Location: India
My boyfriend (22M) is a professional chef who’s currently at a managerial position at a restaurant. He earns about $276 a month. He has been working continuously from 11am in the morning till 12:30am at night.
The restaurant owners kept 10 staff at first but all of them left the jobs because of the rigid schedule, lack of pay (they get paid half for the first month as a form of security) and lack of leaves (even sick leaves). Also, they don’t get paid for the leaves taken.
My bf has been experiencing Covid-like symptoms but hasn’t been able to test due to his work schedule and timing. They don’t even allow him to take leaves because there isn’t enough staff. Also, they tell him that if he takes a leave, the restaurant will have to close for that day and they can’t afford to do that. Even though he’s the manager, he cleans and sweeps, cooks food, etc.
Sometimes, he has more work than other days so he works for more than 16-17 hours (returns home at about 4-5am) in the morning and has to leave for work at 11am again. His sleep schedule is messed up and he is exhausted all the time.
They’ve been forcing himself to work and although he gets 4 leaves a month, they’ve not allowed him to use it. Yesterday, he had to work from 8am till 1am.
His health is declining but he’s still working. The lack of staff isn’t his problem and they should’ve staffed accordingly but he’s suffering. On top of that, the owner screams at him for even a tiny mistake and expects him to take care of everything and manage his subordinate.
I’ve advised him to leave the job and apply for another job & he’s planning to do so in a month. If he leaves this job, the restaurant will close down.