When a supervisor takes against you

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@TheHorse just made me think of this. A long time ago, when I was still at school, I had a ‘Saturday job’ at a restaurant called ‘Little Chef’ - remember them anyone in the UK? They were a kind of slightly more up-market version of a fast food restaurant only with a more extensive menu and proper plates and cutlery, and they were usually situated along main roads, so they were popular with families on long trips, or coach tour parties, for example. It was my first job and I worked there for two years at weekends and sometimes evenings. The boss herself was OK; I wasn’t her favourite person - she thought I didn’t do things fast enough because I wanted to do things properly rather than in a slap-dash manner - but I was very reliable and I was happy to show up at short notice or to work a 12- or 13-hour shift when things got unexpectedly busy. Her deputy, though, was a different matter. His name was Alan and he really disliked me. Funnily enough he was a close friend of my cousin, and we all went to the same school (they were both a couple of years older than me) but we had never been friendly. Now I don’t know whether he felt he had to exert his authority since he wasn’t much older than me, or whether he was afraid other staff might accuse him of favouritism if he was nice, since we already knew each other - but for whatever reason he took against me and tried to get me down. Of course there were limited ways in which he could do this because legally I had to be paid, given appropriate breaks, and allowed meals if I was working more than a certain number of hours, and he couldn’t do anything about those. And most of the building was an open-plan design so staff could see what was going on pretty much anywhere. So instead he expressed his dislike by making me clean the toilets whenever he could. If I arrived in good time for a shift he would say ‘Oh good, you’re early, you can clean the toilets before you start’. If I was late he would say ‘You’re late, go and clean the toilets!’. If there was a bit of a lull between busy periods he would send me to clean the toilets. Sometimes I would get the toilet-cleaning job several times in one day. Perhaps he thought I would find this degrading, but to be honest I didn’t really mind - it was usually quite peaceful in the toilets! I could take my time to make sure they were nice and clean, there was no hassle from customers, and on hot days it was a bit cooler. I was also paid the same whether I was rushed off my feet clearing tables and washing dishes or dawdling in the toilets. I’m not even sure it was completely legal to send a woman to clean the men’s toilets (as he sometimes did) without warning the customers. I did find it funny - If he was in charge I would be waiting for him to send me there. But I haven’t forgotten. All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2021.