Employer fined me money for a not properly ironed shirt

[chrykoolaid]

So i work at this supermarket here in australia and on wednesday the store support manager of our store fined me 2$( its not much but still) because my shirt was not ironed properly and the money is supposed to go to a "charity", so i paid the money but i still didnt feel it was right to do this to an employee, so i rang the workers union ( they help employees with concerns and stuff) and they said it is illegal for an employer to fine an employee money.Side note my store is pretty stingy also they dont pay overtime after 12am which i should be entitled to.

do you guys think an employer should charge money from an employee or did i do the right thing to report that manager?

[Sunseeker]

Your employer is breaking the law. Sue his ass off.

[Tradewind]

No they're not allowed to "fine you." Not in that regard anyway.

Can you do anything about it? Report them or quit. Sounds like some doofus floor manager pretending to be important.

[Kraenen]

fire your employer

[Korgoth]

If its an agreed on policy sure. At a workplace I was at we did a swear job, and if you cussed you payed up to the boss and it went to charity. I can see it being a similar thing with being properly dressed.

[chrykoolaid]

No they're not allowed to "fine you." Not in that regard anyway.

Can you do anything about it? report them or quit.

i did report them, i've documented everything : the day, time , people present, what happened etc...i'd gladly like to quit this job but its so damn hard to find new jobs here in aus.

[Milchshake]

Does the employer provide a clothes iron, and an ironing board so that employees can sufficiently iron their clothes. Does the employer provide training in the proper and safe use of a clothes iron?
I would have thrown these question back at the manger that fined you.

[Vouksh89]

One my managers used to "charge" us when we cursed and he heard it. Was more of a joke than anything. He didn't do anything if you didn't pay. But he did use the money to buy stuff like donuts and pizza when he got enough.

OT: That's kinda BS, but with it being such a paltry amount, you wouldn't have much of a case. Maybe if there's a bunch of people in your store having the same or similar things happen to them, then you could get together and do a class action, but even then... idk about laws in australia, but here in the US, you could lose your job (if you live in a Right-To-Work state) if they hear about it.

[vindicatorx]

do you guys think an employer should charge money from an employee or did i do the right thing to report that manager?

Fuck no it's illegal for a reason, I would have told him to fuck off when he tried to fine me in the first place.

[-aiko-]

Your employer is breaking the law. Sue his ass off.

This isn't the United States.

[Mormolyce]

Yeah suing and legal payouts are pretty pissant in Australia compared to the US which is highly litigious.

Still, you should talk to the union about what action is worth taking.

[Kalis]

Does the employer provide a clothes iron, and an ironing board so that employees can sufficiently iron their clothes. Does the employer provide training in the proper and safe use of a clothes iron?
I would have thrown these question back at the manger that fined you.

The employer doesn't have to provide an iron, or training in how to use it, that's ridiculous. You wouldn't expect an employee to come in covered in shit because the workplace doesn't provide a washing machine, would you? It is the duty of the employee to be properly attired, and they would be expected to look after their work clothes themselves.


OT: Improperly dressed in the workplace; he shouldn't have fined you, he should have given you a warning that goes on your record.

I hope the manager gets a dressing down from his seniors, so that next time one of your colleagues is improperly dressed he gives them a warning, rather than make them pay the paltry $2 to charity.

He should also advise the members of staff that the reason they have a warning on their permanent record is due to you whining to the unions, because you couldn't be arsed to use an iron.

Or, you could realise that they are doing you a favour by not sending you home without pay or giving you a warning...it's $2 for charity, it's supposed to be a mild slap on the wrist rather than them fucking you over for a days wages or your promotion prospects.

[Azutael]

Well you said so yourself, he's not allowed to do that. So, do something about it.
It might not be a lot of money, but if he's not allowed to do such a thing. Then you shouldn't just ignore it, as it would just end up happening again.

[BatteredRose]

do you guys think an employer should charge money from an employee or did i do the right thing to report that manager?

Only if the employees signed an agreement before joining saying that the employers could fine the employees for so-and-so reason(s). Otherwise, that's not right at all.

[Kapadons]

So i work at this supermarket coles here in australia and on wednesday the store support manager of our store fined me 2$( its not much but still) because my shirt was not ironed properly and the money is supposed to go to a "charity", so i paid the money but i still didnt feel it was right to do this to an employee, so i rang the workers union ( they help employees with concerns and stuff) and they said it is illegal for an employer to fine an employee money.Side note my store is pretty stingy also they dont pay overtime after 12am which i should be entitled to.

do you guys think an employer should charge money from an employee or did i do the right thing to report that manager?

Why not just follow the rules and iron your shirt?

I wouldn't have fined you $2, I would have sent you home for the day and wrote you up. You should be happy he only charged you $2. In fact, you owe him a thank you and an apology for calling the union on him. And pick him up some donuts on the way in tomorrow morning.

[Kasierith]

If it was written into your contract that certain fines may be levied for certain reasons, then it is legal. Otherwise it's an arbitrary fine and, while I wouldn't necessarily press charges or anything like that since the chance of coming out positive on the end is slim, it will protect you from any disciplinary action taken due to not ironing a shirt. Ie, he can't fire you because you refused to give him money, even if for charity... that would be an extremely quick lawsuit.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

One my managers used to "charge" us when we cursed and he heard it. Was more of a joke than anything. He didn't do anything if you didn't pay. But he did use the money to buy stuff like donuts and pizza when he got enough.

OT: That's kinda BS, but with it being such a paltry amount, you wouldn't have much of a case. Maybe if there's a bunch of people in your store having the same or similar things happen to them, then you could get together and do a class action, but even then... idk about laws in australia, but here in the US, you could lose your job (if you live in a Right-To-Work state) if they hear about it.

Was the pizza for himself or the workplace? 'cause if it's for himself that's BS, but if it's for everybody else that's kinda cool.

[Toziel]

Or, you could realise that they are doing you a favour by not sending you home without pay or giving you a warning...it's $2 for charity, it's supposed to be a mild slap on the wrist rather than them fucking you over for a days wages or your promotion prospects.

I lol'd. Hard. You realise he works in a supermarket selling groceries right? I've worked in an Australian supermarket before, and this was just some dbag abusing his power. They don't give out warnings for your uniform being messy unless it would violate safety regulations.

On topic: I'd have told him to piss off, but reporting him to the union is definitely the way to go. If he was anything less than the store manager, report him to the store manager too. Make a big deal of it. I've seen someone fired for 50c at a supermarket, would be nice to see a higher-up get their due.

If anyone is wondering I dislike supermarket managers, it's because a lot of them are either awful people or awful at their jobs. It usually doesn't pay well enough to attract competent people since it's miserable work.

[satimy]

Steal $2 worth of shit from the store, an eye for an eye

[Feral Camel]

Do you get on well with this manager?

How sure are you that the money goes to charity?