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Hi All,
This is my first post here, I am hoping that it isn't too long or to detailed. I am thinking about resigning my current position (in Ontario, Canada), and file a constructive dismissal claim.
In the interest of context, I am going to state a few facts about my job and the company that I work for. I was hired to be the shipper/receiver for a very large food bank in September 2013. The formal title at the time was Warehouse Associate, which was changed to Operations Associate in January 2019, and then finally Operations Associate-Lead Shipper/Receiver in May 2021. There has never been a formal job description given to me. The scanning/userid logs fully indicate that I have been a shipper/receiver the entire time (I have copies). A oversimplification of my duties; I offload 2nd/3rd party trucks of product (donated and purchased) and enter them into our online perpetual inventory system, and I also load-up 2nd/3rd party trucks and other vehicles with products destined to go to other food banks. Our own drivers deliver to other food banks in the morning, and pickup donations in the afternoon. These drivers load and unload their own trucks, but the donations that they bring back in the afternoon, I have to receive into our system. I don't pick orders (e.g. one or multiple boxes at a time), but I do pick entire pallets of product to go out; it ranges from 1 pallet to 26 pallets depending upon the truck and order size. My main work environment is the dock area, and about 50,000lbs to 100,000lbs of food comes in everyday. There have been a few times where that number has been north of 200,000lbs.
Areas Of Concern:
a). I believe that my manager has materially changed and added to my job description and reporting structure. On April 11th he told me that I am %100 responsible for all the inventory activities including but not limited to; physical staging/racking, up to the minute physical reconciliation with our online systems, and proper aging. There is already an inventory controller in the company, who determines the inflows and outflows of these products and their movement timing. On that same day he told me that I will need to take courses in supply chain, and that I have staff. On April 14th, he asked to discipline one them, due to what he believes to be excessive absenteeism even though there was a well-documented reason for it. This individual, who is really my co-worker, went to HR to complain about this since it is our manager who should have talked to him. On April 21st, my manager also told me that I am responsible for the replenishment of product for the order pickers. Finding the product for this task is done using the First-In-First-Out method, and there is a functionality in the software that everyone uses to get this done. There are already many order pickers for that separate department (Order Fulfillment) who are certified to use the appropriate machine to complete that task, however it was decided by him that it is no longer their collective responsibility. These order pickers are also throwing off the inventory counts everyday due to their picking errors. There are about 100 different types of products that need to be picked every minute of every day, so digitally adjusting and reconciling all of these products on the go is next to impossible to begin with, especially when I am already on the dock performing my already full-time shipping and receiving duties. My manager has also made me conduct interviews with perspective temp workers to be "my" staff. I have emails and screen-prints that prove all of this. My manager keeps on telling me that I am being promoted to oversee the entire inventory system, but a new contract has not been presented, and I have not had the opportunity to agree to it. In all honesty, I am not sure that I want it.
b). I have a left-side shoulder disability and am on modified duty. I sustained this injury in May 2017, along with a right-side shoulder strain in July 2021, and since July 2021 the restrictions have been escalated to the point where I cannot use a machine called a walkie-rider, I cannot open or close trailer and dock doors, cannot lift over 10lbs, my work hours are strictly regular hours (e.g. 8:30am to 4:30pm) with no overtime, and I am to work at my own pace. This has been medically documented since 2017/2018, I've been seeing a physiotherapist since late 2018, and they have been filling out WSIB-compliant Functional Abilities Forms for me to give to my manager and HR since July 2021. I've been completely transparent about this with all of my coworkers, managers, and the middle managers in operations the entire time so that they are aware of my limitations. Even the company C.E.O. knows. My left-side shoulder has been in chronic pain since that incident in May 2017, and it flares-up once every 3 or 4 months to point where I have to over self-medicate and miss work the next day. This usually happens when I use the forklifts too much in one day, or general over-use. Adding to this complication is the fact is that I've alcohol-abstinent since May 2014, which means that my pain receptors are more efficient, and my pain threshold is lower. I believe that there have been times where my employer has failed to provide reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship. This includes not being able to receive all of the day's incoming product into our software by the end of the business day (as it is required), and being forced to work late to accomplish different tasks. Again, I have emails, screen-prints and scanning logs that prove this. With the new additional duties assigned to me which I outlined above in section A, I firmly believe that I cannot fulfill these obligations (which I never agreed to or signed-off on) over the course of a normal-length workday.
c). For years now, a few of the middle managers have withheld information from me so that I could do my job. Sometime there would be surprise trailers to offload, even though our warehouse has limited room to stage product, or there are multiple trucks/trailers already there because they were booked and scheduled properly. There are also trucks that are called in to pickup pallets of product, but I was never informed of those outbound orders. Also, we buy product that is eventually sent out to other food banks. These inbound purchases are entered into our software, so that the schedule of their arrival is communicated, and that the case/unit count is established. One the product arrives, I have to reconcile the physical count against what is listed in our system, and also make sure that we don't accept over-shipments. There have been no shortage times where a few specific individuals have not entered this information into the software system, and these time delays fly in the face of the regular work-day hours outlined in my modified duties due to my disability. I have gone to management and HR time after time about this, and the problem has not gone away. Again, I have proof in the form of emails, screen-prints, scanning logs, etc.
As you can probably tell from above, I am pretty much at my end with my employer, and any advice that you have to give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank-you.
