Bad Employers

jaxxx

Share your experience with bad employers, whether it be little things or big things.

Obviously it doesn't need to be said but I'll say it anyway, don't be directly naming/mentioning businesses or anything. It's common sense and I shouldn't need to say it, but common sense isn't so common anymore so I'll say it anyway.

I'll start it off. I worked in a relatively small/medium sized company a few years ago, about 30-40 employees. We had a little canteen, but we had to bring our own tea bags, own cutlery, own milk, own sugar, we pretty much had to bring everything except the kettle. It's miraculous the place had running water.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I worked for a huge concern with many hundreds of employees in Ireland and worldwide. We had to bring our own tea milk etc. as well. To be honest it was just the way it was and we thought nothing of it at the time.

doolox

If the arrangements were clear and transparent I do not see anything wrong with the lack of catering or supplies that could not be sorted by a kitty and a good honest person or persons to but the stuff locally and keep the fridges, cupboards etc stocked and ready to go at break time.

It is when employers mess around with pensions, health insurance etc and leave the employee to cover all these costs and their competitors cover these costs that the urge to leave becomes apparent.

I was lucky to work for two multinationals, each for 14 yrs, which covered all these things plus stock purchase plans, extra pension plans etc.

I was shocked to find that Irish companies do not do so and one must make do out of basic salary for health insurance and you get nothing else.

I am now self employed in a different sector, push mu services relentlessly and advertise unashamedly and self promote like a whore to keep ahead of the game. It is unpredictable and patchy but the house is fully paid up, the kids are all adults ( making more than I am) and expenses are not time critical.

Many people could not do this and I would not recommend self employment for anyone with a young dependent family or big mortgages and debts unless you have the self confidence of Napoleon and the resourcefulness of Robinson Crusoe.

Mrs OBumble

Last company i worked for, i bought my own kettle .. and the water supply was so dodgy i bought my own water too.

Capt'n Midnight

Technically speaking a supervillan is a "bad" employer.

But Hank Scorpio was actually quite decent to his employees.

♪ Scorpio! He'll sting you with his dreams of power and wealth. Beware of Scorpio! His twisted twin obsessions are his plot to rule the world And his employees' health.♪

Your Face

Probably the company I left a few months ago.
I liked the job, my work and my colleagues.
It was the general environment that became increasingly toxic.
Loads of people left in a short period.
I always wondered why the top management were shocked at the high turnover.

Avatar MIA

jaxxx wrote: »

We had a little canteen, but we had to bring our own tea bags, own cutlery, own milk, own sugar, we pretty much had to bring everything except the kettle. It's miraculous the place had running water.

Jesus, it's amazing ye didn't string up those b@stards. Great restraint shown there, and definitely enough motivation to start a thread about bad employers :rolleyes::pac:

punisher5112

Your Face wrote: »

Probably the company I left a few months ago.
I liked the job, my work and my colleagues.
It was the general environment that became increasingly toxic.
Loads of people left in a short period.
I always wondered why the top management were shocked at the high turnover.

Go on tell more...

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

JCX BXC

My first job a while I worked as a Kitchen Porter, earning pennies, getting abuse off kitchen staff and the owners all the time.

However the real thing that got me was never knowing your working hours until the evening beforehand, and getting no breaks if it was busy despite working 11 hour shifts.

I'm not ancient by any means so it wasn't back before workers rights or anything!

Your Face

punisher5112 wrote: »

Go on tell more...

Anne in accounting is having an affair.

Cantona's Collars

FizzleSticks wrote: »

I don't care about the little perks, I'd rather bring in my own tea bags if everything else was okay and I wouldn't want to work for a slave driver who provided endless food and drink.

The worst employers are the ones who treat you like they're doing you a favour by giving you a job, underpaying you and expecting you to do unpaid over time because, again you're so lucky to work for me.

Do you work in the same place as me?

Avatar MIA

Your Face wrote: »

Anne in accounting is having an affair.

Would the work place have been less toxic if it was your calculator she was pounding?

Your Face

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Would the work place have been less toxic if it was your calculator she was pounding?

If that happened, I'd be toxic.

Greyfox

jaxxx wrote: »

We had a little canteen, but we had to bring our own tea bags, own cutlery, own milk, own sugar, we pretty much had to bring everything except the kettle.

