# Help! Serious breaches of employment law.



## CGorman (4 Jul 2007)

Help!

My girlfriend took up a sales assistant position for the summer with a british based _ Retailer _ 

It has been a nightmare and she does'nt know who to turn to. After nearly 6 weeks there, here's whats happened:

1) In the first few weeks she was repeatedly told to dye her hair. She was sent home on one occasion (which led to tears). She has given in and dyed her hair as requested.

2) Already half of the staff have left... including the manager who simply went off to the toliet one day and did'nt return!

3) She has been made de facto manager - but receives no significant pay change for this - she earns as much as a tesco shop floor staff... despite being manager of a fashion concession in a top department store.

4) The biggest issue - *SHE STILL HAS'NT BEEN PAID*. All the other staff have been, but after 6 weeks she still has'nt got a penny... despite having to pay rent and bills to live in Dublin. The firm claimed to have paid her - but the bank manager (who she personally knows) is certain they've made no effort to pay her. What's more, the company has said she'll be emergency taxed (despite none of the other staff being taxed and also the fact she has contacted rev to ensure she won't be.) The companys policy is to pay monthly.

5) She has been forced to work 12.5 hr shiftas with only a single 30min break (8.30am - 9pm)!!! This has happened once or twice... additionally she has'nt once gotten her full break entitlements as she is under pressur eto return to the store as two of the staff the English firm hired can bearly speak English (hired for their looks only)

6) She never gets out of work on time - usually 15-20min late.

7) Anytime she phones England, they give out to her - even though she personally makes about 75% og the concessions sales (despite there being 7 staff).

8) The firm have told other staff to lose weight and change appearence.

9) She is regularly shouted at down the phoen and manipulated.

10) When hired she was told she'd be paid "probably" €11 and be guarenteed 40hr a week,... turned out to be €9ph and had tot fight to get 40hr as they tried to give her just 20hr.

This is a college educated, hard worker who's worked in everything from boutiques to butchers, chineses to cashier roles. She has no money left and feels if she tries to seek help she'll be fired and left without a job. Like I said she is by far the best salesperson in the firm and is an attractive, well presented employee. I might add she has been elevated to a position involviing lots of paper work and admin tasks despite being only 19 and a summer staff only.

What can she do? She's fiercely independent but terrifed of having no job to go to. The company has abused her repeatedly. She needs this rectified immediately - she has'nt been paid for 6 weeks!!!


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## terrysgirl33 (4 Jul 2007)

*Re: Help! Serious breaches of employment law!*

Can she get any other job for the summer?  It doesn't sound like it's worth staying.  If they haven't paid her so far, it's unlikely they will pay her now.  She would be better off working on the shop floor in Tescos, given what you have described.


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## purpeller (4 Jul 2007)

*Re: Help! Serious breaches of employment law!*

I understand the position: she would like to quit but then she would have no job and the risk that the company wouldn't pay her at all for the time worked.

I would report them in writing immediately to the relevant government dept.  She must have a direct supervisor, even if they are in the UK?  I would complain in writing through the company chain of command.

She can also make a case for inappropriate comments about her appearance - your employer cannot tell you how to look beyond vague terms like "neat, professional" and certainly asking her to lose weight is disgraceful.


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## CGorman (4 Jul 2007)

*Re: Help! Serious breaches of employment law!*



purpeller said:


> I would report them in writing immediately to the relevant government dept.  She must have a direct supervisor, even if they are in the UK?  I would complain in writing through the company chain of command.



Any idea what is the relevent contact? If anyone knows, please let me know. She does have a supervisor... but she is in England and has several other responsibilities. 



purpeller said:


> certainly asking her to lose weight is disgraceful.



This particular comment was made to the ex-manager... my girlfriend is a nice size 8, so at least no worries there!! Its her hair that they've directly and explicitly mentioned.

Thanks for your advice. I'm very interested to see what other people think and to prove to her there is hope - she feels completely defeated and like you said feels no secuirty if she were to quit. Any more stories/comments/advice really appreciated.


