to think that in the Uk you should speak English at work?

[Wrongornot]

I can't make up my mind?

My employer have banned the use of any language other that English being spoken during working hours?

Are they being unreasonable?

www.scotsman.com/news/odd/lidl-polish-workers-banned-from-speaking-own-language-1-3596137

(Regular but name changed)

I employ a lot of immigrant staff. Every Polish person I have ever employed has been polite and a real grafter. They speak pretty good English too.

Shades of the Welsh not!

I am the person who speaks the other language at work. When I am alone with another colleague who has the same mother tongue, then we will often speak it. However as soon as someone else comes in the room, then we speak to the common language of the country we live in. I think that is just basic good manners. If employees don't realise that, then I think it is fair that their manager makes it a requirement.

I speak Italian and French. Every employer I have ever had has seen that as an asset and asked me to talk to customers in their first language if possible. For Lidl not to looks discriminatory and foolish. Polish people's money not good enough for them?

When there are people who don't speak my language around I will either just speak English to other speakers of my language, too, or a mixture and translate. For example, I only ever speak my language to my children (regardless who is around or in what language they answer), but will translate for others, but never address my kids in English.

At work there are only rare occasions I get to speak my language, and then mostly on the phone.

I think the banning of non-English is bad, however it is a matter of politeness to try and not exclude anyone and either switch to a commonly understood language or do a running translation

Lots of companies do this. Including a huge banking company I used to work for. English only in work time even if customer requests a different language. The reasoning was managers might not understand the other language.

I think it's totally the right thing to do. Unless they only recruit bi lingual staff.

It can be very rude and disrespectful. I worked for a company where I was very much in an ethnic minority, I was subject to bullying because I couldn't understand what they were saying about me during work time. I was a junior manager, I could tell I was the subject of the conversation, I was also virtually the only female. I'd get told "they are talking about your skirt" "they would prefer it shorter" "can you wear heels" and "they are talking about what they'd like to do to you"
I'm I'm imagining this is exactly why conversations while at work should be held in the native language of the country. Breaks and lunches are a different matter. It's rude to customers too

This happens where i work. example i will bump into someone i work with on way to work. chatting hi how are bla bla. then someone else turns up who speak same language as that other person so then they both talk that language. there are 4/5 people in work that talk that language one min they talking english the next their language.. sometimes i'm the only person in the room with them it makes me feel isolated. and i think its really rude as well. They are all chatting laughing and i'm just there like a plum.

Aren't*

Just read the article - banning staff from speaking to customers in the language they feel more comfortable in just seems a baffling decision from a customer service point of view

Exactly what mother said.

It doesn't seem fair for the customers but it's a blanket rule for that reason most likely.

I think it isn't unreasonable to demand that all official communication with customers is in the common language. It has to do with how the company is being portrayed, I think. Unless it is an international company, it will have an image which is linked to that culture and language, and that is what employees should be representing, not their own personal background.

I prefer to do all my work in the common language. It feels odd to me to discuss work in my native language. For one thing, I don't know the exactly correct terminology, but it is also because it makes it too much about me and not about where I work.

Sonja by your reasoning all lidl employees should be speaking German, as that is the culture and country that lidl is from and that it is primarily identified with.

Bardzo glupie

I've worked with lots of people from different places, different languages...and I agree with the manager.
I'm assuming either customers or fellow staff members have complained and as others have said you can feel really uncomfortable and excluded ...
As the 'boss' once I had to have a word with an employee about something - he wasn't very happy...he then spent the next 20 mins obviously slagging me off to his colleague (in Spanish) in front of me. I don't really speak Spanish but understood enough to get the general gist. In the end I had to say something to him...turn it back on him - he denied it, said he was just chatting - I quoted part of one of his sentences back to him and asked him what else it meant if it wasn't what I thought...and he was shocked and embarrassed how much I had understood ...it was so disrespectful.
If English speakers were critising a colleague in front of them who was new to this country and had poor English and we witnessed it we would cringe with embarrassment - the way we cringe when we see English speakers on holiday 'abroad' speaking loudly and slowly so the locals understand...
a bit like watching Basil Fawlty talking to Manuel...

