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Sallubrious

Fair work laws

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Has anyone had any experience with the fair work commission in regards to unfair dismissal and bullying/intimidation ?

 

My Mrs has been copping the rough end of the stick for the last few months and now it's getting to the point where it looks like she'll be sacked in the not too distant future.

 

She works her arse off for pittance & now she's just just received her final warning (by SMS) for something entirely trivial. She asked a workmate to give her a hand while they were both supposed to be on a break and her supervisor took offence to it and sent a nasty SMS message a few days later and told her it was her third & final warning. The other two warnings (she wasn't even aware they were official warnings) were just talkings to about minor slip ups she'd made at work, apparently she wasn't as thorough as she should have been even though she's under enormous pressure to do everything faster and faster.

 

As it turns out the supervisor took offence to my Mrs pecking the supervisor's husband on the cheek when she parted ways after a social event all the work girls had attended two days before the "official" warning.

 

The supervisor took great pleasure in reading the SMS to all the other girls working the same job after she sent it. After she read it out she pissed herself laughing and said.

She's probably at home balling her guts out now.

It's classic sociopathic stand over/intimidation tactics towards my Mrs and all the other girls.

 

So the writing is on the wall, one misplaced fart, sneeze or blink and my My mrs will be out on her arse.

 

What I want to know is

 

Has the supervisor followed the appropriate protocols - should she have issued three written warnings or are two verbal warnings enough before the final written (SMS) warning ? That's if an SMS even legally qualifies as a written warning.

 

Can a supervisor issue the three warnings without any input from her superiors. The boss knows nothing about any of this.

 

If it were me this would be sorted out with bare knuckles in the carpark but my Mrs doesn't have that option.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Straight to the union rep and a meeting with the boss I reckon. Fuck lady supervisor, she can scramble and make her excuses when she gets called in to answer for herself.

 

Hopefully? Good luck to the missus mate, I can't fuckin stand this type of shit.

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I've dealt with them once before, and I'm sure things have changed but the biggest thing I learnt was you need solid evidence. Even something as simple as a diary with the things that are happening day by day. The warning system is 1 verbal 2 written I think, but I depends if any contracts were signed prior to working that may alter this (although most times fair work laws can override a contract). 

 

Its one one of those things. Have the proof, get a good lawer that cares, and take em for all their worth. 

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1 hour ago, Responsible Choice said:

Straight to the union rep and a meeting with the boss I reckon. Fuck lady supervisor, she can scramble and make her excuses when she gets called in to answer for herself.

Straight up. This is the only way to deal with it. If there's no union as she works in retail or something the next step is to put everything in writing and make a formal complaint about the supervisor to the boss.

 

After all, the job has no doubt started to lose it's value now anyway... there comes a point when it's time to move on also. I've quit jobs because of bully bosses, but preferably when they needed me the most.

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Unfortunately she's not in a union.

 

I saw this coming a few months ago and I told her to start a diary back then but she never did it.

 

@Northerner   That's the plan so far, to put it in writing and give it to the boss.

 

& you're right the job has become so much of a burden mentally that's she's ready to chuck it in. In my experience when they start giving official warnings then it's only a matter of time before you get the arse. I've quit a few jobs with bullies at the helm too, in those days I had no kids or anyone depending on me, so it was an easy break. It's a bit different with her though, there's not much work she is qualified for around here and I think there's an extended waiting period for the dole if you quit or are fired for misconduct, which it isn't but the butt kissers at centrelink wouldn't see it that way.

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Sal, in my experience fwa treats claims of unfair dismissal seriously even when they are frivolous. The onus is always on the employer to prove they have done everything by the book, and it doesn't sound like that's the case here. Her boss sounds like a piece of work and I'd bet your Mrs would have a reasonable argument for compensation if it came to that point. But if she quits then the bullies win.

I know how hard it can be, I've been bullied into quitting 2 jobs now. I wake up feeling literally sick at times, if I sleep...I have had to take xanax at one job just to get out of my car and walk through the front door. 

 

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Thanks for the input mate.

 

That sucks that you've been through it twice and it had that effect on you.  It's a sad state of affairs when you have to sell your soul to earn a living.

