Treatment of staff.

[mickd1961]

McDonalds in the news over bad treatment of staff.

Sports Direct and Amazon constantly mentioned in dispatches.

Really disgusting behaviour by some male staff especially and terrible management practices.

I just don’t get this from employers.

The way I run my place is very different, a very relaxed environment in which people are expected to act like grown ups because we treat them as so.

Family illness and sudden events are always treated sympathetically and staff allowed to go home at the drop of a hat if needed.

On the two occasions my warehouses manager and chief packer became a father we came to an arrangement that helped him and us.

Instead of two weeks maternity leave I allowed him to be at home most of the time for a month but he came in mega early each day for a couple of hours to break the back of our days pack.

It worked great for both of us and it made sure he stayed on full pay.

Treating staff like dogs just doesn’t work.

We had a member of staff who started to become aggressive to workmates and he was immediately let go.

Any “inappropriate” behaviour or comment is jumped on straight away, I won’t allow female staff to be made uncomfortable by male staff.

It’s time big companies eradicated this c r a p.

[Omegstrat6]

Speaking from my experience as a union rep I think that such incidents (which used to be sadly quite common in the 80s and 90s ) became fewer and fewer in larger companies as the culture changed and managers became far more knowledgeable and better trained regarding employment law and disciplinary/grievance procedures. It became quite rare that I would either be able to find fault with management following the correct processes or having to deal with instances of bullying or harassment. Unfortunately, things have moved backwards recently. The reason is probably two-fold.

Firstly the Conservative government, under the guise of claiming that De-regulization would stimulate growth, has led to a steady erosion of workers rights (much of it enshrined in EU law). Not everyone is like yourself Mick and if most executives can get away with removing certain staff benefits, paying less wages and introducing either zero-hour contracts or part time hours only in order to increase profits that primarily benefit themselves, they will. It may be short sighted because treating staff poorly and doing the bare minimum to ensure legalities are met is not exactly going to increase staff productivity but they don't seem to see this.

The second factor is the current cost of living crisis with higher costs and interest rates. Staffing is normally a business's biggest cost centre so it's generally the first to be cut. This leads to fewer staff (putting pressure on others), lower pay and benefits and poor levels of training-including that of managers. So many companies now rely on "online" training which is fine for many subjects but woefully inadequate for others. What passes for training these days would have been laughed at by these same companies 10 years ago. The quality of younger managers today in terms of knowledge and skill sets seems generally poorer than it once was and this ultimately has an impact on how staff are treated and the culture of the workplace.

Things change and it's exceptionally hard for many businesses these days so of course they will seek to cut costs where they can-but, sadly, this is part of the reason we are seeing increases in these sort of reported cases because it has also led to a reduction in how staff are treated and valued. Companies may say all the right things but so much of it seems like box ticking and the reality can be very different. Theresa May kept saying that "profit isn't a dirty word" and it isnt-unless it is made at the expense of others.

[mickd1961]

Speaking from my experience as a union rep I think that such incidents (which used to be sadly quite common in the 80s and 90s ) became fewer and fewer in larger companies as the culture changed and managers became far more knowledgeable and better trained regarding employment law and disciplinary/grievance procedures. It became quite rare that I would either be able to find fault with management following the correct processes or having to deal with instances of bullying or harassment. Unfortunately, things have moved backwards recently. The reason is probably two-fold.

Firstly the Conservative government, under the guise of claiming that De-regulization would stimulate growth, has led to a steady erosion of workers rights (much of it enshrined in EU law). Not everyone is like yourself Mick and if most executives can get away with removing certain staff benefits, paying less wages and introducing either zero-hour contracts or part time hours only in order to increase profits that primarily benefit themselves, they will. It may be short sighted because treating staff poorly and doing the bare minimum to ensure legalities are met is not exactly going to increase staff productivity but they don't seem to see this.

The second factor is the current cost of living crisis with higher costs and interest rates. Staffing is normally a business's biggest cost centre so it's generally the first to be cut. This leads to fewer staff (putting pressure on others), lower pay and benefits and poor levels of training-including that of managers. So many companies now rely on "online" training which is fine for many subjects but woefully inadequate for others. What passes for training these days would have been laughed at by these same companies 10 years ago. The quality of younger managers today in terms of knowledge and skill sets seems generally poorer than it once was and this ultimately has an impact on how staff are treated and the culture of the workplace.

Things change and it's exceptionally hard for many businesses these days so of course they will seek to cut costs where they can-but, sadly, this is part of the reason we are seeing increases in these sort of reported cases because it has also led to a reduction in how staff are treated and valued. Companies may say all the right things but so much of it seems like box ticking and the reality can be very different. Theresa May kept saying that "profit isn't a dirty word" and it isnt-unless it is made at the expense of others.

I’ve always refused to pay minimum wage, I pay considerably above.

I’ve never had to be asked for pay rises, I tend to increase annually without being asked.

I also pay Xmas bonuses of up to £3500 to my loyalist member of staff.

I’ve had half a dozen lads join me from very low paid jobs and from unemployment over the years who have gone from very low circumstances to all owning their own homes.

Some have “grown” and gone on to other careers that better suit them and where they’re getting on really well.

I take pleasure in this side of having employed people.

How people like Bezos live with themselves is beyond me.

Giving a s h I t load to charity having made that money by shafting your workforce is just sick.

[Omegstrat6]

I'm sure you don't need telling this Mick but survey after survey tells the same (rather obvious !) truth: once you have ensured that staff are paid a fair wage for their work, the next most important factor for most was that they felt valued and could "make a difference". Of course, some simply want to turn up, get paid and go home but most people actually want to do a good job and feel that their ideas are being listened to and their contribution acknowledged. Treat people like robots and managers more like policemen and simple implementers and employees will feel like they are "just a number" with a consequent drop in both performance and in workplace moral. Seemingly gone are the days when people like Julian Richer (founder of Richer Sounds) used to hold talks preaching the mutual benefit of valuing staff and treating them well.

[jcbALBION]

[QUOTE=mickd1961;40317736]I’ve always refused to pay minimum wage, I pay considerably above.

I’ve never had to be asked for pay rises, I tend to increase annually without being asked.

I also pay Xmas bonuses of up to £3500 to my loyalist member of staff.

I’ve had half a dozen lads join me from very low paid jobs and from unemployment over the years who have gone from very low circumstances to all owning their own homes.

Some have “grown” and gone on to other careers that better suit them and where they’re getting on really well.

I take pleasure in this side of having employed people.

How people like Bezos live with themselves is beyond me.

Giving a s h I t load to charity having made that money by shafting your workforce is just sick.
Hi Mick... Have got any vacancies 😉