My family have actually had two unpleasant experiences with this recently. My Dad was in hospital and he suffers with MS, so physically he is doddery but mentally he is all there. All the nurses in his hospital were Philippino and unless directly addressing a patient spoke their language to each other at all times. When discussing how they were going to lift him, when talking about his treatment plan. It was really unpleasant for ALL the patients concerned, whether English/British or not. English was the common language of nearly all the patients, sometimes it was very clear that the nurses were discussing patients in their own language, even seeming to laugh at them and it made a lot of the patients uncomfortable.

My Gran had a similar experience a few months ago, she went to an eye doctor, he took her for an appointment into another room where two other men were. He never introduced the men to her or told her who they were. Yet he repeatedly turned round to him and discussed my Gran's case with him in Arabic.

It's unfair as it puts patients at a disadvantage and doesn't allow them to be fully informed and make decisions about their care properly.

I also think it's an issue because talking in a language which is not local can be used as a means of workplace bullying and exclusion, which I believe Amazon UK previously complained about. I've heard of that method being used on building sites in the past in order to drive workers who are not Polish/Romanian/Bulgarian whatever out and secure the job for a mate from their native country.

And to be honest it's just plain rude. It's acceptable to talk to a customer or a client in their native language if that makes things easier for them because they are the customer. But for colleagues to chat between themselves in their own language in the earshot of others is just plain rude.

My German friend would love it if they did that. Lidl German speakers Unite!

It's so funny that the Brits march around the world, along with their American cousins, assuming every person will speak English to them, not learning hello or please then object when a Polish customer and a Polish server chat. Bizarre.

I'm glad the people in the rest of the world will talk English to me when I need it.

We have lots of non Brits at work and as their employer I'd take a dim view if they did more than pass pleasantries in the office in the language we don't all share. Quick, easy way to exclude people potentially.

That is what annoys me Mother. They chat away in Urdu, referring to me, while I am stood right in front of them. I find it bloody rude.

in a break time there is no compulsion to include anyone in your conversations so yabu.

Over the head of an elderly care home resident . To make life difficult for others, not on either.

" But for colleagues to chat between themselves in their own language in the earshot of others is just plain rude."

You think that two people who aren't talking to you should communicate in a language they can't fully express themselves in just so you can eavesdrop?

I don't think banning speaking another language to customers is a bad thing, and is good customer service, likely leading to repeat business. In my school days I worked in a store and had a French customer. I was learning French at the time and enjoyed the chance to practice, and the customer kept coming back (and spending a lot of money), only wanting to deal with me. However, staff speaking a different language in front of other colleagues could be seen as exclusionary and may lead to bullying. I think they are two completely separate issues which require different policies.

It's not a matter of 'eavesdropping'. When you're working other colleague's conversations about work are often relevant to other people. For example you may hear a colleague talking about something you are more informed about or you have relevant information they don't have, or something you will need to know too. An instruction or information. If everyone in a workplace is talking in different languages obviously communication (which is very important) becomes an increasingly difficult and fraught exchange. It also puts some employees at an unfair advantage because they can communicate with everyone in the workplace while some colleagues might only be able to communicate with half their colleagues leaving them at a disadvantage.

It's a matter of communication. And if they speak English so poorly that they can't express themselves then I doubt that they would be even working in an unpacking room at Lidl where you'd need to read and understand labels and delivery notes.

Break time is another matter and I think people normally have enough intelligence to know what is polite and what is not. Two Polish people in a room talking Polish or going out to lunch together and talking Polish is probably okay. Short exchanges are probably okay. Having long involved conversations which exclude any colleague who does not speak your language is rude.

People are using the example of English tourists going abroad which isn't really relevant. This isn't people who are visiting for a few days, it's people who are settled here and if they have a job probably have a reasonable command of English. Given most of the rest of the world complains about English people speaking English I would say that it would be pretty much certain that if two British employees in France, Spain, Brazil or Italy who were capable of speaking the language conversed in English to the exclusion of their colleagues then they would also be considered rude.

aermingers ex-pats will use services staffed by Brits abroad so that they can converse in their own language. I fail to see how this is different to Polish shoppers using Lidl because the staff will serve them in Polish.

Conversations among staff are different and I think politeness and team building should be the focus, rather than a blanket ban. Treat people like polite, responsible, nice adults.

i go to a nail bar and i don't like it when the person doing my nails starts chatting to her colleague in her mother tongue and it excludes me. it is rude.

ooh fine in non work time or break etc.