- Original Poster
- #1
Hi all,
I have been employed in a garage for 12 years started full time then we had our hours reduced to 4.5 days per week. My job title is an mot tester. I have had very little time off work in 12 years, so little in fact that even my statutory holiday entitlement has never been used. The longest time off work was two weeks on the sick where the doctor signed me off.
There are two employees at our garage, the other has been there about 14 years, the owner/employer has owned the business for 12 years. When he took over the working hours were 8.30 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, then Saturday morning 8.30 am to 12.30 pm. Seldom did I finish on time, in fact it became the norm for family to think my working hours were as late as 8.00 pm in the evening and sometimes as late as 4.00 pm in the afternoon on Saturdays.
The employer in 12 years never provided a pay rise nor any overtime pay for me stopping back in unsociable hours. The employer once said he did not wish to be friends with us as this makes it easier for him to fire us employees when required. This is not a lie, he can walk passed us in the street and completely ignore us, he does this all the time.
The owner/employer started to actually do some work about two years ago, he now mot tests vehicles along side me, you can see were this is going can't you!
I recently received a letter hand posted at the garage addressed to me as senior manager from a customer. Because the letter was addressed personally to me I opened it, this letter was back in April 2017. the letter requested that I carryout an mot inspection to a modern upper class car, a 2012 year model. I replied to the letter advising that I was only an employee and that the customer should contact the garage/reception directly, where the customer will be directed to the most appropriate member of staff to deal with whatever requests the customer may have.
The customer a few days later walked into reception, I was the immediate contact at that time and I recognized the car registration in his hand from the letter he wrote. I was asked to book the car in for an mot, I actually carried out the mot test a couple of days later, for the model of vehicle on a 2012 plate, the actual mechanical condition of the car was in a very dangerous poor condition, my experience knew immediately something was very wrong.
About a month passed by the customer returned to the garage and walked into the workshop, thanking me for doing such an excellent job, he mentioned a senior member of staff from DVSA before asking me to give him a price on repairs to his car, where again I advised him that the owner of the business would have to price his car repairs. A few days later another letter arrived in my name as senior manager of the garage from the same customer, thanking me for inspecting his car and asking me to price up the repairs!
A few weeks back the other employee let it slip, whether deliberately or otherwise I don't know, that the employer is trying his best to get rid of me. The other member of staff is being used by the employer to provoke me as part of my employment, he comes across to me very violent and abusive. Now some areas of his work are not up to standard, he is a long time experienced mechanic, but experience alone with modern cars is not enough, you must have professional training and he has none, where DVSA have always ensured mot testers attended refresher training courses, now we have to complete annual training and assessments each year to retain our job status otherwise we are withdrawn from the scheme, not the garage trade, nobody regulates them, please don't go there, the Trading Standards don't regulate in practice, they are text book only.
The car mot was a setup but it backfired on the employer and today the employer asked me to check the performance of some brakes on another car that the other employee repaired on Saturday, when I tested them today the quality of repairs were sub standard, an argument broke out between us employees and the other employee was trying to undermine both mine and the mot legal standards, the employer during these outbursts is always present but never says anything to him, which I believe is because he is using him as a lever against me.
I have also had numerous tools going missing out of my tool boxes, and again this is experience and understanding, but the tools that go missing are the ones that I need and use on a regular basis each day, they know exactly what they are doing.
This is a very uncomfortable environment to work in and I don't know what to do for the best, is there any professional advice I can receive please!
I have been employed in a garage for 12 years started full time then we had our hours reduced to 4.5 days per week. My job title is an mot tester. I have had very little time off work in 12 years, so little in fact that even my statutory holiday entitlement has never been used. The longest time off work was two weeks on the sick where the doctor signed me off.
There are two employees at our garage, the other has been there about 14 years, the owner/employer has owned the business for 12 years. When he took over the working hours were 8.30 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, then Saturday morning 8.30 am to 12.30 pm. Seldom did I finish on time, in fact it became the norm for family to think my working hours were as late as 8.00 pm in the evening and sometimes as late as 4.00 pm in the afternoon on Saturdays.
The employer in 12 years never provided a pay rise nor any overtime pay for me stopping back in unsociable hours. The employer once said he did not wish to be friends with us as this makes it easier for him to fire us employees when required. This is not a lie, he can walk passed us in the street and completely ignore us, he does this all the time.
The owner/employer started to actually do some work about two years ago, he now mot tests vehicles along side me, you can see were this is going can't you!
I recently received a letter hand posted at the garage addressed to me as senior manager from a customer. Because the letter was addressed personally to me I opened it, this letter was back in April 2017. the letter requested that I carryout an mot inspection to a modern upper class car, a 2012 year model. I replied to the letter advising that I was only an employee and that the customer should contact the garage/reception directly, where the customer will be directed to the most appropriate member of staff to deal with whatever requests the customer may have.
The customer a few days later walked into reception, I was the immediate contact at that time and I recognized the car registration in his hand from the letter he wrote. I was asked to book the car in for an mot, I actually carried out the mot test a couple of days later, for the model of vehicle on a 2012 plate, the actual mechanical condition of the car was in a very dangerous poor condition, my experience knew immediately something was very wrong.
About a month passed by the customer returned to the garage and walked into the workshop, thanking me for doing such an excellent job, he mentioned a senior member of staff from DVSA before asking me to give him a price on repairs to his car, where again I advised him that the owner of the business would have to price his car repairs. A few days later another letter arrived in my name as senior manager of the garage from the same customer, thanking me for inspecting his car and asking me to price up the repairs!
A few weeks back the other employee let it slip, whether deliberately or otherwise I don't know, that the employer is trying his best to get rid of me. The other member of staff is being used by the employer to provoke me as part of my employment, he comes across to me very violent and abusive. Now some areas of his work are not up to standard, he is a long time experienced mechanic, but experience alone with modern cars is not enough, you must have professional training and he has none, where DVSA have always ensured mot testers attended refresher training courses, now we have to complete annual training and assessments each year to retain our job status otherwise we are withdrawn from the scheme, not the garage trade, nobody regulates them, please don't go there, the Trading Standards don't regulate in practice, they are text book only.
The car mot was a setup but it backfired on the employer and today the employer asked me to check the performance of some brakes on another car that the other employee repaired on Saturday, when I tested them today the quality of repairs were sub standard, an argument broke out between us employees and the other employee was trying to undermine both mine and the mot legal standards, the employer during these outbursts is always present but never says anything to him, which I believe is because he is using him as a lever against me.
I have also had numerous tools going missing out of my tool boxes, and again this is experience and understanding, but the tools that go missing are the ones that I need and use on a regular basis each day, they know exactly what they are doing.
This is a very uncomfortable environment to work in and I don't know what to do for the best, is there any professional advice I can receive please!
