Not sure where to go from here.

LegacyUser

Hi all. Regular user going unreg'ed for this.

I recently started in a new job in a fairly nice hotel. I won't specify what kind of job just in case, but nothing unusual.
Anyone who has worked in bars/restaurants/hotels will know that employment contracts etc. are scarcely seen and bosses can get away with murder a lot of the time.
I have had to put up with crap in a similar role before but nothing like this.
I was warned by a few colleagues that the last guy in my job quit very soon after he started and the guy before him didn't last long either.

When I first started everyone in the place was very friendly and I thought I would fit in well. I got on well enough with the senior staff in my 'department' and my colleagues.

However, a manager of a different department very quickly began demanding that I carry out some of her department's work during any downtime I have. In my particular role downtime is to be expected and it's not unusual for people in my role to have nothing to do for a while every now and then. The requirement to perform this work was not mentioned in the job advertisement or the interview.

I reluctantly agreed to carry out the work as I didn't want to seem uncooperative or lazy. However I have worked in this alternative role before and it's safe to say I'm beyond useless at it. I informed that manager and my manager of this. My manager shrugged his shoulders and the other manager told me I'll learn. I've had plenty of training in this role and plenty of practice but it's just something I'm bad at and as far as I'm concerned I'm a ticking bomb when I'm doing that job. A big accident is sure to happen eventually. Every time this manager asks me to do some of that work I remind her of this but nothing has changed. Some other people in my role are required to do this extra work while specific others are not.

Next thing. Recently I began a long shift and walked past my manager and another staff member while entering through the staff entrance. About 15 minutes later, while setting up my work area, my manager approached me in front of a few other staff members from various departments, of varying seniority, and told me (loud enough so that everyone could hear) that someone had made a complaint about my hygiene. He handed me a women's hygiene product (I am male) and told me to use it.

I laughed and the guy standing next to me laughed. We both thought it was a joke. I asked who put him up to it etc. and he remained standing there holding the hygiene product. I then asked if he was serious and he told me he was. I still didn't believe him but after a few minutes we all realised he was completely serious. There was a deafening silence and everyone realised they had urgent jobs requiring their attention elsewhere in the building. I have never been as embarrassed in all my life. I have never had a complaint about my hygiene before and I am always careful to be thorough with that specific thing due to the nature of my work, just as I was that day before work. I asked a few other people about it who I knew would be honest and they said there was absolutely no problem.

I was f*cking furious. Fair enough if someone complained, he could pull me aside and say it quietly - stuff like this cannot go unchecked in the hospitality industry. But the way he just announced it in front of my colleagues made my blood boil. I told the manager I wanted to talk alone and grilled him about who complained and exactly what they said. He told me who it was but not what they said. I said I was going to go to the owner and then go home. He told me that if I went home I was quitting my job. I said I'm not quitting but I'm going home. He insisted that if I left I was quitting and there would be no job for me.

I went straight to the owner, let them know what had happened, asked for my wages and said I was going home. They said that was fair enough and gave me my wages and said they'd find out who said what, and go from there.

On my way out to my car I saw the person who had complained. I approached them and asked what they said. It turns out this person had said they weren't even sure if it was me, or someone else, or my manager, or even themselves who had the problem. Nevertheless my manager took it upon himself to act in this manner. I went out to my car and sat there for a minute to cool off before driving as my hands were shaking at this point. My manager came out to me while I was in my car and said he was not sorry for handing me the women's product, or the way he said it etc. but he was sorry for saying it in front of other people. What he specifically said was he didn't take it seriously. He clearly wasn't sorry at all and had just got an earful from the owner.

I shook his hand and decided to go back in to finish the day's work. F*ck it I said, I might as well get a few quid out of them while I can.
The hotel was quiet that day, but not any more so than every other day I have worked there. The same manager told me to go home early that day. I protested saying it was just as busy as every other shift I had worked and they'd never sent anyone home early before. He disagreed and said I had to go home. I argued and eventually asked a colleague if he'd like to go home early instead. He said yes and the manager very reluctantly agreed to keep me on and let the other guy go home.

I worked the rest of my hours and left. I quickly returned as I had left a tip I had received during the day at the hotel. the manager and the other senior staff from my department were sitting around chatting. I told them I was just getting the tip and I'd be off. Then the manager and another guy piped up saying a till I had used the day before was short of some money and that I had to forfeit my tip to cover the deficit. I hadn't had to do this any other time even though the till had been short a few times. Additionally, the till had been up by the exact same amount this day but apparently I still had to cover the cost, along with a few others who apparently had put in their share of the cost already.
I have never heard of this practice before and knew for sure I was being shafted here but I was too tired to argue over a small tip so I dropped it on the table and walked out.

I am fairly sure if I go complaining to the owner again, this time about tips, they will just stop giving me hours as they seem like the type who just wants as much money as possible for as little hassle as possible.
If I refuse to cover any more till shortages (which I will certainly do!) I have no doubts the manager and senior staff will tell the owner I am useless at my job etc. or even that I am stealing, to get rid of me.
I actually have a suspicion that one or more of the senior staff are stealing from the till and demanding that the junior staff in my department (including me) cover the till deficit and another guy thinks the same. The other junior staff told me that the senior staff and manager decided to implement this policy very soon after I started for a very arbitrary and irrelevant reason which I will not go in to because it will give away where I work.

I'm not sure whether I should just quit or go in and wait for what seems like an inevitable sacking. While I could use the money from a few more shifts I was close to throwing a punch during the 'hygiene incident' and I will probably blow a gasket if the manager pulls more crap.
What do ye think?

Thanks for reading my essay by the way.

Stheno

usernumber6 wrote: »

What do ye think?

Being very blunt, I suspect that your best option is to start looking for another job.

You are new to the job, are unable to carry out additional tasks that you are asked to do despite training, have caused some disquiet in relation to those tasks, and now your manager has targeted you.

And no, it's not fair, their behaviour is poor, but as you are very new, you've literally no comeback against them.