I'm the mother of a learning disabled employee of Tesco. She worked at a very large branch for 18 months on the checkouts, without supervision, taking cheques, money, etc., with no complaints whatsoever. She worked only 9 1/2 hours contract hours but during the year she was asked to do so much overtime, which she never refused because she wanted to show how good an employee she was, and wanted to increase her contract hours, which they refused to do. She did absurd shifts at their request, such as 8.00 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 7.00 to 1.00 a.m., always taking a minicab home at £14.00 a time, so that she was left with little to show for her work. I phoned and wrote to the Personnel Department asking them to increase her contract hours and to make them sociable, but received no response.
At the end of the year she was left owing £895 in underpaid tax because she had received Incapacity Benefit to which she was entitled for the 9 1/2 hours, but would not have been entitled to Disability Working Tax Credit because she was not doing 16 hours contract hours. She came off of the Incapacity Benefit on the advice of her DEA at the Job Centre and went on to Working Tax Credit because of the average during the previous year, but was not asked to do any overtime this whole year and now has to repay 6 months at £69 per month to the Working Tax Credit people, i.e. £1,800 for this year. Would anyone else work for 2 years and end up owing so much money?
The overtime stopped for my daughter when a new manager took over. Because she was now on Working Tax Credit, my daughter knew she had to work 16 hours a week, so constantly asked for overtime but was told "it's all gone", "it went yesterday" etc. She phoned in on various days but the reply was always the same. I was in a quandery. The Incapacity Benefit to which my daughter was entitled is over £100 per week, but if she went back on it and was asked to do overtime, then she would have to repay money and you cannot go on and off the benefit and in and out of Working Tax Credit. I made everything known both to the Personnel Manager and the Union repeatedly by phone and letter.
Additionally, my daughter has a problem with dexterity due to the brain damage she suffered as a baby which left her with Special Needs/Learning Disabled. She was folding the paper money notes to put them in the pod, but was told that they were not rolled tightly enough. She tried very hard to roll them tighter but couldn't. Consequently, I informed the Personnel Manager that she was unable to do the job properly, was upset, and could someone do this for her. She was very nice and told the staff that someone should do this for my daughter. Some of the colleagues were pleasant, but often my daughter came home saying that some colleagues were telling her that she was lazy, she must be able to do such a simple task and she felt really upset.
One day my daughter hurt her back on the checkouts lifting a large box of bottled water to scan. The rules for voiding had been changed so that each time she voided an item, always because of a customer changing their mind, she had to call over someone to handle the void. She was told that she was voiding more than others and on the occasion when she lifted the large box, she had done so to avoid scanning both underneath and at the side, so as to not having to void the transaction and call over a manager. She went in the following day in pain, reporting her injury to a Manager who told her to see how the day went. Later that day she was called into the office and told that she had snatched a credit card from a customer and had not smiled at him. My daughter explained that she was in pain, was trying to keep her back straight and had not intentionally snatched the card. She had no support at the meeting as a learning disabled employee is entitled to and was very distressed at the first time being disciplined.
She had 2 weeks off of work because of the pain to her back, visiting the doctor who gave her a medical note. My daughter was traumatised by the incident, which, unless you understand the insecurities and fear of a Special Needs person, you will not understand. She was not paid. She said she didn't want to go back on to checkouts and I accompanied my daughter to the first meeting I attended at Tesco's (there were many to follow). She was told that she could work as a shelf stacker, which my daughter agreed to and was introduced to a very nice older lady who showed her the job. She was told that this was a temporary job. On the fourth week, she went to work as usual, was handed a piece of paper with her name at the top, entitled "Cleaner's Job", with instructions on how to take a bucket of water and cloth around.
My daughter was heartbroken and phoned me in tears. Firstly, she hates the feel of water, secondly she is unable to squeeze the cloth same as she could not fold the paper notes as she has no grip or strength in her hands due to the brain damage and most importantly, she was humiliated at being demoted. Please remember that my daughter had done nothing intentionally wrong and she could not understand why she was being treated this way.
