My Boss is a bully, maybe a thief?!!

[Paisley Saint]

Thanks for taking the time to read about our promlem..

im the assistant manager of a shop, a shop of a very large worldwide company. i have been in this position for 14 months now and feel i do a good job, sales are up and so is everything else! all of the staff and customers seem to think i do a good job, however, the manager of the store feels different.. i cant remeber the amount of times if been told im on the verge of a 'final written warning' for something or another, something small like forgetting to fill out a part of a log book (even though my manager always fails to do this) or not completing tasks given to me.

not completing tasks given to me-- i love my job when my manager isnt in as the shop is a much happier and better run organiation, the problem with me not completing tasks is due to the way the rota is done, i alwys close the shop unless its a blue moon or im off. so when i close i always have a very limited number of staff, usually to young to do certain tasks which means i cant be a manager running a store, but instead need to spend the opening hours working in the front instead of cashing up or doing my actual job, so if were busy, which is always, the extra tasks just dont get done because were to busy doing the basics, and when i exaplin this i only get spoken to like a child and criticised, told it my fault, on occasion the manager has actually shown me a breakdown of sales and said it wasnt overy busy compared to normal, even when i remind them that in a normal day there would be 6 staff working, not 3. it gets ignored! the funny thing is, whenever the manager does a close they always make sure there is more than enough staff to ensure a smooth opperation, and the next day rubs in how good it was to me,

for example last thursday it was myself and 2 other members off staff from 5:30pm untill we shut at 10pm, and i got shouted at infront of everyone for getting out 2 hours later than my finish time due to it being busy. this thursday the manager is closing, between 5:30 and 10pm there will be 9 members of staff working, with 5 on untill close. as an ast manager i can see no reason for this number of staff, no sales, no busy periods expected and the schools are back, last week there was more of a reason to have loads on due to events nearby, the only reason i can see for having this many on is the manager doesnt want to be in late and is having more staff in because it makes it easy

i have recieved little to no training, i havnt signed off on any of the training i would be expected to have had either! the manager makes me sign things to show i understant why im at fault, she does it with all the staff!

all of the staff share this feeling of unfairness, and most, like myself, feel the manager is a bully and threatens everyone with the sack for something that isnt even grounds for a conversation of concern! over the last year the staff have asked me numerous times to speak to the area manager and get it sorted, but wouldnt this put my job as risk because they are friends? and on paper it looks like she does a great job!

i also have strong reasons to think the manager is taking money from staff tips (which is collected and distributed by the manager, on a what seems like random system) as a hourly rate member i get tips, it used to be every 3 weeks or so, but me and a few other full time staff have went months with none, and i think i could prove she used £200 of tips to help our store hit targets!

is this illegal? any advice would be great.

thanks!!

[labman]

The person you need is not on here at present, but I'll send a message and they'll no doubt look in when they can.

[Paisley Saint]

The person you need is not on here at present, but I'll send a message and they'll no doubt look in when they can.

Thank you!

[miliitant]

morning

i will deal with this tonight as i have only just got home and my bed is calling

tell me though

are you in the hospitality trade (restaurant)

[Sapphire]

Whilst Militant is having a very well earned sleep my advice to you will be to make a diary of all events, no matter how silly you think they are, lack of staff when you're in charge, extra staff when he's in charge, when you're shouted at in front of people, threatened with the sack, anything and everything, do dates, times and list any witnesses that see or hear it that way if you do get the sack or even get to see the area manager that you will have everything down in black and white.

[bluebottle]

There are a number of pieces of legislation that can be used to combat this sort of workplace bullying. The first is the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. This can be used to legally-restrain a person's behaviour where it is such that it is causing a person to suffer anxiety. The other is the Public Order Act 1986. This can be used to deal with behaviour where a person intentionally causes another alarm, distress or harassment. In your case, both would seem to apply.

However, there is case law in the form of a Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Majrowski -v- Guys and St Thomas's NHS Trust 2005 that means an employer is vicariously-liable for the behaviour of an employee whose conduct amounts to the harassment of another employee. Under the PHA, the term "course of conduct" means any conduct.

If any person should be sacked, it is the manager in this case. Their management skills are severely lacking. One of our other members is very well versed in Employment Law and will be able to provide you with more advice and guidance.

[Craig S]

If it's a big company they must have a grievance procedure and an HR department ? With these situations, important if possible to gather evidence and see if you also can get guaranteed support from other colleagues, as there are risks in raising allegations where it is one persons word against another.

[teaboy2]

On top of the advice given so far. I would also, when you manager is on day off, ask the other staff that share your views, whom you can trust not to tell your manager, to write statements about the manager that are truthful and support your claim whilst also including any instances where they themselves have suffered at the hands of this so called manager or where they have witness another suffer at the hands of the manager. Once HR realise that its not just you that has problems with the Manager but the entire staff at your store, then they will know their is a serious problem and that manager is the cause of it, which will mean they will have no choice but to take action and investigate the manager.

Once you have the statements from other staff members, photocopy them and attach the photo copies to a grievance letter. Address the letter to the Head of the HR department.

They can not take any action against you for issuing a grievance, to do so would be a breach of employment law and would cost them a small fortune at tribunal. Not only that but if you get the statements from the other staff supporting you, they would be very foolish to take any action against you or any other member of staff.

Also it is unlawful for a manager to tell you off in front of other staff in such away that this manager did when you were still at work when your finish time was 2 hours earlier. The manager should have just quietly and politely asked you to go home.

You will need to have sufficent evidence of any theft that the manager has committed. What evidence do you have to actually prove the manager is stealing from the TIPs, or using the TIPs fraudulently (criminal offence) to make the sales look better?

In employment terms your not only the victim of harassement but you are also the victim of victimisation from the manager.