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advice on new job
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Study
i wondered if i could just have peoples opinions, i'll try and keep it as short as possible but it might be long!
i got a new job on the 25th may which is nearly seven weeks ago now. its just a carer job working with vulnerable people in their own homes ie elderly people/disabled people. its not something iv always wanted to go into or whatever but i really wanted to get out of my current job (supermarket ) and give something new a go and i thought then at least id have some care experience on my CV.
its for a private company and at the interview she said they 'dont guarantee any hours' so even though i'll have a contract with them i wont have any guaranteed hours, she said thats really normal for that kind of job because they dont exactly know who will be needing care. she said though that i would have no problems getting at least 30 hours a week, which is what i wanted, so i thought that would be okay.
i paid to have my CRB check done and that took 3 weeks to come back, i did my training (unpaid, 5 days of stuff including moving and handling training etc) pretty much straight away with 5 other girls that they had taken on at the same time. i got the impression that as soon as my CRB check came back i would be able to start working. but my CRBs been back for 3 weeks now and theres still no sign of even starting shadowing, which is what you do before you start going out by yourself.
er
i rang the lady who did my interview up two weeks ago and said i was just wondering what was going on, whether i should give my notice in at my current job (i have to give two weeks notice) and she said 'whats your days off at your current job?' so i told her and she said 'right, il arrange for you to do some shadowing on those days' so i said well...that means i would be working 7 days a week, 5 at my old and 2 at this one, should i not hand my notice in? and she said 'well, i wouldnt want you to hand your notice in until we've got the hours you see'. i didnt say anything just finished the phonecall.
now two weeks later i still havent heard one little thing off them. im getting really frustrated and a bit worried about what she said, if they havent got the hours then why have they taken 5 more people on? im also in contact with one of the girls who i did the training with on facebook and she started there 4 weeks ago, as soon as the CRB came through! i just feel like im never going to leave and if i do start then they're going to mess me about with hours.
what should i do? does it sound dodgy? should i ring them again today and ask whats going on again? i dont want to sound stroppy to them. my mum said i should start looking for another job BUT when i started this one (well iv not started it, but done the training) they said if i leave within 6 months i have to pay £200 towards the training they gave me. so if i got another job i'd have to pay £200 for osmething i didnt even start! plus £43 i've already paid for the CRB check!
help meeee!
i got a new job on the 25th may which is nearly seven weeks ago now. its just a carer job working with vulnerable people in their own homes ie elderly people/disabled people. its not something iv always wanted to go into or whatever but i really wanted to get out of my current job (supermarket ) and give something new a go and i thought then at least id have some care experience on my CV.
its for a private company and at the interview she said they 'dont guarantee any hours' so even though i'll have a contract with them i wont have any guaranteed hours, she said thats really normal for that kind of job because they dont exactly know who will be needing care. she said though that i would have no problems getting at least 30 hours a week, which is what i wanted, so i thought that would be okay.
i paid to have my CRB check done and that took 3 weeks to come back, i did my training (unpaid, 5 days of stuff including moving and handling training etc) pretty much straight away with 5 other girls that they had taken on at the same time. i got the impression that as soon as my CRB check came back i would be able to start working. but my CRBs been back for 3 weeks now and theres still no sign of even starting shadowing, which is what you do before you start going out by yourself.
er
i rang the lady who did my interview up two weeks ago and said i was just wondering what was going on, whether i should give my notice in at my current job (i have to give two weeks notice) and she said 'whats your days off at your current job?' so i told her and she said 'right, il arrange for you to do some shadowing on those days' so i said well...that means i would be working 7 days a week, 5 at my old and 2 at this one, should i not hand my notice in? and she said 'well, i wouldnt want you to hand your notice in until we've got the hours you see'. i didnt say anything just finished the phonecall.
