Andy, there is no loyalty now, you do the work, the boss gets the glory.
I found that out from one boss, truck owner phoned me up out of the blue and asked me if I would be willing to take a truck load of charity aid down to Sofia, Bulgaria, ok said I after discussing the pay which on a weekly basis was to go to my wife.
So down to Reading where the truck was and introduced myself, got the keys, checked out the truck which for an owner/driver was in not too bad a condition. Then I had to sit all weekend waiting to get loaded on the Monday. And at that point I should have smelled a rat because when I phoned him I was asked to send him £100 back out of the running money (running money used to pay customs/backhanders etc). So got loaded and just outside Sofia the clutch went, managed to get through to him on the phone and a few days later another English driver arrived took the trailer and I followed as best I could. Got the clutch repaired and took the trailer into the customs compound where it would be unloaded by the charity people.
Phoned my wife and was informed that there was no pay, and that he was not going to pay me.... So back to the truck park and had a word with the other English driver and arranged with him to double man it back to the UK, via the customs posts where I had to leave a payment to be collected on the way back (normal practice).
In the customs office I said I would be leaving the trailer and got the signed and stamped paperwork from the charity people and customs. Back to the truck park and after removing my personal gear I asked the English guy if he wanted anything out of the truck as it was staying, he helped himself to tools etc, drained the fuel tank into his own, I then went across to three Turkish drivers who had the same trucks, handed them the keys and said two words "Strip it!" Jumped in the truck and set off back home, collected the bounties, split them 50/50.
Arrived home and first thing was to call the charity and explain I had the paperwork and they could pay me, which was agreed, then called the 'boss' and said I was back in the country and needed paying, the reply was "There is no loyalty now so suck it up". He asked where the truck was and my reply was that as there is no loyalty now the trailer is in the customs park and I have the reciept, and the truck will now be on its way in bits to Turkey and as I have the vehicle documents I will be informing DVLA that the truck was scrapped in Sofia.
So Andy, keep your chin up, with your skills, as with mine there will be work coming your way, and it is easy to say but do not get into a slump, I went there once and was hell to live with. Get on the bench and do some work - work out your frustrations in a constructive way, there is always a wall you can chuck the model up, and then spend the rest of the day on your knees picking up the bits and trying to work out where they fitted, and it is amazing how being on your knees, scrabbling around, nose to the carpet, searching the tufts of the carpet can be as low as you can get, after that it is only up.
Mike.
Andy, sorry to hear that mate. That is a c**** trick and a very bad show by the company. I'm sure something will turn up.
Please scottie, have you not learned yet that a c*** is usefull.... Probably get demoted now...
Get some legal advice. There was a case recently where it was decided that a self-employed contractor who'd been working at the same client for several years was considered to have the same rights as a direct employee for sick pay and redundancy.
Pete
I do believe you are correct, it came about during covid when self employed people were chucked out of work and could not get the payments the government were offering (Furlough)...
Sorry to hear of such 'crappy' news mate, like others have said it seems to be a sign of the times with cowardly management,
I'm sure though that an employer can't terminate a person's job / contract via a txt or phone call, there are legal procedures they have to follow in order to prevent them being dragged through employment courts... I'd be looking into this buddy if I were you..
Mrs L has just mentioned a certain ferry company that did this to it's employees a while back and got into some serious hot water due to British employment legislation.. not sure if this helps you in anyway...but it might..
Big man hugs for you and Rach.. chin up fella, don't let the bar stewards drag you down..
Ferry company was P&O and they got rid of their UK workers so that they could employ unlicenced workers from abroad and pay them less.
Happened with the Polish truck drivers when they came to this country, the employers paid them rubbish money but allowed them to live in their trucks, and had them working over their legal hours. And as was explained to us UK drivers, they were used to being abused by their Polish bosses and saw no difference here. They soon learned.
Sorry to hear that mate
i was at a job 10 years ,they wanted to change the way i got paid which meant me losing out. I refused,they made my life difficult till i had no choice but to leave, i was gutted , best thing that ever happened! I now work for a decent firm that really look after me for much better money.
So fingers crossed your cloud could have a silver lining .
That is how I ended up, got treated like
by a delivery company, took them to a tribunal and won. Boss of another company heard I was sitting on my rear, offered me a job, the job turned out great and worked for him for my last 7 years and on retirement he asked if I would carry on for a couple of months - three years later I finally retired and with a nice thankyou in my hand from his son who had taken over the running of the company after his father died, all in all the best two bosses I ever had.
