As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
(BC, Canada.) My new job breaks A LOT of labour laws.
Elimination
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been working at this job slightly over 3 months (barely.) and it's gotten to a boiling point for me. It's not easy finding a good paying job where I live in BC, the cost of living here is very high, and the average pay is not. That is neither here nor there though.
I quit my old job because I was barely scraping by, i got a new job that seeemed too good to be true, doing basically the same work but for a fairly significant pay increase (I am a suchef.). This new job seemed good, the interview went well, ect, they let me put in my last 2 weeks for my old job without a fuss (It's surprising how many places asked me to quit my other job immediately for even a chance to work.) but then i started the job and things went downhill immediately...
Firstly my first day there, the head chef told me he was going to "ride me so hard" because i worked for this restaurants direct competition for the past 2 years, "uh oh" red flag i thought, and I was right but it was too late to turn back now. I will make this short and sweet though, and just list off some of the awful shit I have had to deal with so far:
- Being told I am not allowed to use the washroom during any service hours, and when I did a few times I was yelled at and had my job threatened.
- Being told I am not allowed to take breaks - at all -, I often work 10 to 10 1/2 hours straight on the cooking line (I have never taken a single break, in over three months at work to this day.) even though everyone has told me outside of work that by law they have to give at least a 30 minute break (More if its over 8 hours i think? ) MY hours often range into the 90's every two weeks. The money is good I guess but this is fucking exhausting, we are one of the busiest restaurants in our town, this is not an easy job and without any cool down time the stress is often to almost unbearable levels on a day to day basis.
- I was injured on the work site, I fell down a flight of stairs after slipped on a puddle of water someone had spilt. I was told that I was not allowed to fill out a workers injury form, and that I would either have it "tough it out" and keep working, or they said they would see it as I quit my job if i took any time off (I am still having problems with my knee and shoulder from this injury.)
- Last week a co-worker was told during service he was not allowed to go to the washroom, he was online until he couldn't hold it anymore and he pee'd his pants on the line and then was yelled at by the boss. He didn't show up for work this week, which brings me partially to my next issue:
- Tonight I was called and told I now have to work on my day off because someone else had quit, I told them I couldnt do it as my father is coming into town from NEw Guinea for only my day off on his way through, I get to see him maybe if I am lucky, once every year to 2 years, so my boss said if I don't come in, that he will see it as me quitting and I will lose my job.
Now I am well aware how I am being treated is illegal. And I am trying to find new work but it's not been easy, and I can't afford to just lose my income out of the blue. I don't know what I can do, I am at the end of my rope, every day i work there i am becoming more and more miserable. I live with my girlfriend and she can see it in me, I am constantly exhausted, miserable, and my sex drive has dropped to zero, i my appetite has gone down, i've been losing a lot of weight. I have clinical severe anxiety disorder as it is, but i have it under control with some medications, but even with those medications I am getting worse and worse, I am taking ativan almost like candy, in my old job it took me a year to get through a bottle of 20 (It's for anxiety attacks.) I have used 30 in the last 3 months . I am at the end of the line, I can't take this job anymore, but I can't afford to just leave either. I have never called in sick or been late for work even once, and I am good at my job (MY other co-workers like me.) I don't know why they don't try to fire me, but they treat most of their employees in the kitchen the same way except for our female cook (My boss treats most of the female staff well but not the males.).
I am not super well versed in labour laws in BC but I know this is all super illegal, I just don't know what I can do about it. Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of thing??
I quit my old job because I was barely scraping by, i got a new job that seeemed too good to be true, doing basically the same work but for a fairly significant pay increase (I am a suchef.). This new job seemed good, the interview went well, ect, they let me put in my last 2 weeks for my old job without a fuss (It's surprising how many places asked me to quit my other job immediately for even a chance to work.) but then i started the job and things went downhill immediately...
Firstly my first day there, the head chef told me he was going to "ride me so hard" because i worked for this restaurants direct competition for the past 2 years, "uh oh" red flag i thought, and I was right but it was too late to turn back now. I will make this short and sweet though, and just list off some of the awful shit I have had to deal with so far:
- Being told I am not allowed to use the washroom during any service hours, and when I did a few times I was yelled at and had my job threatened.
