Game Set and Match to who?

A few years ago now I worked in a prestigious Sports Club as maternity cover. I would walk up from the train station and take the short cut through a lane that led to the side door, but if you went further on and turned to the left you could walk though the front door which I chose to do every day. As you walked through the front door you were met by the most beautiful chandelier and sweeping staircase where you could choose to go left or right when you go to the top. It never failed to lift my spirits knowing that for 10 months I was going to see this sight.

What didn’t lift my spirits was knowing that the person in charge was a bastard of the highest order who occasionally went out of his way to deliberately target me in the most foul manner but generally it was your common or garden variety of derision.

A funny (but not at the time funny) incident was when he came after me when I was in the serving area of the kitchen making toast for breakfast. After I picked up my toast and threw a couple of butter portions onto my plate he started shouting that I wasn’t allowed to make toast. I told him I brought my own bread and he shouted back and I’ll paraphrase here… the fucking butter isn’t yours.. what do you say to that eh? A multi million euro club managed by a man who was constantly on the verge of putting his back out carrying boxes of wine and champagne into the boot of his car was concerned about my consumption of two portions of Kerrygold butter.

We were entitled to a break in the morning and during that same conversation I told him that I needed to eat something during that break as I didn’t have breakfast in the morning as I was afraid if I got dizzy on the train, (which I occasionally did because of low blood pressure) I didn’t want to throw up so I didn’t eat until my mid morning break. He told me (and when I said told, I mean roared) that he didn’t give a fuck and that I was to eat before I came to work. I ignored his polite request and a few days later the cowardly bastard got his lackey to tell me I wasn’t allowed eat at my desk. Everyone else was allowed to eat at their desk for their morning break but I had to run the 4 minute mile getting up to the kitchen to continue to toast my bread, continue to use the butter that EVERY OTHER EMPLOYEE USED, and run up the back stairs to the break room at the top of the building, horse down my toast and come back to my desk in 15 minutes.

As my time there was coming to an end I started looking for new jobs and joining agencies which required face to face meetings. As a person on a fixed term contract I was entitled to some reasonable time off for this and one time I went into him (my direct line manager was out) to let him know I would be extending my lunch to go to such a meeting. I only got the words ‘Hi Pig (not his real name obviously) is it ok if…. ‘ and he waved the back of his hand at me as he had done on so many previous occasions to dismiss me, so I never got to finish my sentence. Off I trotted to my meeting which required two short bus journeys there and back and when he noticed I hadn’t returned one of my colleagues told me he stormed out of his office and shouted… Where the FUCK is she.. When it was pointed out to him that I tried to tell him I was going for a meeting, I told my colleague what had happened with the hand flicking dismissive movement, he stormed back into his office FUMING, either because he couldn’t give out to me or I told my colleague about his rudeness.

17 days before my contract was finished I was fired by Mr Pig (again, not his real name). I was summoned to his office about my request for overtime. This is the short version of events.. He shouted and wailed, waved my contract about and told me I was in breach of my contract. I told him I didn’t know what was in my contract as I never received it. PURPLE FACED at this stage (there were other words spoken besides the overtime) he told me he was sick of me and I was to leave. I asked him if I was being fired and he said yes, to clear my desk and go.

Oh… and I had discovered that money had gone missing…

I brought the club to the WRC and won. I couldn’t sue under unfair dismissals act as I wasn’t there long enough so I went under industrial relations act and won a small amount of money as I was in gainful employment 13 days after I was fired and I won the maximum amount allowed at the time for not being given a contract of employment. That was quite a stressful time as I was doing this myself without the assistance of a solicitor, but I felt it was important that the club took responsibility for his actions. I had been in touch with one of the members of the Executive Committee of the club regarding the behaviour of Mr Pig and he referred me back to Mr Pig, talk about washing your hands of responsibility.

Oh… and I had discovered that money had gone missing… yes, back to this… a few years after I left, the lackey for Mr Pig was discovered to have been defrauding the club. I believe she was charged but the case was dropped so as not to embarrass the club. I say I believe, there are court documents referring to it but it never got to court as far as I know. I knew what she was up to, part of the ‘You’re Fired’ conversation was me saying that we should have a meeting about the missing money that had mysteriously reappeared after the lackey returned from her holiday. She was up to it, I knew she was up to it and she was rattled. Hand on heart, I think I was fired because I wasn’t prepared to let this go. I’m not saying for a moment that Pig was involved, but Pig was FUMING that I would DARE question his beloved lackey.

So why write about this now, years after the event?

Well let me tell you what a little birdie told me last week…. Last week Mr Pig was asked to leave the building, hand over his keys and passwords and asked not to return. I wish I could tell you why but I’m none the wiser, but if I do find out I’ll be sure to let my 10’s of readers know! JUSTICE! JUSTICE!… well not quite. I think I deserve an apology from the club. I might even write to them and spill ALL of the beans I know.