Somerset: B&Q employee banned after vulgar talk over loudspeaker

A former B&Q employee says he was banned from all stores after calling his colleagues “c***s” over a loudspeaker when he was fired.

“This is a customer announcement,” says Adam Powis, who filmed himself, in the video at B&Q in Weston-super-Mare.

“I just got fired and B&Q are c***s. fuck everyone Have a nice day.’

Recalling the events of November 11, the 18-year-old from Bristol said: “I’m not really embarrassed but my heart was racing.

“I was on my way out thinking it would be funny, so I acted a bit irrationally. I haven’t really thought about it.

“I made a mistake at work and then they took it further than necessary, so I was a little upset. It wasn’t serious.’

The student claims he was fired for vaping outside of the designated smoking area.

He said he “acted irrationally” because other employees did the same without losing their jobs.

“I didn’t think I deserved it because people did worse and didn’t get fired. I saw other employees [vape outside the designated area] and so I was a bit taken aback,” he added.

“I really enjoyed the job. I was good at it and was never late. I wouldn’t even badmouth the company, but I felt I was treated differently.

“I understand the criticism, but a joke is a joke and you can either be angry about it or not. It was aimed at the staff in a way, but it wasn’t malicious.

Adam claims the “ban notice” he received last week means he will be treated as an “intruder” if he enters a B&Q store and face legal action.

He brushed off the alleged ban, saying he “doesn’t shop there regularly anyway.”

But he has some regrets and admits: “I probably shouldn’t have done that [made the announcement] but it happened. I regret it a bit. Not because of what I said, but more because of future job opportunities.

“When a company sees this, they might think I’m that kind of person, but I’m good at my job and [in] the moment I got a little heated.

A B&Q spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases. We have agreed processes in place and any decision to review a colleague’s employment is not taken lightly and takes into account all relevant circumstances.’

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