Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Sytner Audi Reading

I missed the story but this is terrible.

How utterly disgusting

I am sure Audi can withdraw their licensing agreements if the dealer is harming the reputation of the brand

But they probably have so much invested so they will insist on a thorough management audit and investigation and strict policies put in place at the least I would think

]It seems to me that Sytner have been let of the hook rather by the judgement, the coroner not holding them responsible on the basis that it was maybe not the only thing which drove the young man to kill himself, and because after the event the company has taken some action.

Quoting from the Guardian 'An Audi garage where an apprentice mechanic was bullied before he killed himself was not to blame for his death, a coroner has decided.

George Cheese’s coworkers at the Reading garage locked him in a cage, doused him in brake fluid and set his clothes set on fire, among other forms of abuse, an inquest into his death heard. One told him he should “hurry up and kill himself”.

The coroner, Peter Bedford, called some of the staff members’ behaviour unacceptable in a narrative verdict delivered on Thursday, but said the company had made significant changes. The 18-year-old’s death was attributable to numerous factors, including his fears over his health and a failing relationship with his former girlfriend, who was deemed to be blameless.


The coroner said he understood Cheese’s parents’ desire to blame the Audi dealership, but added that steps taken by the management following his death had succeeded in improving conditions there.

Mr Kindeleit (manager) said mental health charity Mind had run a management course, and frequent team-building exercises had been put in place, as well as weekly employee appraisals to improve the conduct of managers and supervisors.

Bedford said: “I have to say that in the early part of Mr Kindeleit’s evidence, I was concerned about the apparent underestimation of issues that clearly took place.” But as the inquest progressed, he said he recognised that Cheese’s death clearly “came as a wake-up call and a significant shock to the garage company”.

“Senior management at the company did bring serious action against the mentor who was involved in the fire episode with George, further involvement with Mind, and a change in emphasis in further management,” he added.'



It seems like a pretty soft verdict to me when you consider some of the testimony



'The coroner heard one of George's bosses at Audi Reading had previously told him to "hurry up and kill himself" and described him as "useless", according to notes found on his iPad after his death.

Referring to the months of alleged abuse, George's line manager, Simon Wright, said his actions - which included setting fire to his trousers, giving him the "dead leg" and taking him for a test drive to force him to walk back - said it had all been "horseplay" and "banter".

He said: "I was in the workshop when a prank was played on George and he was set on fire.

"It did not go too far. We knew where to draw the line.

"It was not bullying."

He added that when George returned from the test drive, where he had been dropped off half a mile away, he had smile on his face and he did not know it had affected his colleague in any way

He said several of the things he had done to George, such as locking him in the boot of a car and hosing him down with a pressure cleaner, were things most of the apprentices were subjected to and that they would always be laughing at the end.'




Not bullying, my arse.

I hope that one day that guy comes to realize what he's done.

Quite incredible

How is any of that behavior in the slightest way acceptable in a modern work organisation where people are responsible for the welfare of others

When you consider the lengths I and my business has to go to provide H&S and safe working practices

totally unacceptable

How on earth will this cycle of bullying or so called 'banter' and 'horseplay' be ended with line managers like that?

They all buy into it. It's the male environment from fifty years ago. I doubt they show much respect to customer cars either with that mentality.

The head of service and parts at the Mercedes Dealer I use is a 35 year old lady. She inherited a workshop with a bit of a macho atmosphere, but she cleaned up PDQ: a couple of techs left. She now has a couple of female apprentices in the team.

That Sytner Reading wasn't held more to blame makes me wonder...totally disgusting.

How absolutely shocking for the young lad to be in a situation where he felt that the only option was to take his own life.

The fact that management chose not to do anything about it sadly does not suprise me.

I had a manager who was a bully, plain and simple. This person surrounded herself with a clique of favourites and the rest of us had to bear the brunt of their behavior. This person would scream abuse at you in front of your colleagues and make deeply offensive personal remarks such as "your getting married at 35?, that's a surprise, i thought you were gay!"

Complaints about this person fell on deaf ears. Other managers chose not to do anything or bizarrely put it down to the manager being passionate about work!

A contributing factor to the situation was a annual appraisal system based on guided distribution which meant any speaking out was viewed as negative behaviour and you would get a 'must improve' in your half yearly or end of year appraisal.

In the end this person got a routine transfer to a regional office. Six months later, for some reason we all had to undergo bullying and harassment training.

I sat in the training sessions and was gobsmacked to see the various managers weeping and wailing and asking how a situation could be allowed to occur. So I stood up and told them that it occurred because they were too self absorbed to sit back and realise what was actually going on!

Arwyn

My brother (55) "although i would prefer not to class him as one" did a similar thing whilst working in our local Mercedes Dealership, the parents of he apprentice visted the site the next day with a formal complaint, my brother was sacked with immediate effect.....he still hasnt rolled a six

Idiot, best part of him went dow my mothers leg

Oh dear!