How to deal with expectation to take retail/hospitality work laundry home to wash...

[existentialist]

This sounds like NMFP tbh but equally not doing it gives the boss an excuse to give you the kick

From what you’ve said on the other thread it doesn’t seem like a good place to work

I think holding some kind of NMFP boundary is an important thing to do, even if it may be a bit flexible, and different from others'.

 

[friendofdorothy]

He should pay you for the extra laundry work, if it has to be done outside your normal working hours. If not simply don't do it.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Nobody should be expected.to take work equipment home to maintain/clean in their own time and at their own expense.

 

[A380]

It sounds more like not only has Ann not been asked to do this but her boss hasn’t even noticed that she has done it.

If it were me I’d either not do it again, or ask the boss how the tea towel’s normally get clean. I might suggest I’d carry on doing it for an extra 90 minutes pay ( which would cover the non time costs) as the boss might be happy not to have to bother anymore and I’d be up on the deal.

But if I hadn’t been asked to do it then I wouldn’t.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Picking up something that's not your job is never a good idea, unless it's a real emergency. It will either just become part of your job, alternatively, you will be in the wrong for doing it for one reason or another.

Washing your own work clothes / uniform at home is one thing (although some employers do give cleaning vouchers if it's the sort of thing that has to be dry cleaned, and as someone has said there may be a tax allowance you can claim - although if you're only part time and don't earn enough to pay income tax that may not be a lot of use) but taking the site's laundry home to do at your own expense and in your own time is not on (unless you're the owner then you can claim this as a business expense.)

Think the best approach might be to approach boss and say something like 'what are we supposed to do about laundry? last weekend i took some stuff home to do as i couldn't find any clean stuff for monday and nobody else knew what to do, and i didn't know what the proper arrangements are because you weren't around to ask'

 

[MickiQ]

AIUI, if the clothing is exclusively used for work, then it counts as uniform.

To stretch a point, if your favoured clothing is (say) Laura Ashley frocks, and your employer requires you to wear Laura Ashley frocks at work, it is to some extent a uniform (in that case, I'd probably, at least officially, have "work" frocks and "home" frocks, even if there was actually some crossover in practice - it's highly unlikely that the Revenue is going to turn up at your home to do a wardrobe inspection).

When Eldest was temping she worked for a small engineering firm where the customers were exclusively male. After a week there the bosses wife (the only other woman there) approached her and told her that Eldest had acquired a fan club amongst the customers and they were prepared to pay 15% over the odds if Eldest would agree to wear low cut tops from then on.

 

[JimW]

Put the aprons and towels on eBay and keep doing it with the replacements, he won't notice.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

AIUI, if the clothing is exclusively used for work, then it counts as uniform.

i don't think it's as simple as that. if it's just a 'dress code' then i don't think you can claim that off the income tax, even if you choose not to dress like that outside work. something that qualifies as safety clothing (safety boots for example, or waterproofs for an outdoor job) can (or could be) but anything that's 'uniform' has to have some sort of company / organisation logo attached, even if it's quite discreetly done - uniform trousers tend to come with a smallish tag.

When Eldest was temping she worked for a small engineering firm where the customers were exclusively male. After a week there the bosses wife (the only other woman there) approached her and told her that Eldest had acquired a fan club amongst the customers and they were prepared to pay 15% over the odds if Eldest would agree to wear low cut tops from then on.

i hope that someone told them to fuck off

Put the aprons and towels on eBay and keep doing it with the replacements, he won't notice.

 

[ouirdeaux]

Sadly, I'm quite OCD-ish about separating coloured items from whites and darks. I'll often wash pinks, red and oranges together, and do a separate blues and greens wash, etc.

I never turn white sheets or shirts pink by accidentally throwing in a red t-shirt or pair of socks.

This is the sort of casual racism that's so hard to eradicate.

At least, combating racism is my excuse for returning from the laundry with a bunch of newly pink T-shirts.

On topic: tell them to bugger themselves with a cactus. Diplomatically.

 

[InArduisFouette]

i don't think it's as simple as that. if it's just a 'dress code' then i don't think you can claim that off the income tax, even if you choose not to dress like that outside work. something that qualifies as safety clothing (safety boots for example, or waterproofs for an outdoor job) can (or could be) but anything that's 'uniform' has to have some sort of company / organisation logo attached, even if it's quite discreetly done - uniform trousers tend to come with a smallish tag.

it;s actually the otherway around with stuff being marked up - it;s so it;s not desirable ot waer it as off duty clothing although the the amount oif peopel who do wear work fleeces / softshells as general coats is none trivial

 

[equationgirl]

I did it because on my first Sunday (last day of the working week, because it's closed on Monday, reopens Tuesday), the boss had gone away, left me in charge, and there were only a couple of part-time staff, who only work weekends, so they couldn't launder them and bring them back in on Tuesday.

