 8-hours shift, it seems reasonable to me. Now I even feel under pressure about it).
The mood in my shop is very negative, people (mostly shift leaders and the manager) are not supportive of each other, rather they're very competitive (in a bad way) and always ready to criticise and point fingers. I walk into the staff area when I start my shift and the first thing I hear is a shift leader judging another one's work the previous day or whatever. I want to leave as soon as possible, I don't feel accepted, understood and welcomed and I feel there is a very small amount of people that I can talk to in my workplace, as everybody seems to be infected by this negative and judgemental mood.

There are plenty of other issues that I can talk about, but this is just a small rant as I feel very depressed and sad right now. I want to leave, but finding a new job in my area seems a bit difficult...

And on top of everything, the pay sucks!

cupcake29

The management are too weak in your store.  Often this can happen, where the manager is scared of some of the staff below them, and the CA or shift leader runs the store or department.  Try not to take it personally, it's not about you.  You could give it a time limit to see if any of the trouble makers move on, but if not, leaving would be better for your confidence and mental health.

NightAndDay

Grievances are a great way to stir the pot and see the doodoo hit the fan.

taliahad

I hate to hear of people being treated like this, work should not be this way.  I would advise keeping a diary, make a note of every incident, the date and the time.  Hand write the diary, then it's more noticeable that it's been done at the time and not typed up on the computer afterwards.  I should be doing this, I'm just as miserable in my corner of tesco.  I nearly walked out today.    Can't believe that this company is as bad as it is. 

forrestgimp

First thing you need to do is document any instances of workplace bullying, then keep a diary going forward. When you feel able or its appropriate then download the grievance form from my tesco fill it all in and set the wheels in motion.

Bullying and harrasment is the most serious of catagorys and it will be taken seriously by management as the paper trail has to show they have done their job correctly for any subsequent inquireys into it.

However you need to be aware that a grievance is a stressful thing to undertake for all concerned most importantly you, Think hard before putting yourself through this and be prepared for some sleepless nights.

NightAndDay

#5
The managers can just Mickey Mouse the grievances though, they can take very punitive action and as long as they've followed process the people manager won't care. As long as you are doing your job they'll get paid their salaries.

The best thing to do is carry on the paper trail, involve ACAS until either A. The issue gets resolved or B. They constructively/unfairly dismiss you, armed with your paper trail and documentation, provided you've not done anything gross misconduct worthy, the employment tribunal judge will make Tesco pay, you probably won't get your job back, but when Tesco loses money on that scale people higher up the food chain will investigate.

forrestgimp

#6
No they cant and its very disingenuous of you to suggest it.

A grievance especialy one for victimisation bullying or harasment is taken very seriously because obviously once you leave the employ of your workplace in this case Tesco and go to a tribunal if you got fobbed off and had punitive action taken against you the people involved would not only have to explain to their superiors why they did what they did but to an emplyment tribunal as well.

It has been my experience having gone through one that it is indeed taken very seriously not least because the person hearing the grievance does not want to be in the firing line should the worst come to the worst.

NightAndDay

In my experience they can, there is a reason why Tesco is the lowest rated for corporate governance in the FTSE 100 and this is one of the reasons. Not saying that all managers are incompetent, but my experience with the grievance process has left a lot to be desired. It did eventually get resolved from an external review however.

In short, a lot of the misconduct Tescos managers enact is in the hope you won't have any knowledge about the law. They can get away with their Mickey Mouse antics until a right honourable of the law fines them for significant sums of money, in which case, due to the significance of the sum of money, possible public knowledge and the highly political position of the directors, they have to act in accordance of good corporate governance and the GRC framework.

specialgravy

i worked in express and all the stuff you mention brings back bad memories! seen it all (and worse) and been on the wrong end of it as well. its not a great format to be honest, the staff groups are small which can lead to cliques forming, managers are often short term and have no real incentive to invest themselves emotionally in the store and the pay is shockingly bad! write down your complaints and sit down with the SM to discuss them, making sure they are logged on a lets talk form with some agreed next steps. this is the start of your evidence trail. make sure you schedule further documented meetings to review progress. once you have done this you can look at taking things further if nothing changes, union (lol) acas etc.. hope things improve for you. they didnt for me so i took my labour elsewhere =)

Nowanexmgr

MY SUGGESTION IS A SIMPE ONE

(Wo)Man the heck up and stand up for yourself.  It is not for anybody else to do that for you if you are not prepared to do it for yourself in the first instance.