I think this is a big deal, 1 tea bags costs a company less than 1 cent, a place I worked in was like this and it was a pain in the h*le bringing in milk every day, wish I had of known this when I went for the interview!

Avatar MIA

Greyfox wrote: »

I think this is a big deal, 1 tea bags costs a company less than 1 cent, a place I worked in was like this and it was a pain in the h*le bringing in milk every day, wish I had of known this when I went for the interview!

Next time at interview, you know when they ask if you have any questions...

That's your chance to ask if they stock either Barry's or Lyons. Bonus points if they provide a selection of Green teas.

Greyfox

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Next time at interview, you know when they ask if you have any questions...

That's your chance to ask if they stock either Barry's or Lyons. Bonus points if they provide a selection of Green teas.

Ah only Lyons will do.. I wish I could ask a question like this rather than asking one of those stupid questions just to look good to the interviewer

J Mysterio

Greyfox wrote: »

Ah only Lyons will do.

Jesus. That would be a black mark against your application i'm afraid.

Avatar MIA

Greyfox wrote: »

Ah only Lyons will do..

Oooh controversial, expect a follow up... 'Dear Greyfox, we would like to thank you for attending for interview, you made a worthy attempt, especially your very specific query as to the canteen provisions. We can see you have a great eye for detail. Unfortunately we will not be progressing your application any further on this occasion.'

mohawk

I once worked for a big Pharma Multinational and we had the tea/coffee, subsidies canteen, pension, life and health insurance, bonuses etc. I wasn't very happy there most people I interacted with on a daily basis were so negative across many different departments. It really got on top of you the whole culture was toxic.

I am now in an SME and very little perks. Most of my colleagues are great and would consider many of them friends outside of working hours. From chatting to my colleagues whether they are happy in their role depends hugely who their manager is.

magentis

Two out of four toilets blocked and broken for months now,usually no toilet paper,towels or soap.Leaking roof in staff area going on 12 months now.Defective safety critical equipment,repeatedly reported and not addressed.No communication even in situations where vital to carry out work.All from a "semi-state"public sector employer.I'm in stitches here looking at people fretting about tea bags and milk.

Tell me how

magentis wrote:

Two out of four toilets blocked and broken for months now,usually no toilet paper,towels or soap.Leaking roof in staff area going on 12 months now.Defective safety critical equipment,repeatedly reported and not addressed.No communication even in situations where vital to carry out work.All from a "semi-state"public sector employer.I'm in stitches here looking at people fretting about tea bags and milk.

Massive improvements came about for those working in construction when the safe pass came in with the requirement that they have access to clean canteen environment and toilet facilities. Might still be issues for those working for small developers of course.

In your case, if things haven't improved on such issues as safety critical equipment that has already been reported, I'd be considering a phonecall to HSA.

Avatar MIA

mohawk wrote: »

I once worked for a big Pharma Multinational and we had the tea/coffee, subsidies canteen, pension, life and health insurance, bonuses etc.

That reminds me of my first industry job, working for a very large multinational where you had access to as much free minerals (coke, 7up etc.) as you liked and free ice-cream in the summer. Hated the place, lasted 6 months :pac: Left to join a small company and loved it, lasted 7 plus years there and only left when we lost our primary customer. Zero perks in that job.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Worked in a company for my first part time job who made it his business to hire under 18s so as he didn’t have to pay min wage.

Worst was when I had a foreign boss who kept saying everyone told her not to hire Irish as they were too into their rights. No lunches, staying late with no notice and not making plans after work Incase you were needed late was expected as standard and texting you all hours of the day (early morning late night days off on holiday etc) about work, **** off love you don’t pay me enough