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## greenfield (4 Jul 2007)

Your girlfriend can lodge her own individual case against the Company for wages, holiday money etc through the rights commissioners.   She does not need to be legally represented to do this : ([broken link removed])

She can report the company to the labour inspectorate (ODERC) whose approach is usually to pursue payment of arrears to staff before prosecuting, although how quickly they can respond I am not sure(http://www.entemp.ie/employment/labourinspectorate/index.htm

or she can approach a trade union and ask them to deal with the matter.


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## purpeller (4 Jul 2007)

Even if the supervisor is in England, s/he should still be notified.  If she complains elsewhere first, the company will straight away say "oh she never told us about this, we didn't know...blahblahblah" - not that anything they say will be credible.  

She could also try contacting the tax dept -  play dumb and say she hasn't been paid yet, is there a problem with her new tax cert?


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## Firefly (4 Jul 2007)

The first thing I would do is document everything that has happened and it sounds like you have already done this. Second thing I'd do is take enough money from the till to cover my unpaid earnings and walk straight out the door!


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## Firefly (4 Jul 2007)

Meant to add....let them come after you for the money through the legal process and have your documented piece of paper with you.


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## Purple (4 Jul 2007)

Firefly said:


> Second thing I'd do is take enough money from the till to cover my unpaid earnings and walk straight out the door!


Understandable but bad advice.


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## ubiquitous (4 Jul 2007)

Firefly said:


> Second thing I'd do is take enough money from the till to cover my unpaid earnings and walk straight out the door!



Crazy advice. What sort of mentality does it take to encourage a young, vulnerable person to put themselves at risk of a criminal conviction for theft?


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## ubiquitous (4 Jul 2007)

She should report the company to ODERC and also seek help from one of the prominent trade unions. Mandate or SIPTU come to mind.


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## shipibo (4 Jul 2007)

Tell your girlfriend to log all her grievances, and contact Free Legal Advice.

http://www.flac.ie


Does she have a contract of employment, and why can she not contact Stores Manager and complain, he has a stake in her, as this reflects badly on them , doing business with an organization like this.


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## terrysgirl33 (4 Jul 2007)

BTW, if the company say she has been paid, has she got a payslip?


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## ang1170 (4 Jul 2007)

ubiquitous said:


> She should report the company to ODERC and also seek help from one of the prominent trade unions. Mandate or SIPTU come to mind.


 
I'd agree: try Mandate or SIPTU. Unions get a lot of bad press - not least on this forum - but they'd be ideal to help deal with something like this. 

They'll know all the relevant rights, legislation, agencies etc., and will help in resolving all the issues, not just for the individual concerned, but for all other effected employees.


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## gd2000 (5 Jul 2007)

Get her to make a written log of absolutely everything.  Have her keep the notebook on her person, so she can make exact notes of times and dates and what was said to her by whom.

The actions they are taking could be construed as constructive dismissal.  If needs be action can be taken following her departure to make sure that adequate compensation is made.

If she's part of a union then approaching them may help.  Who is she actually employed by - the UK company of the Irish department store.  Either way the Irish department store may have some interest in the way the concession is being run.  A word with the HR department in the Irish store may help.

Above all though - keep a log - it will help with any course of action you have to take.


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## gd2000 (5 Jul 2007)

Also - she needs to look for another job asap.  This job isn't worth the hassle!  Plenty of department stores have opportunities at the moment.


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## Sammie (5 Jul 2007)

*Re: Help! Serious breaches of employment law!*



CGorman said:


> This particular comment was made to the ex-manager... my girlfriend is a nice size 8, so at least no worries there!! Its her hair that they've directly and explicitly mentioned.



A waitress whose colleagues ridiculed her ginger hair has been awarded almost £18,000 in compensation this week in England.


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## Purple (5 Jul 2007)

*Re: Help! Serious breaches of employment law!*



gd2000 said:


> Who is she actually employed by - the UK company of the Irish department store.  Either way the Irish department store may have some interest in the way the concession is being run.  A word with the HR department in the Irish store may help.



Good advice. Talking to a union is also a good idea. She should find out what, if any, union represents other employees in the store.



Sammie said:


> A waitress whose colleagues ridiculed her ginger hair has been awarded almost £18,000 in compensation this week in England.


 That would have to be England as people in this country have red hair, not ginger.


