Tesco Minus Hours?

[vincent1989]

Never having worked for JS I couldn't comment mate... But I do get the impression that the pace/pressure is less than what I expererience. True or not I don't know.

I recently spoke to a friend who has just been appointed as a Debenhams store manager and he is on £42k with a similar bonus and car allowance. So I would imagine that Tesco pay their managers more than any other retailer. It stands to reason I suppose since they are number one.

a supermarket manager will get paid more because he is responsible for more things, you have less numbers of staff for a clothing outlet as well as there being no need to code check (which counts for about 5 or 6 people alone in my one small store) among other things like holding an alcohol license, in the same way checkout managers are often the highest paid dept. manager.

 

[GordyR]

Anyway... Everything else aside...

A first offender eating only a criossant would normally not get the sack as long as there is nothing else related on his file. Most SM's would usually tend to go for a final written warning in this instance, though they would be well within their rights to dismiss said person.

But it is thin ground and could easily go either way. Done it before? You're a gonner every time.

 

[vincent1989]

A first offender eating only a criossant would normally not get the sack as long as there is nothing else related on his file. Most SM's would usually tend to go for a final written warning in this instance, though they would be well within their rights to dismiss said person.

But it is thin ground and could easily go either way. Done it before? You're a gonner every time.

pretty much my experience, we lost one bloke this weekend for the exact same reason and another 3 on the department are on final writtens for eating goods not paid for. it's probably the first thing I tell new starters (If you want to keep the job don't bother nicking the food!)

 

[SuperMan]

Gordy I have a huge amount of respect for you for many different reasons but in so many threads I see you state your salary, can we stop with the e-penis?

 

[Castiel]

No they don't.

If you are suspended with pay, you get paid. However, if you then resign, that trumps the suspension, and they then pay you only for the hours you worked plus any entitled holiday. Resigning on the spot and walking out means you get paid to that moment, nothing more.

I've seen enough people quit on the spot in Tesco. Was practically a weekly occurance when I worked there.

This is how we do it also, suspension with pay unless the suspendee subsequently resigns and then we pay up until the last hour actually worked (plus statutory requirements such as accrued holiday)

Not sure I understand the "minus hours" on the payslip though, surely it would just have hours worked?

 

[Castiel]

A ridiculous generalisation and completely untrue. I chose this career because it pays me in excess of £100,000 per year. I am most certainly not a drop out.

And remember... We abide by the same employment law as every other business in the UK/World therefore we have as many ways to sack a person as every other company out there.

To be fair though you are the exception and not the rule, for every Tesco superstore manager there are how many section managers earning peanuts.

I have a good friend who is a store manager for an Extra Store who earns around £100k, but given that he works all sorts of hours, gets loads of stress and has to deal with the Tesco nonsense on a daily basis he isn't that well paid comparatively.

He earns less than I do, and significantly less than my wife and I work a four day week, and she does a 9-5.

 

[doofer]

But then the pressure that is associated with the higher paying roles is extremely intense

Yeah, knocking just 2p off a tin of beans instead of 3p could have dire consequence that could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people... You Supermarket managers deserve Medals!!

 

[iviv]

Tescos loss through shrinkage can't be all that much of a problem

£200 million a year.

 

[GordyR]

Gordy I have a huge amount of respect for you for many different reasons but in so many threads I see you state your salary, can we stop with the e-penis?

As far as I can recall i've only mentioned it when asked directly. The only threads it's been stated in were the "how much do you earn?" thread and a thread where someone was asking about graduate opportunities within Tesco. On both occasions I was specifically asked so thats a little unfair I think.

In this case it was in response to someone claiming that all retail managers are "college drop-outs" and that it is slave labour. My response was a rebuttal to this. Again it seems entirely appropriate. It's not like i'm randomly shoving it in any any old thread is it?

To be fair though you are the exception and not the rule, for every Tesco superstore manager there are how many section managers earning peanuts.

While I understand your point... The absolute lowest pay for the lowest band of section manager is £24k (for my size store). And these jobs are usually men/women around 20-24 which given the UK average isn't a bad wage. I would hazard a guess that the average section manager salary is around the £26 mark and that the salary for the average Tesco manager (including non-stores based roles) would sit more in the region of £40-50k. Though that really is a guess.

But this is way off the point I was trying to make...

I'm just extremely peeved that someone claimed all retail managers are 'drop-outs'. It just toally undermines the thousands of people out there who are working their arse off. Plenty do it out of choice because of the prospects and yes, some because they can't do anything else and also lack the ability to move upwards within Tesco. But that is no different to any profession/organisation.

