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Original poster

Strangest thing you have ever got into trouble for at work?

264 replies

NoEffingWay · 21/05/2022 21:04

Not 'looking like I was listening in a meeting'- I was actually listening and was able to recite information but apparently that wasn't good enough!

For 'not having a degree'- I was a Saturday girl in a shop, I was 16 at the time. Confused

For 'being tired'-I had a baby at home and was getting up at 4am to look after them so wasn't feeling well rested but was expected to pretend I was energetic Grin.

OP posts:
Varietyplaza · 22/05/2022 13:03

For serving patients, ie doing my job, and not talking to the new person enough who was already busy being trained by someone else. Apparently I should have ignored our patients and disrupted the training by talking to her more about her day/life/etc.. No doubt I would have got in trouble for talking or not wouldn't have mattered.

The day the boss pulled me aside to have a go about that I walked out and never went back.

LoopyLube · 22/05/2022 13:08

For going to the toilet twice in one day. Only one wee a day is allowed, I was told, preferably at lunch time when we're not as busy.

Em3978 · 22/05/2022 13:09

For checking on a child who'd had a head injury at playtime.

For sourcing appropriate food for a (T1D)child who'd given themselves a hypo (too much insulin self administered) on purpose to get out of school.

For using something out of the 'playground equipment' box, on the playground, with the children.

🙄

eenymeenymineymo · 23/05/2022 22:09

Notanotherwindow · 22/05/2022 12:02

My supervisor actually wrote on the paperwork that she didn't know what she was disciplining me for but would get the details from one of my colleagues later.

It got all the way to a second hearing before a manager from another store was brought in and it was thrown out

I remember this happening to a work room colleague of mine too (same workplace as my upthread comment).
Another bitchy woman was leaving & in her exit interview she made several comments about my room colleague sharing confidential info re her salary package.

It went to HR & several long heated meetings with our boss & the CEO before being referred to an employment lawyer to discuss next steps towards termination etc etc.
Understandably my friend was really upset & felt she was being targeted. She then left the job.

But the impartial employment lawyer laughed & laughed & laughed.
A case built on hearsay & gossip, nothing factual. That would work surely 🤣

icebearforpresident · 23/05/2022 23:26

Wearing a cardigan. Retail job, we had some black fleeces that were shared, they hung up through the back and were there for anyone who was cold on shift during the winter.

One day, having just realised these things never ever got washed I bought myself a plain black cardigan and wore it on the shop floor. Assistant manager, who didn’t like me anyway because I was mates with her daughters ex boyfriend, came in on her day off and tore me a new one for not being in uniform. Except the fleeces, that she wore approx 355 days a year. weren’t uniform. They were plain black, unbranded and cost about a fiver at the local indoor market. The manager had bought them a few years previously because she was always cold. I was 18 and as an adult hate that I didn’t have the bollocks to point that out to her.

Workingwoe · 23/05/2022 23:39

Oh too many to mention. The one that really pissed me off though i was 16 and an office jr, we had a sales team of reps that came in and out of the office/factory, most of them were lovely but there was one real slime ball, leached on any woman, loved his own voice and reflection, would loudly talk about his weekend conquests and had all the female managers wrapped round his snotty little finger and related to one of the big bosses, so pretty untouchable.

One day he tried it on with me, over email things like "nice skirt, shame its not shorter" i ignored or batted down his comments. It went on for weeks i was 16 he was early 20s. I didn't have a clue what to do, so i mainly ignored him and hr/sexual harassment wasn't a promoted thing at this time. One day he emails me and asks me to clock out for him, he wanted to get out early for a date- we had an old punch card system, put the brown slip in the clock and it stamped your card in and out. I said no, he harrassed me all morning until i said yes. But i didnt do it. About a week later i was pulled in by my manager, who had read the emails and proceeded to bollock me, for encouraging his behaviour, wearing clothes to distract him, (standard black skirt and blouse with court shoes- pretty identical to what she was wearing) and for clocking him out. I pointed out that

  1. i only agreed as he was harassing me and i didn't actually do it - check his time card. - still got in trouble because i had agreed in writing to do it.....
  1. I never encouraged any of his emails and 99% were unanswered.......... It is unprofessional to ignore a colleague, what if it had been about work. - i had responded to all work related emails.
  2. The ones i did answer told him i wasn't interested and i had a boyfriend, his comments were not appropriate . - unprofessional to discuss my personal life over email.
4 i asked if he would also be reprimanded, for his inappropriate emails and for asking me to clock him out. And she roasted me because that would be confidential! That woman was insane to work for.
Sharming · 23/05/2022 23:54

God awful bitch of a manager when I worked in hospitality, used to pick on me and shout and humiliate me in front of all the staff and customers because I was the youngest.

She told me off every day for some minor thing or other. The day I decided to leave was the day I got bollocked and publicly shouted at for putting 4 strawberries on a dessert instead of 3.

It actually makes me sad how much of my teenage saturday jobs I was bullied by nasty middle aged women managers who always seemed to go for the young teen girls to humiliate. I think the felt threatened/jealous of my youth. How fucking pathetic. I'd love to time travel back as my old wizened self and stick up for frightened teenage me and bollock those bitches

ilovepixie · 23/05/2022 23:54

mumieone · 21/05/2022 23:42

Commenting on the amount of food the girl on the next desk came in with. I've..wow is that really all yours.....yup "disciplinary"

Sorry but that is a bit rude.

Vampirethriller · 24/05/2022 06:01

For having period pain
Because the manager didn't like the way my arms looked when I stood by the till
For reading a magazine on my lunch break

PaperMonster · 24/05/2022 07:15

For putting an ooo message on wishing people season’s greetings and a happy new year and putting my return date.

