A strong person fights and beats a strong person, or at least beats a person that appears strong, loud, obnoxious …
But it takes a weak person to beat a vulnerable person.
Yes, President Biden’s words come after 4 years of insults by a guy who should have never been President. But that’s what democracy is, it allows room for mistakes, room for conversation, for disagreement. Unfortunately it takes a lot of loss all around, but the U.S. comes out on top sooner than many wars the world has been through. Same in Europe, it needs clear words.
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Researching Joe Biden’s story, the words of his family, his colleagues, people who met him … they keep saying that he doesn’t tolerate bullies.
Biden isn’t and won’t be perfect, but clear words and consistency is needed more than ever now.
President Biden on Inauguration Day 20. January 2021 to his new team:
»If you ever work with me, and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot! On the spot!«
I hope President Biden’s age won’t be in his way to serve out 4 years + and God forbid any attempt to take him out will fail. Could this really be a presidency that lasts for a moment? Just a moment?
Surely after the worst came the best.
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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post. An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret. I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review.
You are born with it or you have an accident become physically disabled.
And don’t anyone dare to PC me on the term!
Mental disability is when someone is born
with a mental disability
or someone who developed it through trauma
Today we bask in the term of “MENTAL HEALTH”
and yet, we discriminate
to those of us who s*ffer
Kind regards
I worked at Pret A Manger for almost 10 years and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather starve and speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote an article in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
The reason why Pret and Clive Schlee don’t block me, is partly for any potential court case. They collect Tweets like they collected emails. They’ve let me write emails and then pretended it was wrong, while in the meantime having a laugh.
The newly appointed COO (a position that didn’t exist until JAB took over) Pano Christou, who likes to keep a low profile typical for Pret management, he blocked me.
The head of training or whatever her position is these days, blocked me…
Nikki Fisher from the Pret Foundation Trust blocked me …
…. and others from Pret.
But Pret itself and Clive Schlee don’t block me, because they collect my Tweets for court as well as sabotaging any future employment.
Pret has been sued successfully many times and ordered to pay whatever amount. And then they just went back to business as usual, not giving a sugar-pie on treating their employees with respect.
One Tribunal Judge called Pret’s HR grievance hearing AND appeal’s hearing “fundamentally flawed” (check-marks top right).
Pano Christou, now COO who came from McDonald’s and a manager in Pret at the time of the Tribunal decision was (and still is) part of this flawed system.
For Pano Christou and others from Pret to block me means, they are not bothered. But for Pret and Clive Schlee to NOT block means, they collect for any potential court case as their name is out there.
Pano Christou doesn’t even put Pret’s Twitter properly, he writes on his Twitter: “Chief Operating Officer @ Pret”
He writes @ Pret not @Pret avoiding linking straight to Pret’s Twitter.
Low key, hey?
Pano, you don’t want to be visibly affiliated to Pret? Ok.
Hey “leaders” some bottom line management training?
The captain of the ship jumps last, not first.
Like many reviews from current and former Pret staff said, Pret A Manger is a good company, a good concept, a great idea… but Clive Schlee sold out and turned his “sheep” over to wolves. And Clive, that’s on your house.
Key issues:
I worked at Pret, was bereaved and then became an inconvenience for Pret.
Pret is an unprofessional company that got away with bullshit for decades (including two customer deaths and one staff suicide that I know of, with myself almost quitting as well).
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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather starve and speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote an article in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
A guide I have passed on to Pret A Manger since May 2015 when I first approached HR to make suggestions after my then line manager had me on prolonged 5 months late shifts and refused to rotate my shifts like it was before I became bereaved.
I approached HR, not to raise grievances or complain but to just bring ideas and suggestions. I never imagined that approaching HR would put a target on my back.
I speak extensively about my ordeal with Pret on my blog and podcast interview.
I passed the ACAS Guide to Bereavement at the Workplace to HR and several different managers, area managers and anyone in a responsible position between 2015 and 2017. But of course apart from sweet-talk and the horrendous treatment that followed, lead from the very top, this guide was not taken into consideration. If this is now in Pret’s sight, than certainly after I left Pret.
NOTE: ACAS deleted their 24 page PDF document now from their website, but I re-uploaded.
I will keep it short as people who are really interested in this can read the guide and download the PDF file that ACAS has posted in partnership with Cruse Bereavement Care, the largest bereavement short-term support charity in the UK that I visited early on in my bereavement as well.
I just want to point out some things concerning bullying during bereavement and how my situation became 10 times worse than I could have ever anticipated even could happen to people who go through grief and trauma.
