Went back to work a month ago but....

[picklelilly]

i went back to work a month ago after having 2 years off, i have a DS 7 month and DD 5 years.

i decided to apply to do barwork as i used to really enjoy the social aspect of it years ago, and the hours were ideal, no childcare needed, and the tips would make up for the bad pay.

i applied for a 16-30 hr contract which was again, ideal, and i applied for a barworker.

the first 3 weeks went really good, earning around £20 a night tips (alot more than others on the bar), and i was really enjoying myself.

in my interview i was never told i would have to drive a number of staff home at the end of our shifts (upto 6 staff), we finish in the bar at 3am, but then it takes me 1 to 2 hours to drive everyone home, its annoyed me because they expect it of me now after i said yes one time to taking them home, yes they are paying me the hours to drive but id rather be at home in bed.

secondly they rota me in to work 40+ hours (only contracted 16-30 hrs), not ideal when im getting in at 4/5am and have to be up at 7am with the kids.

thirdly they've now took it upon themselves to demand cash off us at the end of our shift claiming tills are down (upto 10 people have access to our tills, but only 2 are supposed to use it), demanding anything from £5 to £25 each.

fourthly im now only on the bar for say 10% of my shift, the other 90% is picking up litter in the venue.

fifthly which im MOST annoyed about, management and staff are smoking inside the bar as soon as customers have left, there are non smokers and smoking workers still there when customers have left, but management allow smoking all around us non smokers in the bar.

im just utterly peeved off about the situation.

i KNOW if i go to higher up management about the smoking then about 3 managers and 6 staff will get sacked, so i dont want that on my concience, because it'll just make my lift hell in there and i'd have to leave.

i know if i complain (as did another girl and she got a formal warning) about working 90% picking up litter, then i'll get a formal warning.

i personally feel its because im good at my job and earning the most tips that im being made to pick up litter (jealous maybe).

i really want this job as a BARMAID, not a cr*p picker upper, and i dont want to reak of cigarettes when i get home and have to wash my hair at like 5am.

what would you do in my situation ?

thanks for listening to my long rant lol x

Sounds awful (and even illegal in places).

Don't know how to help though. I think I would have to take it higher up if you value your job that much.

thanks nonnomum for replying, i know of others who have complained (not about the smoking) but about litter picking and complaining about having to hand over cash to management at the end of the shift and they've had a 1st and 2nd warning given to them and if they get a final warning there out of the door. its a BIG company i work for aswell, but its the lower end of managment who think they are above the law :/

and theres nothing at all in our contract that says we have to pay cash for till shortages

Try posting in legal. And perhaps at a busier time (8pm ish tomorrow?) Sounds bloody awful.

id love the job IF i was the barmaid i'd applied for, and if there was no smoking around me, and if they didnt ask us to hand over cash, and if they didnt expect me to drive people long distances home, but i know if i complain i'll get warnings

Personally, I would find another job. Too many issues to deal with here. Sounds like you are on a hiding to nothing.

Bar work is notoriously like this. You don't get fired, you just go in and only have one four hour shift the next week when you were expecting 60. You're expected to do 60 to cover other people but can never get the shift off you need to go to the dentists, etc ad nauseum

You have 3 options:

1. Complain and watch it get worse
2. Leave and find another company to work for - independent/leasehold pubs are less likely to have all these mini hitlers problems
3. Get promoted quick and change things from above

Good luck. I regularly promise myself I will never work in another bar again then have to retract it through skintness. I can, however, recommend domiciliary care work for better pay and more flexibility

Yes, lots of care work always available and probably better paid too.

Sounds like you'd be great at the actual bar work (if you were allowed to do it)- you're a hard worker, prepared to do anti social hours and you enjoy the social aspect of bar work.
Take your skills elsewhere. I bet your current manager will be hacked off- especially as they are also relying on you to drive several other staff home at 2 am. But you deserve better and have been treated appallingly

I think expecting a job you can do from home, fitting around domestic chores, and bringing in up to £1000 a month is living in a dream world tbh! If jobs like that existed, lots of people would want them!

If your children are school age, you are a graduate, with a history of a good career, don't sell yourself short. You are capable of a lot more. I would put myself out there and look to rebuilding an interesting career - particularly as we're all likely to be working til about 75 now. It's a lot of years left, to just coast along.

You've been at home a long time, and that has knocked your confidence, but there's no reason why you can't get it back.

Sorry don't mean to hijack the thread, but your post struck a chord Nell5. I am on senior management in a school, and I see so many capable women applying for low paid jobs - admin staff, canteen staff, classroom assistants - when they have the capacity to achieve a lot more but have lost faith in their ability to do it.

Have you thought about changing jobs and waitressing? Good if you like the social aspect and also generally better tips.

If you would rather stick with a bar job then I would move, but sooner rather than later as the students will soon be breaking up for the summer and part time work may be harder to come by.

