patiirc Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 So yeah, a bit of a quandry. Â I havent had a shift from my work for about 5 weeks, I've called and emailed and kept in touch to make sure that people remember the name and ask how things are and generally make positive moves to keep me in the loop, but nothing. Â Get to Wednesday afternoon and get a letter from them saying I have been called in for a 'meeting' regarding 'issues' at my last placement and should have been there at 9am on Wednesday morning. The letter was sent 2nd class on Monday night so had slim to no chance of getting to me in time. I rang up to find out what the brouhaha was and the manager of the bank couldnt actually tell me what I was being called in for, but that the meeting is formal and will last around an hour. Â Now, to me it sounds like there has been some shenanigans behind the scenes whilst Ive been off, because the manager at my last placement was very happy with my work, and extended my placement, before I got ill with Shingles and then it all went a bit weird. I was told to ring the placement up when I had been given the all clear to work, by said manager, so I did on the day requested. The manager was unavailable so I left a message. I heard nothing back, so rang again the next day. Following that I had a phone call from HR to find out why I had been ringing the placement, which I thought was odd, and now 5 weeks after the event Im being hauled in for this meeting for which I have no idea what it is about. Â The lack of shifts is now easily explained because of the above as they are not going to place someone who is in for a meeting, however, not knowing what the meeting is about or having no knowledge that there was an issue means I'm going in to the rearranged meeting blind. Â Afaik, it seems like a bit of a 'witchhunt', if there are issues with my work, then why extend me in the first place? Everything I did, despite them not being able to provide me with a properly working computer until the last day of the placement, was checked and double checked before it went out and I left notes fully explaining what was done regarding something and why, should there ever be an issue. Nothing was mentioned at the time, and it's really odd that it is coming up now. Â I had issues with DPA compliance with the manager and raised this privately with HR because they wanted to leave my computer open whilst I was away from the desk. This was not going to happen as I dont fancy the 5k fine or prison sentence for non DPA compliance as it falls on the individual and not the trust I was working for. Â My work was impeccable, as it is always, my attitude professional and tip top, I even went over and above the call of duty, sorting things out to make sure they were done in their required by law turn around when the computers went down, so that they could hit targets and make sure they adhered to things. I also came up with a new fail safe system that they were looking to adopt incase the systems failed again or some one wasnt in work for whatever reason. Basically I was a star worker. So I'm a bit confused as to why this has come up at all, and why it has taken so long to arise, when the placement finished such a long time ago. Â Â So with that all in mind and the fact I haven't had any work from them in 5 weeks, should I bin it off and find something else, or go to the meeting, and fight my corner. It sounds big headed, but no one gets to question me at work, I learnt the hard way when I was younger not to slack off and to do things to a standard that could only be described as brilliant, a it has kept me in good stead until now. Indeed I dont think there has been even a hint of anything like this for around a decade or so. I'm too old and too tired to be playing office politics, and just want to get on and kick arse at whatever job I do. Â Any one got any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2012 I GOT THE JOB! Â Your next, Jambizzle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 I GOT THE JOB! Your next, Jambizzle.  Delighted for you mate, back doing something you won't hate as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members niff Posted September 7, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2012 I GOT THE JOB! Your next, Jambizzle.  Fantastic! And good luck Biff. This thread is scaring me as I'm not sure if I'll still have a job this time next year, I'll find out in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 The one saving grace i have is that they let me run a changeover all day Sunday then told me about the investigation and suspension two hours in to my shift on Tuesday so if they try to say im a liability to the company then I can question why they kept me in a position of responsibility for 2 days. Without wanting to piss on your chips, they might come back with saying they needed someone with the relevant authority to permit it. I know it's an easy thing to say but don't worry about getting suspended. It's common practice so that they can carry out the investigation without prejudice. Â Also, it's usual that the person carrying out the investigation cant be part of any disciplinary process that may come from the investigation. Â Good luck, man! Â Ah well, I got shit canned today as a result of the investigation. Gross misconduct and negligence that could lead to a loss for the company. Appeal pending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary v1 Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 (edited) Leaving my current job as an actuary for a quite big life insurer in Edinburgh for a job with a much bigger life insurer in Dublin. I've only been in the current job 8 months and rather like it and the people but my girlfriend has had trouble getting work in her field in the UK but got something in Dublin. Really happy as we've been long distance for the last couple of years (Glasgow to Newcastle/Kendal) but on the other hand going to miss all my friends and being able to pop out for a pint in Glasgow etc. Also going to miss my Glasgow city centre flat that I've just let out and now will be paying more for a much smaller flat in Dublin much further outside the city. Fecking Dublin.Actually since I'm on a bit of a rant the tax is ridiculous with my marginal rate of tax being 51% and you don't even get an NHS or dental for this. Food and drink are really expensive too as are all your services like phone/broadband etc. In summary Ireland is shit. (I'm sure it's fine really and I'll discover many positives in the coming months) Edited September 17, 2012 by gary v1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary v1 Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Actually since I'm on a bit of a rant the tax is ridiculous with my marginal rate of tax being 51% and you don't even get an NHS or dental for this. Food and drink are really expensive too as are all your services like phone/broadband etc. In summary Ireland is shit. (I'm sure it's fine really and I'll discover many positives in the coming months)Enjoy paying for getting rid of individual bags of rubbish too!Yeah I noticed that too but I'm willing to live with that one as I'm guessing it's just in place of UK council tax as it were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Up Chuck Posted September 17, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 17, 2012 I'm pleased to report that I've been offered some freelance writing work