- Being told I am not allowed to take breaks - at all -, I often work 10 to 10 1/2 hours straight on the cooking line (I have never taken a single break, in over three months at work to this day.) even though everyone has told me outside of work that by law they have to give at least a 30 minute break (More if its over 8 hours i think? ) MY hours often range into the 90's every two weeks. The money is good I guess but this is fucking exhausting, we are one of the busiest restaurants in our town, this is not an easy job and without any cool down time the stress is often to almost unbearable levels on a day to day basis.
- I was injured on the work site, I fell down a flight of stairs after slipped on a puddle of water someone had spilt. I was told that I was not allowed to fill out a workers injury form, and that I would either have it "tough it out" and keep working, or they said they would see it as I quit my job if i took any time off (I am still having problems with my knee and shoulder from this injury.)
- Last week a co-worker was told during service he was not allowed to go to the washroom, he was online until he couldn't hold it anymore and he pee'd his pants on the line and then was yelled at by the boss. He didn't show up for work this week, which brings me partially to my next issue:
- Tonight I was called and told I now have to work on my day off because someone else had quit, I told them I couldnt do it as my father is coming into town from NEw Guinea for only my day off on his way through, I get to see him maybe if I am lucky, once every year to 2 years, so my boss said if I don't come in, that he will see it as me quitting and I will lose my job.
Now I am well aware how I am being treated is illegal. And I am trying to find new work but it's not been easy, and I can't afford to just lose my income out of the blue. I don't know what I can do, I am at the end of my rope, every day i work there i am becoming more and more miserable. I live with my girlfriend and she can see it in me, I am constantly exhausted, miserable, and my sex drive has dropped to zero, i my appetite has gone down, i've been losing a lot of weight. I have clinical severe anxiety disorder as it is, but i have it under control with some medications, but even with those medications I am getting worse and worse, I am taking ativan almost like candy, in my old job it took me a year to get through a bottle of 20 (It's for anxiety attacks.) I have used 30 in the last 3 months . I am at the end of the line, I can't take this job anymore, but I can't afford to just leave either. I have never called in sick or been late for work even once, and I am good at my job (MY other co-workers like me.) I don't know why they don't try to fire me, but they treat most of their employees in the kitchen the same way except for our female cook (My boss treats most of the female staff well but not the males.).
I am not super well versed in labour laws in BC but I know this is all super illegal, I just don't know what I can do about it. Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of thing??
PSN: PA_Elimination 3DS: 4399-2012-1711 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheElimination/
Elimination on
0
Posts
They aren't going to fire you if you keep showing up because you have shown you are willing to put up with their bullshit and that's just fine for them. If they can't cover your day off to see your dad, that's their fault, not yours.
but they're listening to every word I say
This too.
Google tells me these are the people to contact.
http://www.ccohs.ca/
They're going to ditch you the microsecond that an even more exploitable chump shows up looking for work. See if you can get in touch with the guy who peed his pants (hey I bet they didn't log that as a health & safety incident either did they?) and report the everliving hell out of these assholes.
labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/
There's a section called 'complaint process' which might help.
Here's the employment standards act:
labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/esaguide/
Hope it helps.
I bet most of the stuff your boss is saying is bluffing.
You can call them and they will give you info but that's a federal agency and employment matters in most fields are regulated by the provinces. They'll likely direct you to the BC Employment Standards branch for actual legal processing. You can find them here: http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb
You'll likely need to send/present a letter to both your employer and the branch setting out the various issues. Make sure you can document and backup all the violations. It is pretty easy for an employer to simply deny that they're doing what they're actually doing, and then you'll need to have some way to prove that it actually happened.
Also, this sounds like the kind of place that will fire you at the slightest hint that you might go to the labour board. While its illegal to do so, its also quite easy to get away with. It sucks, and if you stick with it, you'll probably be able to get redress from the board, but it likely won't be quick or easy, so that means you need a new job ASAP.
Try to find a job with a union next time.
lol
Best advice is clearly find a new job immediately.
Yeah, contacting BC Occupational Health and Safety would probably be a pretty good way to go about things too, since there are some pretty significant violations there too. Link: http://www.worksafebc.com/workers/default.asp
If he really wants to go nuclear, contacting a local newspaper or two might be a decent idea, since most non-rightwing papers eat stuff like this up on slow news days.