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The fair work rules do vary depending on the number of employees in the business. I believe, though I may stand corrected, below a certain number, the owners are not required to give the 3 warnings, up to a certain number it's 2 verbal and one written, then above that number it's 3 written. My understanding is these must be served with the knowledge of at least 2 "management" people, usually the supervisor and at least their immediate superior or the big boss, regardless of the size of the business. And it must be clear they are official warnings and the business must have that on record. As I said, I may stand corrected on this; it's been almost 12 years since I had any experience with unfair dismissals. However it is, Glaukus is correct; the tribunal takes all unfair dismissal cases very seriously and it is rarely a pleasant experience for the business. 

 

Good luck with it all, Sal. If ya ever had a mind to, you could give me the name of the business and the problematic git, and if I'm ever down that way, I could pop in in give the bitch a real bad day. Not that I've ever been down that way. Just sayin'. Maybe I could plan a little road trip at some stage in the future to take a break from where I exist. I always wanted to spend a little R & R in that part of the world. That would make the trip a bit more fun....

 

Na. Kidding, really. I'm not that brave. Seriously though, workplace sociopaths really suck the shit out of arseholes.

 

Oh, one more thing; the supervisor reading that warning txt out to your Mrs.'s work colleagues was a big mistake, though. Especially in her absence. That's a huge no-no. At a former place of work there was a manager who lost his job for reading his warning email to others not involved and it cost the business the case, even though (I believe) it was a justifiable sacking. Perhaps that could be a bit of ammo for dealing with this in the future. 

 

I hope it sorts out real soon, whichever way it pans out. Stress and the toll it takes is poison. My thoughts are with ya both. 

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This was me years ago:

Bit of a different scenario but still twas an unfair dismissal with a happy ending too (hell, the payout money paid for many in fact hahahaha),
But get yeah RC is speaking the wisest words, get a hold of every governing body u can get a hold of, write down everything and report it where u can.

My boss didn't like the response he got out of me after blinding me point blank in the face with a fire extinguisher (practical joke man). Management needed that cunt present so they could keep treading water too, so it was better to keep him on board than me... The manager was an ex AFP to so it made him uncomfortable hearing reffer and mush might be floating round the workplace too :innocent_n:

They wouldn't have me back cause he would of lost face (ex fed tough guy), even though the ombudsman was ready to force my return. So money was offered to walk. I got 6grand and I was casual, LOL... and working for less than 18 months there. But working more than 30 hrs per week so should of been permanent.  I wasn't quite satisfied with that $6k... I wanted blood.  Whilst all the knights were seated at the round table (3 way mediation call) I decided to bring up the point of what the correct award actually was for that uncommon industry (slipway hand) - due to the fact our hourly rate was so piss poor and hadn't been rising. Turns out we were all under a "Metal Workers Award" & I got a further 2k back pay for being underpaid for the entire 18 month duration, along with every other slipway worker and direct marina employee getting payouts too. The ego driven big balled punting of a 20 year old shitkicker cost that marina probably a years wage for a single worker, on top of having to back pay correct the wages of dozens of employees, many of them who had been working there for much much longer than I. It would of been a black mark on the slipway operator (wanker who sprayed me) and this new bigballed ex cop manager had only taken over from the last bloke like 2 weeks earlier, so he was trying to really prove himself with this incident being ex-law and all, and ended up costing the marina a fair bit in the first few moths of taking over. 

He was also pulling reallllly scummy moves, like calling my free case lawyer and telling my lawyer that I was a junky and all this shit (mayb ex cop style shit, who knows)...  The lawyer actually pulled out of my case cause this cunt convinced him it was a waste of time, the lawyer would of taken 30% of the settlement too. But pulled out like 2 weeks before it was settled. So this turd trying to ruin me, by getting the lawyer to bail actually allowed me to hold onto 30% more of the payout. The lawyer basically told the cop to fuck off and stop harrasing him as he is going to court AGAINST him, then ended up pulling out and refused to even notify me of his withdrawal till a few days prior to settlement... The coppa thought I still had the lawyer on my side who was staunch telling him to stop harassing, so coppa feeling defeat and not wanting to have days off work for court approached me a week out from the date with settlement not knowing I had no legal aid. I said "cheers mate $6k will do - but what about back pay (years of underpayment) for everyone too while your at it?"  I got the buku coin and the lads got some pocket money too.

