I work as an assistant kitchen supervisor for a small catering company. When the owner's wife mentioned to me that she was bringing back an employee who left on bad terms about a month ago, I figured she was joking. It was no joke and would be brought back part-time and eventually full-time. In return, I was dumbfounded and since I had no place to dispute this because of the vindictiveness from the owner’s wife, I just looked at the situation as maybe she recognized change and gave him a second chance.
How did the employee leave on bad terms?
It all started when I worked for the company about two months ago and had experience as a supervisor with my previous employers, whom I left because of management…I began working with this employee and I immediately noticed how poor his work ethics were like having a bad shoulder, not being able to lift heavy items, coming into work all negative, and complaining about he he was broke and his trustee mishandling his money while he was collecting disability.
He came to me and asked to switch shifts with me as he blamed the buses for him not being able to come to work on time. So I ended up agreeing to the swap, and came on Sunday instead of Saturday. Upon reporting for my shift, I was greeted by the owner’s wife who told me that the dishwashing area was a mess. I learned that he came into work 2 hours late and was in a bad mood from others who had worked with him the day before, so I spent most of the day catching up and managed it just fine. The next day (Monday) he called in sick from what the owner told me, and I told him it wasn’t an issue and that I would take care of everything. On my off day (Tuesday), I got called in and I wasn’t too happy about it, but since they were in a tough spot I came as soon as I could. I learned from the kitchen supervisor that he resigned and would hire someone to replace him, so I worked 7 days straight until we found a replacement.
Today one of my kitchen employees who never worked with the employee who left on bad terms texted about an hour ago informing me that it was a bad day and that he complained about being broke and his trustee while not helping out where needed and walking around. Earlier in the week it was brought to the attention of the rest of the employees that he would be coming back and those who worked with him were not happy about it and were also dumbfounded about the decision. The owner had no idea that he was being brought back upon mentioning it to him which surprised me. I had promised to the owner I would not give him a hard time upon his return, even if he did set me up for a week of hell and did not own up to his actions.
Most employers would not consider bringing someone back for leaving abruptly and having a history of bringing negativity into the workplace and not being fit to work physically and emotionally. What makes it more frustrating is that I have zero authority over this matter since I’m an assistant supervisor and it’s up to the owners and kitchen manager to address this.
I’ll take whatever feedback is left in the comments.