Tradie blasts 'spineless' bosses after young apprentice is bullied so relentlessly he almost takes his own life

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:41, 24 May 2026 | Updated: 02:41, 24 May 2026 A furious tradie has lashed 'weak, spineless' bosses after revealing an apprentice allegedly lost 18 months of work and was bullied so relentlessly that he considered taking his own life. Melbourne carpenter William Fleming, who runs review platform Tradie Talk, said many employers project a polished image online, sharing smiling team photos and showcasing their work while allegedly mistreating staff behind closed doors. 'One person told me they almost took their own life because of what they went through with their boss,' he said. 'Many of you would know who this boss is., you would never see that there's anything wrong, you'd never know how to actually treat their staff and from the outside they look perfect. 'This guy's prancing around on Instagram, showing his face, showing his staff, showing the work he does, being all proud of everything he does, but behind the scenes he's nothing but a prick.' 'There was verbal bullying, berating him, putting him down,' Fleming said. Fleming argued some bosses deliberately target younger workers, and said he had been inundated with messages from apprentices detailing alleged bullying and mistreatment on job sites. 'A lot of these guys are weak, spineless pricks who pick on people who are young, smaller than them because they are easy targets,' he said. Melbourne carpenter William Fleming (pictured) claims the toxic culture directed at apprentices often comes from bosses who appear successful and professional online.  'I can guarantee they wouldn't say this to someone their own age.' The video quickly racked up comments from others sharing similar experiences, with many recounting their own time in the industry. One said their co-workers were 'terrible'. 'I can't stand it and I'm not typically one that gets emotional,' they said. 'Every day driving to work I just break down - I love electrical work but I just don't want to continue anything.' Another said their apprenticeship was so bad they hoped their car engine would blow up on the way to work. 'Quitting was the best thing I've done - the relief I felt driving home I've never felt before,' they said. 'There's a difference between banter and bullying and some people cross that line.' Many tradies said bullying of apprentices was 'systemic' across Australia  Others said they loved the work but dreaded the toxic culture, with one revealing they quit the industry entirely for the sake of their mental health. One partner claimed her tradie boyfriend would call her in the middle of panic attacks after being 'spoken to like s**t and belittled' at work. Another said bullying of apprentices was 'systemic' across Australia. 'The culture of bullying younger and smaller apprentices needs to change,' they said. Another claimed they were denied time off after the death of their daughter while they were a first-year apprentice, while another alleged a friend was shot in the back with a nail gun on site. Fleming said bystanders who fail to intervene were just as bad as the perpetrators. 'If you're on site and you see it happening and do nothing, you're just as bad,' he said. 'It doesn't have to be hard, even just saying, mate, I get it's a high stress situation but I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak to workers like that. 'The least you could do is have a conversation with the apprentice afterwards, talk to them about it and say it's all right, I get it, it's hard.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.