I need some advice guys problems at work!

[geeuk]

Hello Guys,

I have started working at Maplin since March 2008 basically im having some major problems with my manager and i can't seem to identify where the problem is?

Couple of days ago i had a family problem so i did not turn up to work and couldn't call in. So when i returned to work the very next day the store manager said he was going to fill a return to work form so i said ok.

Basically we sat down in the office and he asked why i did not turn up to work so i said its a private matter and i don't wish to discuss it. He got angry and just said you been ill 3 times since you started he asked why i did not come in when i was ill funny enough i said how can i come in if im ill he said well you can come in and i would give you light duties!!!!! This made me feel pissed how he can expect me to turn up to work when you’re ill!

Well that’s not the problem the main problem was when he asked the question "ARE YOU A CRIMINAL?" i said can you clarify that question he asked again "Are you a criminal again?" I asked him why he might want to ask this question he said a member of staff told him that i was a criminal before i started this job and i was a fraudster and was a gangster! The only thing i said to a member of staff was i could help him sort his cable box for him. I don't know if it was that member of staff who told him or if he overheard us!!!

So told him to do a CRB check on me and he replied “I CAN BE A CRIMINAL AND NOT GET ARRESTED!” And not have any criminal records!

He said since i started working the tills were down some days and stock was going missing all i said was we get searched every time we leave the premises so how can i steal?? He said im not saying it's you!!!

All this happened while filling a return to work form!!!!

Couple of weeks ago i told him to transfer me to a closer maplin branch so he told me to go to a meeting on 31/07/08 (today) which then he told me that i lost my chance and that i have to go to a disciplinary meeting because i did not tell him why i was AVOL although i insisted that it's private and i don’t wish to discuss it.



GUYS PLEASE HELP ME I NEED SOME SUGGESTIONS I FEEL REALLY DEMOTIVATED AND ANGRY!

Sorry about the caps

 

[c9679]

No offence mate, I dont know what your problems where and I dont know you...

You dont turn up on a day your expected, you dont call so other arrangements can be made, then you turn up arent willing to offer an excuse or even a reason for your vanishing... Im sorry and please dont take this the wrong way but I would have sacked you, I run a business to make money, money makes the world go around and its lovely stuff, however to acheive that and for the good of the business you need reliable, dependable staff who work towards the good of the company, if someone was unreliable and just vanished when they pleased with no warning, no communication and no excuse afterwards that would cost me money. I have an employee now for a PC training course that I run and he was supposed to come in last week Monday he turned up at 3:00PM and was supposed to be in at 10:00AM last Tuesday, I havent had a call or a text from or heard from him since, obviously if he ever shows his face again, he wont have a job left for him.

 

[witchy]

I agree with c9679 with regards to him being the Boss, quite frankly I'd have sacked you mysel if I ran my own business which depended on people turning up, lol

However, Maplins is a large company, the well-being and livelyhood of the setup does not rely on any particular employee to turn up, it's not as if Maplins will go the way of the DoDo just because GeeUK didn't turn up to work.

You're Boss is a cock, but you really should have contacted your place of work and let them know the situation, communication is the way forward.

 

[meangreenie]

Some matters are private, even for an employer, they are not god.

Hold your ground, if you get dismissed for it take them to a tribunal. 1 day off work for a matter you don't want to discuss is not a sacking offense.

This is not a nazi state you have reasonable freedom, don't let the twats bully you. I can't beleive 2 posters alraedyhave supported the employers point of nazi view.

 

[arbelos]

gotta agree with c9679 here...but what i dont get was your manager was told before you got the job you were a criminal?? so why did they employ you...also why were you discussing with staff before you even had the job that you could "sort" his cable box for him?

private matter, fair enough but not even a quick two second call to let them know...but if your boss did say all that then thats bang out of order

 

[witchy]

He's had 3 days off since he started in March, I can understand the managers concern, on the face of it, it doesn't look good IMO.

But personal matters are personal matters, geeUK has every right not to discuss it.

 

[c9679]

lol, im not saying the manager isnt a div... but being a div and being reasonably tough is in the job description of being a manager...

I dont agree with the stuff about being a criminal or the moving branch or other stuff and I wouldnt mind if someone told me they had private family matters to deal with, however I dont agree if someone just doesnt turn up and doesnt call and then when questioned just says "i said its a private matter and i don't wish to discuss it" thats quite abrupt and rude when your basically getting paid to turn up and the manager is being paid to make sure you turn up and the store keeps running...

