Walking Out - Need Advice Quickly!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

I’m in a bit of a situation where I’m going to quit my job, but I need some advice.

The manager’s been on my case for a few weeks now, trying to squeeze too many jobs into a day, and then kicking-off at you when you can’t do them. As of last week he’s become very personal, accusing me of dragging days out, and constantly questioning me why I’m late, despite that I’ve gone as quickly as I can, legally.

At the beginning of the week I had a breakdown, and all the manager could was kick-off about why I was late to the drop, how I’d accumulated so much working time, and how much the breakdown would cost. I decided then I’d be handing-in my notice at the end of the week. I don’t deserve this sort of abuse, especially when I’m doing my absolute best to get HIS loads on time. It’s not like I can smash through traffic, do six-hour journeys in four hours, and do six fifteen-hour days a week.

Then, earlier on today he called me to give me abuse about how I should have got further before my night-out stop, and how it was a waste of time sending me because now the truck wouldn’t be making any money, due to the cost of my breakdown the other day. He then stated that “you need to start maxing your hours out!”, and his closing statement of the conversation was “Quite frankly you’re underperforming”.

Naturally, I was absolutely seething, and my initial reaction was to turn the truck around and go back to base, handing-in my keys (as they’re all swines in the office, not just him). The problem is, I’m a tramper, so I may not get back to base until Friday, so I need some advice. The manager in question only works days, so if I’m back at my normal time on Friday evening, I will have missed him, and nobody will be there, so I would have the night man to contend with (who is a nice bloke). I need to give my keys back to the manager in question. I don’t need the job, which makes a massive difference to my decision, and I have literally NOTHING to lose at all, just my self-respect.

What do I do? Tip this morning, unplug the phone and head back to base for a dramatic finish, wait until there’s a slim possibility of going back to base before Friday, or just wait until Friday and tell the night man to tell the manager what I think of him, and that I will not be coming-in on Monday? Bear in mind, they’re all bell-ends, and quite frankly, need to know they can’t push drivers to their limit, he crossed the line.

Any help please, quick?

2

How far from home are you? Get a train or such home, and leave the truck parked up, blocking a minor residential street…

3

Don’t sink down to the manager’s level. Finish your job, then resign and write a letter/email to the owner explaining your reasons why making sure that you tell him that you consider it constructive dismissal and that you were left no option by the manager.

Don’t forget you may well need a reference in the future.

Bear in mind, they’re all bell-ends, and quite frankly, need to know they can’t push drivers to their limit, he crossed the line

By walking away you will look bad, by doing it properly you can hold your head high and ridicule the manager in the process.

4

the nodding donkey:
How far from home are you? Get a train or such home, and leave the truck parked up, blocking a minor residential street…

4 hours by truck, but I do have all of my tramping gear which I’d like to keep. :grimacing:

5

No stay then get an app on your phone recording him pressuring you .then go for constructive to do his head in lol

6

wheelnutt:
Don’t sink down to the manager’s level. Finish your job, then resign and write a letter/email to the owner explaining your reasons why making sure that you tell him that you consider it constructive dismissal and that you were left no option by the manager.

Don’t forget you may well need a reference in the future.

Bear in mind, they’re all bell-ends, and quite frankly, need to know they can’t push drivers to their limit, he crossed the line

By walking away you will look bad, by doing it properly you can hold your head high and ridicule the manager in the process.

+1

And if you can bear it work your notice. Constructive dismissal imho. But legal advice would confirm your options. Good luck!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

7

Say that you require midday finish on Fri, some important business :smiley: :laughing:

Don’t burn any bridges :sunglasses:

8

As others have said grin and bear for a few days and work your notice at least you’ll probably enjoy the last few days knowing you’re off soon .

9

hand in your notice so theres no reason you wont get your weeks lying time…and max your hours out in the last week just for the sake of it? mabey if you do a good weeks work,the both of you might change your mind about leaving…he may just not like you on a personal basis.try a nose to nose behind closed doors chat,if you want to make your position crystal.either way jobs are 10 a penny…an thats before you have to to consider limping.