I'd leave. I operate a three-strike policy with new employers as there are some piss-taking bastards out there. But if cash-handling's involved i'm gone straightaway. The tills here would be my concern. If there's up to ten of you with access to the till and they're asking for £5-£25 from each of you...that's a huge amount, even if the bar does take a fair bit of money.. someone's stealing, either from the till or from the staff.

This sounds like a relatively new problem ('they've now took it upon themselves...'). Do you know if it happens on shifts you're not working? As the new girl you'll most likely be pointed to as the suspect when upper management become involved.

IME, unfortunately, it's not uncommon for an established worker to begin stealing shortly after someone new starts. And of course it only comes out once the newbie has been fired and the stealing continues. I hope that this isn't what's happening here, but I wouldn't be hanging around to find out.

Thanks violethill for your reply. I have started the post again under new thread as this one has now taken a different direction! I know what you say is right but its so hard to believe in yourself after so long

i feel like im in an abusive relationship and i keep thinking, i'll give it one more day and hope they'll change and let me do the job i originally applied for.

i know its not in our contracts that they can deduct till shortages.

ive just found out aswell today there taking off us 45 minutes for breaks when were only allowed 20 minutes, and i work 11 hour shifts.

they allocate 2 people to each of the many tills at the start of the night, but over the course of the night other staff (no me) will use tills they shouldn't use, management are also in and out of our tills aswell, taking money/change etc.

also majority of the night im no longer behind the bar (as they send me cleaning) but because ive been on my till for say 1 hour or 2, they expect me still pay for till shortages.

all of the staff are new, except the management, they've been there a couple of years.

to be honest i dont think upper management know lower management are demanding cash (usually our tips) off us for till shortages, one member of lower management was talking quietly and sheepishy to us when upper management were standing nearby, he said you owe £7 i want it here on the table when i get back.

thing is im very good at my job (as a barmaid) even upper management have come to the bar asking "who is this (my name) as ive had so many customers come to me saying what exceptional service they've had", which in return makes me really happy.

i dont want to be promoted though (one poster said above) and be part of the lower management, they must work 70+ hours a week, and im really happy just being a barmaid.

i can just see me either blowing my top on my next shift or walking out if they do one more thing to take the p1ss.

:-/

picklelilly - if you're working for a large company then they may have a "whistleblowing" policy. Do you have a staff handbook or have a look on your company's website.

The situation you are describing is absolutely shocking.

Very senior management in your company should launch a covert investigation into this.

The most serious aspect is the "demanding £ for the tills". They should not be demanding money. How do you know whether this money is going straight into their back pockets. All the till transactions should be logged to each operator.

Does your contract mention driving fellow employees home? I would really stop this driving ASAP as you will not be insured for it presumably.

There's loads of ways to earn money online if you're quite creative. I would post a few links but I might get in trouble - feel free to DM though. :)

hi easter egg,

yes there is a whistle blowing policy, i'll look into it.

very calmly the other night i said to my immediate boss, is it in our contract that we have to pay back cash for till shortages ?, he said yes and that last year there was alot of very heated arguements about it but yes it is in your contract, but thats not what headoffice said when i phoned them up and asked them.

each night i work there i feel like im constantly waiting at the end of the night for the manager to come to me/us and say "right you have to pay x amount of money NOW".

thing is they know we have cash on us from tips, so we cant say sorry ive got no money.

alot of staff are hacked off our managers asking for cash for the till shortages, so im going to request a copy of my contract, something could come up in a couple of months time where they want money for something else.

headoffice said theres the issue that because im on minimum wage and then they ask for cash at the end of the night, then it could mean im working below minimum wage which is illegal, so i really think the boss i asked the other night about "is it in our contract", i think he was lying when he said yes it was.

:-/

I used to work as a barmaid and we had a problem with stealing. So we were allocated a till that we were responsible for and NO ONE else was to use. Therefore any cash down was the sole responsibility of the person logged on the till.

I would be suspicious that the money is beimg pocketed by managers and would be looking for work elsewhere myself.

Can you get bar work somewhere else? I've worked in a few pubs and never come across anything like that!

ive worked in various pubs and clubs aswell and never seen this practice happen.

over the last few shifts ive done they've said tills are right but its just waiting at the end of each shift to see if all our tips are gonna be swallowed up by management.

i have looked elsewhere but theres nothing out there at the minute. x

If you whistleblow about the things you have mentioned, the smoking and the informal wage deductions, and then you suffer any detriment as a consequence, you will have a claim for automatically unfair dismissal. You would have to be prepared to leave the job but it sounds like that would not be a bad idea anyway!

Shop workers, including bar staff, can have deductions made from their wages to cover lost cash or stock, but the employer can't just take the money informally at the end of your shift, it has to follow correct procedures.

Speak to a solicitor, see if you can get a free initial consultation.