I’ve started working again part-time in a bar and I really enjoy it – that being said I’m beginning to notice a few things which don’t exactly make me very happy about the way the bar is run and wanted to ask for some opinions here.
This bar is in the UK where the minimum wage is £8.91. And of course, this bar is owned by a chain who pay that much to their staff, even the supervisors.
When I have worked cash-in-hand shifts here, I was paid £8.50. I complained about this and one of the managers said it was a “company policy” that I was paid that much because other full time staff would be getting taxed, whereas I wasn’t, so I’d technically be getting ‘equal pay’
I’m not allowed to sign myself out, managers have to do that.
I’ve been told by managers that the chain that owned the bar is a good chain to work for but it’s quite evident to me that just like any bar owned by a chain, it’s full of shitty practices. Another nearby bar owned by the chain has a manager who has had a bunch of sexual assusations made against him from ex-employees and seems to have a habit of hiring girls who are 18-20 and even dates a 19 year old even though he’s in his late 30s. Of course, he’s not faced any consequences from upstairs as he’s good friends with the main boss of the chain
Whilst we’re allowed to go out for a cigarette every so often, we don’t really get any proper break unless it’s reallyquiet and we can sit down to eat some food, one manager doesn’t want us eating behind the bar or even chatting to customers because we’re “meant to be cleaning when we have nothing to do”. I understand this rule but it’s a bit..shit?
What do you guys think? Are these genuine policies just minor inconveniences that most of us have to put up with or are they big red flags? This is my 2nd bar job and I’m still relatively new to bar work and I love working here and I love my colleagues and regulars even more but these things bug me.
Thank you for any of your comments and opinions