Good girl / Nasty boss

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mummymole

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Just wondered what peoples views would be on this as i am furious . My 20yr old daughter took a part time job in oct that was advertised in tack shop as PART TIME YARD DUTIES £7 ph. As she can't drive yet and this little job was 5 mins from our house she met up with lady who took her on trial for 3 days .7am /11am and 2pm /4pm . Great my daughter could fit riding her dressage pony into her lunch slot .The next week she told her the hours were not enough and she wanted her there all day 7/1 and 2/5 FOR £30 a day ( work that out for yourselves certainly not £7 ph )My daughter said no that was a full time job and the money was not enough & that she could only do the previous hours but she wants to work so will settle for £5 ph (£30 per day ) This was agreed and rocked on ok ,this woman only has 4 horses one is in foal and one is being started and the other 2 don't do much .She relied on my daughters good will over xmas several times would she just pop in and feed etc etc ?? ,it was allways done as she had known it would be but she was never thanked for it . She told my daughter she had employed lots of staff who hadn't worked out as they hadn't got on with her horses 2 of which are a bit sharp in the stable .My daughter was fine with them as our own is like this and the woman commented on how good she was with them .Then the woman decides to start re backing the 3 yr old (who had been naughty the first time )with her instructor . She came off it several times and asked my daughter if she would sit on it .Her exact words were ''i don't mind if you don't want to ' .My daughter said she would as all it did was spooky violently and it was going really sweetly on lunge but she also said that if it was really naughty she would not want to do it as she didn't want to get hurt.... .Unfortunately the owner seems lazy and over xmas couldn't be bothered to carry on with the horses education so it was lunged occasionally with no riding for couple of weeks but she then told instructor it had been ridden routinely...First day it was ok but second day it took off on the lunge scared itself and had a proper rodeo the saddle shot up its neck and my daughter came off . She got back on and it did it again although she stayed on that time . She told the woman the next day she didnt feel confident (which in my mind a decent owner would much rather be told than an accident occuring )gave her a number of someone we know who does just youngsters and said if you get it started properlly with this person then i will be more than happy to carry on riding it . She did not even ask if my daughter was ok just said YOUR SACKED then .Don't bother coming back !!!!.Didn't even offer her money til the end of the week . IT WAS ADVERTISED AS A NON RIDING JOB AND IT MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL THAT SOMEONE LIKE THIS CAN RUN ROUGH SHOD OVER PEOPLE MOVING THE GOAL POSTS ALL THE TIME .!!!!
 
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I'm sorry your daughter has been put through this, it's not fair at all, but sounds pretty standard to me I'm afraid - I've had a few jobs like this. I work in an accounts office now, very boring but much less hassle!
 
Strange lady ???

Not much help to your daughter who obviously wants to work but I really think she is best off out of this situation.

Finger crossed she finds something else soon.
 
Sorry your daughter has had to deal with this but I hope it's taught her (and you) an important lesson - people will treat you exactly how you allow them to.
She shouldn't have settled for working under minimum (or the advertised) wage.
She shouldn't have ridden in a non riding job without pay increase.
And most importantly - she should have had a job description and contract before starting any job. This woman is obviously not an above board employer.
There are LOADS of people like this in the horse industry but there are also good employers.

This woman is running one heck of a risk. I would bet she doesn't have employers liability insurance, and if your daughter had been injured the woman would have been up poo river without a paddle.

I would just put it down to experience and move on. But just don't let he make the same mistake again.
People only take advantage if you let them.

Hope your daughter's ok.
 
Yes shes fine thank you . The money issue was haggled out ,but she is very quiet and just wanted to work .I don't think thats such a bad thing . Think she is very formidable this woman and prob quite scary for someone to deal with ,although when my daughter told her she wouldn't work all those hours for that money she sacked her then and then re instated her the following morn ,so we allways knew she wasn't an ideal employer....Funnily enough said woman is not that old but has married into money .seems to think workers are servants and there to be treated like dirt ...My daughter was ok with that money and just glad to be doing something .Unfortunately this woman kept moving the goal posts .
 
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It really riles me when people think they can take advantage of young and enthusiastic workers like your daughter. I have come across many people through the years who have had very similar experiences to your daughter, and I guess you can all just be thankful that she was able to walk away without any physical injury. Chalk it up to a learning experience, accept that she did nothing wrong, the wrong was done to her, and this woman will likely muddle on through life doing the same thing to everyone else that crosses her path.
Sounds like the other grooms probably suffered the same fate as your daughter.
Hope she finds the rewarding and enjoyable work she deserves very soon!
 
Thank you .I think she needs a pat on the back for having the guts to be honest and saying she wasn't confident with the horse otherwise i dread to think what may have happened ..
 
Shysmum said:
I cannot read the original post, my eyes not up to it.
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Don't comment then! Have you ever looked back at your posts and worked out what proportion of them are just pointless sniping. It's really dull.

OP - it's a sad fact of life that there are many many horsey people who are truly awful bosses. It seems to come with the territory! Your daughter shouldn't feel that she's done anything wrong. Most of us who have worked with horses for any length of time have been there!
 
Shysmum said:
I cannot read the original post, my eyes not up to it.
Click to expand...

