Supporting me in the betting industry

I became a member of Community Union nearly thirteen years ago.

I am currently 57 years old and am experienced in many different fields including hotel management, supporting people with addictions and managing betting shops amongst other things.

I live with an auto immune condition that is very similar to rheumatoid arthritis, which means I have good days and bad days.

In 2007 during my training as a cashier in a betting shop I was robbed at gunpoint, which resulted in four months off work with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The company were found to have provided a lack of care and lack of security during the robbery.

On my return to work the company began treating me very differently, now viewing me as a threat.

Things started to go downhill rapidly, with one particular manager making my life exceedingly difficult.

I’ve always had great sense of justice and fairness, and I find myself getting very cross when people are not fair with each other. I’ve always been a strong person able to stand up for myself, however in this situation I needed support from Community.

Thanks to Community and their representatives, I was able to stop this person constantly bullying me. It was a long and painful process, due to the company not consistently following proper procedures.

After this experience of many years of false accusations, bullying and disability discrimination from my employer, I decided that I wanted to be a Community representative.

Over the years I had many different Community representatives supporting me on my case against my employer, each one had their own way of dealing with things. Each representative was professional, calm and understanding.

In 2019, I accepted redundancy from my position as betting shop manager. I was hoping to get another job after having a break, unfortunately due to the Coronavirus pandemic I was unable to do so.

Community offered me training on how to become a voluntary rep, which I gladly grabbed with both hands. Several Zoom training meetings later, I received my rep card in December 2020. All I need now is to put my training into practice!

Being part of Community has reassured me that I am not alone, that I am strong and that I can get through this. I hope that in the future with my experiences, my Community training and with the support of fellow Community members, I can give support to others the same way Community supported me.

If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.