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Hotel Bar Staff being treated rubbish

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  • 31-10-2011 12:45am
    #1
    MrJoeSoap
    Registered Users Posts: 15,117 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi guys,

    Posting on behalf of someone else here, who is working in a bar in a major hotel.

    This person and all bar staff are being treated like rubbish by their employers, being denied their allotted breaks regularly, not being given sufficient time between shifts, being made to come to work on days off for unpaid meetings and being made to stay late after work to clean for hours on end after clocking out. Staff are regularly asked to stay after their shifts are due to have finished.

    All of this may seem like normal activity to people who work in bars or have previously worked in bars, but the worst thing about it all is that their is always a threat of hours being cut and employee's being sacked if they don't go "above and beyond". Furthermore, if a till is down cash at the end of a day/shift, employees are made to pay for this on the spot. And even worse, if a customer leaves without paying for their food or drink, employees are made to pay for this every time. The lobby in this hotel is massive, and to expect staff who are rushed off their feet to keep an eye on every customer is ridiculous.

    The person I know has worked in this hotel for a number of years, and this type of behaviour has gotten worse and worse really, to the extent that they are coming home in tears having had their jobs threatened and several basic employee rights ignored on a daily basis.

    What is the best course of action to take? Is there a service offered where an employee can go anonymously to report an organisation for such breaches of employee rights, so that the hotel knows that they have been reported and are being looked into? Or what is the best step to take firstly?

    The hotels guidebook states that each employee is treated with dignity and respect, but the reality is anything but.
    Tagged:


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    #2
    ITS_A_BADGER
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,232 ✭✭✭ITS_A_BADGER


    start a siptu staff union up and runing and all join, agree whos gona be the head siptu guy/girl in the hotel and have them take on the HR manager up on issues they have to listen to workers unions


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    #3
    castie
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 3,807 ✭✭✭castie


    They will just cut off the head as they say if you start a union.

    I worked in alot of bars and one hotel.
    The hotel job by far was the worst.

    Worked the residence bar for a wedding where I was told not to close the bar until the certain people had left.

    Finished at 7:30am and clean up til 9am.
    Next shift was at 10am.
    Told the day manager what had happened and got told "its not my problem".


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    #4
    Killed
    Registered Users Posts: 111 ✭✭Killed


    NERA www.employmentsrights.ie will act on anonymous complaints.


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    #5
    msg11
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,572 ✭✭✭msg11


    castie wrote: »
    They will just cut off the head as they say if you start a union.

    I worked in alot of bars and one hotel.
    The hotel job by far was the worst.

    Worked the residence bar for a wedding where I was told not to close the bar until the certain people had left.

    Finished at 7:30am and clean up til 9am.
    Next shift was at 10am.
    Told the day manager what had happened and got told "its not my problem".

    Is it not against the law of the land too sack someone for been involved or conducting union activity.

    OP your friend has alot more rights than they might think, maybe start a log of what going on and get a friend to maybe do the same so they can compare them.

    Also join a union.

    Edit 1: On deductions, your friend should read page 17 of this ACT.

    http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/media/paymentofwages.pdf


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    #6
    castie
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 3,807 ✭✭✭castie


    msg11 wrote: »
    Is it not against the law of the land too sack someone for been involved or conducting union activity.

    OP your friend has alot more rights than they might think, maybe start a log of what going on and get a friend to maybe do the same so they can compare them.

    Also join a union.

    Edit 1: On deductions, your friend should read page 17 of this ACT.

    http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/media/paymentofwages.pdf

    They can make that persons life a living hell.
    Bar staff have the most generalised job descriptions that invovle serving drinks to cleaning toilets.
    Theres alot of crappy (no pun intended) jobs they could be made do.


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    #7
    gugleguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,959 ✭✭✭gugleguy


    I was the last customer in the hotel bar in question. The barstaff were treated with complete and utter contempt.
    The person responsible saw me and said to himself, well, that customer won't cause any trouble. So I make a point of avoiding a certain Dublin Hotel chain for ever more.
    But this thing goes on.


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    #8
    msg11
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,572 ✭✭✭msg11


    castie wrote: »
    They can make that persons life a living hell.
    Bar staff have the most generalised job descriptions that invovle serving drinks to cleaning toilets.
    Theres alot of crappy (no pun intended) jobs they could be made do.

    That's very true, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But people need to make a stand with there grievances and stop been walked all over.

    One of the problems is against the law that how serious this is, it's not just been asked to stay back and do a little extra. This company is really taking the piss.


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    #9
    fat__tony
    Registered Users Posts: 587 ✭✭✭fat__tony


    gugleguy wrote: »
    I was the last customer in the hotel bar in question. The barstaff were treated with complete and utter contempt.
    The person responsible saw me and said to himself, well, that customer won't cause any trouble. So I make a point of avoiding a certain Dublin Hotel chain for ever more.
    But this thing goes on.

    How about naming and shaming this hotel chain?

    So that people can boycott it or at least make a fuss about it?


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    #10
    daithimacgroin
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭daithimacgroin


    yeah come on, name and shame
    what u got to lose? only a crappy job


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    #11
    MrJoeSoap
    Registered Users Posts: 15,117 ✭✭✭✭MrJoeSoap


    fat__tony wrote: »
    How about naming and shaming this hotel chain?

    So that people can boycott it or at least make a fuss about it?
    daithimacgroin wrote: »
    yeah come on, name and shame
    what u got to lose? only a crappy job

    If you had read the post Daithi you would see that gugleguy was a customer in a hotel, not an employee. He has sent me the name of the hotel in a PM and it isn't the same one in my OP.


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    #12
    castie
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 3,807 ✭✭✭castie


    msg11 wrote: »
    That's very true, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But people need to make a stand with there grievances and stop been walked all over.

    One of the problems is against the law that how serious this is, it's not just been asked to stay back and do a little extra. This company is really taking the piss.

    One guy in a place I worked was made move stock from one stock room to another. Then when he was finished another manager told him no that was wrong and to move it all back.

    Previous day he had complained about not getting all his hours on the roster so they brought him in just to do this....completely took the piss out of him and you cant do anything about it as they just claimed it was a "miscommunication". Poor guy was absolutely wrecked after it too.


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    #13
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,300 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    daithimacgroin wrote: »
    yeah come on, name and shame
    what u got to lose? only a crappy job
    Boards.ie gets sued is what we can lose.


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    #14
    daithimacgroin
    Registered Users Posts: 193 ✭✭daithimacgroin


    from the Worst companies thread on AH, Boards should have gotten sued 20 times over by now


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    #15
    vikingdub
    Registered Users Posts: 207 ✭✭vikingdub


    msg11 wrote: »
    Is it not against the law of the land too sack someone for been involved or conducting union activity.

    OP your friend has alot more rights than they might think, maybe start a log of what going on and get a friend to maybe do the same so they can compare them.

    Also join a union.

    Edit 1: On deductions, your friend should read page 17 of this ACT.

    http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/media/paymentofwages.pdf

    It is actually and furthermore a person who is sacked for being involved in trade union activity can seek redress under the Unfair Dismissals legislation without completing 12 months continuous employment. An employer is not obliged to recognise a trade union nor to allow a union to negotiate on behalf of the employees, however, the employees have an absolute right to join a trade union.

    I would certainly recommend that this employer be reported to NERA as, based on the information provided, there are breaches of multiple pieces of legislation.


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