'Block her number and move on': Boutique owner gifts employee jumpsuit from her store, demands it back when employee injures herself

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
May 7, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Wearing a uniform for a job can be an incredibly annoying reality. It's enough of a pain that you have to give your time to your job when you don't want to, but it's another thing to have to surrender your personal style as well. I understand that it's required for safety in some instances, but in others, it's just another way for your boss to exert power over you. I used to have to wear a uniform when I was in grade school, and I raged against it every day and never looked back when it was over. 

But in this story from Reddit, a former employer tried to control what her employee was wearing even after she quit. The story involves some salty text messages, a gift that was revoked, and plenty of commenters setting her straight on what to do. Read on for the details of this sticky situation. 

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  • 01
    r/antiwork u/cedarcia 3h I quit working at a boutique about 6 months ago. The manager gave me a bunch of clothes from there to wear and she always made them sound like gifts (never mentioned they were uniforms). Now months later she wants one back. How should I respond?
    via u/cedarcia
  • 02
    Hi Kat, this is from Today 7.40 AM 5. Sorry I'm so late in asking you this, but do you still have the size tiny jumpsuit? I think I gave it to you before you injured yourself. We would love to have that back as it is a uniform piece and we have a new gal who would fit it. I am happy to send you a label to ship it back for free. Please let me know. Thank you and I hope you are well. о A Text Message 0
    via u/cedarcia
  • 03
    For the record I don't want to give it back and I'm not counting on her as a reference. She always was very friendly in person doing things like giving me clothes and hugging me. But she would say incredibly nasty things about every employee behind their back (from what I heard from the other girls,
    via u/cedarcia
  • 04
    myself included). And I would not trust her to say good things about me if I put her down as a reference. So I don't feel the need to give it back to her just to stay on her good side. I texted some of the other former employees (shockingly, people quit pretty fast) and one said they were never asked to return any clothes. Another was asked to return all the clothes after she left on bad terms. It's been 6 months since I quit and this is the first I'm hearing about it.
    via u/cedarcia
  • 05
    sapphir8.3h I wouldn't even respond.
    via u/sapphir8
  • 06
    BeautifulLibrary9101 • 2h Was it documented that this was an issued uniform to be returned upon termination of employment? If not, it belongs to you.
    via u/BeautifulLibrary9101
  • 07
    cedarcia OP • 2h Nope. This is the first I'm ever hearing of it being a uniform. The way she would give it to me was just that she would have me go through their shopping system to "buy it" but then give me 100% off. That's the only documentation associated with it.
    via u/cedarcia
  • 08
    BeautifulLibrary9101 • 2h Sounds to me like you purchased it at a very steep discount. Normally I'd cut a small business some slack but nah, ignore the request & move along.
    via u/BeautifulLibrary9101
  • 09
    KronkLaSworda • 2h "This is the first I'm ever hearing of it being a uniform." Then it was a gift. I'd just block her number and move on. Make sure you wear your favorite piece of her merchandise when you do!
    via u/KronkLaSworda
  • 10
    cedarcia OP. 2h I haven't worn it in months but you can bet I am today
    via u/cedarcia
  • 11
    JohnLef⚫ 1h "I donated it to a charity shop sorry"
    via u/JohnLef
  • 12
    MadWhiskey Grin • 1h "before you injured yourself"... is the worst way to phrase this.
    via u/MadWhiskeyGrin
  • 13
    cedarcia OP. 1h I was locking up the shop on my own at night and a dude started harassing me. It was very scary and I accidentally closed the gate on my foot and shattered my toe. I said I wouldn't come in while it was broken. She said she would change their policy so there were always two people locking up for our safety. I then heard from my friend she already went back on that and she had been closing the store alone. My friend complained about it and then got fired the next day. The reason g
    via u/cedarcia
  • 14
    MadWhiskey Grin • 1h You were injured at work. You were endangered by your working conditions and you were injured on the job. "You Injured Yourself" is a managers attempt to avoid responsibility by putting it all on you. Ignore and block.
    via u/MadWhiskeyGrin
  • 15
    cedarcia OP. 1h Yep. After she heard about it, it was a matter of minutes before she asked if I was physically inside or outside the building
    via u/cedarcia
  • 16
    Carolinastitcher • 1h New phone: who dis?
    via u/Carolinastitcher
  • 17
    TravelingGonad • 19m I'm imagining everyone walking around in skin tight jumpsuits like Star Trek.
    via u/TravelingGonad

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boss antiwork retail memes workplace-stories talesfromretail toxic-workplace retail retail worker working toxic-boss boutique workplace reddit thread tales-from-retail Reddit working retail
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