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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:All of our janitors have quit. They're down to one, who is clo-opening 40 hour weeks for the next two weeks. He who laughs last. Hope your holidays last long enough to forget what work is like.
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May 2, 2018 05:08
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So hey it turns out my workplace is absolute garbage. They've just announced that they need to tighten wages. I've been cut to 6 hour shifts. In order to make my 30 hour contract, I was told I'd be working through them with no 30min unpaid breaks, just a 15min break each shift. Except I just found out: They absolutely cannot legally require this. Australian law and our own EBA require that anyone agreeing to work between 5 and 6 hours without a meal break must sign a written agreement to that effect, and that agreement can be revoked (by the employee) at any time. AND They've been deducting the half hour breaks from my pay since last week, despite not letting me take them. The store manager, who I thought was decent, told me to my face that he'd "try to work something out sometime, if suited the department" when I requested an roster adjustment so I could have meal breaks. The manager who changed my roster (and had to manually remove my breaks because, again, that can't be a default because it isn't even allowable without my written consent) was the same one who previously altered my timecards to delete overtime. He wasn't even my line manager, so there's no reason he should have been touching my roster. Tonight I found all this out and pulled my line manager out of a team meeting to tell her I absolutely 100% need this sorted ASAP. Tomorrow I get to go talk to her and the store manager about it. Basically imploding my career because managers are stupid arseholes who can't just loving pay me for the hours I work. Even my line manager (who I thought wasn't that bad) tried to pull the "oh well, but those hours of overtime you worked back then, who asked you to do that?" and was visibly uncomfortable when I said I was literally rostered those hours. This loving store oh my god all I want to do is turn up and work hard and get paid. How the gently caress is this so hard 
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May 2, 2018 12:45
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HazCat posted:So hey it turns out my workplace is absolute garbage. Your store management is breaking the law (also if you're a permanent they probably can't alter your schedule without your consent anyway). Your management clearly don't give a gently caress about the law based on what's happened already, so going to them 'asking' that they fix your problem is dumb. Do not ask. Demand. Do the following. 1. Contact Fair Work Australia, detailing everything that has transpired. 2. Speak to your Union rep, or your Union directly and inform them of everything that has been going on. 3. If your company has one, make use of their anonymous whistleblower hotline - I'm willing to bet higher ups will take a dim view of what is going on. Then: 1. Inform your store manager that his behaviour is illegal. Quote the relevant parts of the award to him. 2. Demand that you be back paid for your missed breaks in the next pay period. 3. Inform him that you have reported him to the relevant authorities. 4. Make it clear that you will not tolerate any further illegal behavior towards any staff member, and that you will be reporting any such behavior that occurs. Coordinate with your co workers to ensure that any attempts to get them to ignore award conditions are reported. 5. Record everything that happens and have a witness present during any interaction you have with management. Remember that retaliating against you is a serious criminal offence. If you follow these instructions your store manager will probably end up facing formal disciplinary consequences. Make sure you report the deleted overtime - This is super illegal and the Australian government has recently introduced very harsh criminal penalties for people who do this. I can't stress enough - Do not expect this fuckwit to do the right thing. make it clear that you know your rights backwards and inside out; and make it clear that you have reported him to the relevant authorities, and that you have absolutely no hesitation in doing whatever is required to crush him. His position in this situation is indefensible and he will face consequences if you handle things correctly. edit: I've been reading back over earlier posts you've made and something caught my eye. You'll need to contact your Union rep to clarify this regarding your specific award; but a while back I noticed you mentioned your hours being cut - as a permanent your contracted hours probably can't be cut without your consent. The Lord Bude fucked around with this message at 14:23 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 14:19
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Thank you so much for the detailed response, I'm going to have to reread it/reply later because I am not up to it right now, but just wanted to reply to this part:The Lord Bude posted:edit: I've been reading back over earlier posts you've made and something caught my eye. You'll need to contact your Union rep to clarify this regarding your specific award; but a while back I noticed you mentioned your hours being cut - as a permanent your contracted hours probably can't be cut without your consent. My award allows them to cut my hours back no more than 20% in a year with two weeks warning. So unfortunately that's something that they're on the correct side of. And tbh I would be able to weather the drop without much grumbling if it weren't for all the surrounding bullshit, because it is normal for this time of year and it is happening to everyone equally. If it doesn't bounce back at the expected time it will be cause for concern, though. I also think I worked out the 'logic' behind this latest move. By rostering me with breaks but not letting me take them, they would have been paying me for 30 hours/week (since I work two extra hours on Fridays, but would be losing 30min Mon-Thu). Which would have looked right if I only looked at my pay and never bothered checking my actual timecard or calculating what I worked, since 30 is my minimum per week. Except of course I'd actually be working 32 hours each week. But hey, what's an extra ~$160/month between I have a coworker with more experience with workplace disputes who is coming in (on her day off!) just to come into the meeting with me. Is there anything public I can point to if they try to claim she can't sit in with us, or do I need to check my EBA? HazCat fucked around with this message at 15:01 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 14:59