(he says as a dumb American)
It's different in each province, so I dunno. The laws are muddy but I know he is breaking a lot of labour laws blatantly. EI also only works if you get laid off, if you quit I don't think you are eligible for EI, or I would. Though don't quote me on this, I've never been on EI.
These links are going to help, I tried to find some things but a lot of it seems really unclear to me. Having physical evidence is difficult as well.
I have stayed in a job I hated (for payment and job security reasons) with some really horrible people and seen so much blatant racism, homophobia and just general stupidity that it literally made me sick, don't do that.
First, know your rights. Know what is owed to you. If you get a 30 minute lunch break every 6 hours, take a 30 minute lunch break on the 6th hour.
If it fucks them up, oh fucking well, that's really not your problem. Do you need to take a shit or piss? Go take a shit and piss, take your phone out of your pocket and go "oh maybe you'd like to discuss this with the police, eh? Maybe the labor board next?"
The fact that they called you in because someone else quit means you have all the power right now. You can make demands. Maybe they'll fire you. They probably won't.
Get to a doctor yesterday. That shit is cheap in Canada and you need to get treated for your issues. To be honest, most of them are stress related, but seeing a doctor will help. Worst case, see a therapist.
Find a labor lawyer that works on contingency, because for something like this, they will. Get your piss-pants buddy to go in as a co-plaintiff on this. Pretty much an open and shut case, hands down. If you don't get money, at the worst your lawyer gets paid and the situation fixes itself for you and future employees. Or your boss goes to jail. You'll probably also feel amazing about yourself too. Win-win-win-win.
Did you quit on good terms with your former boss? There's your safety net. Even if it means you've got to be a bus boy for a few weeks while you get back on your feet, it's better than nothing. But you're in Canada, you have unemployment right? That might be worth it. Know your rights, do everything in your power to get fired. If you don't get fired, congratulations you fixed your problems! If you do get fired, congratulations, you can milk unemployment and your source of stress is gone. Hopefully you live with your g/f and have a little wiggle room to find a job. Have you considered jobs outside of restaurants? Bakery or grocery store? Maybe even retail? You've probably got management skills if you're a sous.
And for the love of fuck, spend time with your father.
They tried to call me in again on monday, they actually called me several times and texted me twice trying to get me to come in. I ignored it as I had already told them I had family plans several times at this point. This is all good advice, I have actually been meaning to go to a doctor lately because the stress is near the tipping point, it's something I am keenly aware of and i've been hospitalized due to severe anxiety attacks in the past and I can see it happening again if this all keeps up. It's true for the moment I may have some power as people haven't been showing up for work and such (Two people now have stopped showing up, they are down to only a small handful of cooks.) but once he hires more people that "power" will go away pretty fast. My power is only in that i've been very reliable up until now.
Today is my first work day back after my days off and the harassment and job threats about not coming in on said days off, so I guess I will see how the day turns out. I am already having a lot of anxiety about it, I feel like I am going to walk in to work and just get shit on today for not coming in. I am not sure if the guy who pee'd himself will come in to help me if i go after our boss, i was assaulted at work once in front of a co-worker (different job.) and called the cops and such on them, but my co-worker stayed tight lipped back then, and wouldn't get involved at all - despite witnessing the entire thing. In my experience people just won't do anything about anything or stand up. They will just walk away and pretend like it never happened, and go somewhere else. I can try, i can get his number easily, but I wouldn't count on him being of any use. I set up my cell phone with a voice recorder app though so that if I do have any "big talks" with the boss after this I can just record them.
It doesn't hurt to reach out to your co-worker and ask how he would feel about it. You're right, he probably doesn't want to be put in the spot light that he wet himself and just wants to forget the whole thing to restore his dignity.
Don't let any of the shit get you down. Let it roll right off you. Take a "I don't really care" approach to doing your job. Do your job, do what's asked (within reason), and keep coming in to work. If someone screams at you for taking a shit, go take a shit and come back and keep doing your job.
Bullies will always be bullies and if you give them an inch, they'll take it, and try to take another if you let them. I've found that if you ignore them and keep doing you they mostly find someone else who's easier to pick on (like your co-worker). Don't do things that are dangerous, don't let them break the law, and the worst they can do is fire you. If they do, feel free to contact your Canadian equivalent to the Department of Labor, I'm sure that'll go down swimmingly.