10

Got an email address for him? Send him a weeks notice by email and do it from today. You can even text him if you want. You don’t need to give that specific manager the keys back, you just need to leave the keys there. When you get back on Friday take all your gear out. Phone in sick over the weekend to cover Mon-Wednesday next week. If you do end up going in for those few days you can always just take your sleeping gear and a holdall with night out gear in it for a couple of nights. If he tells you to bring the truck straight back and you’re sacked on the spot then do it but when you get back to the yard remind him that the law requires him to give you a weeks notice so you’ll expect to be paid a week in lieu or you’ll sue him.

Life is too short to be stuck in a job that makes you as miserable as this, especially when you are driving a truck and have nothing to do but sit there stewing about it 13-15hrs a day.

Constructive dismissal can be pursued if you want but its £1200 just to file a claim and unless someone is prepared to back you up it basically comes down to he said, she said. And its even more stress and something that is likely to drag out for months.

11

If i remember correctly,you work for stobarts.

When i quit stobarts,i phoned in on a tuesday morning,and told them my intention was to leave.

They put me through to the depot manager,who asked me if i’d like to leave on friday…to which i replied yes.
Before i left i was called into the office and asked why i wanted to leave.
This will be your chance to tell them what you think.
Or …just turn and burn

12

Thanks everyone for your help. I’ve calmed down a bit, and decided not to do anything too rash, like unplugging the phone and storming back to base to throw the keys at him.

I believe I’ll be back at my base some time tomorrow, where I’ll give-in a hand-written letter stating my immediate resignation, and I will hand-in my keys, never to return. Stated on this letter will also be reasons for my resignation, such as that I was set impossible deadlines, and subject to far too much pressure. The few days gives them enough time to sort an agency replacement for me, but to be honest, I couldn’t give a toss what happens to them. In my opinion, they had a keen, motivated driver, and they pushed him out with their unrealistic expectations. It was just a matter of time to be fair, all he’s done today is accelerate the process.

To be honest with you all, I don’t need the job, and I certainly don’t people like him, and firms like that. I’m going back to working for myself, and I won’t be pursuing a constructive dismissal case. Nor will I use them as a reference. Tomorrow, or Friday WILL be my last day working for them. It might be naughty of me not to give a full-week’s notice, but it’s naughty of them to expect you to max your hours out just to make the job profitable (like he said), and hint that I should be taking breaks on bays, cutting corners with strapping, etc, just so they can cram as much work into you as possible, and you can hit their impossibly tight deadlines, just to make them a tiny profit, where a small breakdown puts the operation into a loss.

I agree with Conor, life’s too short to work for a miserable outfit like this. Their biggest problem is simply trying to squeeze too much blood out of a driver. Telling you a load must be a “straight tip”, I.e no stopping, because if you took a 45 the place would probably be shut for the day, so they tell you to do a 4-hour run in one hit so you can tip there and be free for the morning. Kicking-off when you start earlier than they think you should have, because they can’t give you as many jobs later, and kicking-off when you start later, because they say you should try to arrive early, and try to get tipped or loaded earlier than expected. Telling you that you NEED to do a 15, and have a reduced rest, not asking you whether you’d be prepared to do one. Asking you to run-in on a Saturday, and then planning you for a full shift, not just a few hours in the morning. Sending you into somewhere with a massive queue, when they know there’s a queue, they know you’re on your last day, and your time’s running low, and then they refuse to answer their phones when you try to ring them, as they know the longer you’re in there, the more likely you are to get their load. Turning a blind eye to drivers not strapping their loads correctly, because it saves time to cram-in other jobs. Sending you somewhere to arrive bang-on closing time, and then they expect you to persuade the staff to load or tip you, moaning when you can’t. Sending you somewhere for a load a day early, just so you can “try” and get the load, then they huff and puff when the customer tells you to come back tomorrow, when the actual time is. The list goes on…

13

Rottweiler22:
I believe I’ll be back at my base some time tomorrow, where I’ll give-in a hand-written letter stating my immediate resignation

Be careful as it isn’t legal under UK employment law and they have the right to sue you for losses arising from it, basically the cost of employing someone from an agency to cover the notice period. Whilst most employers won’t, some have and I recall one case on MoneySavingExpert.com forums where everyone barring a couple of us said they’d never sue the poster and they did.