For correcting the spelling errors of those more senior to me before their letters went out.

Livpool · 24/05/2022 07:17

Being too smiley/nice

Putting my handbag on my desk when my back was really bad and I couldn't bend over

TFMinx · 24/05/2022 07:27

Sticking some children's work in their books after they'd finished it. The head said it was embarrassing as he was showing someone very important round. I also had a group of children working on the table I was at so I could help them. Multitasking is not allowed in education Hmm

onelittlefrog · 24/05/2022 07:29

For opening a document sent to me which contained information I wasn't meant to see (I didn't know!)

sqirrelfriends · 24/05/2022 07:29

I got fired for not saying goodbye to my new boss. It was 20 minutes after my finish time and he was completely ignoring me so I just left as he didn't seem to want to speak to me.

HappyAsASandboy · 24/05/2022 07:45

Winning an award for our company.

Shgytfgtf111 · 24/05/2022 08:11

Not offering to make tea and coffee for the whole office. I dont drink anything hot and when the rest of the office made their tea and coffee they didnt offer me anything so when I refilled my water it didnt occur to me to make tea/coffee for everyone.

Maytodecember · 24/05/2022 08:16

For criticising a school that prioritised bullying, threatening kids over their victims and the quieter, well behaved kids.

stuntbubbles · 24/05/2022 08:22

Accidentally buying caster sugar instead of granulated sugar for tea/coffee. Compounded my crime by saying “Oh well, it’ll dissolve faster”.

BashfulClam · 24/05/2022 08:28

Using too much washing up liquid when I washed my cup I the office. I used a tiny squirt and the office banshee went off on one m. I couldn’t have used less.

Mentioning overtime, we worked for several different clients and the client I worked go had offered a period of paid overtime. The team sitting behind us did many unpaid extra hours (more fool them). One afternoon I had a conversation like this with no a as colleague n my team.
Colleague:Are you staying for overtime tonight.
me:yeah two hours I better remember to submit the form. Mind you the tax man will take it all ha ha.
They complained that i shouldn’t be reminding them they didn’t get paid overtime. Not my fault and stop eavesdropping. Aldi just ne not my colleague who raised the topic. Toxic place as I was also reported for being seen out having a coffee on long term sick, it was the first time I had left the house in 4 weeks abc my gp had recommended getting out.

AngelinaFangelina · 24/05/2022 08:42

Not going to a voluntary event on a Sunday that I wouldn't be paid for because I broke my nose the day before and felt like shit. First job, I was 16. I went to work on Monday and they were horrible to me -until I got so distressed and was in agony and they took me to the doctors over the road and came with me (to see I wasn't lying!!!) where my doctor confirmed I HAD broken my nose and signed me off for a week. Boss stropped at me saying it was massively inconvenient and did I actually feel I had to be off? Do you know what, I didn't but fuck you, I took every day. Just one of many awful things they did. Boss also knocked on my door one evening when I had horrific flu and had been off work a few days. It was so bad I couldn't get out of bed except to crawl to the loo and spent all day asleep. Proper flu. She was cross and asked my dad to get me out of bed to talk to her about when I was coming back and he told her to politely fuck off and shut the door in her face.
The worst thing? She ended up as my MIL 😂we have been NC for 16 years.

TheWayoftheLeaf · 24/05/2022 14:44

For telling someone to shut up and shut down their phone when they were drunkenly sending racist slurs to a work group chat.

Apparently it was 'getting involved in a racist conversation'.

Cranefliesthinkthecarroofiswater · 24/05/2022 15:58

At my first job, in 1980, got two weeks notice because I rejected the boss's constant advances. He also had a go at me for not answering the office phone when I was on the toilet.

As a TEFL teacher in SE Asia, got told off for my lessons being 'too structured'. Relaxed my style a bit and then got told off because my lessons 'weren't structured enough'. Got told off for 'losing my temper' when what had actually happened was the shitty men I was teaching were so shitty they'd made me cry. Also got told off for sitting down briefly, having been standing for hours. I left that school soon afterwards.

A current client grumbled because the shrubs he wanted kept at 6ft kept doing what their DNA instructs them to do and growing to 15ft as fast as possible. I gave him a lesson in plant biology and he now accepts my opinion.

HappyGoDucky · 24/05/2022 16:07

I was asked to email a couple of customers at the end of my shift and the only computer available was the general managers who had gone home ( was told to use it from my line manager). After I finished what I was doing I powered off. When I came into the office in the morning the GM gave me an absolute bollocking for powering off as he had lost all his previous days work..... err, why had he not backed up his work at a) regular intervals and b) when he went home? First I'd heard we were not to power off before the office closed. GM is a general knob at best of times.

ScreamingMeMe · 24/05/2022 16:57

Reading the more advanced information manual out of interest during some down time, as it "wasn't my place to know that information".

user2908143823142536475859708 · 24/05/2022 17:08

I got disciplined because when I walked into work my manager hadn't put me on the floor rota. She told me in front of the area manager that I wasn't on the rota and I said I thought I was and went to the drawer to check and showed her the shift rota. She shouted at me pointing at the floor rota on the wall saying well you're not on this. I said ok I can stay if you need me, she said no stay and I walked into the staff room.

She pulled me into the office in the back and shouted at me saying how dare I speak to her like that and walk away from her. I was rude and ignorant and that it was clearly her mistake but how dare I put her down like that in front of the area manager and that I had embarrassed her. I said her behaviour was embarrassing and that it was nothing to do with me. Then I got a written warning for my conduct.

All because I said I thought I was and not realising she was talking about the floor rota and not the shift rota.