Situation at work....AIBU?

[se7enthings]

Hello!
I work in a pub 10 hours a week whilst at university, the pay is crap but the hours fit in.

I am the youngest behind the bar age 23 and I feel as though I’m getting mugged off. I work with a 60 year old lady who knows everyone and constantly looks for conspiracy in the workplace, aka, someone’s stealing etc.

I am the only person out of both of us to clear up the glasses and lifting a heavy crate 70+ times a night has started taking its toll and I am suffering with what feels like an injury to my spine. I have asked several times for my colleague to help me and she does it once or twice then stops. She’ll stand next to me talking about how someone pissed her off and watch me clean up everyone’s glasses. She tells me to “hurry up as she wants to leave at 12:30” but stands talking to customers whilst I clean the bar, she moans she has a bad back and is under impression she does everything. Landlady not much use as only cares about profit not staff wellbeing.

Anyway, I don’t get sick pay, at all, and I’ve checked the rota and I won’t be able to take one of my holidays as others are off. I can’t cope with the pain, I’ve missed a day of uni and I’ve been up all night with it, AIBU to get a sick note for 2 weeks?

She is on more than me due to the age payment and tips

I can appreciate that she earns more due to being in a higher bracket for minimum wage, but surely tips should be shared equally? Another reason to quit if she's hogging all the tips!

*So you work a 5 hour shift and every 4 minutes there is another heavy crate of glasses, bottles etc to be lifted.

Jesus, Mrs behind the bar must be working like Trojan serving all those customers.*

This is exactly what I thought... Smells of slight overexageration

Leave. You do not owe any loyalty to people who treat you like this.

She is a cf. I'd say your turn now. And say you've got a sore back and won't be lifting for a while. Don't be taken advantage of. She's on more money than you.

I’m not exaggerating sadly. I have no reason to

It is not whiny to expect an employer to comply with manual handling legislation. I'd leave, it's usually easy enough to get a bar job. Hopefully one that involves minimal hulking in an environment where the task has been correctly risk assessed, and training given where there is no other option but lifting. The fact people still trot out the 'bend your knees and keep your back straight' crap is proof of how most people need training to prevent injury.

People used to work at height without scaffolding, on building sites without protective clothing etc. Wanting to not do that is NOT 'whining', it is merely asking for legal requirements to be met. Same here.

I think I’m gonna hand my notice in tonight. Thanks guys xxxx

Good luck - with this and uni

Leave. Dont worry about the reference. You can give your tutors as a reference! Your reference is that they have continued to employ you since 2015. You've turned up and done the job for over two years. At the same time as doing your degree.. I don't think anyone can accuse you of not working hard enough!. Your reason for leaving, inadequate pay, no pay rises(?) not equal sharing of tips and health and safety ignored. I think a newer and better employer would understand all that. They'd be flattered that you thought they were a better option.
Get some help from uni and ditch this bad situation, you've stuck it out for long enough.

It is against the law for people to give you a negative reference I think. They are just supposed to confirm that you are in a job for a certain period of time and what that job is.

In a bar job if they wanted you gone, you'd be gone. Other bar owners will know that. It must be a nightmare putting up with the co worker who is always spouting conspiracy theories and accusing people of stealing.

Hi OP, I’m not sure why people are telling you that you should put up with this due to your age.

Have you mentioned the difference in your duties to the land lady? What does your contract say you are required to do?

You need to look at protecting yourself in case of long term damage. In the first instance you should raise the issue with the land lady and get it documented. (If she will only have a verbal conversation with you, you can follow up with an email stating “just to confirm our conversation today where X was discussed and Y was agreed. Please reply to this email if I have miss understood anything”.

Then you need to visit your GP and ask for a note to say that you require amended duties i.e. no lifting of heavy crates for a se time period (suggest a month) to allow your back to recover.

This should cover you in the event that you suffer long term back problems caused by this position.

If, following the above, you are told that there is no longer a position for you then you may have a case for unfair dismissal as you’ve been employed for over two years. (This may not be possible if yours and your colleagues contract state different duties, that is, you’re expected to do manual clean up work and hers states serving behind the bar only)

Not illegal to give a bad reference - common myth. Is illegal to give an inaccurate one (good or bad, personally I think giving someone a false good one is worse )

But most employers now just state the bare facts - dates, hours, maybe pay.

The employer has a duty of care to employees and from a health and safety perspective should provide manual handling training. Bar work is a branch of retail work and you should be trained on how to lift correctly. As for cleaning, I'd say that was part of any retail type job. You have the bar to keep clean, displays, fridges, shelves and tables to keep clean as well as serving customers.

Good on you!

No job is worth wrecking your back for... Esp not for 70£...!!

Tjere are loads of other roles that will match/exceed your earnings without all the mad lifting...

Thanks for all the advice :) xxx

Just quit and move.

Although I don’t see how 10 hours a week could do that?
I worked behind a bar, alone for 28 hours a week when at uni ... never hurt mysef.

Only on MN would someone put up with doing most of the work while a colleague stands around chatting and get told they are whiny

Im not much younger than your colleague OP and I do a fair bit of heavy lifting in my job. If I couldn't manage to do the job I've no doubt I would be out

Well...after tonight I am handing in my notice tomorrow I didn’t sign a contract so that’s a good thing. Just gonna struggle for money x

I'm glad you are leaving.
Well done.
Get out there today with your CV.
Take it personally to places you could work at.
See if you can talk to the manager there and then.

Well done on quitting OP - you don’t deserve this crap. Have you looked into being a student nanny? Heard a lot about the service and looks great studentnannies.com

I didn't realise so many on MN were close enough to 60 to hit such a nerve - some of the posts on here are downright mean and just goes to show how many entitled colleagues there potentially are out there...

When you do quit, please do tell them why, or this woman will get to merrily carry on, and when your replacement arrives she'll be the "senior" team member on shift so is highly likely to be even lazier with the next poor sod. Wishing you luck for finding something better soon!

Oh good, glad you are telling them to shove it

I did very similar to you as a student, worked in a bar wrecked my back lifting without proper instruction and supervision.

I now work in a very dangerous industry, one which is very hot on H&S. I now realise that i could pretty much have had that bloody pub shut down for all the dangerous shit they did (not just the lifting) i really hope that the HSE will crack down on pubs soon, especially because they are often staffed young people who don’t know any better and will just crack on lifting despite the pain, without realising the damage they are doing to themselves.

Ps if the doctor did sign you off as unable to work for two weeks due to a work injury, then the pub should be reporting it to the HSE.

www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reportable-incidents.htm.

YOu can also report it yourself. :)

Jeden - yes I would add cafes/restaurants to that too. Wait staff are often young, naive and lack confidence and are treated appallingly.

Nobody should put up with colleagues not pulling their weight. (Literally in this case.) If this woman is unable to lift then she is unable to do the job. OP should not be doing her work. Regardless of age. You did the right thing leaving. Let another mug cover for this CF.

I didn't realise so many on MN were close enough to 60 to hit such a nerve - some of the posts on here are downright mean

Some of us are much closer to 60 than 23. And we did the heavy lifting and hard work when we were 23 and we wouldn't have had the brass neck or sense of entitlement to complain that 60 year old women weren't doing the same amount of lifting as we were! Never would have occurred to me, and I would have been laughed out of the place if it had.
you'll get the point a bit better once you are 60!