Eating On The Job?

I just got hired at Red Lobster today, and my boss is going to have me working as an expo (alley coordinator). My job is to sort all the food when it comes out of the window, and put it on trays for the servers. I know I need to make the time to eat my meals, but, I think it is a write up if an employee gets caught eating on the job.

Anyways, I do not think my boss is going to bend the rules just for me, and I do not want to lie to him (for insurance purposes). Unfortunately, the bathrooms at my work are also the public bathroom, So if there is someone on the toilet, I have to wait for them to slug my shake.
Previously at my other job, I cooked steaks prior to work, cut them up and stuck them in my pocket. I also did this with veggies and fruit.
What can I do?

Simple drink your food. NO one can bitch about you drinking fluids while you work. Blend a big ass sake with Metabolic Drive, milk, fruits, nuts etc befor you go to work bring it and put it in the fridge filling a glass every now and again and sluggin some back while you work.

Or during quick breaks.

Oh also have a HUGE meal before you go in of REAL food that will stick with you for a while. Then you wont need the feedings as soon.

Don’t know how it is where you live, but here employers are required by law to give employees a meal break every 4 hours if they work a 6+ hour shift. You also get a ten or fifteen minute break per 4 hours.

Check to see what the policy on breaks, meal or otherwise, is. If you’re stuck waiting 4 hours to eat, make sure you go in with something slow-digesting in your gut. It’s not optimal, but the real world is seldom so generous. Adapt and overcome.

i feel your pain, cause i used to work in restaurants/bars, and its a pain in the ass to eat right. yeah, you’re legally supposed to get breaks, but in reality they schedule restaurant workers when its busy, and let them go home when its not. they do that instead of have you go on breaks.

anyways, i had the same problem, and when they told me i couldn’t drink a shake behind the bar, i told them that in exchange for me not reporting them to the labor board for no breaks, they would let me drink my shakes. never had that problem again.

if they say you can’t have food/drink on the line because of the health code, then just put/hide your shake or other meal in one of the fridges and sneak off every once in a while to eat.

good luck, and good luck getting out of the food industry. it’s hard to leave since it’s easy money, but just think, in ten years you’ll be making the same amount of money you’re making right now.

It’s illegal to not allow people to eat at regular hours.

If your boss doesn’t want you to eat, make a picture of him eating.

I know this isn’t very constructive, but in my book there’s nothing worse than preventing hungry people from eating. These morons should be shot.

Unless federal labor codes have changed, you are permitted the breaks outlined above. You should also be permitted to eat on those breaks (obviously provided you remove yourself from the food preperation area - your workplace should have a break area). If you are not permitted these things you can, of course, get legal.

Just eat a shrimp or two off each plate as it comes by. You’ll be able to go the whole night without stopping for a meal :wink:

I work as a server in a restaraunt and have not missed a meal in about 2 years now. The expo position would be a little trickier(you have no reason to go back of house) but if your place is anything like mine, it’s only really busy for 2 hours or so. The meal I make (oatmeal+berries or Cottage+Nuts) usually take under 2 minutes to eat.

Just tell your managers that it isnt an option for you to miss these meals and you are legally entitled to two 10 minute breaks and an unpaid 30 by law per 8 hour shift. Let them know that you will do everything you can to make sure it doesnt interrupt the guests satisfaction, and if it does you will find a different way of doing it.

I’d tell him you have an insulin/blood sugar sensitivity that requires you to eat a little something every three hours.

Be polite and ask him if that’ll be a problem.
That it literally takes you 5 minutes to eat the “snack”.

If he give you problems, jesus man, quit.
It’s red lobster!