manager being completely unfair, should i quit?

The manager is being unfair and shouldn't be treating you like that - but he just sounds like a typical manager to me.

Whether you quit or not, I suppose, it comes down to how much you need this job or how easily you can find another one. I wouldn't just quit until you have another job lined up and I'd definitely give notice as oppose to just quitting because you might need a reference in the future.

quit, if the manager's targeting you now and treating you unfairly it's just going to carry on. Find a job with people you like working with, not only does it make your work more enjoyable, it makes the time go quicker too

So for a bit of background info i recently joined a bowling company and i'm working behind a bar. I've been working there for just a week, and yesterday was my first "close down". I haven't had adequate training and i was the only person on the bar. I restocked all the bottles and paraphernalia such as straws, cleaned the inside and outside of all the bar counters, picked up any rubbish on the floor and put it in the bin ( napkins and bottlecaps etc) put away all the glasses as well as cleaning all the tables and putting the chairs up on the tables in front of the bar.

anyway, near to the end of the closedown I had to put some rubbish into the big bins outside so i went down there and as i was about to come back up the chef comes down struggling with a big, portable cage filled with rubbish and he asked me to help. So i did, we had to use the lift and eventually managed to get all the cardboard boxes into the bins outside and i went back up. this took about 10 minutes.

As i come back up, the girl is in a huff because i wasn't there at the bar doing the last bit of the closedown ( From my understanding, the only thing left was cleaning the pumps and the trays which collect froth from pints) so i get the mop out as this is the last thing to do, the lights are all off and all the chairs are on the table and i go to mop it but she says she'll do it i ask if she's sure and she says "positive" so i say ok and i stand there for like 5 seconds when the manager says " x you can't just stand there doing nothing". Bare in mind there is nothing to do at this point as everything has been put away, the only thing to be done is the mopping which i offered to do. so i said " there is literally nothing for me to do" then he replied " ____ has done 90% of it"

At this point im really annoyed. Then he asks me into his office. Apparently there's 10 pounds missing from the till, so he makes me fill this form out which means i understand there's 10 pound missing, but the money wasn't checked at the start of my shift so it could have been the guy who was working BEFORE ME. He then said " this could be taken further" which was almost like a threat, so i just told him " check the security cameras" because there's about 4 pointed right at the till.

Then he starts basically telling me off, saying i should " take more responsibility" for closedown ( bearing in mind i was doing work and this is my very first closedown after a week in the job) so i was like, well i wasn't doing nothing, i've been constantly working all day there's barely a moment which passes that i haven't been working and i was helping the chef put the rubbish out which took literally 10 minutes? and i did do the majority of the closedown, i thought we were all meant to work as a team? i did do a lot of the closedown and was busy doing work, its not my fault if someone else takes it upon themselves to help with the closedown? which is what you should do anyway to help your team?

so then he says that i should make sure my department is sorted out first ( Bare in mind we close at 11, and we were completely done with closedown at 11:10!) so i asked " in future if someone asks me to help, should i say no then?" and he's like " you should make sure your department is sorted first"so i said " well nobody told me that?" and in the actual team manual it says to be "flexible"??


I then pressed on what exactly i didn't do on the closedown, and he said and i quote " you didn't put all the chairs up! like WHAT? I started putting chairs up and everyone else started helping me because there was nothing else to do?? how is it my fault if people help me? Then he mentioned i didn't clean out the coffee machine, someone else did it. A. i haven't been adequately trained in how to clean the coffee machine and B someone else did it without my knowledge! how is that my fault? And then he said about cleaning the pumps and the trays, which would take literally 5 minutes? and my collegue was doing this whilst i was putting cardboard boxes in the big bins outside?

This isn't the first time this manager has targeted me either. He had a go at me because i " took too long on my break" i took 30 minutes instead of 20 in a 9 hour shift, which he seemed to have think i took "45" minutes ( and what takes the piss is literally everyone else takes ages on their break, one guy i counted was 40 minutes)

Another time i went to fill up the ice, but the actual ice machine had barely any ice in so i told him " there's no ice left" He then tells me i should have told someone earlier. I told him that " this is the first time i've come to fill up the ice, the person before me should have done it" bare in mind im EXTREMELY busy serving customers at the bar and cleaning etc, does he expect me to come and check the ice too?
On top of this im on minimum wage. 6.70 an hour. do you think he's being grossly unfair? should i quit?

don't quit, instead try to record all of the incidents. if you believe its discrimination, then wait a bit longer, resign and go to small claims court. you can only go employment tribunal after 2 years of work.

I mean this is just typical minimum wage management. He has a tiny amount of power and feels the need to exercise it at every opportunity. Unfortunately because you don't want to take his crap you're now his nemesis and he'll probably continue to target you.

Yes it is unfair, but there is probably little you can do about it bar quitting (as you identify). Now should you quit? Depends. Do you need to money? If so then I'd get another job in place first. If you don't, feel free to quit right away.

I would note though that it is easier to find work from within work and putting down that you quit after a week will not look glowing on your CV.

don't quit, instead try to record all of the incidents. if you believe its discrimination, then wait a bit longer, resign and go to small claims court. you can only go employment tribunal after 2 years of work.

Go to the small claims court for what? Emotional distress. This is a ridiculous idea.

It's a crappy manager at a minimum wage job, while irritating I am sure that the OP will survive.

He could keep a record and attempt to report him to a more senior manager for bullying, but I can't see any sort of financial compensation ever appearing. And I seriously doubt he cares enough to do this when he could easily get a better paid job that doesn't involve working for a guy who will hate him for getting him disciplined.

Don't need the money tbh and its crap wages, but i mean i'd rather be working than looking for work. You're right, i should get another job lined up first.

