Employee & mates

[betweenthelines]

If he was employed in a factory or pretty much any other business he would not get away with it. Regarding his social life, he must have been aware of what was involved, sorry, no excuse! To allow anyone else to operate machinery surely is gross misconduct. To give the employee a chance I would issue a verbal and written warning, after that I am afraid out the door!


Unless he is super sh!t hot at his job

Not true, most workplaces have rules about mobile phone use during working hours especially in relation to H&S

 

[Lofty1984]

I think that the worst offence is allowing someone who is not employed by the company and therefore uninsured is the biggest issue and certainly a sackable one. It would be different if permission was requested and insurance company notified to cover the company beforehand.

I’m not at all defending the bloke I agree totally wrong to let his mates have a spin it’s just the hang him attitude that gets up my nose

 

[abitdaft]

Not true, most workplaces have rules about mobile phone use during working hours especially in relation to H&S

I don't understand, I can understand that nowadays having a workplace phone for safety reasons but not for social?

 

[Michael3112]

Who the frig wants people for ride alongs constantly apart from the mrs the odd time iv never been part of that carry on couldnt think of anything worse than someone ruining my peace an quiet and been on the phone constantly ball ache that but mybe thats because im a tad anti social ha .

Few years back i spread dung along with a contractors chap an between sitting on his phone finishing his call before loading again an running accross 2 fields to get to the gate onto the road to pick up his mates a dont know how he actually manged to spread anything but in fairness a prob spread the most of it pee'd me right off the boss got someone in so i we could get it done quicker feel like a would of done it quicker myself.

 

[abitdaft]

I’m not at all defending the bloke I agree totally wrong to let his mates have a spin it’s just the hang him attitude that gets up my nose

You are not the one paying him or the one potentially facing liability for an accident etc?

 

[Lofty1984]

You are not the one paying him or the one potentially facing liability for an accident etc?

And that goes for everyone else too

 

[ollie989898]

I've seen it before as well. Chaps on phones near 24/7 even on the road. I don't like doing anything requiring concentration with the phone going as well as it distracts me I find but others seem better able to cope with it. I don't tend to listen to music that much either when driving I'm not sure why.

Would never entertain the thought of friends turning up and would not let them drive machinery either. Wife has brought me lunch to work before though but only at lunch time or to the gateway. Would not let friends or family ride in the cab if it was me.

Can be a very lonely job for some.

 

[Fendt]

Just a few extra points for clarification.
He is 22.
He has been warned once when I caught him with a mate driving the jcb loading him up with seed while planting spuds and I happened to come back to the yard with a problem with the bedformer.
He’s also had one written warning about phone use and also speed when driving tractors round the yard.
He’s basically on his final warning.
Needless to say I’m not best impressed tonight!
However, I appreciate the comments about unsocial hours etc. We finished work tonight at 7, hardly late. We haven’t done much overtime lately with the weather

 

[Lofty1984]

Just a few extra points for clarification.
He is 22.
He has been warned once when I caught him with a mate driving the jcb loading him up with seed while planting spuds and I happened to come back to the yard with a problem with the bedformer.
He’s also had one written warning about phone use and also speed when driving tractors round the yard.
He’s basically on his final warning.
Needless to say I’m not best impressed tonight!
However, I appreciate the comments about unsocial hours etc. We finished work tonight at 7, hardly late. We haven’t done much overtime lately with the weather

You know this lad better than any here and sounds like you’ve been more that fair

 

[abitdaft]

And that goes for everyone else too

" Everyone " and I don't think that it was everyone) maybe see's the potential horror story, not just to the employee, his mate, but of the business at large including accident through lack of knowledge/experience or fines large enough to bankrupt, even though the farmer is not actually at fault. You just would not see someone in almost any other field of business allowing their mate to be at the helm of even a desk. Can you imagine the manager of a pipelines operation allowing an employee to bring his mate to work a crane or sideboom without having some kind of conversation beforehand? Or perhaps a carers mate along to help put granny to bed without the proper due diligence . It's wrong!

