I wear a name badge as part of my swimming teacher's uniform. My old-school preference is to be called "Mr. Head" and so my name badge reads "Mr. R. Head". Our new leader thinks this is too formal for employees of a leisure trust and has issued an edict that first names will appear on name badges i.e. "Richard Head". Most of the other teachers are, like me, over 50, and would prefer to keep the title on the badge and an initial or two, as the precedent to call teachers by their surnames has been well and truly set since God were a lad.
Does anyone know if there is there anything in employment law that says how much control one's employer has over uniform and name badges?
P.S. names have been changed to protect the guilty.
As ever, thanks in advance for your contributions.
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>> Does anyone know if there is there anything in employment law that says how much
>> control one's employer has over uniform and name badges?
They can do what they like.
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Tell the supervisor you now wish to be known by a new first name: Mister.
Thus your badge name - under his rules - will be your new first name - Mister - and your existing last name.
I'm not being entirely flippant, people talk about deed polls, but leaving those aside, you are entitled to be known as you wish.
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Yeah, tell him your name is Dick, and does he really want to bring his establishment into disrepute and the subject of much hilarity.
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I've known of staff in say bars/restaurants who have to wear a name badge and decide to wear one with a name other than their real one on it.
Might be different in your situation because the students will know the same and this just encourages them to use first names.
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Dick is a nice name standing proud.
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Forename, surname and job title is the ‘way’ now. Increasingly common to run into Judges at conferences with a badge that says e.g. ‘John Cocklecarrot – Judge of the Administrative Court’. He wouldn’t expect me to call him John though…..
And there I would have though lies your solution. The badge says Richard but the pupils (who I take it are kids) understand they call you Mr Head.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 13 Jan 12 at 11:50
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A barrister who was called Chris for years, in and around the courts and in press reports, was made up to a judge.
After a few press reports appeared describing him as Judge Chris .... he called us in to his chambers to say he should be known as Judge Christopher ...
His first request was to be called Judge followed only by his second name, but I told him that wasn't an option - newspaper style takes precedence over judicial vanity.
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...
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>> And there I would have though lies your solution. The badge says Richard but the
>> pupils (who I take it are kids) understand they call you Mr Head.
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I have no worries about how I am known to kids and adults as I always introduce myself as I would like to be known so you are spot on.
However, I know that other teachers are more sensitive to management shenanigans than I; some of my colleagues are more than a little miffed at the thought of losing their titles. The thought of stirring up some legally-based mischief intrigues me.
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Come to think of it men introducing themselves as 'Mister' has been frowned on by some employers for a while.
About 10 years ago I was working on an accreditation project for a govt department. Quite a lot of phone work with potential accreditees (mostly lawyers or accountants) and members of the public as service users.
A new member of staff joined my team and I noticed him telling phone callers he was ‘Mr Smith’. TBH it grated & I made mental note to discuss it with him at howgozit meeting later in week. Along with keeping his desk tidy and his tie straight. Before we got there he took a call from the Chief Executive; simple question which he answered and helpfully added, before ending the call, “if you need any more help my name’s Mr Smith”.
About half a second elapsed before my phone rang. The C/Ex (for it was he) advised that while women might be Miss, Mrs or Ms men, excluding Doctors and Peers/Knights, could be assumed to be Mister. Furthermore, members of the public might think its use pompous. Chummy was welcome to give his name as Smith or John Smith.
General advice to this effect appeared on intranet following day!!
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 13 Jan 12 at 14:08
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It is confusing what "doctors" are called in the medical world.
My daughter obviously started as Miss then became Dr and then when a surgeon became Miss but when she gets her DPhil will become Dr again
So Miss to Dr to Miss to Dr. I think she will stay a Miss so full circle.
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>> It is confusing what "doctors" are called in the medical world.
And medical snobbishness means non medical 'misters' attending conferences cannot be Mr.
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There's a chap (not a medical Dr.) in our office who's first name is Lord :-) Sounds like the medics with chips on their shoulders would have apoplexies about what to do about that ;-)
Peter
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Calling yourself Mr Head is just ridiculous. I was told many years that the tone of a man's voice told everyone that it was Mr.
"The employer can do what he likes"
So can the employee.
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No they cant.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Jan 12 at 14:41
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Hawkeye, is this paid employment or voluntary work?
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Paid employment.
Point about introducing yourself as "Mister Head" is well made but I think a group of 4 to 5 year olds seeing possibly their first male teacher are unlikely to know the form so I say,
"You call me Mister Head".
Some older children might ask, "What does the 'R' stand for?"
Reply, "Richard"
then, "May we (usually, but sometimes I) call you 'Richard'?"
"Maybe when you're older."
What I'm called is not a big issue; the issue is that I and others would like to choose the way we interact with the children otherwise the management might just as well script the whole lesson and play it back through loudspeakers while the teachers have a cuppa.
Adult learners call me "Richard".
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Richard Head
Just ripe for shortning to
d********
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FB... that's why he chose the fictitious name as his example - a joke name.
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Tête de Ricard is swear filter free!
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There's a strange habit around here, GPs are addressed as "Dr" followed by their first name - it has always struck me as a very strange.
Last edited by: R.P. on Fri 13 Jan 12 at 21:30
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>> There's a strange habit around here, GPs are addressed as "Dr" followed by their first
>> name - it has always struck me as a very strange.
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Dr. Who?
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>> There's a strange habit around here, GPs are addressed as "Dr" followed by their first
>> name - it has always struck me as a very strange.