Closing statement to coppa "ll probably see you Sundays at the marina cafe Stevo for Tappas n beers mate, after all even though your office is in the cafe, its owned and run by someone separate right? and those tappas r tops"

 

On 9/25/2017 at 6:08 AM, Responsible Choice said:

Straight to the union rep and a meeting with the boss I reckon. Fuck lady supervisor, she can scramble and make her excuses when she gets called in to answer for herself.

So yeah I totally agree with what RC said...  Log everything, ring union get reference and case numbers started at the union cause u will be wanting to ring and make updates.
Get a hold of Fair Work Ombudsman log and start a cause with them too, reference number etc. Even if the workplace is doing anything shifty u dob them into the Department of Fair Trading.
Don't ever let them know you are building a case early though, or they will begin preparation (donning of raincoats) for when it all hits the fan.

This marina often got me to hose human excrement into the ocean - I avoided a sacking after walking off the job early a few months prior to my actual punting,
By threatening to report us (them) to the EPA and Department of Fair Trading with a written documented letter involving the multitude of occasions where we dumped untreated feces and chemicals into the harbor. He came to me all big balled the next morning and said "I need to talk to u mate"  - I said read this letter first and if u still want to have a chat, we'll make it a 3 way with management. Got a full days pay, no further talking occurred.

Moral of the story, DOCUMENT, RECORD, REPORT, DOCUMENT, RECORD, REPORT, DOCUMENT RECORD REPORT.
Never let them, or the next one immediately above them know what you are doing or they will start prepping.

Somethings in life are priceless (like catching CUNT off guard), for everything else there's BitCoin.  :innocent_n:

Edited by Skellum
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Sallubrious, sorry to hear your Mrs is copping that shit, I very much understand what being in that situation is like dealing with abusive narcissistic supervisors, dealt with severe bullying from supervisors in the past here's what happened, I had a diary of on going bullying and harassment from supervisor, even witnesses, said supervisor was not liked by other workers and had a reputation for bullshit, I was put through simular shit too your Mrs and when it all went to HR they backed the supervisor, I had bought in the union reps who were a great help and support but in the end they still just got rid of me - next step was unfair dismissal, which I chose not to do after seeing what another colleague at the time was going through after he was unfairly dismissed (under exact same circumstances)

 

Just my two cents mate but in all honesty be prepared for her to loose her job, the things companies will get away with is absolutely unbelievable and from what I've learnt first hand, HR will always back the supervisors even if they are abusive, breaking the rules and disliked by everyone. Even if you have diaries, witnesses and proof of all the shit happening. Again really sorry to hear all this is happening dude, just remember how ever all this goes down, right or wrong, Karma will have the last say on that person.

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Yeah we're resigned to the fact that the job is on it's last legs, everything seems to indicate that she won't be there too much longer.

 

She was working for an Aussie who was a bit of prick but it was tolerable when he held the lease. Now a Chinese couple have taken over the lease & things have been slowly but surely heading south. The new boss is bringing in Chinese workers who can't speak English & and paying them $8 an hour and giving most of the overtime shifts to them and junior staff who are being paid $10 an hour. It probably won't be long before all the staff are Chinese. It seems like he's just using the few Aussies that are left to train their Chinese replacements.

 

The greedy bastard wanted the bar staff to water down the spirits 50:50 he jacked the cost of all the other drinks up that much that they almost stopped selling. Every chance he gets he finds some way to screw the staff out of working conditions, rights or pay.

 

I've never thought I'd live to see the day when Aussies became subservient to to Chinese overlords but it's happening all over the country. When I grew up Chinese people were peasants relying on pushbikes for transport. Now they live here and drive hot cars, own a large Australian property portfolio and we do their dirty work.

 

 

 

 

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We just found out the cunt hasn't paid any of the workers super for 12 months. He prints it on the payslips and then just pockets it.

 

So now I'm thinking it might be better to jump before she gets pushed, leaving a job because you aren't being paid properly is a lot different to just quitting without a good reason.

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pretty sure he ato or maybe asic makes a company do a deceleration that they're paying super these days. 