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HazCat posted:Thank you so much for the detailed response, I'm going to have to reread it/reply later because I am not up to it right now, but just wanted to reply to this part: I'm reasonably confident it would be illegal for them to force you not to have a witness in a meeting. Are you a member of a union? you should be talking to them about it. If not, you really ought to be, and are screwing yourself by not being in a union. Edit: you need to speak to your union and fair work Australia before you have any further meetings with your management. Workplace exploitation is a hot button issue at the moment - see the shitstorm surrounding 7/11 and Caltex. Remind your store manager that he is personally liable for extremely massive fines and criminal penalties for what he is doing. The maximum fines would probably be more than he earns in a year. The Lord Bude fucked around with this message at 15:22 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 15:19
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Yeah I strongly agree, don’t say poo poo to management before you’ve talked to FWA/union.
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May 2, 2018 15:21
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The Lord Bude posted:I'm reasonably confident it would be illegal for them to force you not to have a witness in a meeting. Are you a member of a union? you should be talking to them about it. If not, you really ought to be, and are screwing yourself by not being in a union. I haven't been able to get through to my rep tonight, but I'll be able to tomorrow. I'm honestly tempted to go into the meeting to get recorded acknowledgement that this is the third time this one specific line manager has fraudulently altered my timecard/roster (I have screenshot evidence of the changes and they never bother trying to deny it), but I'll absolutely weigh up the "don't talk to Funny to think that just 12 hours ago I was seriously considering up-ending annual leave I've had booked for two months just so I could make myself available for stocktake as a favour to the store manager. No good deed goes unpunished I guess 
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May 2, 2018 16:06
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HazCat posted:I'm honestly tempted to go into the meeting to get recorded acknowledgement that this is the third time this one specific line manager has fraudulently altered my timecard/roster (I have screenshot evidence of the changes and they never bother trying to deny it), but I'll absolutely weigh up the "don't talk to Yeah, if that's the sort of thing you think they're likely to acknowledge in the meeting, you definitely want a witness there. Once you do the aforementioned other stuff and they actually research/get shouted at to learn what they've gotten in to, that sort of acknowledgment will no longer be forthcoming, and you'll definitely prefer to have had someone else hear it.
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May 2, 2018 16:12
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:All of our janitors have quit. They're down to one, who is clo-opening 40 hour weeks for the next two weeks. I thought you wanted this position? Why wouldn't you try to negotiate accepting it but still taking your vacation, which would be a completely reasonable and normal request?
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May 2, 2018 21:20
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Do you have a link to your E.B.A? (if you're comfortable giving away where you work I guess) e. I say because my lovely, lovely agreement allows for a number of things you have said that would otherwise be not allowed under Australian law, because the SDA are literally the worst. Zenithe fucked around with this message at 21:32 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 21:21
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Zenithe posted:Do you have a link to your E.B.A? (if you're comfortable giving away where you work I guess) Can't give away my company without also giving away my exact store and department, unfortunately. And work stress is bad enough without goons turning up to heckle me  I do have a copy of my EBA I can quote/summarise if you had a specific question in mind? E: yeah, SDA are dire. Fortunately, our EBA is really super explicit on this. Clause 1: No employee will work more than 5 hours without an unpaid meal break (45-60 minutes, or 30 at employee request) Subclause 1: an employee working not more than 6 hours may voluntarily request to forgo their meal break. This request must be in writing. Subclause 2: an employee doing the above may revoke their request at any time, and after 2 weeks notice return to regular rostered breaks. Subclause 3: this provision can't be used to disadvantage team members working up to 6 hours who do want to take their meal break. HazCat fucked around with this message at 21:50 on May 2, 2018 |
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May 2, 2018 21:32
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HazCat posted:Can't give away my company without also giving away my exact store and department, unfortunately. And work stress is bad enough without goons turning up to heckle me Mostly the wording behind your break policy. Like mine says "hey, 30 minute unpaid breaks if you work over 6 hours" but then immediately says "but if we say so, you don't get poo poo, which is all the time" e. Yeah that's super clear. Take them to the cleaners.
