DHL workers accuse bosses of 'bully culture and timed toilet breaks' amid JLR strike threat

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A global logistics company has defended itself after workers claimed staff have been left 'miserable' due to a 'bully culture'.

DHL has told BirminghamLive that it does not tolerate any form of bullying or discrimination after the disgruntled long-serving workers, with 17 years service between them, at the firm's Tyrefort centre, supplying components to Jaguar Land Rover, said toilet breaks were timed.

The unnamed employees added that if DHL top brass knew what was happening at the warehouse there would be "drastic action".

These bold claims come as Unite said thousands of DHL workers would be balloted for strike action at JLR plants in the West Midlands and Merseyside.

The union claimed drivers and warehouse operatives had been "plagued" by incorrect pay slips due to the company’s use of flexible furlough with some owed up to £800 in arrears.

National officer Matt Draper described the situation as a "debacle" and said it was "outrageous" pay issues were outstanding more than a year after furlough was introduced.

After news of potential strike action, a current employee at the DHL Tyrefort plant in Erdington, who asked to remain anonymous so he didn't lose his job, got in touch with BirminghamLive.

The warehouse operative said he wanted to speak out because pay issues had persisted for years. He claimed DHL was blaming furlough when in reality this wasn't the case.

The worker said he was currently owed £400 and had been forced to go through payslips to see what was missing.

But that, he explained, wasn't the main issue, with problems with senior management at the plant "rife".

"DHL are blaming furlough but we have been plagued for the last seven or eight years," he said. "I'm sure you'll be contacted by a lot more people who frankly have had enough at the treatment."

"DHL doesn't understand the meaning of loyalty," he went on. "They put profit before people."

When asked what his message to management would be, he said: "They should remember they wouldn't be in the position with JLR if it weren't for us.

"We worked throughout the pandemic. They won the new contract because of us. But there is no appreciation.

"There's a bully culture here by senior management. It is their way or no way.

"Toilet breaks are timed. If you are in the toilet for ten minutes you are asked about it.

"There have been instances where employees have been stopped by a senior manager who stood by the toilet and told them to go on their break.

"It's not right. I'm pretty sure that if the top people at DHL knew what was going on here then something would happen. There would be drastic action.

"There was a massive uproar about people who work for Amazon. It's exactly the same here."

And a second warehouse operative, who also asked to remain anonymous, said the situation was the worst it had ever been.

The worker from Solihull, who has a young family, said the staff was treated 'unfairly'.

"There's a lot of people off with stress and mental health issues," he alleged. "If you went a few years back, people were skipping to work but now people hate it here. And that's an understatement."

He also backed up what the first worker said about toilet breaks, adding he had seen it happen first-hand.

"Fifteen minutes before break somebody went to go the toilet and he was told he couldn't go until break," he explained.

"You have to put a code in every time you go to the toilet. If people take too much time they will be asked why.

"There are three sets of toilets here. You can go to one toilet and they will be cleaning it. So then you have to walk all the way around to the other side of the warehouse to go to a different one."

The first anonymous employee said the mental health of many staff had taken a battering.

"I think people have just had enough and want to make a stand and just make our voices heard," he said.

"Enough is enough. We've been here a long time now and I'm not sure how much people can take.

"Mental health problems in this warehouse are rife.

DHL is the largest logistics company in the world and a critical part of Jaguar Land Rover's supply chain and UK manufacturing operations.

The Tyrefort plant supplies vehicle components to the Solihull JLR plant.

What DHL says

A spokesperson for DHL Supply Chain said: “While we cannot discuss individual cases, as an organisation we will not tolerate any form of bullying or discrimination.

"These are unprecedented times and since the start of the pandemic we have worked tirelessly to support our 40,000 colleagues nationwide, helping them navigate the very individual challenges that pandemic has brought.

"A wide range of support services is available to all of our workforce, covering all aspects of physical and emotional wellbeing, through to practical help for those suffering financial hardship.”

The firm has previously said it is aware that "some of our colleagues have received incorrect payments in recent weeks, due to complexities around calculating furlough payments".

It said back in August it was working hard to resolve the matter but pay issues still persist.