This is my first post here, I am hoping that it isn't too long or to detailed. I am thinking about resigning my current position (in Ontario, Canada), and file a constructive dismissal claim.
In the interest of context, I am going to state a few facts about my job and the company that I work for. I was hired to be the shipper/receiver for a very large food bank in September 2013. The formal title at the time was Warehouse Associate, which was changed to Operations Associate in January 2019, and then finally Operations Associate-Lead Shipper/Receiver in May 2021. There has never been a formal job description given to me. The scanning/userid logs fully indicate that I have been a shipper/receiver the entire time (I have copies). A oversimplification of my duties; I offload 2nd/3rd party trucks of product (donated and purchased) and enter them into our online perpetual inventory system, and I also load-up 2nd/3rd party trucks and other vehicles with products destined to go to other food banks. Our own drivers deliver to other food banks in the morning, and pickup donations in the afternoon. These drivers load and unload their own trucks, but the donations that they bring back in the afternoon, I have to receive into our system. I don't pick orders (e.g. one or multiple boxes at a time), but I do pick entire pallets of product to go out; it ranges from 1 pallet to 26 pallets depending upon the truck and order size. My main work environment is the dock area, and about 50,000lbs to 100,000lbs of food comes in everyday. There have been a few times where that number has been north of 200,000lbs.
Areas Of Concern:
a). I believe that my manager has materially changed and added to my job description and reporting structure. On April 11th he told me that I am %100 responsible for all the inventory activities including but not limited to; physical staging/racking, up to the minute physical reconciliation with our online systems, and proper aging. There is already an inventory controller in the company, who determines the inflows and outflows of these products and their movement timing. On that same day he told me that I will need to take courses in supply chain, and that I have staff. On April 14th, he asked to discipline one them, due to what he believes to be excessive absenteeism even though there was a well-documented reason for it. This individual, who is really my co-worker, went to HR to complain about this since it is our manager who should have talked to him. On April 21st, my manager also told me that I am responsible for the replenishment of product for the order pickers. Finding the product for this task is done using the First-In-First-Out method, and there is a functionality in the software that everyone uses to get this done. There are already many order pickers for that separate department (Order Fulfillment) who are certified to use the appropriate machine to complete that task, however it was decided by him that it is no longer their collective responsibility. These order pickers are also throwing off the inventory counts everyday due to their picking errors. There are about 100 different types of products that need to be picked every minute of every day, so digitally adjusting and reconciling all of these products on the go is next to impossible to begin with, especially when I am already on the dock performing my already full-time shipping and receiving duties. My manager has also made me conduct interviews with perspective temp workers to be "my" staff. I have emails and screen-prints that prove all of this. My manager keeps on telling me that I am being promoted to oversee the entire inventory system, but a new contract has not been presented, and I have not had the opportunity to agree to it. In all honesty, I am not sure that I want it.
b). I have a left-side shoulder disability and am on modified duty. I sustained this injury in May 2017, along with a right-side shoulder strain in July 2021, and since July 2021 the restrictions have been escalated to the point where I cannot use a machine called a walkie-rider, I cannot open or close trailer and dock doors, cannot lift over 10lbs, my work hours are strictly regular hours (e.g. 8:30am to 4:30pm) with no overtime, and I am to work at my own pace. This has been medically documented since 2017/2018, I've been seeing a physiotherapist since late 2018, and they have been filling out WSIB-compliant Functional Abilities Forms for me to give to my manager and HR since July 2021. I've been completely transparent about this with all of my coworkers, managers, and the middle managers in operations the entire time so that they are aware of my limitations. Even the company C.E.O. knows. My left-side shoulder has been in chronic pain since that incident in May 2017, and it flares-up once every 3 or 4 months to point where I have to over self-medicate and miss work the next day. This usually happens when I use the forklifts too much in one day, or general over-use. Adding to this complication is the fact is that I've alcohol-abstinent since May 2014, which means that my pain receptors are more efficient, and my pain threshold is lower. I believe that there have been times where my employer has failed to provide reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship. This includes not being able to receive all of the day's incoming product into our software by the end of the business day (as it is required), and being forced to work late to accomplish different tasks. Again, I have emails, screen-prints and scanning logs that prove this. With the new additional duties assigned to me which I outlined above in section A, I firmly believe that I cannot fulfill these obligations (which I never agreed to or signed-off on) over the course of a normal-length workday.
c). For years now, a few of the middle managers have withheld information from me so that I could do my job. Sometime there would be surprise trailers to offload, even though our warehouse has limited room to stage product, or there are multiple trucks/trailers already there because they were booked and scheduled properly. There are also trucks that are called in to pickup pallets of product, but I was never informed of those outbound orders. Also, we buy product that is eventually sent out to other food banks. These inbound purchases are entered into our software, so that the schedule of their arrival is communicated, and that the case/unit count is established. One the product arrives, I have to reconcile the physical count against what is listed in our system, and also make sure that we don't accept over-shipments. There have been no shortage times where a few specific individuals have not entered this information into the software system, and these time delays fly in the face of the regular work-day hours outlined in my modified duties due to my disability. I have gone to management and HR time after time about this, and the problem has not gone away. Again, I have proof in the form of emails, screen-prints, scanning logs, etc.
As you can probably tell from above, I am pretty much at my end with my employer, and any advice that you have to give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank-you.
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