I'll let you into a little secret.  work can sometimes be hard.  sometimes seem unfair.

If you are not prepared to grow a back bone you should leave.  Maybe the world of work isnt for you.

King1999

The sound advice of a bully.

mike360

In 2020 we’re still telling people to ‘just man up’?

Katarn2000

I can relate to this problem. The clique trying is particularly toxic. My advice is set a time limit (for yourself, not the manager) of say one month, speak to the manager about it and try to get it fixed. If it isn't fixed in the time limit you need to just find another job. If it's as bad as you describe it won't get better.

You can forget about a grievance. All that will do is stir things up a bit but it won't change anything. The clique will close ranks and deny everything. You can also forget employment tribunal. You have no employment rights to speak of unless you have worked there for two years.

Look after yourself.

Welshie

Sorry but I kind of agree with the "man up" comment  , to a point . No matter where you go in life there will be cliques , school , work , the gym , mums and tots . So you are either confident enough to walk up and involve yourself or confident enough to not want to be part of it .
If you're slow a packing out then ,yes, it makes sense to put you on a till and leave the faster workers to pack out . I dont think this is bullying it's just using the best resources you have . I also think that going to the loo 3 times on top of breaks is excessive and maybe they are concerned for your health .
Tesco wont change , a grievance may ruffle feathers but wont change anything,  maybe it is time to move on to something you're more suited to.

forrestgimp

I think the man up comment was designed to elicit a reaction from us, normaly if you ignore trolls they go away.

Lambchop


King1999

Protector line  bullying isn't tolerated but you will need to push it.

Long gone

The comment made from “nowanexmanager” whatever the hell his name is , is ridiculous.
Like most Tesco managers, you’re an ex manager for a reason....you were incompetent, useless and if ever you were my manager ( wouldn’t happen because I’d be superior to you ) then I would happily put you in your place, daily 

NightAndDay

There's a fine line between doing what is expected and being treated unfairly. Unfortunately the worker has no rights past statutory rights and protection from discrimination of protected characteristics before 2 years service. When your employee rights kick in after 2 years though, you can be a proper Factington Stanley and punish incompetent managers with documentation, policy and the law.

lucgeo

If you're a union member, contact your rep stating bullying. If not, and it is harsh to hear, you are in a rut and it's becoming Groundhog Day. You sound depressed, and seem to have got into the habit of taking notice of every conversation, even when you're not in it, as a negative.
Bitching and accusing other colleagues of lapsidasical work ethics, is commonplace amongst some people to try to make out they're better at their job...ignore it not absorb it.

Now I know it sounds extreme, but have you thought of assertiveness classes, as you admit you lack confidence to speak out. Also have you thought about a transfer to another local tesco, if there is one in travelling distance to you?
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

NightAndDay

Out of curiosity, how does the SM discipline you if they are too scared to confront you? When I worked nights, a female team leader chucked a jar of 600g Dolmio Bolognaise at the head of the SM for treating the night team like s*** and witholding Sunday premium from them because they were "disgustingly overpaid".

Walker

If they genuinely think it's a safety issue they would contact head office before taking action.

In the above case, I would think that it ought to be reported to the police as well since a physical assault has taken place.

Tinkerbell1234

I feel the same manager always watching CCTV spends most of day in office he says he's not there to manage the store or staff it's the shift leaders jobs it's horrible going to work he don't communicate with staff constantly on shift leaders back .any advice

NightAndDay

Quote from: Walker on 21-02-20, 06:40PM
If they genuinely think it's a safety issue they would contact head office before taking action.

In the above case, I would think that it ought to be reported to the police as well since a physical assault has taken place.

But isn't it the SMs responsibility to discipline or communicate with Staff in meetings, what would Head Office do if there was for instance a legally binding restraining order between the SM and the TL.

Walker

#24
No, it isn't always the SM's responsibility. In the above case since the SM was actually a witness he/she couldn't be impartial. Therefore the regional People Manager would likely advise an manager from another store lead the investigation and any eventual  disciplinary meeting. This might take place at a store other than the home store. The outcome would likely be dismissal.

In the event of a restraining order it is highly probable that the individual would be suspended with or without pay but also possibly moved to another store.

Edit to add: the legal balance of evidence required for dismissal is actually substantially lower than that required for a restraining order. In practice the existence of a restraining order would take any escalation to an employment tribunal off the table.

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