To think DD is being treated badly at work

[plantonthetable]

DD23 started her first job (no prior experience due to mental health issues and suspected SEN) about 8 weeks ago working part time in a local independent cafe. She went to uni and has a chemistry degree, but getting this job was a huge step for her and it has been really good for her confidence and routine.

However I don't think the management she has received in the job has been good. She received no training and was expected to start using the till, serving customers, making food etc without anyone explaining how, even though they knew it was her first job. She does not have a contract, has never been given any payslips and at times is only told on Sunday night what hours/days she's working that week, including on the Monday morning. She often only gets 2 x 5 min breaks in an 8 hour shift.

She has now been told she is not working fast enough and is not doing her job correctly, and her boss has said if there is no improvement in the next 7 days she will be 'shown the door'.

AIBU to think this is not a good way for her to be treated but that she doesn't have much recourse given that she doesn't have a contract?

They are legally obliged to give her a contract, and, she should have access to pay slips.

This job will be no good for her, and may end up damaging her confidence.

Make plans to leave

I think a lot of cafes/restaurants treat their young staff like this. It’s appalling. I worked in a restaurant in my early 20s and this is exactly how I was treated. The manager was a nasty piece of work n if she decided she didn’t like me or any of us that day she would only give us half our share of tips. I also had no training, no payslips, no notice of shifts for the week ahead. Shit to hear this is still going on. Can your daughter look for another job at all ? Even in retail I wasn’t treated a shitty !

So she’s a bit behind on getting a crap job… but this a learning experience for her. She’s been there for a bit and is not being treated right… Is she now looking for a better job? She should be and you can have conversation about what to be on the lookout for.

is she looking for something related to her degree?

I had a job like that, was ultimately fired for not being able to show up on short notice. Have since had a successful, engaging and lucrative career.

small business owners are either lovely or they are tyrants, and it sounds like this boss is the latter. Agree with other posters that the most important thing is to not let this because dd defining experience of work.

Well, the whole thing’s dodgy as hell if they’re not even giving her payslips. How does she know if she’s paying the right tax etc? Are they just paying her cash in hand?

It sounds like a very, very casual arrangement as it would seem to be a zero hours contract (not that she’s seen a contract) with zero paperwork and apart from the fact that she can’t do the job properly without being shown how to operate a till whatever, there are also health and safety risks to herself, her colleagues and others if she’s preparing food and going in and out of a kitchen all day without being given any basic H&S and food hygiene pointers.

It’s also perfectly possible that, in addition, a cafe just might not be the ideal environment for her if she does struggle with the pace.

However, she is 23 and obviously she is the one who needs to handle this - appreciate she’s had MH issues and ‘suspected SEN’ (not really sure what that means) but she’s an adult so she needs to have the conversation about payslips, lack of training etc herself. Alternatively, she could just tell them to fuck off and find something else. It’s part time work in an independent cafe and she could probably get something else similar in a nicer place. Would she consider bar work?

Ultimately yes she is looking for a job related to her degree, but as that would be a big step up for her due to her personal circumstances, she wanted to enter the world of work gently and get some experience (of any sort!) first.

Today she decided to discuss the situation with them and she wrote a polite but assertive email, which I proofread before she sent it, asking for training and support to improve in the areas the manager had raised. She also requested payslips and her share of tips, as she had not received these correctly.

In response the manager has emailed back to fire her with immediate effect. Great management!

Poor DD, I think she'd probably be better working for a 'big company' with proper procedures in place. Would a supermarket work? M&S café? Anything like that perhaps?

Yes, any large retailer or food chain would have a proper onboarding procedure - Wetherspoons, McDonalds all supposed to be good in that respect.

Definitely sounds like they were a poor employer and she’s well out of there. Hopefully it won’t knock her confidence.
If they haven’t paid her nmw she can report that.
Hopefully with a bit of experience she can get a role at a proper company with hr and procedures.

Your poor DD :(
The employer is awful and very unprofessional
I hope she finds something better soon. I'm sure she will and she is better off out of there.
I feel sorry for the new one they take on too as they will treat them the same I'm sure.

I had a job like that, paid in cash and treated like a girl Friday at the beck and call of the owners.
Inneeded the money though, it certainly toughened me up. Chalk it down to experience.
At 23 she needs to sort herself out, not have her mum/dad fight her battles for her.

Wow, she is well out of it. I’d be forwarding those emails to HMRC.

She should still claim money owed … perhaps talk to ACAS. And don’t use that cafe ever!