 

so someone is making a fraudulent deceleration to the ATO, directors go to jail for that kinda shit these days

 

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https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/report-unpaid-super-contributions-from-my-employer/

 

A bit of mucking around, but if the aim is to run the cunt through the ATO is taking super fraud pretty fkn seriously.... As they should

 

I'll get back in my box

 

 

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51 minutes ago, waterboy 2.0 said:

 

A bit of mucking around, but if the aim is to run the cunt through the ATO is taking super fraud pretty fkn seriously.... As they should

 

yeah, sometimes.  I've been screwed out of super after the company decided to use our super to keep itself afloat.  Then it went under and we all lost our entitlements.  Nothing we could do to get it back and no-one got prosecuted in the end.  However, I won't be caught out again.  If any shifty fucker doesn't pay me my super when its due I have no problem fighting for it and taking them to the ATO if needed.  Report that shit to the ATO straight away and look after your own(your wife's) interests cause her boss sure as hell has no intention to.  Report the wage underpayments too, fuck em.

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Adding to that.  The government was good.  I got a basic retrenchment package, my long service leave, holiday pay etc payed out by a government scheme.  But super was lost.

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Yep it gets dirty when folk hide behind a business number and fold taking folks.... They are Fuckers, there are a lot of Fuckers that see screwing folk a part of everyday business and consider it THE exit strategy .

 

Edit - some are incompetent and some are thieves, but they are all Fuckers

Edited by waterboy 2.0
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This blew up again yesterday. It never really stopped but this time my mrs had had enough.

 

On Sunday morning (which was a rostered day off) her supervisor rang her wanting her to work at 5am and we didn't hear the call because we were asleep & her phone was in the kitchen. Then at 8am she started abusing her by text message. My mrs called back and said she'd work if absolutely necessary and she copped a serve and was told not to bother coming in.

 

Then Yesterday she had the day off so she could watch our kids make their speeches for next years school captains positions (they both blitzed it too, the head mistress told us they were the two best speeches she'd ever heard from primary school kids) and we were in a really good mood and then the fuckwit supervisor rang and abused her because she didn't notice something at work the day before. The call was a hate filled rant full of vitriol and it left my mrs in tears. She had the phone on speaker so I head every filthy insult the bitch hurled at her. I've never heard a male employer go to such extremes and I've worked for some real cunts, if a bloke used language like that 99% of the time it would be MMA smackdown time but a woman can hide behind the fact that most people don't hit women. I wanted to go over there and punch the bitch in the face myself.

 

I'm sick of seeing her like this every day and the call was the last straw, so I told her to tell the bitch to shove the job up her arse. We don't have a contingency plan and it could financially ruin us but I had to have my mrs's back and support her. I just couldn't send her back into that situation.

 

So we won't be having Christmas this year and possibly won't be able to afford food or rent either.

 

I detest tyranny in all forms so that slut can get royally fucked. At least my mrs can claim her self respect back and not dread the thought of the phone ringing on her days off.

 

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Yeah man, that's shit. Should definitely shop them to the ATO now. 

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Mate I feel for ya. If only you could record the bitch ranting, a mate got a $20 000 payout after recording his bosses venom. I don't have the patience I'd just tell them to jam it.

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22 minutes ago, Crop said:

Mate I feel for ya. If only you could record the bitch ranting, a mate got a $20 000 payout after recording his bosses venom. I don't have the patience I'd just tell them to jam it.

 

All Call Recorder.

 

I use it for certain calls. Works a treat.

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Is there any legal issue around recording a phone call without advising that you are doing so? I thought that's why call centres make that statement before they start talking to you.

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19 minutes ago, Glaukus said:

Is there any legal issue around recording a phone call without advising that you are doing so? I thought that's why call centres make that statement before they start talking to you.

 

I'm not too sure about that but she made the call in front of the manager and a few other workers, they were all stunned. It was business related and she made no effort to keep her end of the call private so it could be argued that was not a private call.

 

I've been telling my mrs to document everything and install a  recording app on her phone but she never did, so it's a bit late now.

 

Anyway she's not going back and she's actually happy again now.. It's as though a great weight has been lifted off her back.

 

When she got the job she just wanted any job to get her job network provider off her back and she got a crap job. Now she plans to put the intention out there to get a good job. If you create something with unfocused intent you get random results.

Edited by Sallubrious
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Yes it ain't legal and ya have a right to decline, it can bite you in the arse....not to say it can't be played at times....have someone who deals with such stuff in house:wink:

 

Edit - Doing it in front of other people if they will confirm it is a different situation.

 

It good ya Mrs  minds state  is better Sal

 

Coffee edit - text messages are different

 

 

 

Edited by waterboy 2.0
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