So I just took them home to wash, because it had all been a bit of a blur/bit of a whirl starting the job, being quickly and minimally trained, then left in sole charge with part-time staff under me.

I assumed that when the boss was back, he'd take care of it. He was supposed to be coming in the following Sunday for a few hours, but in the end he didn't come in so I ended up taking them home again.

But at no point were you asked to do the laundry, or had it explained that laundry was part of your job description.

You just did it to be nice. I get that, it was nice of you, but the more you do the more will be heaped upon you. It's absolutely not part of your job to subsidise this person's business by doing their laundry - laundry which they are probably claiming as a tax deductible expense in some way. Are they paying you extra money to do it? Because I doubt they are.

If you're not sure whether a task is part of your job, ask.

 

[MickiQ]

i don't think it's as simple as that. if it's just a 'dress code' then i don't think you can claim that off the income tax, even if you choose not to dress like that outside work. something that qualifies as safety clothing (safety boots for example, or waterproofs for an outdoor job) can (or could be) but anything that's 'uniform' has to have some sort of company / organisation logo attached, even if it's quite discreetly done - uniform trousers tend to come with a smallish tag.





i hope that someone told them to fuck off

Eldest herself was completely unfazed by this and was willing to consider it. However when she contacted the agency their answer was an unequivocal no on the grounds that it would put any replacements for her in an impossible position so she didn't do it.

 

[Aladdin]

It sounds more like not only has Ann not been asked to do this but her boss hasn’t even noticed that she has done it.

If it were me I’d either not do it again, or ask the boss how the tea towel’s normally get clean. I might suggest I’d carry on doing it for an extra 90 minutes pay ( which would cover the non time costs) as the boss might be happy not to have to bother anymore and I’d be up on the deal.

But if I hadn’t been asked to do it then I wouldn’t.

spof on

 

[iona]

Are you back in the UK now AnnO'Neemus ? If so, the business will probably have either the Safer Food Better Business pack from the Food Standards Agency (it's theoretically not compulsory but environmental health kick off if you don't have it ime) or their own equivalent, with the actual procedure for washing any reusable cloths, towels, aprons etc written out. Even if you aren't directly handling food & drink, you should've been given training on this if you're expected to have anything to do with it as part of your job.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I've asked for clarification about the work laundry situation. I pointed out that I'd just taken the initiative to take them home and do them to date (three weeks so far), but there hadn't been any mention in the job ad about the assistant manager being expected to take work laundry home and do it on their day off and please can he clarify.

 

[Epona]

I need to query with ACAS or HMRC whether requiring staff that wear 'black and whites' counts as uniform. It's quite common in bars/restaurants for companies to require staff to wear black trousers or skirt and a white top, although in our case, it seems the top can be black or white.

It doesn't, clothes of a particular colour still count as your own clothes, it has to be specific uniform items or specialist clothing.

Just realised I need to look into this tax thing for OH's work uniform, he has branded t-shirts, hoodies and aprons provided and has to do laundry about 3 times a week just for his work uniform items.

 

[AverageJoe]

Get the taxi driver to do it.

(I'm so sorry, my brain couldn't resist).

Serious answer - I've gone above and beyond many times for employers and also just... People I know.

Once they know you're willing to do it then they will expect you to do it until you don't, and then they'll be like "why didn't you do this? You normally do it". With an additional shocked face.

So, my actually considered answer is No. But as A380 says maybe ask if you can/should do it and get recompense for your time/machinery wear/products etc.

 

[cesare]

So, my actually considered answer is No. But as A380 says maybe ask if you can/should do it and get recompense for your time/machinery wear/products etc.

Time, machinery wear, UTILITIES COSTS (which is probably why they aren't doing it via a supplier), detergent ...

 

[spitfire]

Time, machinery wear, UTILITIES COSTS (which is probably why they aren't doing it via a supplier), detergent ...

See that’s the thing. At no point has it been established what has been happening up to now. There must have been something arranged. Maybe Ann’s predecessor did look after it. Or a company comes in and picks up overnight? There might well be a supplier that we don’t know about yet.