now two weeks later i still havent heard one little thing off them. im getting really frustrated and a bit worried about what she said, if they havent got the hours then why have they taken 5 more people on? im also in contact with one of the girls who i did the training with on facebook and she started there 4 weeks ago, as soon as the CRB came through! i just feel like im never going to leave and if i do start then they're going to mess me about with hours.
what should i do? does it sound dodgy? should i ring them again today and ask whats going on again? i dont want to sound stroppy to them. my mum said i should start looking for another job BUT when i started this one (well iv not started it, but done the training) they said if i leave within 6 months i have to pay £200 towards the training they gave me. so if i got another job i'd have to pay £200 for osmething i didnt even start! plus £43 i've already paid for the CRB check!
help meeee!
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Comments
I would ring again and ask - I don't think you'll sound stroppy, they've offered you a job so clearly you're going to expect to start it! Just say you need to know cos as you said, you need to know when to hand your notice in. If you've done the training and your CRBs back, you should be able to start.
:yes:
Hope it works out.
does anybody know if they can definitely charge me the £200 for training? they havent got my bank details etc so how would they get it off me if i said i didnt want to start anymore, because they've been messing me about? could they take me to court or anything for it?
Have you signed something agreeing to this?
I do know places where if you've been trained you're expected to stay working for them for a certain amount of time and if you don't they say you have to pay the money back.
But in this case, they haven't been offering you the work so it's a totally different thing!
I think if I were you I would tell them you don't want to start (if you're sure) and see what they say. Chances are they'll be fine and not mention anything about paying it back. And if they do, just tell them that you want to start work with x amount of hours.
It's them that are messing you around, not the other way around.
im going to get my handbook etc out tomorrow and go through it with my boyfriend to see if i've actually signed something to say that i'll pay the fee if i leave, i have a feeling that i have though, by accepting the job
kat_B yeah thats the deal, if i leave before i've worked there six months apparently im liable to pay towards the training i received. i didnt get paid for the hours i was training either. ohh its all such a big mess. i want to start the job as im desparate to get out of my current one, but i dont want to leave if they're going to mess me about or only give me a few hours a week.hmm.
Hi FireyFirenze,
Sounds like you could do with getting some expert advice, as contract law is quite complicated. However, it boils down to being fair to each party. If you agreed to the unpaid training and a CRB disclosure on the basis that you would be getting regular work, then you could argue that the company has been unfair to you if they are unable to provide that, but still attempt to recover the costs of the training.
An employment contract is like any other, and an employer can recover any costs incurred if you broke that contract. However, the hassle of it is often not worth it, and particularly when, if it went to court, a judge may think they acted unfairly in offering you employment but then not giving you any work.
The best thing to do is contact someone like Citizens Advice bureau, Community Legal Advice or ACAS who can go help you go through your case on a one-to-one basis.
Did you get any formal accreditation with your training? Is it a certificate that you can take to another employer?
Finally, it is worth pointing out that unless you are on a recognised Government training scheme (such as an Apprentice scheme), then the company is breaking the law if it failed to pay you the national minimum wage whilst you undertook your training.
Olly
i dug out all the stuff i've been given and all i found was
'should you fail to complete this training for any reason or leave the employ of *** within 12 months of completion of this training, *** reserve the right to either deduct the costs of this training from your final salary or if necessary recoup some of all of the said training costs as a debt which will become due and owing by you on the termination of your employment'
but it wasnt in anything i'd signed, it was just in a letter. i dont know whether to ring them and say what the heck is going on (maybe not quite like that!) or just leave it for as long as possible so i can say sort of like 'well you kept me dangling for 2 months without offering me any hours'.
i also found out they placed another advertisement on the job centre website two days ago, for the exact same position as me, why are they recruiting new people when they said they dont really have the hours for me?! ahhh.
Also try through your local council for care in the community jobs!
Personally I'd find it too hard to just leave it. If you ring and they're still vague, I'd tell them I don't want the job. I highly doubt they will try and make you pay for the training - as has been said, they've hardly kept to their side of the bargain.