Fuming!!!!!!

generalmental

As the title says i am absolutely fuming at the moment.

basically i have been accused of racism and Im really not too happy bout it at all.

thing is i am more than likely gonna lose my job and its the only income i have.

i am wondering is there anywhere i can go to report this,cause i know people who are victims of racism they can go to the police and report it and i could be arrested.

AnonoBoy

You're going to have to give us more than that before we can give you any advice.

What happened? What have you been accused of specifically?

ABajaninCork

Whoa! Slow down...

What exactly has happened? Are you certain disciplinary action will be taken? (FWIW, IF proven, I seriously doubt you'll be dismissed - prob a written warning).

You need to find what's going on first. Get documented minutes of any meetings, and if invited to one NEVER go in alone. Take someone with you. Are you a union member? If so, get advice from them or an employment solicitor before going in.

generalmental

AnonoBoy wrote: »

You're going to have to give us more than that before we can give you any advice.

What happened? What have you been accused of specifically?

i didnt really want to get into it too much but i will give a short version.

i do deliveries for a fast food place. there is a rule that when its not busy you can only take 1 delivery at a time.

tonight there was 2 deliveries and one of the foreign drivers tried to take the two of them. so i piped up and reminded him of the rule and the manager on duty who is also foreign and from the same region read myself the riot act.

So i them said that there was a love in between them and i mentioned the country the were from.

well they took that and have called me a racist

AnonoBoy

Well that sounds like an argument at work that won't go any further to be honest.


I don't know what you mean by anywhere you can report it though. The only place you can report it is to your boss and let them know that a dispute arose and recount what happened.

Be honest and factual, that's all you can do.

As for being arrested? I'm not sure why you think you could be but you won't.

generalmental

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Well that sounds like an argument at work that won't go any further to be honest.


I don't know what you mean by anywhere you can report it though. The only place you can report it is to your boss and let them know that a dispute arose and recount what happened.

Be honest and factual, that's all you can do.

As for being arrested? I'm not sure why you think you could be but you won't.

Thanks for the reply. but it wont be as straight forward as that. im the driver im seen as the bottom feeder and she is the manager and she also said i was bullying her.

AnonoBoy

generalmental wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. but it wont be as straight forward as that. im the driver im seen as the bottom feeder and she is the manager and she also said i was bullying her.

She said you were bullying her?

Has there been any issues before this. I don't see how someone can be accused of racism and bullying because of one small incident such as you described.

Is she solely responsible for hiring and firing or is there anyone more senior in the company?

Do you have a contract with them? If you're definitely going to be fired then wrongful dismissal is the only option but I doubt you'd get far with that if you're a casual worker.

Supersiderman

generalmental wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. but it wont be as straight forward as that. im the driver im seen as the bottom feeder and she is the manager and she also said i was bullying her.

Regardless of your position in the company you still should be given the same right and respect as a manager. You should have reminded her of the one delivery rule when she was given you the riot act. Also a manager to come out with a bully word is not very professional as obviously age is unable to deal with situations. Id say nothing from now and pretend it never happened. She herself made the situation worse not you. I'm sure she has someone to answer to as well and if this continues I would contact them.

generalmental

generalmental wrote: »

So i them said that there was a love in between them and i mentioned the country the were from.

Firstly, there was no need to say that. It was never going to go down well.

Secondly, your reluctance to go into details suggests to me that maybe in the heat of the moment you were a bit more aggressive than you've described?

Thirdly, even if you were the absolute embodiment of peaceful diplomacy and did absolutely nothing wrong, if I were you I'd still apologise. Just go in, speak to the manager, tell her you by no means meant to make her feel uncomfortable and that you're sorry. If your job is in jeopardy you might as well just go in humble and try to smooth things over, especially if, as you say, you're seen as bottom of the food chain.

If I were you I'd look for a new job in the meantime, they're not treating you well where you are.

generalmental

true-or-false wrote: »

Firstly, there was no need to say that. It was never going to go down well.

Secondly, your reluctance to go into details suggests to me that maybe in the heat of the moment you were a bit more aggressive than you've described?

Thirdly, even if you were the absolute embodiment of peaceful diplomacy and did absolutely nothing wrong, if I were you I'd still apologise. Just go in, speak to the manager, tell her you by no means meant to make her feel uncomfortable and that you're sorry. If your job is in jeopardy you might as well just go in humble and try to smooth things over, especially if, as you say, you're seen as bottom of the food chain.

If I were you I'd look for a new job in the meantime, they're not treating you well where you are.