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Common down the south-west as well, must be a Welsh idiosyncracy.
Or more likely to do with the lack of surname variety in the Principality. ;-)
Last edited by: Harleyman on Sat 14 Jan 12 at 12:59
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"Richard Head"
I could do with badge for me - Master Bates
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You should work on ships,
Roger, the... never mind you know the rest.
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An organisation I worked for went through a phase of joke name badges, for Fresher's Fairs, which included Mike Hunt and Hugh Janus, among others.
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>> I wear a name badge as part of my swimming teacher's uniform
I occasionally volunteer as a support worker at a school. One of the rules laid down by the education authority is that all adults must give their names as, and be addressed as, Mr., Mrs. or Miss whoever. I wouldn't feel comfortable being addressed by my first name (even by children who know me and my daughter outside school), as there needs to be a discrete separation between teacher and pupil. Formality of names serves that purpose.
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it might be worth the OP ascertaining whether LEA in his area gives similar guidance. What's right with adults and on 'customer service' badges isn't the same thing as what suits kids.
When we were at school teachers were Miss/Mrs or Mr (Sir or Miss in Class). Their full names and qualifications were in the school journal and some of course had forenames you'd never have guessed.
OTOH Mr Thorpe the Chemistry master was Brian to his fingertips.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 13 Jan 12 at 22:27
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I agree that respect is born by using Mr/Miss...
I'm sure my mate Mr Hunt would agree.
Only good friends call him Issac.
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No respect is borne or confirmed by by the use of titles. Respect is earned, not a right.
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Your name badge is for identification purposes by all and sundry, and as such should read "Richard Head". For all some people know, there could just conceivably be other men in your organisation with the name R. Head. However, you have the right to be addressed as Mr Head by certain categories of people. That particularly applies to pupils. The expression "Familarity breeds contempt" springs to mind.
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Unless your name really is something equivalent to "Richard Head" with obviously embarrassing problems if shortened, then I don't understand why you selected that name as a fictitious example - why not "John Smith"?
Is your problem the lack of respect from not having a proper title, or the prospect of sniggering desrespect if you comply with management instructions?
If the latter, why are they so stupid as not to appreciate the problem?
I don't think dignity and respect come from having a formal name, they are earned by the manner, forcefulness and effortless control of the situation displayed by someone with something worthy of dignity.
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>> Unless your name really is something equivalent to "Richard Head" with obviously embarrassing problems if
>> shortened, then I don't understand why you selected that name as a fictitious example -
>> why not "John Smith"?
I'm beginning to wish I had now :/
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>> Is your problem the lack of respect from not having a proper title, or the
>> prospect of sniggering desrespect if you comply with management instructions?
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I've said earlier that I can manage how I'm known; I haven't noticed any sniggering. Being told what to put on the name badge is like e.g. being told what colour hair to have, or being told not to wear a watch, or to be told to be bearded (or clean-shaven). It's like having had a designated car-parking space taken away from you. The precedent of choice had been set; now it is to be removed. It doesn't seem right to me and above all it doesn't have any bearing on how one does one's job.
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>> I don't think dignity and respect come from having a formal name, they are earned
>> by the manner, forcefulness and effortless control of the situation displayed by someone with something
>> worthy of dignity.
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We can agree on some of that although control of 30 children in 3 lanes is not always effortless.
Last edited by: hawkeye on Sat 14 Jan 12 at 17:36
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>> Your name badge
(good to see you back L'esc)
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Can't wait for the next Main Dealer Vs Independent thread.
Welcome back, L'escargot.
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Heh you're back Mr Snail! Good to hear from you.
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Thanks everyone for the welcome back. It's nice to know I was missed.
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....and I still can't understand your jokes:)
War horse/cart horse?
Pat
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>> For all some people know, there could just conceivably be other men in your organisation with the name.
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Certainly can and in my situation it would take some beating.
Early in my career I changed departments and became aware that my Senior manager - Dr Smith existed with a medical Dr Smith in the next building which caused confusion BUT
I went on an internal training course with some new hires also included. I was given some documents on the first day with my name on them but they were not for me.
Another guy with the same name as mine was in on the same 10 person course.
We were deployed to the same division, group, department , team, room and the same phone extension number for the next 2/3 years.
The only saving features were that we were different, builds,he played football and had lost more hair. Thank goodness we both had a middle initial and it was different.
Addressing each of us by both our given names was tried with a little success but many of those old colleagues address me by my middle name Henry which also confuses those who know me as my first name.
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>> Another guy with the same name as mine was in on the same 10 person course
>> Thank goodness we both had a middle initial and it was different.
I spent 11 years at school with two Paul Martins. One of them double-barrelled his first and middle names to aid differentiation, it seemed to work OK.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Sun 15 Jan 12 at 00:55
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This was the way my maiden name was formed, Dave. My grandfather was one of six lawyers in Edinburgh with the same name, so he used his middle name as part of his surname. A hyphen was inserted by the army in 1939 when his sons joined up.
Now double-barrelled names are very common as more children are born out of wedlock and are given both parents names.
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Something somewhere stored at the back of my mind under "useless information" tells me that the prefix "Fitz" in front of a surname indicates some long forgotten illegitimacy.
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>> Something somewhere stored at the back of my mind under "useless information" tells me that
>> the prefix "Fitz" in front of a surname indicates some long forgotten illegitimacy.
>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitz
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"Mr Head" or "Richard Head" on my name badge? - Zero