Large businesses have only been built that way and expanded from having tough managers and reliable staff. Obviously someone not turning up at my place would affect my business more than Maplins, however consistant not turning up and not even a reason for it would affect even Maplins and why would they need to bother when there are thousands of people who would do the job and turn up...

 

[c9679]

However, Maplins is a large company, the well-being and livelyhood of the setup does not rely on any particular employee to turn up, it's not as if Maplins will go the way of the DoDo just because GeeUK didn't turn up to work.

Well being of any business big or small is dependant on reliable staff, Maplins may not die from loosing one staff member however that staff member is the responsibility of the manager who has employed him, how does he explain the absences to his manager/head office, etc.

A friend of mine worked for Asda, he is one hell of a dopey git and I wouldnt give him a hamster to manage, however they put him in charge of home shopping, lol... Suddenly he had a week were he barely had any staff, they all either didnt turn up, called in sick or had booked holidays, it was his responsibility and Asda ended up loosing £20K in online orders because he couldnt manage his staff

 

[arbelos]

yes he has a right not to discuss it, but company also has a right to no if he wont bother showing up for work when hes meant to...how hard is it to get a fone these days, then a two second call

unfortuanly you have a contract with these people...family matter or not, they wont be happy if you dont bother showing up then give no reason why cept its a private matter...just dont understand how you couldnt give them a fone woulda saved you all this hassle

plus anything your boss said...do you have any proof he said any of it?

 

[adam]

hi geeuk, i can see this from both sides as i currently work for myself and use casual labour therefore know the importance of being informed, but also (a few years ago) i was an attendance nightmare due to my habit of oversleeping by 5hours or more. if you had contacted them and said you couldn't make it then you could reasonably say the cause was of a personal nature that your not prepared to discuss. however the most common reasons for not being able to be able to even phone in were that you were on the moon or were in a coma, and as both of these were unlikely at best you should be prepared to give a reasonable explanaton. tbh you are being entirely unreasonable. you can always make 2mins for a phone call and if you cant you should have no problem explaining why you couldnt. remember that your store must also meet criteria, its likely that they are required (by law) to always have 2 people in order to run the store, so your unexplained absense meant that others had to work longer, crappier hours without notice or explanation or face closing the store for a day and i'm sure i dont have to tell you why a closed store is bad news.
dont take this the wrong way but its only a bloody phone call, if you dont have the decency to do that you dont have a leg to stand on

ps if youre a habitual skiver remember that a phone call will cover your arse that little bit longer

 

[cliffy]

Always ring in or at the very least get someone to ring in on your behalf. tell em a load of bull5hite if you want, just tell em something.

As long as your not on 6 month probationary period, in this period they can dismiss you at any time as unsuitable but if you have a contract of employment then thats their problem.

Even the very worst employee has rights, and the employer have procedures to follow, eg stage1 first written warning,,stage 2 second written warning,, etc. [highlight]check your contract for your company's dismissal procedures.[/highlight] these back to work forms are bollox anyway, my old supervisor used to fill in the form and just bring it for us to sign.

Never agree to go these little back to work interviews or disciplinary procedures without a union rep, if not in a union you can have anyone in with you to act as a witness, then those accusations and criminal remarks would never have taken place. But as it is its your word against his, i doubt itll go anywhere. get a dairy and note down everything even the slightest out of term comment, for justin.

Take no shite, they also have rules to follow

I used to love to wind my old manager up, hed come up to at the start of my shift and say "can i have a word in my office, you may want a union rep or witness in with you as its a disciplinary procedure, his eyes used to be full of excitement, he was buzzing, could almost hear him thinking " ive got him". Get to his office and let him fire of his shit for 20 mins..
"this your final written warning" blah blah blah...id even let him print out the form to sign, let him sign his copy, me & union rep read through it for just five more minutes.... eventually id say ...sorry Jeffery (lol he hated being called Jeffery) i cant sign this, my first warning is out of date its 12 weeks and 2 days old which makes it obsolete and this meeting illegal.

 

[mozr]

This is not a nazi state you have reasonable freedom, don't let the twats bully you. I can't beleive 2 posters alraedyhave supported the employers point of nazi view.

Hahaha!

I cannot tell the difference between the extermination of a race of people, and wanting reliable employees at your firm either.

Whilst I agree that c9679 and witchy2k1 are worse than Hitler (joke), if I managed a maplins, and someone has been frequently ill, then not turned in and refused to offer any excuse (however vague), I would be pissed too.

On top of that, he has reports that you are trying to sell your services to hack cable boxes (I know you will say you were doing it for free, but I do not believe you).

