Boss says I have to work tonight or will face disciplinary.

[Partygal]

Some of my colleagues are on here so have name changed.

I work in a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job. Everyone has to take their turn at doing the shit shifts.

As I was off over Christmas last year, I willingly took my turn to work and did Christmas and Boxing Day. It suited me as I am going to a party tonight that I have been looking forward to a lot.

My colleague who was supposed to be working tonight sent me a text earlier today saying he can’t work tonight due to illness!!! (Yeah right!) He went on to say he was just giving me the heads up to block the manager’s number.

I thanked him and said no way was I working because I’ve done my time in work over Christmas.

Anyway my boss rang up as predicted - using someone else’s phone. She first asked why everyone seemed to have blocked her number, and asked if my colleague had already told me that he wasn’t going to work that night. I denied it.

She went on to say what I already knew that he won’t be at work tonight. I told her that I would not be covering. She says no one else she has managed to speak to, can get child care at such short notice and nor can she. According to her, “it has to be me.”

I still said no. She said she would try everyone else again, and threatened me with “consequences” if I turn my phone off. She has come back and has again said she can’t find anyone else to work. She says I will face a disciplinary if I don’t go in. I told her to go fuck herself. She has been texting repeatedly every since and has just told me that I will be fired for this.

Can she do this?

You reap what you sow!

I won't bore you but I have two occasions where I bend over backwards and was dropped on from a great hight. One employee even came back grovelling after they made my life a misery nearly screwed my business and our good name leaving us with quite a bit of mess to clean up. They realised they had made a big mistake and was surprised I said no they couldn't come back. Even when they behaved badly, before they decided to leave I did my up most to help them.
Never did find out why they did what they did since then I have been very cautious of all staff.

Yanbu

Everything has its price. Your workplace needs to pay a bonus to its employees to work these antisocial shifts.

We are in Australia and Dh will get paid double time and a half for working New Year’s Day.

He volunteers to do the bank holidays because of this. And so do others.

Simple honesty in the first place evidently wouldn't have been enough, since OP tried that and got abused for it. And employers simply aren't entitled to be able to contact employees outside work hours as a matter of course. If they want that, it needs to be in the contract, and adequately compensated for. I appreciate that many employers will nonetheless try and take the piss anyway, but there's nothing even slightly unreasonable or unprofessional about not allowing them to.

It’s good that you have over 2 years of service as you have additional protection against dismissal, which I’m sure you know.

However what does it state in your contact regarding being on call and what is expected of you? Certain industries may expect higher levels of availability etc.

If you work 24 hours a day 365 days a year how come you have a night off tonight?

Of course she doesn't work 24/7 365 days a year! Her shifts cover those hours within her normal working week!

TBH I would have just gone in. Yeah, it is a shit shift but it is just a party? Versus peoples lives and making colleagues not have an even shittier night in an already overstretched service.

But then, I am known to be a mug and have no social life! :)

Yes, your manager could have handled it better though.

Don’t be silly Candy OP said she works in a 24/365 industry where cover is needed. She didn’t say she works 24/365. Duh.

OP, I hope you are out on the piss by now and partying the night away.

employers will nonetheless try and take the piss anyway.

Yes I have worked for those. I have worked with employees who have and have staff who have monumentally took the piss too.
I do wonder how many pp have experienced such piss taking from all sides, sometimes under difficult circumstance. I have and can't condone blocking numbers, I can condone saying no and being firm. I have also been to the point where in August this year I nearly clised the doors on my business due to what I described in an earlier post with an employee who I mentored an wanted to succeed but who let me down, notice tow I'm try3notvto saty took the piss because to this day inspite if what happened I'm not and still try not to be a twat of a boss.
We will ask staff to cover short notice if the business depends on it for good reason, they see this thankfully 2 out of 3 are amazing they see we don't take the piss and when we ask it means the only alternative would be closing. We clearly must be rare according to this thread! 😁

Hope your enjoying your party!
You've got the evidence, I think your safe.

Fuck yourself was stupid and you know it @Partygal 😂😂 I would have just said I was in Spain/Scotland/Anywhere 😂😂

You should have said you'd been in the pub since morning and not fit to work. Who cares if she thinks you're a lush.
They can't make you go in at short notice like that. She's trying it on.
Glad you said no!

Also, those who are harassed by work- buy a very cheap basic phone. Get a free sim, and give that number to work. Turn it on when you feel like it.
Facebook messages don't have to be answered.
"Oh, I never go on there anymore!" is my go to if people message me on there.

If it comes up just say you'd had a drink as it was new years eve, and may not have been completely professional on the phone, but that you weren't expecting to be contacted by work and were not in a suitable condition to work.

Regardless of what you will or won't condone insideimsprinting, OP tried firmness and it got her a mouthful of abuse. This employer clearly doesn't accept it. And you have no business expecting to be able to contact employees outside of work hours unless specifically agreed, which maybe it is in your business but there's nothing to say it was here. Being unavailable to an employer outside prearranged times isn't something to condone or otherwise, it simply isn't something that should be a relevant issue.

YANBU. 100% spot on, Misty. My sister worked in this industry and always had a burner phone for work. Also didn't use her real name on SM and would completely withdraw from it in off hours. It's a totally shit industry to work in, literally, and it's not the employees' fault it's crap.

I work in a 24/7 industry with 365 day coverage on a rota pattern. A certain set of days are designated on-call days where you are off but can be called in at short notice. Being on the on-call rota is voluntary but virtually everyone chooses it because there is enhanced pay, of a few thousand a year, just for being on the rota. Other days off are your guaranteed days off and you cannot be called in on them. You must be available to take calls from work to be called in. You can’t just turn off your phone.

I’ve told a couple of my old bosses to f-off in the past it didn’t progress my career very well either time.

@MistyCloud

Voice of reason, of course you are right. This is nothing to do with Brexit. Perhaps more to do with the fact that the EU have been encouraging more and more poorer European countries to join the EU so that the richer EU countries have cheaper and cheaper labour. No one seems to worry about the poorer Europeans coming here to live on next to nothing to be cheap farm labour etc- is this not exploitation?

Hope you enjoyed your evening, OP.

This is the manager's problem to fill ... herself if necessary. What she's paid for.

And your colleague who called in ill and who probably wasn't is the problem as is everyone else who turned their phones off so they wouldn't be asked to cover assuming they haven't covered a holiday day this week.

If you told her to go fuck herself, you deserve to be disciplined. Happy new year

So shocked at how unprofessional this all is!

The current situation isn't because of Brexit, we remain in the EU after all. The poster was talking about what might happen once the safety net of EU workers rights laws ceases to apply to us- the future. At the moment our laws are above that safety not and give us more rights than the EU require. There are people who support Brexit and the Tories who want to erode those rights.

The person who called in sick should be disciplined unless they can prove they were genuinely ill. And your boss should have offered you extra money or extra time off to go in rather than ordering you to.

Always use the in too drunk to work. Regardless of time (well unless you are contacted at 6am)