Sacked for having wrong name

[wellstopdoingitthen]

May I just state that our household is not interested in football & haven't watched the competition but we did see the European Cup Final on Sunday. DS was cheering on England.

My DS is Italian & I am English & our DC have Italian names.

My 17 year old DS has been working in a local company as a summer job before university. He has been told he is doing a great job.

Yesterday he arrived at work and started working. After a while his manager called him over & asked if his name was Italian. Moments later the manager told him that he wasn't needed anymore & he should 'just get out'. DS asked what was the reason was & told he was not good enough & too slow to learn.

DS left & called me totally confused. On his way home the senior manager called him & apologised & told to go back in today. He's gone in today.

AIBU to think this manager should not be in post?

@ClaireEclair

Are you sure the manager wasn't joking?

Why are you taking the side of a xenophobic pathetic idiot?

I think it is a positive that so many people can't imagine this story is true. It means thinking and behaving like this is way out of the norm.

It is totally appalling.

@wellstopdoingitthen

Sorry had to attend some online training.

Yes it's a small company.
Yes it was a higher manager who called him.

I wasn't sure what rights he had as he hasn't got an actual contract as it classed as casual though he has given them his bank details & NI number.

He doesn't want to take it any further at the moment as it's his holiday job so just wants to earn some money for uni. It's convenient (walking distance) & he likes the people. Ironically he said last week how lovely everyone was & complementary about his work.

If he has any further trouble he will walk. I've not heard from him this morning so assume all ok.

I'll let you know what happened when he gets home.

It's convenient (walking distance) & he likes the people. Ironically he said last week how lovely everyone was & complementary about his work.

This whole thing is so strange, I can only assume it was 'banter', which he misread and thought his manager was being serious.

Some people can be very deadpan when they're joking.

@WorraLiberty

No it was not banter. The manager yelled at him. Told him to leave his uniform & just get out.

Racist manager!

So he's just got home.

The manager apologised and said that he was in a bad mood.

He was extra nice to him then asked if he could start an hour earlier tomorrow (7am) as they are so short staffed.

It most definitely was not banter. He admitted to being stressed and sacking him without thinking.

@ClaireEclair

Are you sure the manager wasn't joking?

Of course, that would make it fine then.

What disciplinary measures are his employers taking against the manager?

I know he is young, but this is where he needs to learn this stuff. Even better in a summer job; it won't have repercussions for him. I would be encouraging him to take a proper stand, put in a grievance/contact HR and expect a formal disciplinary hearing for the manager. An "oh sorry, I was upset" just doesnt cut it in a professional environment. You need teach him/help him understand that we dont take stuff like this lieing down.

[quote wellstopdoingitthen]@WorraLiberty

No it was not banter. The manager yelled at him. Told him to leave his uniform & just get out.

[/quote]
OK, well you didn't mention yelling at all in your OP...

Moments later the manager told him that he wasn't needed anymore & he should 'just get out'. DS asked what was the reason was & told he was not good enough & too slow to learn.

Sorry for not saying he yelled.

Well now you have, I agree it definitely couldn't be mistaken for straight-faced banter at all.

Do you know what disciplinary measures will be taken against the manager?

@WorraLiberty
I don't know what will happen. DS doesn't want to do anything until he leaves. The senior manager wasn't there today. It sounds like the offending manager has had a grilling.

Do you think a letter to the senior manager when DS leaves is a good idea?

I hope that manager hasn't got a partner; I would hate to have spent the night with him the night Italy won.

If your son is satisfied with an apology then I’d leave it there. It’s all very well for posters here to encourage him to ‘fight the good fight’ but they’re not the ones in the situation. If anything like this happens again then your son may want to reconsider. But if he’s comfortable continuing to work with this manager for the rest of the summer and the job suits him he should do what wants.

I completely agree that the manager was out of order. It does sound like the senior manager dealt with it. OP’s son doesn’t necessarily know what the consequences for the manager were.

I hope things go smoothly for your son from now on. He must have been very shaken and upset! I would have been.

Thank you @PeterPomegranate
I think if anything like this happens again he will be out.

I think he was absolutely stunned & upset. He's a hard worker & a very keen sense of fairness.

I told him that this is one of those life lessons and he will be prepared if ever he finds himself in a similar situation.

My son looks Italian and was worried about getting racist abuse in the pub on Sunday. He was right to worry. I’m so sorry OP, I hope your ds is ok.

I'm so sorry for your son, OP.

That's exactly why after 10 years of hard work, paying taxes and contributing to this country way more to what I got back, paying an extortionate fee for a citizenship after spending nights with a baby learning facts 99% of the British public ignore to pass a test, and so on, I'm now planning to fuck back off to Italy.

Also thanks to the people excusing the "banter" - straight faced or not, that's no thing to "banter" about.

If you are thinking "fuck back off then", save your typing effort - I will. Goodbye.

So sorry for your son. I would be looking for a job elsewhere if I were him and then taking it further with the current place but perhaps the manager really has learnt his lesson.

@letsgetbackto2019

I'm so sorry for your son, OP.

That's exactly why after 10 years of hard work, paying taxes and contributing to this country way more to what I got back, paying an extortionate fee for a citizenship after spending nights with a baby learning facts 99% of the British public ignore to pass a test, and so on, I'm now planning to fuck back off to Italy.

Also thanks to the people excusing the "banter" - straight faced or not, that's no thing to "banter" about.

If you are thinking "fuck back off then", save your typing effort - I will. Goodbye.

I'm so sorry that you have been treated so badly here. My older DS has a Portuguese girlfriend who has like you worked & paid taxes here for many years but has been treated appallingly by some people, especially since the brexit disaster.

I wish you all the best & please believe that not all of us think it's ok. I would love to move to Italy.

@MyOtherProfile
Unfortunately he had applied for loads of jobs both in person & online but with no success apart from this one place. He'll wait until he's paid then move on, he'll be 18 then so may be able to get some bar work.

Awful, OP - So sorry this has happened.

If he’s earning and resilient he could stay until he finds something better ... then if he experienced further abuse then if he was so inclined he could consider leaving a simple review on Glassdoor.com.

It will warn other new recruits what the company is really like. Who wants to go into a situation like that?

I imagine the company won’t be very happy but if the whole culture is xenophobic then why shouldn’t you post? If we don’t call shit like this out it just keeps happening.

Is his name Falsetto?