My mother is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet – I know everyone says this about their mother but she is truly so kind, selfless and compassionate. She was recently taken advantage of by an employer and I’m outraged.
A little backstory, my mom has always been extremely hard working and as a result, when I was younger, she experienced severe burnout that spiraled into serious and long-lasting mental illness, for this reason, she has not been able to work for the past 20 years. Thankfully, she’s doing much better now and wants to re-enter the workforce. She was offered a part-time job in a local cafe (Bodira Café and Fine Foods in Markham, ON, Canada) which is owned by a couple – husband and wife. My mom made it very clear to the owners that she has no experience as a barista and would need to be trained. The owners said that’s no problem and they will teach her, and begged her to start as soon as possible – they even suggested she start immediately. She trusted the owners since it’s a local small business in her neighborhood (I know being this trustful is a mistake) and she never signed a contract but she asked them if she will be paid for the training days and they said yes, they would pay her at the end of her first week. She worked two full shifts and I know my mother, she works very hard, she came home exhausted. After working two full days the wife then said they refuse to pay her until her training is done and said, “I can’t pay you until you can manage the café on your own”. My mom sent her a copy of the Ontario Employment Standards Act and the owner responded saying “I don’t pay people to stand around” – which is ridiculous, my mom completed many tasks while working there. Needless to say, my mom won't be returning there. She's feeling very discouraged and upset with herself for being so trusting.
Frankly, I'm appalled by the lack of humanity. What kind of other despicable practices could someone like this be doing? I hope they do not take advantage of all their employees like this but I have a feeling they do. So, take this as a warning, avoid Bodira Café and Fine Foods if you care about decency and morality.