Supermacs manager sacked over incidents that cost firm €2.75

Dyr · 01-06-2016 01:13PM

If I had an irish times subscription I'd be outraged

imitation · 01-06-2016 01:13PM

Honestly 19k after working for 19 years for a company is a joke after being fired like that.

Fries-With-That · 01-06-2016 01:16PM

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Why in the name of jazus would a bleedin chipper (and not even a good one at that) need an MD and CEO???

It just goes to show how irrelevant and wasteful having someone as MD when they feel the need (and demanded) that they should have been involved in an incident(s) which cost the firm €2.75! What a bloody joke!

far be it from me to defend Supermacs or a franchise owner, but you seem to underestimate the size of the business.

From previous experience in the fast food business I can tell you that this business has upwards of 50 employees, several shift managers and a minimum of 2 store managers.

The incident in question was handled badly, and the store manager should not have been treated the way she was. If you read the report the owner of the business was aggrieved that their store manager had not informed them of the incidents, thus indicating a lack of professionalism on behalf of the store manager.

The shift manager that reported the incidents to the MD was following procedure after they had informed the store manager, the store manager took no action(both incidents are grounds for dismissal) and in effect undermined the shift manager.

If you work in a business where your staff can and do have the oppourtinuty to give stock to patrons for free, they (the staff) have to know that you cannot give out large meals for the price of regular meals and you cannot give out stock and replace the money later.

Each action would be against any companies policies.

Chain of command, shift manager alerts store manager, store manager alerts MD ( franchisee) any further action is taken in consultation with MD, if the store manager leaves the MD out of the loop, then they leave themselves open for disciplinary action themselves.

It may sound like a petty incident, but as a MD(franchisee) where does it stop, if staff think they can get away with giving out free food, the business will become unmanageable.

I feel sorry for the store manager, but after 19 years in the business they were well aware of how these incidences are dealt with.

01-06-2016 01:26PM

However no free food was been given to anyone, The most that should have happened is that the manager had to attend some training re the company policy on the issue or even a quick chat along the lines of how employees must stick to company policy on mistake, fraud ect. That should have been the end of the issue.

cajonlardo · 01-06-2016 01:26PM

Its a genuine pity that any person in this country needs a job so badly that they would allow that ar$ewipe throw the €2 at them.
Sooner or later he will throw something at the wrong person and he'll learn a lesson he will never forget.

valoren · 01-06-2016 01:27PM

Would the action of throwing a €2 coin at a subordinate employee be against company policy?

Jayop · 01-06-2016 01:28PM

So accidentally giving a large meal in place of a regular one is something that should be escalated all the way to the MD? What a joke. I worked in pubs, restaurants, chippy and once in a KFC and I never seen such bolloxology as that. Sure if someone is stealing then report it but the manager had dealt with what was an accident and gave a verbal warning. What further action should or could have been taken? What's the point in being the store manager if you can't decide on issues like this. It's also not like the store had firm procedures in place when they can't differentiate between a theft and an accident.

Given some of the settlements we've seen recently the only surprise is that she didn't get much more and she would have deserved it. 19 bloody years. She should have gotten the full redundancy amount.

01-06-2016 01:37PM

ballsymchugh wrote: »

important to note that it's a franchise. don't know if that's supermac's policy from this

True. While Supermacs would have influence marketing wise, if this is an individual company that is running a Supermacs franchise then I would doubt the likes of Pat Mcdonagh would have much say on their company policy.

However, its very alarming how this vile, toxic, disgusting corporate culture seems to have gripped us especially since the recession. Low skilled jobs in particular are really getting it in the neck and people are having to bite the bullet and put up with it.

Coat22 · 01-06-2016 01:49PM

imitation wrote: »

Honestly 19k after working for 19 years for a company is a joke after being fired like that.

Jayop wrote: »

Given some of the settlements we've seen recently the only surprise is that she didn't get much more and she would have deserved it. 19 bloody years. She should have gotten the full redundancy amount.

