I quit my job today

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Anyway I do the night shift and decide I might as well go straight after my shift (0800) because I'm tired and going in at 3 would mean I'd have to get up at about 13:00 to get in on time. So I walk 40 mins into the office and he tells me he cant see me now as it's "very serious" and he is going investigate it.

So I argue my point that I had never been told I needed this phone, why are there two different alarm systems in this particular woman's flat, why I cant sit in the lounge and watch TV when every other Night carer does and its been fine for years etc etc. He just basically brushes every point I make off and tells me to come in at 3pm.

Never a good idea to go to an interview like this without sleep. Your manager was probably short on sleep too.

Do you want to leave without another job? I'd guess they have trouble replacing you so you could probably get your job back if you wanted it, then find another job and leave after working your notice. However good your reason for leaving (and after a mistake it would be best to establish you'd not been told of a second alarm system) it's easier to find work when you have a job.

Reply 21

EffectiveCat

Original post by suedonim

It wasn't an interview, he wouldn't formally speak with me. He wanted me to go home and come back at 3 - which for reasons I stated in the OP was not acceptable (being on shift that night). The limited dialouge I had was just me trying to explain my point of view but he had already made his mind up.

The managment of the agency in question is a mess, and it's a shame because my co-workers are good care workers who are struggleing with managments shortcomings. I wont mention the name of the agency in question, but they are a major nationwide care provider growing at a phenomonal rate (due to undercutting other agencys, low staff wages - and also hostile takeovers of smaller agencys) which are part of a much larger conglomerate with its fingers in many pies including Construction.

All of this is really a reflection of our society's priorities though. You see in the news about poor standards of care - but what can the public expect when care at home is left to private agencys who's only real interest is the bottom line and ticking check boxes. And nobody ever thinks of the people providing this care, many working LESS than minimum wage (Due to not being paid for travelling between calls or milage). It's a national disgrace that nobody seems to care about until they realise they have elderly relatives of their own to look out for. Who is going to PAY for good care and why are providers competing on the basis of cost over quality?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 22

Toaster Leavings

Original post by EffectiveCat

I'm guessing Capita

Reply 23

Fortitude

No employee should be treated like that, I hope you find a job that is much much better, Good Luck! :smile:

Reply 24

Top Queen

Original post by EffectiveCat

(I don't think quitting like this is the best way by the way and if it can be avoided then you should try to - but sometimes you need to do somthing drastic for your own sake. I had no intention of quitting when I went into the office today but in a way I'm glad I did because it may be the catalyst I personally needed to get my finger out my arse and do somthing with my life. If you ever feel the need to do this, make sure you have the ability to support yourself financially atleast 3 months)

I'm 23, Male.

I'd been working as a Carer through a Care Agency for 4 years. In that time I've been on the community for 2 years and the last 2 were spent as the Night Warden of a Sheltered Accommodation for elderly people.

Over the time I spent there, the agency has been very poorly ran/managed. The communication was piss poor, the co-ordinators and manager is incompetent and there was very little regard to the needs of staff. For a long time I have felt I have been bullied and treated differently by the manager.I I'd tell you half of the things that have happened but I'd hit the character limit of the post.

I have had countless instances of payroll errors over the years, where pay would be missing and some weeks where they just wouldn't pay me at all. Whenever they made these errors we were expected to wait until the week after, or accept a CHAPS payment which would be taxed at 40%. When you're only earning £6.40 per hour, this is unacceptable and impossible.

My grandmother (who I and my mother lived with) recently died on the 22nd March. Between this period and 2nd April (funeral) they were pestering me to work days I was not allocated and I had to fight to get some compassionate leave.

The straw that broke the camels back for me came last night. The job I did as night warden involved me working alone (ALONE, Responsible for 46 residents), staying awake in possession of a phone which is linked to all the alarms in the flats that residents trigger in an emergency. I also have to do hourly checks of the corridors. So my duty is basically to be "on call" through the night, and check the building every hour. Thats all. Over the 2 years I worked there I had exemplary record, had saved lives (2 Heart attacks, 1 stroke).

4 months ago the scheme went from "Assisted Living" to "Extra Care Scheme" which is a slightly elevated level of care. One of the things they introduced when this happened was an on-site "on call" phone which the senior carer carries through the day and leaves in the staffroom at night. I have never had to use this phone, as all alarms come through to the night phone. Or so I thought.

I started my shift at 22:00, did the handover, checked the building and as usual sat in the communal lounge and watched some TV (ALL who do the night shift do this). I had the night phone with me as always. At about 23:00 an alarm was triggered but it doesn't go to any phone on-site. For reasons I can't begin to comprehend, it goes to an offsite team, who then have to phone our company, who then have to phone me. So I'm sitting there completely oblivious, and my manager walks in (scares the **** out of me too..) and says something pertaining to "Why aren't you answering the phone, theres someone on the floor. I don't pay you to sit on your arse and watch TV" (What the **** else am I supposed to do if there isn't an emergency? Stare at the wall?).

Anyway we go up to the flat and it turns out the woman is fine, she's wearing the alarm on her wrist and pressed it in her sleep.

The manager flips his **** outside the flat and asks me to come in to the morning. I say I'm working tomorrow night so he says to go in at 3. Anyway I do the night shift and decide I might as well go straight after my shift (0800) because I'm tired and going in at 3 would mean I'd have to get up at about 13:00 to get in on time. So I walk 40 mins into the office and he tells me he cant see me now as it's "very serious" and he is going investigate it.

So I argue my point that I had never been told I needed this phone, why are there two different alarm systems in this particular woman's flat, why I cant sit in the lounge and watch TV when every other Night carer does and its been fine for years etc etc. He just basically brushes every point I make off and tells me to come in at 3pm.

It's been one thing after the other for too long, and I've been through a very difficult time recently and I really don't need the stress. So I just calmly told him "You might as well take my Uniform and Badge - I can't cope with this", put them on the table He said "So you're quitting then?" and I just said "Looks like it" (I don't think I had even decided myself at this point - I think I was on auto-pilot) and just walked out.

It felt good by the way. I am currently getting advice from UNISON.

Wow, you had a pretty tough time at this job, but hopefully you get a new job soon!

Reply 25

beautifulbigmacs

Propper respect to you op. I have often fought the urge to walk out in the middle of a shift but I respect your reasons.

I really do believe that some employers will push employees into exploitative situations because they are gambling on the notion that people are desperate to keep their jobs. If you can walk away from that sort of rubbish then power to you :smile:

If you ever leave a job and know that you can't ask your ex manager for a reference, ask a colleague for a reference (preferably someone senior to you but anyone else will do if not). I have had to do this before and its worth doing because you still want to be able to mention these four years of work on your cv.

Good luck with everything. Do them for everything that theyve done to you.