I wouldn't claim that all educators are 'drop-out's because some people are TA's and not headteachers. Most TA's are people either working towards becoming a teacher or are people who enjoy the job, like working with kids and are not the primary income earner in their household.

In the same way that the majority of Tesco General Assistants (full time ones anyway) are housewives and middle-late aged women. Are they drop-outs? No, the job just fits with their lifestyle so why belittle them.

Yes... I'm sure you can sense i'm a tad emotive over this. It's just really goat my goat that some of the hardest working people i've ever known are thought of by a select few in this way. Oh I should add that this rant isn't directed at you Castiel.

Yeah, knocking just 2p off a tin of beans instead of 3p could have dire consequence that could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people... You Supermarket managers deserve Medals!!

I'm sorry I don't understand the point.

 

[Stretch]

Well I do the bakery (its only a small express store) on Friday, Saturday mornings. One Saturday I ate a croissant when I was doing the bakery and genuinely forgot to pay for it. Thing is I didn't finish it and left a bit of it on one of the bakery trays and when a colleague went to clean the bakery on a Saturday night they reported me.

Now it was not 100% guaranteed I would have got fired but I according to my rep I didn't sell my self in investigation meeting and he advised it would like better on your CV that you resigned instead of getting fired.

Not much good if you need to sign on though.

 

[Castiel]

While I understand your point... The absolute lowest pay for the lowest band of section manager is £24k (for my size store). And these jobs are usually men/women around 20-24 which given the UK average isn't a bad wage.

I would hazard a guess that the average section manager salary is around the £26 mark and that the salary for the average Tesco manager (including non-stores based roles) would sit more in the region of £40-50k. Though that really is a guess.

I remember when my mate was a section manager, he was on the equivalent of about £24k so I can understand that is the average, however I remember working out his hourly rate, given the hours he worked and the pay he received and he was on about £1.95 an hour, while the GA's were on about £5 an hour.

Even now on his significantly higher salary, when you come to the hours he works, benefits and bonuses etc he receives.... compared to mine and the Missus, he is really underpaid tbh.

That was the point I was making, not that it isn't a good career, or that it should be undervalued because some people have strange ideas of what a supermarket career is, but that the remuneration may seem excessive to some, however comparatively it really isn't.

I'm just extremely peeved that someone claimed all retail managers are 'drop-outs'. It just toally undermines the thousands of people out there who are working their arse off. Plenty do it out of choice because of the prospects and yes, some because they can't do anything else and also lack the ability to move upwards within Tesco. But that is no different to any profession/organisation.

I wouldn't claim that all educators are 'drop-out's because some people are TA's and not headteachers. Most TA's are people either working towards becoming a teacher or are people who enjoy the job, like working with kids and are not the primary income earner in their household.

In the same way that the majority of Tesco General Assistants (full time ones anyway) are housewives and middle-late aged women. Are they drop-outs? No, the job just fits with their lifestyle so why belittle them.

Yes... I'm sure you can sense i'm a tad emotive over this. It's just really goat my goat that some of the hardest working people i've ever known are thought of by a select few in this way.

I quite agree, those who are drop-outs or ne'er-do-wells wouldn't have the ambition or work ethic to progress through the Tesco traffic light system, let alone anything else.

Oh I should add that this rant isn't directed at you Castiel.

I never thought that it was.

Oh, and what are "Minus hours" on a payslip?.....that is a new one on me.

 

[sjballo]

Seems a bit harsh getting the sack for eating half a croissant.

I work part time in the bakery of another UK supermarket in a small store. Every night around £200 worth of bread/rolls and cakes is thrown out.

 

[Energize]

I'm a person of morals, theft is wrong, if he'd been a customer doing just the same his company would have had the right to prosecute. consumption of something you don't pay for is theft, ignorance is no defence against the law, nor is 'forgetting to pay'.

Actually the crime of theft requires intent to permanently deprive, forgetting to pay for something is legally not theft because there's no mens rea.

 

[Angilion]

[..]
I don't think even the sun would stoop as low as to print a story about an employee being sacked for stealing considering it is the completely expected and normal response to someone who has misappropriated company property. Tesco sacks hundreds of people a year for exactly that. The company would be completely within their rights to do so.

I'm curious about exactly where you draw the line, so I have some questions.

An employee charges their phone in the office area in a Tesco store. Would you sack them for stealing the electricity?

An employee uses a ballpoint pen that Tesco has paid for, puts it in their pocket and forgets to take it out before going home. Would you sack them for stealing the pen? How about a paperclip?