The max the EAT can award is 2 years net pay if memory serves me right. I'm sure her net was higher than 9.5k per year but the fact that she'd gotten a new job probably weighed against the award (wrongly IMO).

Agree with your points though - the franchose effectively engineered a forced redundancy on this woman but even so her only entitlement in a redundancy scenario would have been 2 weeks (to a max of 600 per week) per year which would have been 38 weeks pay. The award would seem to reflect this ( 500 a week).

HensVassal · 01-06-2016 01:54PM

RayCon wrote: »

I can only hope the bad press generated by this hurts Supermacs to the tune of a lot more than €2.75. Ars3wipes

The MD was actually the MD of Watchford Ltd.

Maireadio · 01-06-2016 02:00PM

HensVassal wrote: »

He didn't give away a free drink.

That's the exact wording in the article. Whether he did it because she had no money or because he wanted to give her a free drink and then regretted it and wanted to rectify, who knows? It's not clear from the information given. But anyway, it was minor. Some people who rigidly follow the rules often seem not too bright or just cannot read other humans very well and a lot of them seem to end up in managerial positions for reason.

HensVassal · 01-06-2016 02:11PM

Fries-With-That wrote: »

far be it from me to defend Supermacs or a franchise owner, but you seem to underestimate the size of the business.

From previous experience in the fast food business I can tell you that this business has upwards of 50 employees, several shift managers and a minimum of 2 store managers.

The incident in question was handled badly, and the store manager should not have been treated the way she was. If you read the report the owner of the business was aggrieved that their store manager had not informed them of the incidents, thus indicating a lack of professionalism on behalf of the store manager.

The shift manager that reported the incidents to the MD was following procedure after they had informed the store manager, the store manager took no action(both incidents are grounds for dismissal) and in effect undermined the shift manager.

If you work in a business where your staff can and do have the oppourtinuty to give stock to patrons for free, they (the staff) have to know that you cannot give out large meals for the price of regular meals and you cannot give out stock and replace the money later.

Each action would be against any companies policies.

Chain of command, shift manager alerts store manager, store manager alerts MD ( franchisee) any further action is taken in consultation with MD, if the store manager leaves the MD out of the loop, then they leave themselves open for disciplinary action themselves.

It may sound like a petty incident, but as a MD(franchisee) where does it stop, if staff think they can get away with giving out free food, the business will become unmanageable.

I feel sorry for the store manager, but after 19 years in the business they were well aware of how these incidences are dealt with.

D'ya want fries with that?

heroics · 01-06-2016 02:14PM

Fries-With-That wrote: »

far be it from me to defend Supermacs or a franchise owner, but you seem to underestimate the size of the business.

From previous experience in the fast food business I can tell you that this business has upwards of 50 employees, several shift managers and a minimum of 2 store managers.

The incident in question was handled badly, and the store manager should not have been treated the way she was. If you read the report the owner of the business was aggrieved that their store manager had not informed them of the incidents, thus indicating a lack of professionalism on behalf of the store manager.

The shift manager that reported the incidents to the MD was following procedure after they had informed the store manager, the store manager took no action(both incidents are grounds for dismissal) and in effect undermined the shift manager.

If you work in a business where your staff can and do have the oppourtinuty to give stock to patrons for free, they (the staff) have to know that you cannot give out large meals for the price of regular meals and you cannot give out stock and replace the money later.

Each action would be against any companies policies.

Chain of command, shift manager alerts store manager, store manager alerts MD ( franchisee) any further action is taken in consultation with MD, if the store manager leaves the MD out of the loop, then they leave themselves open for disciplinary action themselves.

It may sound like a petty incident, but as a MD(franchisee) where does it stop, if staff think they can get away with giving out free food, the business will become unmanageable.

I feel sorry for the store manager, but after 19 years in the business they were well aware of how these incidences are dealt with.

You cant be serious.