As for recording the conversation, you may want to check into the legality of that, some places get pissy if the other person isn't aware they're being recorded.
The opposite usually. If they have a reasonable expectation of privacy you'd need the permission. If they are on a public street talking through a bullhorn, not so much.
Though this is definitely good advice. I also think Canada's libel laws are a bit silly (in the style of the UK's) so naming and shaming publicly could also be an issue.
Bullies feed off of fear, and aggression follows the path of least resistance. The more scared you are the worse it is - think of a dog suddenly attacking when a person starts running. If they think they have leverage over your, then it makes them think they can get away with treating you badly.
All people instinctively respect bravery.
Times when I've completely changed how people act toward me, it's always been counterintuitive - whenever I've called a boss out for bad behavior it's never been counted against me. For instance, I've thought to myself, "I need this job. Without this job, I'm screwed. But I'd rather be brave, and deal with my boss like a man and speak directly rather than tolerate abuse." I've actually said to one boss who was being abusive, "I've tried to help you, and I like this job and I need it, but I'd rather be unemployed facing eviction than tolerate your behavior." Sometimes I'll be even more confrontational and they completely change their behavior toward me.
Also, bullies behave the way they do, I think, because they've usually been treated badly themselves. That's helped me to sympathize and understand why it is - if you're able to accept them and also stand up for yourself, they will often respect that and will want to keep you around.
Anyway, that's some of what I've experienced but we've all got different paths to follow. Nobody should have to put up with abuse, so in the mean time, think about how you're going to survive one way or another, put up with it until you're able to get a new job. But don't be scared of standing up for yourself.
Good luck.
Ever noticed that if the boss is a jerk to your boss, that it all just seems to coalesce into one giant shit bag of shittyness in the work place?
In simple terms, if you lose your job 'through no fault of your own', you're entitled to unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, it's ultimately determined at a provincial level what 'through no fault of your own' means.
This gets stupidly complicated & political as a result. In some places - BC among them - it's entirely up to the employer's discretion as to whether or not it was your own fault that you lost your job, making it really easy for them to dick you over. If you want to dispute whatever they put into your record of employment, you have to sue them.
It's easy enough to fill out the paperwork & get the ball rolling on EI, but only if your last employer puts in a good word for you.
http://www.worksafebc.com/claims/report_injury/worker_incident_injury_report/default.asp
And yeah as far as i've looked into EI there is nothing they can do to help me. I tried contacting worksafe BC and they told me there is nothing they can do for me because an incident report wasnt filled out (Even though I was barred from doing so.). I have figured the only thing I can actually do is just aggressively look for a better workplace, I have a job interview on Monday for what I hope is better, it also pays even more, so thats good. I am also heading to the doctor on Monday as well because the amount of bullshit and stress I have had to deal with has completely sucked the life out of me, It's gotten to the point where i'm getting severe stomach pains for some reason and I have absolutely no energy, I falls asleep at the drop of a hat where as I used to be very energetic, I don't know if its all stress related but it's not normal for me.
I don't even know how to respond to the idea that anyone would piss themselves instead of go to the restroom because their dickhead boss said they can't go take a leak. I mean I could understand if he pulled out his johnson and pissed on his boss in a fit of rage, but to just stand there and piss your pants? The economy in Canada must be really shitty to put up with that kind of treatment just for a job.
You are taking steps to better your situation. Good work! I hope you get that better job and that it turns out to actually be better.
It's BC; there ain't no economy here. :P
http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthanalysis/gopublic/about-go-public.html
Go Public has reported on both big stories like the Temporary Foreign Workers as well as smaller things. The story could even be as simple as the various regulator/WorkSafe refusing to do their jobs, especially if they can make a pattern out of it.
Of course if you go that route, you'll want to be looking for another job.
You may want to investigate with BC pro bono legal services to see if they offer any summary advice services applicable for your situation http://accessprobono.ca/
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
Oh this is good advice. I went to their physical branch in town here and they told me there was nothing they could do for me with no proof and no injury form filled out (Which yeah, is dumb because I told them part of the problem was they wouldn't let me fill one out.) But I will try calling them this time as well as the probono.ca.