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May 2, 2018 21:51
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Imagine a typical manila folder with like 5 sheets of paper in it. That's what the average employee stored records look like. Today I found out my employee record file is like 2 inches thick. I know I've been with the company for 18 years, but wtf.
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May 2, 2018 22:35
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Holy poo poo do not talk to anyone until you talk to Fair Work Aussie Board and your Union rep. This is bigger than you.
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May 2, 2018 22:37
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DesolateRampage posted:I thought you wanted this position? Why wouldn't you try to negotiate accepting it but still taking your vacation, which would be a completely reasonable and normal request? A couple of reasons. The first reason is that I'm not convinced it will be permanent. The person who was removed wants back in, and he was only really withdrawn from the position due to health concerns. After he recovers, he may use his seniority to try and leverage his way back into the position. That would leave me going back to my department, now worse off for my absence, or sent to another position with another time schedule. The second reason is that they made a not wholly unconvincing argument about why they felt I wasn't ready, and in response, I sunk my teeth into my department. I've gotten to the point where I've adjusted to the new norm and I'm plowing through it more often than not. The third reason is that I feel like I've been run over by a truck. All the time. I have a doctor's thing coming up in June to help diagnose that. The fourth reason is that if I go through the interview process all over again a few months down the road, I can request a higher wage, having shown my ability to do better work, and with me in a healthier place. The fifth reason is that, having been told all the reasons why I wasn't ready for the position, it felt really, really good to decline when they were given no other choice. Like just quit my job levels of good. I was in a great mood for the rest of the night, despite staying an hour late to help a manager do something.
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May 2, 2018 22:43
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Man I love how Target is doing this piecemeal rollout of replacing our PDAs with Zebra devices where us team members get bitched at for numerous glitches that happen that were definitely not debugged before the rollout.
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May 2, 2018 23:43
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:A couple of reasons. Wait, is this actually the job you have been fighting for? I assumed it was some random job you didn’t want. I’m sorry to hear about the medical stuff, and that is important to factor in, but otherwise....usually if you apply for a job in a company, push for it, get an offer, and then decline....they tend to unofficially black list you for that. Like, an unwritten rule is that I’ve learned is if you’re gonna apply for a job in the company you are currently at, you better be willing to accept it if you get the offer. Permanent or not permanent, I think you’re making a big risk on that.
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May 3, 2018 03:30
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Uh, yeah but at the same time it's a retail job so who gives a gently caress if you get blacklisted? Just quit and find a new job. Unless you are in a tiny market retail jobs are as easy to replace as retail workers. Also the economy is a lot better than it was when you started retail so maybe you can find a better job if you want not retail.
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May 3, 2018 04:01
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therobit posted:Uh, yeah but at the same time it's a retail job so who gives a gently caress if you get blacklisted? Just quit and find a new job. Unless you are in a tiny market retail jobs are as easy to replace as retail workers. Also the economy is a lot better than it was when you started retail so maybe you can find a better job if you want not retail. I do also agree with this.
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May 3, 2018 04:07
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There were other things that factored, honestly, like the fact that there is no viable replacement for my position. Given that the managers are stretched thin at the moment, and the trucks come on alternating days, I could very easily envision a scenario where I was working both departments on alternating days, probably for close to a month ( or more ). While trying to learn and unfuck a new department where everything expires rapidly. And I'm curious what caused the first guy, who wanted the job and was selected, to then go, "Ha-hahahaha, actually, no, nevermind." I have this vague sense that something is rotten in dairy, besides the poo poo that hasn't been rotated. therobit posted:maybe you can find a better job if you want not retail. Would get out of retail tomorrow if I had the connections or more options besides "factory meat", "warehouse meat", or "guard meat".
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May 3, 2018 04:49
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:There were other things that factored, honestly, like the fact that there is no viable replacement for my position. Given that the managers are stretched thin at the moment, and the trucks come on alternating days, I could very easily envision a scenario where I was working both departments on alternating days, probably for close to a month ( or more ). While trying to learn and unfuck a new department where everything expires rapidly. Are you in a major metropolitan area and can you do customer service/sales? That was my way in to office work. My degree meant exactly dick until much further down the road and by then I probably could have gotten a company to pay for at least half of one. Retail lifers are gonna be hosed in the future since the unions are now weak as poo poo. You should get out while you are young. I know it's easier said than done but I also know a lot of current and former retail folks because I used to work in grocery stores bank branches and have seen people get out. If fact, we used to hire the cream of the retail crop away to work in grocery store banks.