I asked for a meeting and accompanied my daughter to the next meeting where the manager, a Union Rep and another lady were present, the woman taking notes. What followed was the most appalling discrimination and humiliating treatment of my daughter by the store manager. He was not only abusive to her, but frightened her by jabbing his finger at her. He told her that his only concern was his customers and asked her why she had lifted the box. My daughter explained why but he was having nothing of it. He repeatedly asked how come for 18 months she had not hurt herself but on this occasion had!!! He tole me that she had been on a Health and Safety Course and when she told him she had not he produced a piece of paper on it with her signature. I asked to see the paper and it simply asked "Do you know how to lift objects". I asked him if this constituted Tesco's training and he put the paper away.
The Manager told my daughter that the cleaning job was the only one available at the store (a very large London store). I told him that she didn't want it, couldn't do it and he told me that if she couldn't do the job because of difficulties then she must produce a doctor's certificate to that effect. At that point, I became so angry at his treatment of my daughter who was sitting frightened and starting to cry, that I told him what he could do with his cleaner's job and that my daughter wouldn't be returning until he reconsidered the options open to her.
She sat at home for weeks, getting more and more depressed. She told me she wished she had never been born, and cried constantly. I requested she be transferred to another store, and I was told she had to go around looking for vacancies elsewhere and I accompanied my daughter to a number of stores, but she was told everywhere that there were no vacancies and some told her it was up to her store to put in a transfer request, which they did not do.
I sent an email to the CEO which got passed down to a senior personnel manager of another store and a grievance meeting was arranged where the Union Area Manager represented my daughter, a young lady took notes and I accompanied my daughter. At that meeting, the Personnel Manager told us that no such cleaning job existed. Cleaning is always done as part of a job, but not as a job in itself. He accepted that my daughter had done nothing wrong, he would arrange to find a new store for my daughter who said she would very much like to go onto .com. It was agreed that my daughter be put on "gardening leave".
Subsequently another meeting took place where Remploy was present, agreed to become involved again but only on the condition that my daughter work more than 16 hours a week. It took several months until they found another store for her. Other meetings took place which both my daughter, the Union and I attended, where the Union put forward my daughter's case for the money she has to repay the Inland Revenue, now totalling over £2,500 be reimbursed to her, that the 2 weeks money she lost when she had hurt her back and stayed at home be reimbursed to her, but nothing has happened.
Eventually she was found another large London store, much closer to home where she has been working very happily in the .com department. I have met and spoken with the manager and her line manager who have both confirmed that my daughter is picking up the job very quickly, they have no problems with her and that they like her and she is settling in as part of the team.
However, for some reason, she is still being paid from the previous store. Last month, despite doing over 23 hours a week, she was paid for the 9 1/2 contract hours she had previously done. Another meeting, and she was assured that the money would be made up. However, this month, having done 22 1/2 hours a week, she was again paid the 9 1/2 hours by the previous store. My daughter is heartbroken again and feels, and I must agree with her, that she is being victimized as surely Tesco can do better than this. To cap it all off, the previous store has offered to "loan" her money until next month but only on the condition that she goes to the old store, takes in a post dated cheque to repay the "loan" before they hand her the money. I told them that she will not go begging for her own money, will not go back to the previous store and will not hand them a post dated cheque but that she will give them a written receipt that she has received "money on account". They have refused to do this.
I sent an email to the address given to me by Head Office, outlining the grievances my daughter has had, the discrimination she has suffered, the hurt, loss of money etc. and giving them 7 days to respond fully, failing which my daughter would take Tesco's to an Employment Tribunal The answer I received was that the email address was wrong and that I should send it to her Store Manager. I replied stating that that address was given to me by Head Office, they should send it wherever they wanted and that their reply was my receipt that Tesco's had received this very serious communication.
Seeing the email address of Terry Leahy on this website, I sent him a long email, outlining this whole story, telling him that I had already sent an email to the Company regarding my daughter's intention to take his company to an Employment Tribunal and that my daughter is still waiting to hear where she stands with regards the permanence of the job now, etc. I will keep this site updated if I receive a reply to my original email or from Mr Leahy.
Concerned Mother
I work at Tesco Head Office and came across some very interesting material :