Whats the point in having a manager let alone a senior manager if they can't deal with simple stuff like this. The total value of the mistakes was 75 cent.

It is a petty incident. All it took was a warning from the store manager which the employee got not an escalation to MD. If an MD is worried about an incident costing 75 cent he has little to worry about and to be honest the woman is better off out of that company.

cowboyBuilder · 01-06-2016 02:37PM

KlausFlouride wrote: »

General rule of thumb, the worst & least well paid jobs have the most petty rules and assholes who are happy to enforce them.

Indeed, like supermarket managers or worst assistant or trainee managers - reserved for a special special special type of absolute cunt

jimgoose · 01-06-2016 02:44PM

Fries-With-That wrote: »

...The shift manager that reported the incidents to the MD was following procedure after they had informed the store manager, the store manager took no action(both incidents are grounds for dismissal) and in effect undermined the shift manager...

The shift manager was a horrible little suckhole that wanted to see the poor cashier that made a mistake strung up. Here is the news: this is not a Manging Director-level incident, and is sort of thing that makes me want to take a job for a week or two at one of these places during my vacation, in the hope that some pencil-necked little shit throws a coin at me, and I can then deep-fry his eyebrows.

whiskeyman · 01-06-2016 02:48PM

Stories like this remind me that I work with a top bunch of people (management included!) and I'm so lucky.

I pity those poor folk who work with / below total feckers who've no respect or cop on.

Bandana boy · 01-06-2016 02:59PM

I have no idea how much she was originally on , but with that service and a supposedly senior role , is €19 K not peanuts and a real win for the Company in question.
I know she could have been awarded up to 2 years salary. Costs of course need to be covered but I assume this will probably work out cheaper than giving her a redundancy settlement from the get go.(assuming they pay more than statutory)

BattleCorp · 01-06-2016 03:08PM

cajonlardo wrote: »

Its a genuine pity that any person in this country needs a job so badly that they would allow that ar$ewipe throw the €2 at them.
Sooner or later he will throw something at the wrong person and he'll learn a lesson he will never forget.

If my boss threw a coin at me I'd throw both fists back in his direction repeatedly.

Seriously though, throwing something an an employee (or anybody) is assault.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 01-06-2016 03:09PM

Absolutely ridiculous over reaction to two small incidents which were being handled by the store manager.

The whole business says more about the shift manager and, in particular, the Managing Director than it does about the store manager. Their judgment was abysmal and their method of 'managing' deplorable.

jmayo · 01-06-2016 03:10PM

cajonlardo wrote: »

Its a genuine pity that any person in this country needs a job so badly that they would allow that ar$ewipe throw the €2 at them.
Sooner or later he will throw something at the wrong person and he'll learn a lesson he will never forget.

I know a few people who worked part time in that industry and if the little shyte had done that to them he would be lucky not to have gotten his head introduced to a frier.

Deleted User wrote: »

True. While Supermacs would have influence marketing wise, if this is an individual company that is running a Supermacs franchise then I would doubt the likes of Pat Mcdonagh would have much say on their company policy.

However, its very alarming how this vile, toxic, disgusting corporate culture seems to have gripped us especially since the recession. Low skilled jobs in particular are really getting it in the neck and people are having to bite the bullet and put up with it.

Surely Supermacs have something about dragging their brand and reputation into the mud.

Also the other thing I notice is they have one operation and Watchford's register address in Dooradoyle and the other one on Ennis Road where she was offered lower position.

It could well have been a way of getting her out of the company as depending on where she lived, work was now miles away and she was probably on lower salary.

Here is an idea.
If you live near or in Limerick, avoid those Supermacs.

When it hurts their pockets the pricks might appreciate people more.

Coat22 · 01-06-2016 03:12PM

Bandana boy wrote: »

I have no idea how much she was originally on , but with that service and a supposedly senior role , is 19 K not peanuts and a real win for the Company in question.
I know she could have been awarded up to 2 years salary. Costs of course need to be covered but I assume this will probably work out cheaper than giving her a redundancy settlement from the get go.(assuming they pay more than statutory)

Its 2 years Net salary.