NinetyTwoTeam

Every place I've ever worked at in Ireland has been dreadful. Especially the small businesses. but par for the course in Ireland is:
-give little to no training
-expect one low paid employee to do the work of 2-3 people
-constant 'errors' on hours worked, especially extra time, and especially at small businesses or businesses just starting, but the errors are ALWAYS leaving the employee short
-offering time off in lieu for working on days off and then never letting you take it
-managers thinking they are some type of elite royalty figure, considering all suggestions/communication from frontline employees to be backtalk or nonsense, then when things don't go right they give out that no one told them about the issues and won't take any blame
-if you work in hotels/hospitality, the working time directive and legal rules on rest periods, breaks etc is routinely violated and if you kick up any fuss, you're out of a job
-if you work in a shop with a deli, you are expected to stock, man the till, make sandwiches all at the same time on your own
-rota being changed without notifying any of the employees affected, then being annoyed when they don't show up for shifts, then you find out is was only changed because the managers favorite asked for a night off

suicide_circus

In my experience the number of bad employers is dwarfed in comparison to the number of bad employees. And I am not nor ever have been an employer but I've worked with a lot of pisstakers over the years.

gct

As a young fellow I worked for a bloke who would come in on a Monday morning with a hangover, stand in the middle of the factory floor at 8am with a fat cigar in his mouth. Wait for someone to make the slightest mistake. Whoever did was loudly told that they could easily be replaced and that he was being paid good money etc. etc. He paid minimum wage and treated everyone like ****e. We had to buy our own teabags milk etc. Our own overalls and safety equipment. Every year We got £10 each as a Xmas bonus. (This was the late 80s early 90s) Tight b*****d! As I was a youngfella at the time I thought this type of treatment was the norm. If only workplace relations was around back then....

blueser

jaxxx wrote: »

Share your experience with bad employers, whether it be little things or big things.

Obviously it doesn't need to be said but I'll say it anyway, don't be directly naming/mentioning businesses or anything. It's common sense and I shouldn't need to say it, but common sense isn't so common anymore so I'll say it anyway.

I'll start it off. I worked in a relatively small/medium sized company a few years ago, about 30-40 employees. We had a little canteen, but we had to bring our own tea bags, own cutlery, own milk, own sugar, we pretty much had to bring everything except the kettle. It's miraculous the place had running water.

Where I work is just like that now. All they supply is the boiling water. Not even hot water to wash your hands in the evening. Prisoners get treated better than we do.

the_pen_turner

i think its crazy that people think that they have a bad employer just because they dont supply tea and buscuits for their lovely warm canteen, with tvs , radios, microwaves,toasters, hot running water, lights, etc

you really need to get out into the real world and look at a lot of workshops and building sites.
you are very lucky if you have a portaloo and a socket to plug in your kettle. we are out in the cold and rain,

blueser

the_pen_turner wrote: »

i think its crazy that people think that they have a bad employer just because they dont supply tea and buscuits for their lovely warm canteen, with tvs , radios, microwaves,toasters, hot running water, lights, etc

you really need to get out into the real world and look at a lot of workshops and building sites.
you are very lucky if you have a portaloo and a socket to plug in your kettle. we are out in the cold and rain,

How does no pay rise in ten years grab you, even though we're working our arses off for less than €11 an hour? Yes; we're out of the rain. Still freezing our knackers off though as there's no heating where I work. And don't say "get a different job". There's fcuk all else around here, and certainly not for someone in his fifties with no third level education.

magentis

blueser wrote: »

How does no pay rise in ten years grab you, even though we're working our arses off for less than €11 an hour? Yes; we're out of the rain. Still freezing our knackers off though as there's no heating where I work. And don't say "get a different job". There's fcuk all else around here, and certainly not for someone in his fifties with no third level education.

I wouldn't see not having a third level education as a barrier to employment to be honest.Lots of people have such and don't know their arse from their elbow.

the_pen_turner

blueser wrote: »

How does no pay rise in ten years grab you, even though we're working our arses off for less than €11 an hour? Yes; we're out of the rain. Still freezing our knackers off though as there's no heating where I work. And don't say "get a different job". There's fcuk all else around here, and certainly not for someone in his fifties with no third level education.

how about working 60 hours a week , being paid for 40 and still getting minimium wage . and lucky if you get paid at all, :eek:

Stheno

the_pen_turner wrote: »

how about working 60 hours a week , being paid for 40 and still getting minimium wage . and lucky if you get paid at all, :eek:

Why not report your employer?

Max Prophet

Alden Better Testosterone wrote: »

I worked for a huge concern with many hundreds of employees in Ireland and worldwide. We had to bring our own tea milk etc. as well. To be honest it was just the way it was and we thought nothing of it at the time.

