Carl
2/5
Toxic and dysfunctional. The problems at spennymoor in particular are centered round the sustainability manager and his minions the Regional transport manager, national warehouse manager and the HR management. The sites main man (sustainability) pulls the strings from behind the scenes but uses his "lieutenant's" to avoid being accountable.
Together they run a clique that thrive on abusing their position of authority for the benefit of their mates and often no other reason than simply because they can. They know there's no accountability for their actions and seem to make sport of bullying people out the door, which is why they have a obscene turnover of staff for the size of the business.
Double standard policy on overtime ect,
For example the policy that overtime is kept to a minimum.
I was asked as a favour to work a Saturday during holidays I had booked. They didn't pay me this extra shift for two months and I had to chase them for it. Yet the "regional" transport managers mates, two spennymoor class 1 drivers and other select members of the clique have a system where he guarantees them a set amount of overtime, class 1 at £25+ per hour.
After completing their tasks for the day well within their contracted hours they can literally hang around doing nothing watching the clock for their "bonus" hours being banked, while other staff carry out duties that initially used to be their responsibility, the loading ect.
In my case one of the issues was he broke an agreement/contract he made with me where I gave up my van round for a promotion to a class 2 round that had became available. Conveniently so he could give my old round to one of his cronies he wanted to employ. Things turned sour when he tried to go back on what was agreed. HR wouldn't recognise the text with the agreement in writing even though it was worded clearly and sent from his own phone.
HR thought it an appropriate response to invite me to a disciplinary lead by this very manager. Which ultimately lead to my resignation.
Another related instance where he gifted a colleague's class 2 round to a member of his circle effectively putting this man out of work through no fault of his own. Worst part was the manager had spread whispers through out his circle a month or more before it happened but didn't have the courage or decency to tell the man to his face what was happening. He was the last one to find out. HR refused to engage with this persons complaint.
So the round went from someone who got on with the job without issue to the managers mate who had in a short space of time gained a reputation for being very arrogant rude and outright aggressive, offering people fights in the car park ect. I am aware this individual was the cause of many complaints and even acted this way with the customers on NHS sites but as part of the clique he was immune from accountability.
When you start here you are allocated to a set round unless you take a position as a relief driver.
In my case the agreement was in text message from when I was asked to step up to class 2. They simply turn round and say sorry his word means nothing. What do you call a man who's word means nothing ?
This in my view was a possible breach of contract and as a result they were constructively dismissing both of us, all done under the guise that all class 2 drivers were to be rotated over all the runs. Which as I suspected was another fabrication. He was simply pushing people aside to make way for the latest member of his clique.
The new system was only going to affect certain drivers and not his mates. Effectively demoting us to the position of relief drivers.
Over seven months later and everyone is still on their own rounds and it's business as usual for them, which speaks volumes in itself.
Allowing his little pet to sniff through
other drivers manifests to steal all the best jobs from them. He has enabled this driver to construct what is basically van work into the easiest HGV job going. A special round just for him. Yet is somehow " The hardest working man in sharpsmart" !!!!