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## Vanilla (5 Jul 2007)

My advice would be to tell her to get another job and pursue her lack of earnings afterwards.  You said she's been in tears, been shouted at, been manipulated, been told to alter her appearance? I would tell her to walk out, it's not worth it. She has a legal entitlement to claim her money back after leaving.


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## Purple (5 Jul 2007)

She should tell her boss that she will call Joe Duffy (or someone like that) if they don't sort it out. There's nothing like the threat of bad publicity to get retailers thinking straight


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## CGorman (5 Jul 2007)

UPDATE: After 20 calls to England, 10 to the Revenue Commissioners and 10 to her Bank Manager - the firm have aggreed to pay her. So today she was paid last months wages IN CASH by a senior manager over from England. No emeregency task was taken... in the end it was a combination of simply pestering them, threating to leave and the help of an English store manager that got them to cough up the money... so finally a small bit of good news.



greenfield said:


> ([broken link removed])....(http://www.entemp.ie/employment/labourinspectorate/index.htm



Thanks a million Greenfield, thats the sort of thing I was looking for



purpeller said:


> Even if the supervisor is in England, s/he should still be notified.  If she complains elsewhere first, the company will straight away say "oh she never told us about this, we didn't know...blahblahblah" - not that anything they say will be credible.



Has done so... the behaviour mentioned above seems to be endemic throughout the firm - she has talked to numerous members of management all equally bad.



purpeller said:


> She could also try contacting the tax dept -  play dumb and say she hasn't been paid yet, is there a problem with her new tax cert?



See above - this worked!!!!!



crumdub12 said:


> Tell your girlfriend to log all her grievances, and contact Free Legal Advice. http://www.flac.ie



Thanks, again, thats the sort of thing im looking for



crumdub12 said:


> Does she have a contract of employment, and why can she not contact Stores Manager and complain, he has a stake in her, as this reflects badly on them , doing business with an organization like this.



She does have a contract. Has spoken to store manager a few times. He has been nice and once he has gone as far as contacting England to demand her rights, but as regards actual pay - he says it's not his problem - although he has expressed his shock at how little she earns...



terrysgirl33 said:


> BTW, if the company say she has been paid, has she got a payslip?



Asked English Manager about this on phone yesterday... told the company don't do Pay slips, gf told her it was a legal necessity in Ireland... manager responded by saying "oh, roight.... i'll look into that" (her most common response to everything)



gd2000 said:


> Also - she needs to look for another job asap.  This job isn't worth the hassle!  Plenty of department stores have opportunities at the moment.



I've been telling her this for a while. You see she only wants to work for the summer and it's now very late to get a new job. Despite being very smart (500 point LC), very good looking and an excellent sales person (70%+ of sales per week)... she lacks confidence and fears job insecurity. She's terrified of having no job and no income.



Sammie said:


> A waitress whose colleagues ridiculed her ginger hair has been awarded almost £18,000 in compensation this week in England.



Told her this, but shes not one for thinking compensation is the answer to everything... she just wants an apology, to be treated right and to keep working... I don't think she'll pursue anything if they'd just do that much. Interesting story none-the-less.



Purple said:


> She should tell her boss that she will call Joe Duffy (or someone like that) if they don't sort it out. There's nothing like the threat of bad publicity to get retailers thinking straight



As much as I'd love to shatter the firms reputation - my gf simply wants to be treated right and doe'snt want to get any attention... she'd be fairful that being associated with something like this would damage her career potential also... personally I'd love to complete shatter the firms rep... it's her choice... also at present as Brendan has pointed out to me I must be careful to avoid defamation - the claims I have made above are completely true - none the less I don't want to run afoul of defamation.

I would like to sincerley thank all of you for your feedback - it has been tremendously useful and serves to reassue my gf that there is hope. Thank you so much.


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## Joe1234 (5 Jul 2007)

Keep us up to date on any future developments please!


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## gd2000 (6 Jul 2007)

I've dealt with a gf who was in a concession that she didn't like, but wasn't strong enough to move...  Try to encourage her to talk to the HR of the department store she's currently working in - if she explains that she's just not enjoying working in that concession I'm sure they'd very gladly take her on...  It worked for my gf - she was moved from the concession to main-store...


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