 

[cesare]

See that’s the thing. At no point has it been established what has been happening up to now. There must have been something arranged. Maybe Ann’s predecessor did look after it. Or a company comes in and picks up overnight? There might well be a supplier that we don’t know about yet.

Fair play

 

[AverageJoe]

What happens if Ann's washing machine or tumbler breaks... Nothing in place to replace it.

And machinery can go wrong at any time.

 

[hash tag]

What happens if Ann's washing machine or tumbler breaks... Nothing in place to replace it.

And machinery can go wrong at any time.

What if the tea towels had been destroyed.

 

[JimW]

What if the eBay sales go really well?

 

[equationgirl]

I've been thinking about this situation a lot (time to spare) and depending on what the standards say that cesare referenced, I'd expect three sets of aprons and tea towels on hand, each set being enough for everyone for one week. Maybe four sets.

One set in use, one set being washed, one set ready to use for next week and the emergency set.

I'd expect a commercial laundry to do a pick up once a week.if it were my business I wouldn't want staff doing their own washing because I wouldn't have confirmation it was being done at the right temperature or even at all. If a commercial laundry company is used at least there will be come back in case or problems.

 

[equationgirl]

I've asked for clarification about the work laundry situation. I pointed out that I'd just taken the initiative to take them home and do them to date (three weeks so far), but there hadn't been any mention in the job ad about the assistant manager being expected to take work laundry home and do it on their day off and please can he clarify.

If you don't hear back from him, don't keep doing the laundry. Tell him that you're unable to keep doing the laundry and he needs to make alternative arrangements.

Again, it was really nice of you to pitch in and do it without being asked. But it's unfair of him to just expect you to do it without coming to some arrangement for long term management of this issue. The business is clearly doing well, let him figure it out. His business, his problem. Not yours.

 

[maomao]

I was all prepared to come on this thread to say tell him to do one but it doesn't seem to be his fault other than possibly knowing what you're doing and allowing it was to continue. Though it could easily be the case that whoever normally does it has had an easy couple of weeks. Just tell him what happened and point out it's not going to happen again. To be blunt, as it stands this is your fault and there is no expectation.

 

[equationgirl]

As an example, there are two large hair stylists/salons on my street. Both have someone pick up the previous week's laundry (gowns and towels and one assumes aprons) early each week and drop off the clean laundry at the same time. It's a usual business expense.

 

[JimW]

It's not like the chefs take their chopping knives home to wash, it's essential work kit and its care and readiness is a work problem to be dealt with at work,

 

[equationgirl]

It's not like the chefs take their chopping knives home to wash, it's essential work kit and its care and readiness is a work problem to be dealt with at work,

At the employer's expense

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Update: Manager didn't say thank you for doing it for the past three weeks. (!)

[Boss isn't big on thank yous. If he comes in when things are busy, he won't say 'Thanks for doing A' he'll say 'Why haven't you done B?' And you just know that if you had done B instead, he wouldn't thank you for it, he'd be saying 'Why haven't you done A?']

Boss replied saying that my apron is mine and I can wash it and the rest is his.

So we'll see what happens next week. If a load of dirty tea towels get washed at the end of the week or not.

Thank you all for the advice and/or support, I really appreciate it.

My problems are three-fold:

I'm very much a people pleaser and find it hard to say no and as a result have often over the years ended up with people taking the mickey, taking advantage.

I'm generally the kind of employee who's always (previously) been willing to go the extra mile, often to the detriment of my personal life. I was deliberately looking for a job that was close to home, although I'd also been amenable to the idea of relocating, but I'd come to the conclusion that work:life balance was more important to me than giving my heart and soul to any company or boss, because ultimately they don't really give a shit about you, they care about their careers and the company and the bottom line. And also, everyone's expendable. Doesn't matter how much you care or how hard you work, you're just serving a purpose. But like I said, I've always been the 'goes the extra mile' type before, I haven't been very good at drawing and implementing those kinds of boundaries and this job has so far been quite full on and testing my limited abilities to set boundaries and stick to them.

I'm a detail-oriented person plus I'm more than capable of using my initiative. I don't generally need to be spoon-fed or have my hand held, I can see lots of things that need doing and can just get on and do them without having to be told to everything, so if I run out of things to do, I can generally find something to do, I'm not going to sit and twiddle my thumbs until the boss delegates the next task.

Actually, there's a fourth problem, in that I'm autistic and not very good at office politics.

All of the above, combined, means that I'm struggling to cope with what even I feel are unreasonable demands in terms of workload and working hours.