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May 3, 2018 05:20
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therobit posted:Retail lifers are gonna be hosed in the future since There are myriad reasons but unions aren't even in the top dozen. The commodification of retail labor and the lack of any appreciable special skills accumulated above or beyond years of experience working retail are probably the first two and most obvious.
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May 3, 2018 14:09
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:There are myriad reasons but unions aren't even in the top dozen. The commodification of retail labor and the lack of any appreciable special skills accumulated above or beyond years of experience working retail are probably the first two and most obvious. Also most retail employees don't allow you to unionize.
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May 3, 2018 15:16
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People used to work a whole career at grocery storesand retire with a pension that was enough along with social security to get by. That was basically because of unions like the UFCW that managed to keep most of them working full time with benefits and maintaining a pension fund that they forced employers to contribute to. Nobody got rich on it but they were far better of than retail employees today.
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May 3, 2018 15:41
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A shift got written up for the second time so talk was going around about him getting fired, and a potential successor was being discussed, namely my co-worker who started the same time I did and is a primary closer like me, we're essentially interchangeable employees. At first I was a little hurt that they were talking about her being a shift and not me, especially right to my face. Instead of being a baby about it (growth!) I talked to my supervisor last night, asked him if he thinks that I could be promoted and apparently up until this point she was the only one who expressed interest in moving up. I quote "I 100% think that if I taught you how to count tils and do inventory counts you would be a great shift, you would have no problem at all" So I expressed interest and he said he would put a word in to the SM and recommend me. Only one position is open if the bad supervisor gets fired, and I won't be resentful if she gets it at all, because shes great and deserves it. Want that extra $2 an hour tho
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May 3, 2018 16:30
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Current rumor is the big boss is going to make upselling mandatory, and if your secret shopper notes that you did not attempt to upsale you get a mark. 3 marks and you get a write up and 3 day suspension. I work a position where I'm basically in the back the entire day, and it seems the 3rd manager may be quitting soon. I would like that position due to the extra pay.... but I don't want to work a position where I start later and have to be on the floor and risk being arbitrarily suspended because the .1% of customers I meet in a 2 week period wasn't upsaled.
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May 3, 2018 20:38
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Leal posted:Current rumor is the big boss is going to make upselling mandatory, and if your secret shopper notes that you did not attempt to upsale you get a mark. 3 marks and you get a write up and 3 day suspension. Yeah we have to do this. We won't get fired, but every week, the whole staff gets a talking to if our survey's come back with less than a 100% yes for the question "did they try and sell you a random piece of junk" dovetaile posted:Also most retail employees don't allow you to unionize. How is that legal?
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May 3, 2018 21:39
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Zenithe posted:Yeah we have to do this. We won't get fired, but every week, the whole staff gets a talking to if our survey's come back with less than a 100% yes for the question "did they try and sell you a random piece of junk" Its like.. man I'm waiting for them to approach me with the offer (Me and one other guy, who has been working here 15 years and didn't want the department head position when my current department manager wasn't even manager, are the most veteran workers) and for me to say "Sorry, but no. 2 reasons: 1 I don't want to be open to a position where I can be arbitrarily suspended, 2 I don't want to hold a leadership position in a company who has such a needlessly hostile practice to its employees"
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May 3, 2018 21:48
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Zenithe posted:How is that legal? unitedstates.txt
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May 3, 2018 23:51
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Zenithe posted:Yeah we have to do this. We won't get fired, but every week, the whole staff gets a talking to if our survey's come back with less than a 100% yes for the question "did they try and sell you a random piece of junk" The United states has this wonderful(poo poo) thing called "right to work" in many states. Companies are literally given the ability to fire you for even talking about joining a union. One of the more interesting things involving this was when some Walmart meat department employees got into a union and wallyworld got rid of every butcher and started to sell prepackaged meats only.
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May 4, 2018 00:30
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grimcreaper posted:The United states has this wonderful(poo poo) thing called "right to work" in many states. Companies are literally given the ability to fire you for even talking about joining a union. This is untrue. They can't legally fire you for talking about a union. Some of them still will, but it is a violation. Right to work legislation is about not barring non-union members from working in union shops. The Walmart grocery down the street from me has a butcher.
