Thursday, February 25, 2021

Boss Docks Wages Illegally, Employee Crushes His Dreams


May it be a lesson to all bosses that bullying your employees isn't a good business strategy. It's also a lesson in how far some people are willing to go for "the principle of the thing." And this kind of stuff can happen at any level of employment, like in a fast food joint where this boss threatened the staff so all the employees walked out.

1.

Font - Posted by u/freeasabird_ta 1 day ago O 2 9 2 14 @16 3 30 18 No contact unless it's via legal representation? OK. oc This happened about 15 years ago. Relatively early in my career as a web developer/software engineer, so some details are not remembered precisely. Names changed etc. TIdr at the bottom. Anyway, I thought I had landed a dream job at a small media company that had gone all-in on digital media and marketing a few years prior and had started to land some big clients (think NHS

2.

Font - The team comprised of two owners, we will call them Jeff and Nige. Jeff was the lighthearted, approachable and more tech-oriented member of this double act. Nige was the straight man, less approachable, and less likely to join us in any social antics but ultimately a seemingly decent guy and the main driver of the business. In addition, there was an office manager, James, who was also Nige's other half and Rachel, an office assistant and a good friend of Nige. The rest of the workforce ma

3.

Font - What made this a dream job for me at the time? Well, on top of the fact they were doing some great work with what was, at the time, cutting edge technology, it was an overall great place to be. Flexible working hours, lots of holidays and lots of social events. To give you a better idea, most lunchtimes Jeff and the media team would all go out for lunch together, or play a FIFA tournament, go to the pub to mob on a new idea etc. Most importantly for this story, every Friday we would all f

4.

Font - It was a very open place to work at the time and the two owners were clear on how they expected the business to expand and our future positions within such an expanded company. Basically, all the guff any potential employer peddles when you interview but we were actually doing it and living it. They were receptive to new ideas or different ways of doing things, and regularly included us in sales meetings and we could see the direction the company was going in. Everybody who worked there w

5.

Font - As time went on the company became more successful, and with more success came more recognition, more clients, more money, and greed. I won't go into too much detail, but by the time of the main event in this story a couple of years after starting there, this once open and relaxed workplace had become hell. There were no longer flexible hours, you had to be in at 8.50 am to get ready at your machine and you didn't power down until 5 pm at the earliest unless you had been asked to stay lat

6.

Font - No more lunchtime socials, there was a lunchtime rota that stated who could go for lunch and when, so we could no longer take lunch together. Despite the ever-growing workload of more complex and larger websites, no new members were added to the team. Even when the other lead dev left, no replacement was found. On top of this, despite the growing workload and shortening deadlines, promises of raises and bonuses never came to fruition, which was especially galling when coupled with the fac

7.

Font - The business was now being run in a manner that allowed the owners to line their pockets with as much cash as possible whilst also making it look like a good takeover prospect. The only perk that remained was the 4 pm Friday finish which by this time, instead of all going for a drink together, we just went home early. Morale was low. One Friday afternoon, Nigel, Jeff and James went to visit a prospective client. Rachel was off for some reason which left nobody in charge of the office. Exp

8.

Font - Apparently, at about 4.51 pm Nige had tried to call the office, probably to tell us to go home, but of course, we had already left. Monday morning, every one of us was called into the main office, given a bollocking and told that a planned upcoming social was now cancelled (it probably already was anyway, but why not use it as a punishment) and that our wages were going to be docked for leaving early. Now, here in the UK, it is naughty to make deductions from a salary unless it is for som

9.

Font - I approached the owners about it, but I was basically given the same speech as on Monday morning previous. Law has been a particular interest of mine, still is, and whilst I'm no lawyer nor any kind of expert, I know enough to stand up for myself and those around me, and so, with the backing of the rest of the media team I sent what may be considered a "Notice Before Action" just prior to leaving on Friday. That NBA being a formally worded email to both owners stating my grievance, the il

10.

Font - On Monday morning the owners arrived late and instead of Nige's customary visit to the media room to ask how we were* (*make sure we were slaving away) they both retreated directly to their office and shut the door. This was shortly followed by an email to us all stating that due to my “threat" and after taking legal advice they had been told to cease direct communication with any of us until the matter was resolved. The resolution they wanted now being a full apology by me to them and th

11.

Font - Firstly, a decent solicitor would have told them they were idiots for doing what they did and to give the money back and apologise. Secondly, because the entire point of a Notice Before Action is to try and find a resolution prior to taking any legal action, in closing up shop in this manner they are practically forcing a legal engagement. My belief is that they were simply calling my bluff, and didn't believe I would take this any further. They reinforced this by adding to their email th

12.

Font - What they didn't know was that a member of my family was not only educated in employment law, albeit not an actual solicitor, but also a union representative at another company, so by the end of the day a legally drafted letter arrived on the owner's desks laying out the illegalities of what had happened as well as the expected timeline of events going forward. Within 30 days (I think) we were to have had a formal meeting between the owners and myself, with me entitled to legal representa

13.

Font - Instead of folding, as I expected them to do, this led to them doubling down on their stupidity. Their door was permanently shut with very little direct communication between the whole media team and the owners, with it mostly being done by email, or via Rachel and James. At this point, Rachel and James, who were obviously on good terms with Nige became openly hostile toward me. For a small example, Rachel would make everybody in the office a coffee in the morning, now it was everybody ex

14.

Font - They didn't have the know-how or the will to fight it themselves, but they were aware of the downhill direction in the working environment and that my actions were preventing the owners from further taking the piss in the future. Now the environment had become exceptionally toxic and nobody wanted to be there. They, and I, started actively looking for different employment. If I remember correctly, an extension was requested and granted but the deadline for the aforementioned meeting came

15.

Font - It also now stated that I would be leaving the company immediately and I would be claiming "Constructive Dismissal" due to the actions of the owners, James and Rachel which had all been logged over the previous weeks. The only result of the extension they requested being an extra few weeks of workplace bullying logged. Receiving all this was the last straw and their resolve was broken. An apology was sent via email along with the promise that the money would be returned in our next payche

16.

Font - Before my notice period ended, the junior designer also handed her notice in, also to go freelance, and within a few months of me leaving the junior dev and the senior designer had done the same. The business owned by Jeff and Nige was essentially dead, with many of their existing clients seeking us out to continue doing work for them on a freelance basis. I learned that Jeff and Nige eventually had a falling out, with Jeff resigning as a director and becoming CTO at another tech company.

17.

Font - I also later learned, as we had all suspected, that Jeff wanted nothing to do with the wage deductions etc. Although I'm not sure how hard he fought against it. Although I've not physically met them since the day I left, I am connected to everyone in the media team and they are all doing well. Jeff also reached out a few years later and he is doing well too. As for Nige, James and Rachel, I have no idea. Rachel was close to retirement anyway, so I guess she was reasonably fine.

18.

Font - Looking at the public details of the businesses Nige now owns it's clear that none of them makes any money and his travel and photography blogs stopped being updated a few years ago. Nige's (and James as his partner) plans to retire early and travel the world are probably now permanently on hold. As is his penchant for a new car every few months. And the amount deducted from our wage over which Nige lost his business and planned future for? £6.80p Tldr; Owner illegally makes deductions to

Submitted by:

No comments:

Post a Comment