(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 coordinators clueless and the manager 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.