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May 4, 2018 00:35
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grimcreaper posted:The United states has this wonderful(poo poo) thing called "right to work" in many states. Companies are literally given the ability to fire you for even talking about joining a union. You’re all sorts of wrong about the law Right to work is about outlawing closed shops where employment requires membership in the union. At-will employment is the concept you’re describing, where you can be fired for almost any reason There are several reasons they cannot use, eg race, religion, or because of organizing. So you can take cold comfort in the pretext they use to fire you, but your employer explicitly cannot forbid organizing, or retaliate for organizing. Same reason they cannot prohibit you from discussing salary, since that’s an important aspect of organizing.
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May 4, 2018 00:37
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Devor posted:You’re all sorts of wrong about the law Pretty much everywhere uses at will employment too  I think the only decent thing about our workers rights is that it's almost impossible for an employer to not pay out unemployment benefits. They can however just keep refiling until you give up, almost certainly paying more money in legal fees than the pittance of unemployment, but eh
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May 4, 2018 01:11
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Leal posted:Current rumor is the big boss is going to make upselling mandatory, and if your secret shopper notes that you did not attempt to upsale you get a mark. 3 marks and you get a write up and 3 day suspension. This is still a big pet peeve for me. Like, I get a lot of poo poo on selling and up selling, but I at least get good commission goals and incentives on it. You can’t ask someone to be sales oriented, instead of customer service oriented, without offer proper compensation. It’s a whole different mentality. Yes I know most retailers probably do demand some sales behavior and don’t pay for it. Still bullshit.
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May 4, 2018 03:55
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They don't really give a poo poo about your salesmanship--if they did, they'd pay what people who are good at selling cost, they don't come cheap--they just want you to recite the script to every customer, every time. Like years ago, when paying for stuff at the usual places I'd try to save the cashier time/hassle and just say up front "and no thanks, I don't want the store card." But somewhat to my surprise would just annoy them, so eventually I figured out it's better to let them recite the script and just say "no, thanks." I'm more skeptical, but the Big Marketing that holds sway over every megacorp is absolutely certain that by reciting the upsell line to every customer, every time, over and over and over, you gain more in new sales than you lose in annoyed customers. And they're probably right. (Annoyed employees don't enter into it. Wage-slave level employees are regarded by management as functionally draft animals.)
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May 4, 2018 04:06
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I only upsell people when they ask me for an opinion about a thing to buy, or when they say, "I need X, because I'm doing Y," and I'll ask if they also have Z, because doesn't it suck when you get home and realize you ain't got that other loving thing that you need? Because, you know, that's good customer service. Not just pointlessly throwing a bunch of poo poo at someone and seeing what sticks.
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May 4, 2018 04:13
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Eric the Mauve posted:Like years ago, when paying for stuff at the usual places I'd try to save the cashier time/hassle and just say up front "and no thanks, I don't want the store card." But somewhat to my surprise would just annoy them, so eventually I figured out it's better to let them recite the script and just say "no, thanks." The reason the latter is less annoying is because the former puts the employee in an awkward position where they feel like pitching you is now irrelevant but they still feel pressured to do it. Because the boss wants you to offer it to every customer, every time. It doesn’t help that some people are lovely about it too. At least once per shift someone plops down a bunch of stuff on my counter and before I can even say hello says “NO I DONT WANT YOUR REWARDS CARD OR CREDIT CARD AND I DONT WANT ANY OF YOUR STUPID WARRANTIES EITHER.” Cool, asswipe, I am definitely talking poo poo about you in the break room later.
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May 4, 2018 04:43
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I'll admit I was wrong. Thanks for clear up. I'm so glad I have a good boss right now. Set schedule. 2 days off back to back. 40 hours a week. And he just recommended me to be recognized as full time to the store director. Its amazing how much less lovely a job can be when you have a manager that actually works with the associates.
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May 4, 2018 05:15
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My department's phones have been "broken" for possibly an entire week. We can call out, but nobody can call us. Which is perfect, because if anyone actually has an important issue they can just page us. It's coming to an end soon. Some jerk told Systems about it yesterday.
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May 4, 2018 07:25
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When I was at gamestop I'd be fuckin thrilled whenever the phones were broken. You mean I dont have to take 300 calls from poor rear end hillbillies asking if we fixed ps2s?
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May 4, 2018 07:51
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