Oh the horror! The horror!

the_pen_turner

Stheno wrote: »

Why not report your employer?

im self emplyed:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:. he is a total prick :P

blueser

magentis wrote: »

I wouldn't see not having a third level education as a barrier to employment to be honest.Lots of people have such and don't know their arse from their elbow.

I've sent off countless job applications in the last 10-15 years. Most don't even show the courtesy of replying to you. Others do and say the lack of third level education is an impediment. As I was told in the three interviews I've had in that time. No third level education, plus my age, means I'm screwed re. getting alternative employment.

brianblaze

My boss is constantly touching me inappropriately and seems to be looking at my phone whenever he gets the chance.

I also have to bring in my own teabags and milk etc. Just a real nightmare scenario

Being self employed is tough you know! :-P

Stheno

the_pen_turner wrote: »

im self emplyed:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:. he is a total prick :P

Ah. Your own fault so

punisher5112

the_pen_turner wrote: »

im self emplyed:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:. he is a total prick :P

Better of on the sole.....dole

the_pen_turner

Stheno wrote: »

Ah. Your own fault so

what can you do thow. people wont pay a proper day rate and you are in a race to the bottom with prices. the 20 hours extra is paperwork and organising stuff and pricing

Max Prophet

blueser wrote: »

I've sent off countless job applications in the last 10-15 years. Most don't even show the courtesy of replying to you. Others do and say the lack of third level education is an impediment. As I was told in the three interviews I've had in that time. No third level education, plus my age, means I'm screwed re. getting alternative employment.

If your age was mentioned in an interview you can sue. 10k compo a pop

the_pen_turner

punisher5112 wrote: »

Better of on the sole.....dole

probably.

bear1

My current one.
1.5 years ago I spotted a gap in a system we are using that could save the company 250k a year.
I got the ball rolling by pitching my idea and engaging with all the teams to get this off the ground.
Of course according to the company's rules I'm entitled to a certificate which states my accomplishment and a max prize of 3000 USD gross - American company so prizes in usd.
Anyway fast forward to last week when the project finally went live and it's ready for work but my manager is now refusing to let the team use it. No matter how much I push this he just won't budge until he has checked this again.
We've done about 30 tests since the start of Feb.
When I try to engage him about at least getting the recognition and award I'm brushed aside.
So looks like I did all that for nothing.
No idea what else to do except let it go and be miserable.

fleet_admiral

Your Face wrote: »

Anne in accounting is having an affair.

Fat Danielle in HR secretly fancies you

blueser

Max Prophet wrote: »

If your age was mentioned in an interview you can sue. 10k compo a pop

Lack of proof as to what they said. The last interview I had was over 10 years ago now. I don't think that company is even still operating in Ireland any more.

PandaPoo

My new job is just a crappy retail job, I love it though....except there's 4 people there and they're in a clique. It does my head in. One of them is a supervisor so the other 3 get away with doing f*ck all while the rest of us run around ragged. They spend more time out smoking than they do working, they get to pick and choose what they do while the rest of us do the dirty work.
Absolute pain in the hole.

punisher5112

PandaPoo wrote: »

My new job is just a crappy retail job, I love it though....except there's 4 people there and they're in a clique. It does my head in. One of them is a supervisor so the other 3 get away with doing f*ck all while the rest of us run around ragged. They spend more time out smoking than they do working, they get to pick and choose what they do while the rest of us do the dirty work.
Absolute pain in the hole.

Start smoking there is no other way...

Go to the toilet a lot.... It works.

fleet_admiral

punisher5112 wrote: »

Start smoking there is no other way...

Go to the toilet a lot.... It works.

Time and a turd

thebull85

people here actually complaining that their employers are not paying for their tea, sugar etc

Yous all need to get a grip.

punisher5112

thebull85 wrote: »

people here actually complaining that their employers are not paying for their tea, sugar etc

Yous all need to get a grip.

Think. If an employee is happy and feels appreciated then said employees will do much better work and be more efficient.

My job we get hot water for tea and a microwave.

the_pen_turner

punisher5112 wrote: »

Think. If an employee is happy and feels appreciated then said employees will do much better work and be more efficient.

My job we get hot water for tea and a microwave.

im all for giving employees stuff like that. little perks can improve moral a lot.
where the problem is that employees are expecting these perks . these people expecting these things are not apreciating them . where does it stop.