I am not joking. You've made it very clear that you'd sack someone for pennies, so I'm trying to ascertain just how many pennies. How about if they found 1p that someone had dropped on the floor in the shop and took that home?

 

[Orion21]

Which Tesco store was this at in Belfast, the one near Queen's Uni or some other place?

Tesco seem to be being silly in Northern Ireland at the moment, a case in Strabane where court was taken for a £10 quid per of jeans...... and even worse one in Ballygomartin where someone that forgot to pay, and from the information I read it seemed genuine and once again court rather than a bit of common sense and letting the person pay for it there and then.

Seems similiar in some ways to the op's situation if he forgot to pay, big deal give him the chance to play especially if it's the first occurence and just a verbal warning. I guess though the food safety stuff could be the bigger issue but it still seems too extreme.

 

[Pestilence]

Not you - 'Pestilence' - Who appears to be a repeat offender

Quite easily. Working night shifts for example, half asleep stocking the shelves I grab a lucozade and drink it while I work. Carry the empty bottle with me while I go get more boxes of product, chuck it in the bin, fill out about 3 more loads of boxes and sit down to read.

Twenty minutes later... "I'm thirsty... oh, I drank that Lucozade!". Money goes in the till.

Popping in early on a sunday morning I might grab a fresh pastry and scoff it while chatting, then remember the next day or at lunch time that day.

Hardly the end of the world, is it?

Mind you, I was a grubby student back then so didn't really give much of a fig.

 

[Subliminal Aura]

Quite easily. Working night shifts for example, half asleep stocking the shelves I grab a lucozade and drink it while I work. Carry the empty bottle with me while I go get more boxes of product, chuck it in the bin, fill out about 3 more loads of boxes and sit down to read.

Twenty minutes later... "I'm thirsty... oh, I drank that Lucozade!". Money goes in the till.

o'rly ? Sounds like you had it easy.... It wasn't like that in my day - It was a damn hard graft I'd tell you that much and no we didn't grab a drink whenever we felt like it

 

[Angilion]

[..] I guess though the food safety stuff could be the bigger issue but it still seems too extreme.

Food safety is extreme, though. The inspectors can just stroll in anywhere, anytime and cannot be delayed. They turn up out of the blue, they're very picky on details and they have sweeping powers.

I work for a gambling business that serves food to customers. We also have an on licence for alcohol and it is of course an age-restricted premises, so that's 4 lots of possible inspections in addition to internal audits. The only one that makes people worried is the food one. Want to eat? Leave the area, eat, wash your hands. Scratched your nose? Wash your hands. Left the area for any reason? Wash your hands. Not sure if you should wash your hands? Wash your hands anyway, just in case.

I think sacking would be too extreme, but it would start a formal procedure in most places.

 

[GordyR]

I'm curious about exactly where you draw the line, so I have some questions.

An employee charges their phone in the office area in a Tesco store. Would you sack them for stealing the electricity?

An employee uses a ballpoint pen that Tesco has paid for, puts it in their pocket and forgets to take it out before going home. Would you sack them for stealing the pen? How about a paperclip?

I am not joking. You've made it very clear that you'd sack someone for pennies, so I'm trying to ascertain just how many pennies. How about if they found 1p that someone had dropped on the floor in the shop and took that home?

I draw the line when it is merchandise intended for sale. The other items you mentioned are business expenses. An employee using a pen or using company paid for energy are not intended to be sold they are part and parcel of the business operation.

But here we are talking about products intend for sale to track customers. There is a huge difference. What would you do if you ran vodafone and an employee stole a phone? What would you do if you ran an insurance brokers and an employee gave himself free insurance without paying for it? What would you do if you ran google and an employee gave himself free advertising credits for his own website which were intended to be sold? What would you do if you ran ford and an employee took a car? I could go on and on.

Of course you could argue that the value of a car for instance makes dismissal logical... But where do you draw that line? You can't. You have to treat it all as theft regardless of the value because quite simply that's what it is. That is also why you have a certain amount of autonomy when disciplining these thieves. A croissant wouldn't warrant a dismissal on a first offence whereas stealing a 42" TV would.

 

[Pestilence]

o'rly ? Sounds like you had it easy.... It wasn't like that in my day - It was a damn hard graft I'd tell you that much and no we didn't grab a drink whenever we felt like it

Though, this wasn't a supermarket or anything - just a privately owned 24-hour petrol station (that became a Spar, as far as I remember). Each night shift had literally one member of staff on (doors locked, service through the window/hatch) so nobody bothered questioning what went on or anything.

It was indeed an easy gig - a lot to do, but you just did it while you sauntered about listening to music, serving the odd person and reading the magazines.