 

[Doing it for the kids]

People who employ others and have to deal with that side of a business will always have a different view to the farm worker. It’s clear above which side folk sit on when commenting!

sounds like this lad has had enough warnings, id be looking for someone to replace him. Talking on the phone is one thing but letting others drive is stepping over the line

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Plenty of people looking for work...give someone else a go

 

[Lincoln75]

Employees are supposed to have contracts , make sure they state no personal phone usage during work hours and no visitors other than in the canteen area as they are unlikely to be insured , its how it is in most workplaces.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

If mate got hurt in tractor the cost could bankrupt the farm health and safety take a very dim view on passengers

Don't think passangers are insured at all by any insurance company, it says in the small print something like, only covered when rescue from snow of floods in an emergency,

 

[michael N123]

I’m sat in my tractor replying to this thread xx

 

[ollie989898]

No risk of me ever filling a passenger seat as I don't have any friends. Workplace phone traffic is also very low as a consequence. Might read the news whilst waiting for tanker to fill or something else to happen. Check emails daily but less of that for now. TFF seems to contain more laughs in the last few months so check it from time to time for entertainment.

 

[Mc115reed]

People who employ others and have to deal with that side of a business will always have a different view to the farm worker. It’s clear above which side folk sit on when commenting!

sounds like this lad has had enough warnings, id be looking for someone to replace him. Talking on the phone is one thing but letting others drive is stepping over the line

But I bet everyone replying too this thread saying sack the bloke are also the ones saying “it’s rained for the last 6 month now it’s dry I need everyone too work 20 hour days 7 days a week please for the next 3 months we need too get stuff done and fast and no more breaks either eat on the move don’t turn the tractor off we will diesel it up on the move” ... that’s the problem with employers these days .... they want everything by the book when it suits and then all of a sudden when there in a mess the expect there staff too go the extra mile for them ...


I like too have a dabble on my phone a bit at work, I organise some sheep related stuff while I’m at work, I sometimes call in and check my sheep on my way too jobs, I go the butty van if I’m passing, my mates and my mrs come see me every now and then, some days I sleep in but some days I’ll go home at 5am the day after I started work take a sh!t have a shower and go straight back to work again because we’ve got a list a mile long and need too get on so I don’t give my boss grief about 5 of us doing the work of 10 people and he doesn’t give me grief about organising a bit of my life while I’m on the tractor

 

[Mc115reed]

And everyone saying building sites, factory’s est wouldn’t stand for it.... they also wouldn’t stand for working a second over 40 hours a week, working weekends, would also need a 45 min coffee break at 9 then a hour lunch at 12 and another 45 at 3 and it wouldn’t matter if they were 60 seconds off finishing a multi million pound job if it’s home time they’re going home it’ll wait until tomorrow.... hardly relatable instances too farming.... cow calving “sorry love iv just clocked out I’ll be back in on Monday”

Oh and don’t forget there on £15 a hour too lmao doubt any you tight f**kers will be offering £10 never mind £15 and then 3 breaks a day at set times and get to go home at 5pm on the dot no matter what

 

[Fendt]

My point is this. If this lad is happy to get his mate on the tractor and let him have a go at driving it WHILE I AM IN THE SAME FIELD WATCHING IT HAPPEN then what the hell goes on when I’m not there looking at him? I cannot stand by and watch my farm and business be put at risk by an employee who thinks he knows best. He will be getting it explained to him tomorrow with his second letter to take home and read.
All too many of my calls to him go straight to voicemail because he’s chatting away already, he’s had several bumps and scrapes of machinery because he’s probably distracted but I can’t prove it as I wasn’t there, etc etc.

 

[RushesToo]

Just a few extra points for clarification.
He is 22.
He has been warned once when I caught him with a mate driving the jcb loading him up with seed while planting spuds and I happened to come back to the yard with a problem with the bedformer.
He’s also had one written warning about phone use and also speed when driving tractors round the yard.
He’s basically on his final warning.
Needless to say I’m not best impressed tonight!
However, I appreciate the comments about unsocial hours etc. We finished work tonight at 7, hardly late. We haven’t done much overtime lately with the weather

You need a meeting - I would HIGHLY recommend writing the minutes of the meeting before it happens.
They would probably go like this:

Yesterday I saw you .... - can you explain?

Who was that?

What was going on?

Remember when I told you not to....


<Have a discussion about why this is not acceptable:>
I am not insured for what you are doing and my records MUST show that we have had this conversation. < stress my wife, my children, my business bust most importantly myself cannot allow this continue – and this will be you one day, you must understand my position>

I have to make it clear to you that this must stop and that this is not acceptable <Check your terms of employment, if they do not cover this they absolutely must and you can use this meeting to re-enforce this, have a copy of the current terms of employment and adjust them to reflect this>

I will give you a written/email copy of our conversation that you will see before it is filed, but you must consider this an official warning, The next steps will be more serious and we both don’t want this.



What I expect of you is:

<what you want>