I hope your manager continues to perform his duties to the tee, so when you do get the sack (it's looking probable), you won't have a leg to stand on.

How about apologizing for not notifying the manager, and letting the rest of the team down, and keeping your nose clean for the next six months. Turn up for work on time, everyday.

Call me crazy...

 

[geeuk]

Hahaha!

On top of that, he has reports that you are trying to sell your services to hack cable boxes (I know you will say you were doing it for free, but I do not believe you).

what the heck are you talking about re-read what i said what part am i saying i offered it to do it free or charge the person. all i said was i know how to fix it.

 

[geeuk]

My probation period ended 1 month ago he did not even tell me if i passed or not when i asked for my probation meeting he kept saying he is really busy and this went on for 1 month.

I dont think a manager can ask if i am a criminal why is he employing me then i offered him to do a crb check he came up with loads of shite!

OK its my fault that i did not call in but that does not give him the right to slag me off.

 

[stevemac40]

OK its my fault that i did not call in but that does not give him the right to slag me off.

It doesn't give him the right to call you a criminal, however it does give him the right to discipline you. Just be thankfull you still have a job.

 

[yoinker]

Wow

You sure were shot down there Gee M8. For what its worth, no-one and I repeat no-one has the right to call you a criminal and accuse you of criminal activities unless they have indisputable evidence.
I can't really believe what some people are saying in this thread, where in the title of the thread did it say, I'm asking for help, but please all you self righteous blighters feel free to make me feel even worse than I do. Ah that good old community spirit.

Some employers obviously feel that they are the re-incarnation of the lord god himself. " employees to work for the good of the company" thats laughable, why should employees work for the good of someone else's business, surely they are working for their own business, the business of making money, just like an employer, mad isn't it. Work hard the company is better so the employee gets more, pmsl, yeah right.

Anyway, my advice to you GEE m8 is:

Get out of that maplins, infact just get out of maplin. The world must be more full of ass licking crawling twats than I thought. Remember we work to live, not the other way round.


Anyway the best of luck with what ever happens, and remember m8 its only a job. Hope you have some better luck soon.




Yoinker

 

[Bronto]

(I know you will say you were doing it for free, but I do not believe you).

Thats a bit harsh, how can you call someone a liar who you don't even know ? Thats well out of order

 

[digidude]

put a complaint in to the area manager

your boss took you to a room alone, asked you numerous times if you are a criminal, you offered to sign the CRB consent form, to which he replied tills are short, stock is missing, and just because you havent been caught dont mean youre not a criminal. hes basicly accused you of theft m8

if hed said that to me id have called him a peado rapist, then when he blew his top over it id have told him back 'just cos you havent been caught.....' smarmy 2@

i used to have a manager like that, wouldnt surprise me if hes a member here, wayne weekes, when i worked for sky, he somehow went from being a shit installer to a manager, before being fired when he got caught with a garage full of ladders and skys stock lol. he now struggles along as a shit installer again. people like this always get their dues m8

 

[benny59]

My probation period ended 1 month ago he did not even tell me if i passed or not when i asked for my probation meeting he kept saying he is really busy and this went on for 1 month.

I dont think a manager can ask if i am a criminal why is he employing me then i offered him to do a crb check he came up with loads of shite!

OK its my fault that i did not call in but that does not give him the right to slag me off.

switch the alarm off and get me the front door keys m8-"i will do the rest.













































hahaha only kidding-----------a phone call anytime dureing the day would have saved you this hassle
your in the managers bad books now m8---its a nap you will get the sack once you step out of line

 

[mozr]

My probation period ended 1 month ago he did not even tell me if i passed or not when i asked for my probation meeting he kept saying he is really busy and this went on for 1 month.

So you have been 'ill' three times, and then off another day; unwilling to provide an excuse, and you have only been there a month?

EDIT: I might be wrong here. Your probation period could have been longer than a month.

I'm surprised the door didn't hit your arse on the way out my friend, because such an attitude during a months trial does not bode well now does it? Coupled with the fact that this guy is not happy about you chatting to fellow workers about evading copyright protection. He must be short of staff to keep you in the first place.

EDIT: Same again. Could have been longer than a month.

(Now, I am not judging you on the cable box stuff, just mentioning that it isn't wise during your first month where you barely know anyone to start this type of chatter.)

I dont think a manager can ask if i am a criminal why is he employing me then i offered him to do a crb check he came up with loads of shite!

OK its my fault that i did not call in but that does not give him the right to slag me off.

You may have a point about his attitude, but this sounds like it stems from how you have presented yourself during the first month.