Maurice...a despicable excuse for a human being!

by Meng
(Manchester, England)

I work at a printers in Manchester England and the boss discriminates all the time. Because I work on the printing and finishing department I am not allowed a cup of tea or coffee while I am working, however the people on the shop floor and the graphic designers are allowed this simple pleasure all day.

The people in my department are not allowed to talk to each other yet in the shop and on the graphic design department they have to put up with Maurice (the boss and owner) talking all day with them. I must add that he only talks verbal diarrhea some of it about religion...a subject he has forbidden one of the workers on my department to talk about. So basically we can't talk and they can...is this an infringement of a basic human right?

He quite often singles people out for his reign of terror to make them leave rather than fire them as he knows this could result in a legal response so basically he harrasses the chosen individual for long periods based upon things he makes up eg. sleeping at the work station which will just be a lie or having too long on their breaks which is also a lie.

Just recently I got in trouble for talking even though I was working at the same time...his tone was out of order and when I confronted him about it on the phone after work he just shouted even more and then hung up on me. He told me he doesn't pay me to talk...he has a long list of the usual bully boss responses like 'you know where the door is' etc.

I could write a book about the despicable things he has done...amongst them racist remarks (about a delivery driver), sexist remarks when he phones suppliers etc., being rude to customers, rude to delivery men and then phoning their company to try and get them sacked, disposing of chemicals in an unlawful way, threatening employees with their jobs, driving extremely dangerously to an extent that you have to tell him to 'look out you are going to crash', moving boxes when health and safety come to check to make it look safe and then getting us to put them back when they have gone, normally blocking a stairway that we have to use often...he is a very strange individual that constantly whistles and counts to himself becoming more profuse when he is angry...the list is endless and like I say I could write a book.

Just recently he has picked on me like I said about talking and my response will be to look for a new job because trying to reason with him is like trying to reason with the terminator so its either put up or get out.

Response from Carl: Sorry for your predicament, Meng. It sounds like this guy is a piece of work from what you mention but since he's the owner, what can you do? Certainly you shouldn't have to put up with this treatment and it sounds like you've already made the decision to look for a new job. If that's the case and do you end up finding a new job, perhaps you may want to address the issues you refer to above with a labour lawyer to see if you have a case should you choose to do so.

Carl