And yeah, i guess it is easier to get another job while im still in work and quitting after a week would look bad, however i would like to clarify that this is my "probation" period and technically i dont think i'd have to put it on my employment history?

I'm unsure to be honest, not anything I've come across before.

If this job was potentially for life or part of your career I'd suggest trying to resolve things, but it clearly isn't so just get out once you've got another job.

Incidentally the low pay helps you by giving you a reasonable reason for moving to another job. You could also cite lack of promotion prospects/internal movement to try and show your are keen (even if you're not).

But yeah I'd just start finding a new job then quit. As i understand it no notice is required during a probation so you could start the new job tomorrow.

ooo thank you.

should i confront the senior manager about this then

Maybe.

It sounds to me like he's a nightmare with everyone, not just you and I would have thought that senior management must be aware of it to some degree. If it's worse with you than others you may have a case to put.

A single incident is unlikely to get anything done and you'll probably need to record several instances (likely with witnesses to back you up). Given really all he's doing is being a bit anal/power mad, it is difficult to prove he is deliberately targeting you over anyone else, or that he is acting inappropriately. You would realistically need sustained incidents/evidence to be taken seriously.

Honestly, given it's just a poor paying job that you would be happy to move on from I think you need to consider how much effort you're willing to put into it.

Sure you can try reporting him to give him a kick in the balls before you leave, but it'll likely be a modest amount of effort on your part which could just be spent finding a better job and moving on. Again, really depends how much he's annoyed you.

Incidentally, you were correct not signing something stating you take responsibility for missing money - tills should always be checked at the start of your shift so that they know exactly how much is missing at the end and who was responsible for it.

yeah youre right, unforunately i did sign the thing. i dont think it was me accepting responsibility, just that i understand there's 10 pound missing

So for a bit of background info i recently joined a bowling company and i'm working behind a bar. I've been working there for just a week, and yesterday was my first "close down". I haven't had adequate training and i was the only person on the bar. I restocked all the bottles and paraphernalia such as straws, cleaned the inside and outside of all the bar counters, picked up any rubbish on the floor and put it in the bin ( napkins and bottlecaps etc) put away all the glasses as well as cleaning all the tables and putting the chairs up on the tables in front of the bar.

anyway, near to the end of the closedown I had to put some rubbish into the big bins outside so i went down there and as i was about to come back up the chef comes down struggling with a big, portable cage filled with rubbish and he asked me to help. So i did, we had to use the lift and eventually managed to get all the cardboard boxes into the bins outside and i went back up. this took about 10 minutes.

As i come back up, the girl is in a huff because i wasn't there at the bar doing the last bit of the closedown ( From my understanding, the only thing left was cleaning the pumps and the trays which collect froth from pints) so i get the mop out as this is the last thing to do, the lights are all off and all the chairs are on the table and i go to mop it but she says she'll do it i ask if she's sure and she says "positive" so i say ok and i stand there for like 5 seconds when the manager says " x you can't just stand there doing nothing". Bare in mind there is nothing to do at this point as everything has been put away, the only thing to be done is the mopping which i offered to do. so i said " there is literally nothing for me to do" then he replied " ____ has done 90% of it"

At this point im really annoyed. Then he asks me into his office. Apparently there's 10 pounds missing from the till, so he makes me fill this form out which means i understand there's 10 pound missing, but the money wasn't checked at the start of my shift so it could have been the guy who was working BEFORE ME. He then said " this could be taken further" which was almost like a threat, so i just told him " check the security cameras" because there's about 4 pointed right at the till.

Then he starts basically telling me off, saying i should " take more responsibility" for closedown ( bearing in mind i was doing work and this is my very first closedown after a week in the job) so i was like, well i wasn't doing nothing, i've been constantly working all day there's barely a moment which passes that i haven't been working and i was helping the chef put the rubbish out which took literally 10 minutes? and i did do the majority of the closedown, i thought we were all meant to work as a team? i did do a lot of the closedown and was busy doing work, its not my fault if someone else takes it upon themselves to help with the closedown? which is what you should do anyway to help your team?

so then he says that i should make sure my department is sorted out first ( Bare in mind we close at 11, and we were completely done with closedown at 11:10!) so i asked " in future if someone asks me to help, should i say no then?" and he's like " you should make sure your department is sorted first"so i said " well nobody told me that?" and in the actual team manual it says to be "flexible"??


I then pressed on what exactly i didn't do on the closedown, and he said and i quote " you didn't put all the chairs up! like WHAT? I started putting chairs up and everyone else started helping me because there was nothing else to do?? how is it my fault if people help me? Then he mentioned i didn't clean out the coffee machine, someone else did it. A. i haven't been adequately trained in how to clean the coffee machine and B someone else did it without my knowledge! how is that my fault? And then he said about cleaning the pumps and the trays, which would take literally 5 minutes? and my collegue was doing this whilst i was putting cardboard boxes in the big bins outside?

This isn't the first time this manager has targeted me either. He had a go at me because i " took too long on my break" i took 30 minutes instead of 20 in a 9 hour shift, which he seemed to have think i took "45" minutes ( and what takes the piss is literally everyone else takes ages on their break, one guy i counted was 40 minutes)

Another time i went to fill up the ice, but the actual ice machine had barely any ice in so i told him " there's no ice left" He then tells me i should have told someone earlier. I told him that " this is the first time i've come to fill up the ice, the person before me should have done it" bare in mind im EXTREMELY busy serving customers at the bar and cleaning etc, does he expect me to come and check the ice too?
On top of this im on minimum wage. 6.70 an hour. do you think he's being grossly unfair? should i quit?

yeah youre right, unforunately i did sign the thing. i dont think it was me accepting responsibility, just that i understand there's 10 pound missing

does he own the place or is he just a manager?

just a manager, and there;s 4 of them and he isn't the senior one