by a recruitment agency who were managing another job I applied for. They basically headhunted me out of their own system, which is a teensy bit cheeky, but the other job had been filled and I'm not complaining. I wasn't planning to go freelance but my dad's brought me and my sister up doing exactly that so he's given me a bit of a crash course and helped me figure out what I should be billing them (they had no idea, or they were waiting for me to pitch a figure to them so they could negotiate). I've given them a very well-considered per-hour number and some example work, and I'm just waiting (extremely anxiously) for the email back to confirm it all. A lot of their work is American based so they work really weird hours. I could legitimately still get a response from them tonight. So yeah. Nervously watching my inbox.You wait all day for a bus and then one comes along, but it's a different shape to what you expected and you have to do a bit of the driving yourself. Or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted September 17, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 17, 2012 My Dad's suggested I apply at a nearby cheese factory. Anybody know anything about cheese making and what an interviewer is likely to be impressed by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 See what it's about first before you start thinking the worst.   Twas a witch hunt. They didn't tell me anything before I went in, only confirmed once in there, sorry once leaving the meeting that this was the reason I had no shifts from them since left my old position. In the interim 5 weeks then the entire bank of about 6 people was actually lying when enquiring about what shifts were available. They went on about something that had been cleared in front of witnesses, previously but was yet again bought up as being an issue. Calling your boss, 'boss', is clearly overstepping the mark, despite the tone being appropriate to the team and used in a not mocking manner. Then there was 'personal emails'. So concerned was my boss about outstanding work, despite the fact I was way over targets, getting them out of a bind and showing up her and the rest of her team ( them not bothering to give me the required training in the first place despite repeated requests!) and leaving notes and appropriate files she 'needed' to check my emails. Or, rather she needed to check just some of the emails she wanted to check, which was an issue I'd raised anyway because she kept asking me to keep my computer unlocked. Utterly bollocks of the highest order. It was 'admitted' that it was a personality clash, So why the show trial? Basically I was too good for them and they didn't like me showing them up, so they wanted to destroy me. Unreal  5 weeks it took them to come up with that complete bollocks of a meeting, no adjournments, no other reps allowed, nothing. I managed to save my job (why? I dont fucking know, as I've never worked with such an incompetent bunch of vindictive arseholes in all my life) and it stays on my file for 12 months. Time to look elsewhere I think, what a mess!   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Up Chuck Posted September 18, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 18, 2012 Update on mine: had a second meeting, bizarrely different tone to the first, playing it by ear now. Gotta go in tomorrow to sort of start finding my way around the company and the product, but from what I can tell it looked like the finalisation of my role got caught up in some internal politics. Very jarred and annoyed tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Up Chuck Posted September 24, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 Another update! Things seemed to be clarified and going really well, I went in and did a day of writing for the website today, then they got an office grunt to call me at half 7 at night to tell me it wasn't as "creative" as they were hoping for and they didn't want me anymore. Â Particularly frustrating, as I pushed them really hard to tell me exactly what they wanted and they just waffled in generalisations. They clearly don't actually know what they want on their site, and were just hoping for me to come in and wave a magic wand. One day of first draft work wasn't the best thing they've ever seen, so that's that. Â Keep buggering on, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted September 24, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 Handing me notice in tomorrow. Â Been on a final written warning for conduct for a few months now after a hearing about leaving paperwork in a desk drawer overnight. Arguably that hearing shouldnt have resulted in a lesser sanction, but since there was already a "record of informal discussion" they considered I'd had warning enough already, and it was time for "belt up or fuck off" actions. Â Been struggling from a sales point of view for a while (although nowhere near the "improving performance" disciplinaries yet) and was observed today. Was so bent on doing good fact finding, listening to the customer and meeting their needs, I missed out a load of mandatory compliance crap about data protection and recording details on the system. Had it been a mystery shop, it probably would have been the sack. Got a temporary withdrawal from trading and she observed my next one, which was 100% compliant introduction but surprise surprise, nerves got the best of me and I fucked up the fact finding. Â As my manager still had some concerns, she asks HR what to do. They say keep me non-trading, and send them evidence so they can do a hearing. Well, a hearing for conduct where the outcome could be warning would result in dismissal unless I can defend what's happened, and I really can't. I've dropped the ball one time too often. So tomorrow, written notice which at my level is 5 weeks. Â Off out into the world I'm thrown back now, over qualified and under skilled, 6 and a half years experience in a sector that I'm not right for any more. See you in Tesco - that is, if they'll have me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted September 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 25, 2012 I know the feeling. I was looking through the vacancies today, and while I don't expect to see anything demanding my background, there's absolutely fuck all requiring transferrable skills. Employers can take the piss a bit too, demanding graduates for minimum wage, tea making jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted September 25, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted September 25, 2012 (edited) Employers can take the piss a bit too, demanding graduates for minimum wage, tea making jobs. Â What I've seen so far from the brief look I had last week while merely contemplating my future, since there are so many looking then they can stipulate so much on the "Essential" and "Desired" lists of skills/experience. It's actually quite daunting that I only actually applied for one job where the Essentials didnt completely rule me out. I didn't even look at Desired. And to be blunt, my Excel skills are not exactly "excellent." It doesn't matter really, the amount of applicants they'll have with relevant experience, I'll have a celebratory wank if I get so much as an interview. Â Not in the interview, obviously. Edited September 25, 2012 by air_raid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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