You are right in hindsight i should have not said that but to be honest it happens all the time and when they are basically taking your money out of your pocket it gets frustrating. even when i did say what i said the other driver had the audacity to say its ok when you Irish do it.
i never do it to be honest i am just glad to have some income i have just had a little girl and guess what she is mixed race thats what i think got to me the most.

look i know its hard for me to prove but i wasnt aggressive when i said what i said but i will admit i was accused of being racist i prob could of handled it a bit better.

she is using the aggressive bullying tactic on me cause i am a huge bloke and to be honest i dont think she is being fair.

generalmental

Supersiderman wrote: »

Regardless of your position in the company you still should be given the same right and respect as a manager. You should have reminded her of the one delivery rule when she was given you the riot act. Also a manager to come out with a bully word is not very professional as obviously age is unable to deal with situations. Id say nothing from now and pretend it never happened. She herself made the situation worse not you. I'm sure she has someone to answer to as well and if this continues I would contact them.

i agree with you i should be treated the same but they use me as a contractor so they do what they want

Supersiderman

generalmental wrote: »

i agree with you i should be treated the same but they use me as a contractor so they do what they want

Legally they can't do want they want to workers, your not a child. She probably thinks she can say anything to you and that you would be afraid to open your mouth. She shouldn't have mentioned the word bully as she has no evidence to back it up. You can not be fired over as something as minor as this. She has to give you a verbal warning which age hasn't and needs an independent witness to be present, then if is still on going she needs to give you a written warning.
She is not going by the rules as if age was doing her job right which she isn't she would have given one delivery to you and one to him. She would have resolved the situation there and then. She is the one who jump on her high horse with calling you the bully.

daithi1970

Have you contacted NERA (National Employees Rights Association)-they may be able to give you advice in this matter.

hth


daithi

jimmycrackcorm

Stick to the fact that the established delivery rule was broken and calmly question when asked whether the fact that both parties are from the same country was a factor in this occurring. If accused of being racist - then repeat the facts.

LifesgoodwithLG

Hi there,

Bullying is a repeated action and a single action does not constitute this, she may argue that referring to the country of origin was unprofessional and unwarranted however this as a once off does not consitute bullying. You can off course argue that they are breaking the procedure and therefore she has shown favouritism.

LegacyUser

Far to many people throw allegations of racism about when their "race" was never mentioned.

The allegation in the OP is one of "xenophobia", not racism.

OP, stick to your guns.

ibarelycare

OP it doesn't sound like the best place to work tbh. Have you tried looking for work elsewhere?

blatantrereg

They were discriminating against you. Now they're playing the minority card to try to bully you - while accusing you of bullying them. It's aggravating alright. People do this sort of thing the whole time. Just assert yourself. You were being discriminated against and are now being bullied for not accepting it.

generalmental

Well today i got suspended as I am under investigation.

I am really not happy i have never been racist to anyone and i can feel that a few of the people in the place have turned against me as there is a lot of foreign people working there.

Ickle Magoo

generalmental, this forum is for getting advice on issues of a personal nature.

If you are having a work issue - and the suspension would certainly be covered by that then there is a dedicated Work Problems forum which would be able to offer you more specific advice.

Let us know if you are posting about your situ/suspension there and we'll lock this thread. :cool:

ABajaninCork

Get a decent employee solicitor. I'm sorry things have turned out like this. Best of luck!

generalmental

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

generalmental, this forum is for getting advice on issues of a personal nature.

If you are having a work issue - and the suspension would certainly be covered by that then there is a dedicated Work Problems forum which would be able to offer you more specific advice.

Let us know if you are posting about your situ/suspension there and we'll lock this thread. :cool:

Hi I know about the work forum but the reason i posted here was the racism accusation if you feel this is not the right place for it can you move to the right place please

Starokan

Very difficult situation op, all you can do is maintain your position and tell the story exactly as it happened. Based on what you have stated here I do not believe you will lose your position. Your initial comments were misguided but borne of frustration as to what was occurring. The general rules of conduct were not being observed , two friends were looking out for each other to the detriment of your position.

Bringing their country into it was not the right thing to do but it does not alter the fact that in terms of the work you do you were in the right and your colleagues in the wrong. Obtain legal advice would be the most positive move for you now I think

blatantrereg

Look up FLAC. Free legal advice clinics where you can talk to solicitors.

December2012

But you did refer to their ethnicity and that being the reason why they we're backing each other up.

generalmental

Bringing their country into it was not the right thing to do but it does not alter the fact that in terms of the work you do you were in the right and your colleagues in the wrong. Obtain legal advice would be the most positive move for you now I think[/quote]

i do agree with you i should not have brought their country into it but i do not think the comment i mad was racist,to be honest i would call it more offensive than racist. but the company have deemed it to be racist comments but they dont think that i am a racist

im very confused

December2012

Even if its deemed offensive and not racist you shouldn't have said it.

You should've followed a grievance procedure about the driving.

What is the next step in their investigation?