14

It’s best to quit with no notice on payday.
Possession being nine-tenths of the law as I always like to say - Once that money is in your bank account, they can sue to their heart’s content for “Breach of Contract” - but no firm is really going to spend thousands getting you into court to pay a small fine at best. :bulb:

15

Leave in a proper manner,even if you have to grit your teeth for a week.
Write your notice out over the weekend give it in Sun /Mon which ever day you start to who ever is in charge of the Office and leave on the Friday.

16

If this is stobarts then I would quit on payday,
I can’t believe firms are operating like this,but it seems a lot of big firms are cutting corners and pushing drivers,and some take it.
No wonder they are having “recruitment roadshows” to get drivers promising the best job in the industry.

17

Rottweiler22:
.

To be honest with you all, I don’t need the job, and I certainly don’t people like him, and firms like that. I’m going back to working for myself, and I won’t be pursuing a constructive dismissal case. Nor will I use them as a reference. Tomorrow, or Friday WILL be my last day working for them. It might be naughty of me not to give a full-week’s notice, but it’s naughty of them to expect you to max your hours out just to make the job profitable (like he said), and hint that I should be taking breaks on bays, cutting corners with strapping, etc, just so they can cram as much work into you as possible, and you can hit their impossibly tight deadlines, just to make them a tiny profit, where a small breakdown puts the operation into a loss.

I agree with Conor, life’s too short to work for a miserable outfit like this. Their biggest problem is simply trying to squeeze too much blood out of a driver. Telling you a load must be a “straight tip”, I.e no stopping, because if you took a 45 the place would probably be shut for the day, so they tell you to do a 4-hour run in one hit so you can tip there and be free for the morning. Kicking-off when you start earlier than they think you should have, because they can’t give you as many jobs later, and kicking-off when you start later, because they say you should try to arrive early, and try to get tipped or loaded earlier than expected. Telling you that you NEED to do a 15, and have a reduced rest, not asking you whether you’d be prepared to do one. Asking you to run-in on a Saturday, and then planning you for a full shift, not just a few hours in the morning. Sending you into somewhere with a massive queue, when they know there’s a queue, they know you’re on your last day, and your time’s running low, and then they refuse to answer their phones when you try to ring them, as they know the longer you’re in there, the more likely you are to get their load. Turning a blind eye to drivers not strapping their loads correctly, because it saves time to cram-in other jobs. Sending you somewhere to arrive bang-on closing time, and then they expect you to persuade the staff to load or tip you, moaning when you can’t. Sending you somewhere for a load a day early, just so you can “try” and get the load, then they huff and puff when the customer tells you to come back tomorrow, when the actual time is. The list goes on…

Don’t no how long you have been driving but most of what you have put is how haulage works. If you are not working when on a bay why can’t you have your break while on the bay. Are you stopping for a 45 because you need to or because you feel like a break, if driving for 4 hours can get you tipped instead of waiting till morning maybe they have a point. Why are you starting early then wasting time later in the day. turning a blind eye to drivers not strapping has nothing to do with you strap your forget others. All firms would expect you to ask if you can get unloaded when you turn up at closing time.
You sound like your getting wound up over nothing.

18

Get as many higher up office bods email addresses in the company as you can then copy then and your boss in, he can’t tear that up and make out you just walked :wink:

19

Why would anybody work for somebody who gives out verbal abuse ? It’s OK if it’s a bit of banter but this fella sounds like a right simpleton.

Jack it in tonight,I know I know I would.

20

If it’s a decent paying job and the only real problem is this gobshyte, grow a pair and call his bluff, ask him to sack you if he thinks you are crap at your job, if he won’t tell him to shut the ■■■■ up in future so you can get on with it.
Wouldn’t let a prick like that get me down, he would get as much back as he is giving if I’m doing nothing wrong, I certainly wouldn’t leave, from experience he will soon stop if you give enough back.
If it’s a crap job still do the above, and walk before the push.