That's a shame Shysmum because it's actually quite an interesting example of how a young horsewoman who is keen to work has been taken advantage of in the horse world.
TBH I don't understand why you would feel the need that you couldn't read the post...it just sounds snippy & unnecessary.

OP do you know what I would do? I would contact this lady...an official recorded delivery letter is best. Say that your daughter has a back injury which the doctor believes is as a result of the fall, could you see a copy of her employers liability insurance as you are considering claiming for compensation.
Obviously none if this is true but it might give her enough of a jolt that the poor sod who works for next gets better treatment ;)
 
Oh my gosh! How awful for your daughter!! Fair play to her for getting back on, I would've been gone! Sounds like a rather lazy lady who's relying on your daughters confidence with the horses, sounds like she issues!! Hope your daughter wasnt hurt and can find a better job :)
 
Sounds awful and one for experience and thankfully no long term damage done.

The concern that I have is that this woman has obviously done this before and obviously will continue. I hope the word gets out locally that no more people go and work for her

You could send the woman a formal (and scary) letter by recorded delivery you know and challenge her on a few issues (employment law, H&S) and ask her insurance details and her HMRC employers details - ref no etc... (I am presuming daughter was paid cash in hand) as your daughter has hurt herself. You know you're unlikely to get anything back from this woman but it may make her think about what she is doing.
 
Believe you me i would love nothing better than to name and shame her ,but my daughter just wants to put it behind her as a very bad experience .I feel sorry for the next unsuspecting victim .
 
Shysmum said:
I cannot read the original post, my eyes not up to it.
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Slightly unnecessary Shysmum. If you haven't or can't or don't want to read the post, why comment?

OP - as others have said, there are unfortunately some terrible "employers" in the horse world who will happily take advantage of young people who just want to work with horses but don't have the experience or confidence to stand up for themselves. However, there are also some lovely employers so don't let this one experience put you or your daughter off. My first job was as a WP for a lovely riding school. Everything was very friendly and professional - I had an employment contract to sign before starting the job and everything was laid out in black and white. I would never start a job without a proper contract where expectations have been set.

I hope your daughter can find herself a better setup next time. I think she is much better off out of the situation you have posted about :)
 
Sorry it hasn't worked out but probably best she's not there anymore. Don't let it put her off though, there are plenty of lovely employees in the horse world, it is worth finding the retention rate of their staff first 1-2 years seems pretty standard when I was looking.
 
mummymole said:
Thank you .I think she needs a pat on the back for having the guts to be honest and saying she wasn't confident with the horse otherwise i dread to think what may have happened ..
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Yes she does, well done. I absolutely hate it when people like your daughter are taken advantage of. Grrr. She is well out of there.
 
Unfortunately there are so many people like this in the horsey world, and as your daughter works more in the industry and learns from experiences like this she will be able to spot them a mile off! And it's not just small places with a few horses that do this, plenty of big 'high standard' yards do the exact same and take complete advantage of their staff without ever so much as muttering a 'thanks'.

I agree with what patterdale said, and hopefully she will take all of this on board and apply it to her next job, don't let it put her off! :)
 
I aggree with all that have said its a learning experiance for her .
She just has to move on .
She's twenty and old enough now to learn to look after herself which she did making the right call and refusing to get on again.
 
Thank you everyone for your responses they have given a much needed boost to her confidence . Today a lady has contacted her with regard to some well paid work .So fingers x
 
Glad she's ok. I think she made the right decision. :)
Sounds just like the yard owner where i keep my horse - put the prices up £40 wihout notice and she sacked someone for putting a rug on wrong! :(
 
I hope your Daughter is not put off by this too much But I have to say Welcome to the Horsey World.

Old Farm Contractors Proverb

If Their Are Horses Up The Drive: You Are Usually Better Off Not Going Up It.
 
Oh OP I am so sorry for your poor daughter - you must be BLAZING MAD with this dreadful woman. Good for your daughter though, she didnt let herself down and thank goodness she is now away from such a poor situation. Do hope the next one works out well but echo the advice for proper contract etc before she starts this time. x x
 
Sadly it seems common in the horsey world, esp as there's so many enthusiastic young girls desperate to work with horses.

Jnhuk said:
You could send the woman a formal (and scary) letter by recorded delivery you know and challenge her on a few issues (employment law, H&S) and ask her insurance details and her HMRC employers details - ref no etc... (I am presuming daughter was paid cash in hand) as your daughter has hurt herself. You know you're unlikely to get anything back from this woman but it may make her think about what she is doing.
Click to expand...

This sounds like an excellent plan! Do a bit of swotting on employment law so you know what you're talking about the send an official sounding letter. It'll serve her right.
 
Another one here who had similar experiences when younger then went and got an office job. The worst was the yard on which I was fired for being kicked in the head by their yearling, and handed a cheque which I later calculated worked out at about £2.36 an hour.

From the other comments this sort of thing appears to be pretty prevalent, presumably because it's mostly young girls taking up these jobs. I wonder whether the BHS or Horse and Hound oughtent run a campaign on this, perhaps an advert on the 'jobs' page advising people to get a proper contract, talk to other employees before taking up the position, that sort of thing.
 
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