This will always be on Pret’s resume as well as how they dealt, or rather how they did NOT deal with TWO customer deaths, and why in this profit driven Western society there is such a strong resistance and refusal to supporting people in grief and tragedy. Once tragedy hits an employee they frankly become an inconvenience as companies want “robots” that function non-stop for the millions the top is gaining.
That’s why I have come to start disliking the term “workforce” as this sounds like an army, a factory of robots having to function in a modern-day slavery setting, under the pretense of “productivity” and “buzz” and “fun”.
Employers should ensure their employees who are likely to be affected by the disability are able to recognise it, especially when performance or absence of a bereaved employee becomes unacceptable over the longer term for no other apparent reason.«
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This versus my experience of being targeted and penalized for not smiling during customer service even when I asked, almost begged to work in the kitchen for a while when I started to tear up on the shop floor. More on the Emotional Labour in this blog entry and the “brutality” of what Pret expects, no matter what.
Bullying is defined as unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. If the bullying is related to a protected characteristic then it is harassment.
Managing bereavement in the workplace
Employers should be alert to inappropriate behaviour following bereavement. Absence through bereavement can place burdens on co-workers and line managers alike who may pressurise (inadvertently or otherwise) or bully a bereaved employee into returning to work or performing their duties to the same level as they did before the death. The intentions of the bully do not matter – what is important is the impact that the behaviour has on the employee who is being bullied.
For example: Rouji works on a telephone helpline and recently lost her mother. On her return from bereavement leave she is finding it hard to cope at work: she is struggling to reach her targets for calls answered and sometimes leaves the room visibly upset. Brandon, the manager, notices that the staff are unhappy at what they see as “carrying Rouji”, an attitude reinforced by the vocal views of her supervisor who has been overheard saying “she should get a grip, when my mother died, I found work a relief, look at the problems she is causing us.”Rouji has noticed the shaking heads of colleagues and their “tuts” when she leaves the room and this is adding to her distress. Although Brandon recognises the burden on the team, the company has a policy of not tolerating bullying and harassment. Brandon tells the supervisor to stop this behaviour and let it be known that staff may face disciplinary action if this unwanted behaviour continues. At the same time he sees if a temporary worker can be deployed until Rouji is able to reach her performance targets.«
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The guide goes on to cover a variety of issues regarding paid leave, long-term or reoccurring effects of grief etc. I just concentrate mainly on the subject of bullying here as this involved even Pret’s HR, Head Quarters, Clive Schlee CEO as this is systemic and no surprise anymore, why I went from management to management that had no policy in place to protect me or bereaved employees in general.
A People Business Partner (PBP) from HR in a grievance appeal’s hearing that I raised even admitted that there was another employee, an assistant manager who was bereaved and also mistreated at work, but that she was “bitter”. He foolishly compared me with her as if we were bitter because we raised grievances of wrongdoing. I emailed this PBP later that day in anger saying that this AM is not bitter, but in a lot of pain, as I related to her nightmare.
A few months after this hearing and what the PBP told me in that hearing, I learned that an AM died by suicide. I cannot proof that this is the same person, but I do not believe in coincidences anymore with Pret, especially after they involved a Development Manager from HQ who supposedly also had a brother who died in his flat, like my brother died in his flat… But I don’t believe this anymore. Weeks later after our contact I learned that she is also a Hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, and the more hidnsight I have and keep talking about this, the more I don’t believe that she had a brother, even while I see some posts on her facebook page regarding her brother in 2016 before I knew her.
I tell my story verbally for the first time on a podcast here below in the audio player. I also collected many staff reviews from outside pages like Glassdoor, Indeed, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook etc. and combined them unto one page as Pret Staff Complaints.
I am so loud because I almost lost my life and if I alsmost ended my life, an assistant manager did, how many more are there. If Pret can hide two customer deaths under the carpet, how many work-related staff suicides or attempted suicides are there?
I can only urge any company, large or small to please have a look at this guide from ACAS. It is only a guide to which companies can draft their own policy from this blueprint that ACAS provides in partnership with Cruse. I survived systemic workplace bullying in a company that is very efficient in marketing and PR portraying themselves to be an ethical and caring company.
I have a different story…
I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather starve and speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
In the below link is an interview with Adam from The Adam Paradox Podcast. He interviewed me on my experience with workplace bullying and Pret.
In the 1 hour 40 minute interview we covered a lot of other issues like gaslighting, “shadow banning” and censorship on social media etc.
Please visit his podcast as well as Twitter @1AdamParadox, he mainly covers workplace bullying and is very well researched and experienced in the subject.
I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather starve and speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote an article in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 
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