Friday, 15 July 2011
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"We Need To Talk" -How I Got Laid Off
For the last eleven months I've been working as an au pairlooking after 5-year-old Alana, 4-year-old Jack, and the twins Ellie and Mikie who are 17 months old. It's been fantastic. I've loved every minute of it. I've had highs and lows, good times and bad times, fantastic times and learning curves that I'll take with me for the rest of my life.I thought I'd be there for the next year or so. But unfortunately, reality came and slapped me and everyone that I work for in the face.
The mother's business hasn't had a lot of customers for a few months which meant that she's at home with me looking after the kids. The reason she hired an au pair in the first place was because she works and isn't always home. And when I first started she was hardly ever around until after dinner. Suddenly we were on top of each other.
Then came the dreaded words: "Emma we need to talk."
I knew something was up when the parents went out on a walk. She always went on nightly walks but her husband never usually went with her. This time he did. And when they got back and the older two were in bed, that's when the words were said. At first I panicked. Had I done something wrong? Was I getting the sack?
I always panicked over that sort of thing, especially as the kids aren't my own. I hadn't done anything wrong though. There was simply no reason for me to be there when the mother was there. She wasn't making any money, and I wasn't really doing much. We were on top of each other and there was no point in me being there.
She cried as they told me. She really loved having me there, and I really was part of the family. The good news was that her friend wanted me as an au pair. Apparently they talked so much about me and how good I was with the children. That made me really proud, to know that I was thought of as that highly.
But still, I was upset to be leaving. I'm now starting a new au pair job, but that's a different story to tell you all.
Have you ever been let go from a job? How did you handle it? How long did it take you to find a new position?
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About the Author
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- From: emma
- About Me: I'm an au-pair living in Ireland looking after four children all aged under 6 and two of them 15 month old twins.
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Comments (13)
At least you have another job to go to right away... Many aren't as lucky.
At least you has a smooth transition and your employers were awesome.
The only time I was "let go" it was done very dirty. The business had been sinking and they were doing away with employees like crazy. But they didn't want to pay unemployment! So what did they do?One week I came in to work and they told me they didn't have any hours for me (our schedules don't work that way, we just have set schedules so already I knew something was up). They told me to go home and call next week and see if there were any hours available.
One month straight, every week I called and they never had any hours. Finally, my mom told me that when you arent getting any hours you can collect unemployment until they start giving you some.
So I did all the work for unemployment, even going into my job to collect some tax papers.
A few days later unemployment offices call me. They tell me that my employers say I came in and quit on my own.
What? So I told unemployment that it was not true and they told me this would go under investigation.
The next day they call me back. My employers changed their story. They said I simply stopped showing up so they were forced to terminate my employment.
That would disqualify me for unemployment.
They asked if I wanted to take it to court and I just turned it down. If they wanted to be that way then fine. I wouldn't fight it.
I refuse to buy from that store now.
I walked into one of my jobs one day only to find out that I had no job... that my job that day was packing up the closed up store. I found no work for 5 months after that. Believe it or not, I was THRILLED. I was starting to hate my life because my life was becoming work and I did everything there... and wasn't getting the pay I deserved. I was GLAD not to be there anymore... though it would have been nicer if I was already at another job before the crap hit the fan. In a way, I blame myself because I was seeing the warning signs, and didn't get out of it quickly enough.
@MangoWOW@xanga - OMG! That's awful!! In a way, they set you up NOT to get unemployment. That truly was dirty.
@sparkletone1684@xanga - Yea I had already seen it done to two other girls and I was expecting it to happen sooner or later.
But at least the manager that helped them hide all the information of me calling in then ended up having the same thing happen to him. And then the old owners who were doing this got bought out. So I guess it worked out (sorta). I just still refuse to do shopping there. Actually, where Im working at right now is closing, but we have 2 months to get ready. We dont know who is being transferred and I guess its alright. Im in the same boat you were in, I don't feel Im getting paid what Im worth and they take total advantage of the fact that I do anything for them. Even if they're open to transferring me to the main store (which the manager told me they will) I might go out and look for a new job anyways. Maybe intern at a school and get experience for my career.@MangoWOW@xanga - That sounds like a good idea. I might look for other work also. I can't say I blame you for being paranoid about being screwed over again.
I got the, "it's not you, it's me" from the military. They blamed themselves, and they were perplexed at how a simple chapter turned into a 7 month overhaul. I've never heard of the military doing that. Usually, the torture their victims. They put me in the crazy ward. I think I disturbed them.
Good luck to me ever getting employment again after that, however.
I got hired by a well known department store last September. Before I was hired, for awhile, the local stor was not bringing enough in sales, for the national company to pay for an Ops manager to set policy. So the different department managers set their own. When the situation changed, and they were given money for an Ops manager, the new manager figured that since things were improving, he would continue to let the department managers run the place. I was hired, and had some starting issues, because depending on which department manager was closing, the rules for what to do, would change. So, after I was there for 30 days, I and the girl who trained me, were called into the Ops manager's office, and I was told that I would most likely fail my upcoming 60 review. Too many managers were complaining I was not doing things their way. I said, that was because I kept getting conflicting views as to which was the store policy. I asked him to set a few things straight, because policy was set from his office. So I asked him what the policy for a few things were. He did some typing in his computer and said that he didn't know the answer to my questions, because he had not made policy for those matters yet, but he would certainly do so and get back to me.
30 days later, I was dismissed from employment, because I was still not following policy, that did not exist because he never made it. I was told, that while I took good care of the customers, it just was not going to work out.
So, I was dismissed, and ended up getting 3 weeks worth of pay, because there was an issue between national, and local on what I was paid, so they ended up overpaying me and telling me I could keep it. Now, I am on unemployment, because after looking for 6 months, I could not find work. I tried to apply for a different company, that was owned by the same holding company, as my previous job, but they said due to the nature of my dismissal, I was ineligble for a job with them ever again. So there are now 5 companies I cannot work for.
What makes this even more interesting, is I continue to see ads, every 30 days, for my old place. it seems every 30 days, they are firing half of the cashiers. So evidently, now under this ops manager, no one makes it past the 60 day review.
I've never been let go but I quit my job at Bob Evans 7 years ago May 9th 2005 when I was 18 without giving two week notice and haven't been able to get a job since. I am thinking about applying for a part-time job at a daycare center as a teacher aid as they are always hiring which is good but it looks like they're open on X-mas and my husband's showing up to see mefor three weeks so we can go to Orlando and I don't want him stuck here while I work. According to the daycare website the daycare is closed on the following holidays:
Memorial Day, Indepedence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Labor Day.24, 2011)
Other than that they're open EVERY WEEK of the year.
@sparkletone1684@xanga - my manager laid me off saying there was no more hours. She then told the company that i quit and i wasn't happy at the job. :/
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - o_O That's a heck of a thing. You'd think someone higher up would want to know why they go through employees so often. I can't see how a location can even function that way. I'm sorry you had to deal with a situation so stupid.
@MangoWOW@xanga - sorry to hear that happened to you...sounds to me like it was "Tilly's" that did that. WORST company I've ever worked for...was it Tilly's? Lol
@dead_poetic009xx@xanga - Lol no. It was a family owned chain of local school supply stores.