Not sure why you think a chipper chain of 2 shops would pay more than statutory redundancy. 19k would seem to equate to 500 per week per year of service which is probably all it would have cost them in statutory redundancy (max would have been 22,800)

Jayop · 01-06-2016 03:13PM

I think this is the first ever 'compo'' thread on AH that hasn't really had a single person disagree with the person claiming.

That fact alone proves how mental this action by the company was.

fullstop · 01-06-2016 03:15PM

2smiggy wrote: »

pity they did not name the managing director , or the duty manager. they sound delightful people to work for

It's not exactly difficult to find out who they are

http://www.solocheck.ie/Irish-Company/Watchford-Limited-190043

Is that John and Mary from Father Ted I wonder...

Stealthfins · 01-06-2016 03:17PM

That's the tip of the iceberg.
These Celtic tiger cubs are everywhere,ego driven ruthlessness,and total lick ass culture.

I'm glad I'm not of the brown nose lick ass,culture.

You'll see it in most companies,most employees under 35 are of that ruthless,sell their mother to get on the ladder....

Bandana boy · 01-06-2016 03:21PM

Coat22 wrote: »

Its 2 years Net salary.

Not sure why you think a chipper chain of 2 shops would pay more than statutory redundancy. 19k would seem to equate to 500 per week per year of service which is probably all it would have cost them in statutory redundancy (max would have been 22,800)

Max is out by 600 your forgetting the plus one week

So assuming she is only on 12.80 a hour it matches what a redundancy would have cost.
If she is on more than that they have saved 4,500
if they paid more than statutory before they have saved a ton load , granted costs on top of that but I would expect the courts to throw the book at such a cynical dismal . I would have expected closer to €50K for this.

foggy_lad · 01-06-2016 03:22PM

jimgoose wrote: »

Little bollix of an MD has no business sticking his oar in an affair costing the price of a hamburger which is being attended to by a store manager. He should have his hole kicked by the CEO, and also sack the little prick of a duty manager that threw the €2 at that cashier who made a couple of minor errors.

Seemed obvious to me that the MD and the duty manager who reported the "incidents" to the MD were acting together to get rid of her.

Could it have beeen because she was a woman?

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 01-06-2016 03:24PM

Stealthfins wrote: »

That's the tip of the iceberg.
These Celtic tiger cubs are everywhere,ego driven ruthlessness,and total lick ass culture.

I'm glad I'm not of the brown nose lick ass,culture.

You'll see it in most companies,most employees under 35 are of that ruthless,sell their mother to get on the ladder....

It does seem to be an increasingly prevalent attitude. A huge level of self importance seems to have crept into the workplace. There were always puffed up eejits who thought they were a lot more significant than they were, but now it almost seems to be accepted behaviour in a lot of places.

They're usually the same types who love to boast about the long hours they put in, and ostentatiously check work emails at weekends and during holidays. They don't seem to realise that they're the ones being taken for a ride.

jimgoose · 01-06-2016 03:27PM

foggy_lad wrote: »

Seemed obvious to me that the MD and the duty manager who reported the "incidents" to the MD were acting together to get rid of her.

That kind of carry-on might be alright in Greasy McBollix's in Ballydung, but it is not how business is done in the Grown-Up world. You should see how fast the CEOs I regularly encounter would nuke the site from orbit if the likes of that was going on in their name, however albeit indirectly, franchise or no fuckin' franchise.

suicide_circus · 01-06-2016 03:29PM

That duty manager should have had a €2 suppository off that lad

Jayop · 01-06-2016 03:30PM

Like a few others have said, I thank my lucky stars that I work in an office where we would look out for each other and try to do anything (within boundaries) to avoid the others getting in trouble. That said even the management are cool and wouldn't be as despicable as this crowd are.

Supermacs manager sacked over incidents that cost firm €2.75

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