I respect your opinion
But I don't think I was bad for asking the company to honour their verbal promises of more contracted hours, for complaining about managers stealing cash from the staff, for being unhappy about being unfairly dismissed, for complaining about the fire doors being locked during trading hours. I've discussed this with impartial people, and had agreement these are not trivial matters.

Of course I tried to resolve these problems internally when possible; invoking HR was a later step. The sad facts are, I presented evidence: times, dates, names, things said, things done and things not done. There may have been a secret telling off of the manager, but nothing at all to put right the harm, not even recognition that I was doing the right thing.

It's possible, being a smaller company than the competition, that we collected the rejects blacklisted from more prestigious and better paying employers; that seemed to be the case manager-wise. I'm fairly certain that hefty slices of nepotism through the higher ranks didn't help impartiality or competence - it would be hard to rule in my favour against a manager who's in tight with the directors.

I further admit that I could sometimes have used different, more effective options; for example the H+S department might have been a better escalation to compel the managers to ditch the spurious security justification, and have the fire doors unlocked while the building is occupied. However, HR were stated to be the de facto option for problems; and I swallowed that line until it was too late.

In my experience, and over time I dealt with everyone in the department; was in line with the OP: HR are not there to help fix problems, but to get rid of the people who complain.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Mon 31 May 2010, 3:35, 2 replies)

I'd never take a grievance to HR. They're the wrong people
as they represent the firm, not the workers.

I've always been a trades union member. That's where I go for advice about work. They're on my side.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Mon 31 May 2010, 6:30, closed)

That
Sounds like a shocking HR team to be honest.

Any employee should be able to go to HR for help, and the HR team should stick up for the employee if the employee is in the right (which it sounds like you were)

Unfortunately being in HR I come across soooooo many people who just spend their working lives taking the piss, part of the jeremy kyle / new labour generation who believe they are entitled to a fat salary with no work, therefore HR time is spent with these people because at the end of the day if your colleague is swinging the lead then you are doing their work for them, and you don't get your pay rise/bonus because the company is paying their salary instead.

HR should crack down on idiots, but should also 100% support the good employees who do their job
( ogwen69 has returned from Reddit, Mon 31 May 2010, 9:40, closed)