Lied to job about uni

I told my job that I joined in March I wasn’t going to uni this year despite already having my place offered to me as this year was my gap year. I’m planning giving in my notice around mid-August, but I’m not sure if I should tell them that plans changed and that I applied to uni last minute and plan on going in September, or if I should just lie and say something about me moving away. I know I shouldn’t have lied really, and I finished my probation this month so I feel bad for wasting their time only to leave a month later 🥲
I know that they don’t do transfers, and chances are, I won’t be offered a seasonal spot regardless. I have made close connections to the team as it’s a small one though, so I want to leave on good terms

I told my job that I joined in March I wasn’t going to uni this year despite already having my place offered to me as this year was my gap year. I’m planning giving in my notice around mid-August, but I’m not sure if I should tell them that plans changed and that I applied to uni last minute and plan on going in September, or if I should just lie and say something about me moving away. I know I shouldn’t have lied really, and I finished my probation this month so I feel bad for wasting their time only to leave a month later 🥲
I know that they don’t do transfers, and chances are, I won’t be offered a seasonal spot regardless. I have made close connections to the team as it’s a small one though, so I want to leave on good terms

I have a new idea. Say you be considering open university 100% online course. Then say you want proper uni experience, and did clearing.

I told my job that I joined in March I wasn’t going to uni this year despite already having my place offered to me as this year was my gap year. I’m planning giving in my notice around mid-August, but I’m not sure if I should tell them that plans changed and that I applied to uni last minute and plan on going in September, or if I should just lie and say something about me moving away. I know I shouldn’t have lied really, and I finished my probation this month so I feel bad for wasting their time only to leave a month later 🥲
I know that they don’t do transfers, and chances are, I won’t be offered a seasonal spot regardless. I have made close connections to the team as it’s a small one though, so I want to leave on good terms

Just to add to what has been said above, and this is from someone who has run more than one business and continues to do so. Your deceitful, dishonest behaviour is one of the things we are most wary of when considering employing 18–19 year olds. It causes significant costs, last-minute planning and disruption, and all because you put your personal interests ahead of telling the truth and repaying the trust which the business placed in you when they agreed to offer you a job. Businesses aren't some amorphous, impersonal 'lump', where your selfish decisions have no real impact: this will affect your colleagues, of which you speak kindly, and the business more generally. It's not life-changing for the business, obviously, but it still has a financial cost and operational implications. In the current economic climate, businesses can well do without all this. You say 'you feel bad', but not bad enough not to have done it in the first place.

A lot of people, almost irrespective of their age, no longer view their employer with the same lens or loyalty you or I might have. I agree it is a total liability for business and causes disruption. On the flip side the only reason people tend to employ 18-19 year olds is because they are cheap or will work limited hours/seasonally which won't suit a full time employee who is older.
For every problematic employee out there, there is usually a problematic employer, too. I'm not saying any of it is right or wrong, it is a cultural thing I think now.

It’s the cultural thing of people being brought up to look after number one which explains a lot of the problems of loss of social cohesion and community spirit.
BUT being honest can and does pay. Two of my kids took low paying gap year jobs but turned up on time and did the job well. The result for both was the offer of a fast track management trainee post if they wanted to stay rather than go to uni. Both let the offer go, but they are still welcomed back to do holiday cover when it crops up. This person won’t be!

A lot of people, almost irrespective of their age, no longer view their employer with the same lens or loyalty you or I might have. I agree it is a total liability for business and causes disruption. On the flip side the only reason people tend to employ 18-19 year olds is because they are cheap or will work limited hours/seasonally which won't suit a full time employee who is older.
For every problematic employee out there, there is usually a problematic employer, too. I'm not saying any of it is right or wrong, it is a cultural thing I think now.

It’s the cultural thing of people being brought up to look after number one which explains a lot of the problems of loss of social cohesion and community spirit.
BUT being honest can and does pay. Two of my kids took low paying gap year jobs but turned up on time and did the job well. The result for both was the offer of a fast track management trainee post if they wanted to stay rather than go to uni. Both let the offer go, but they are still welcomed back to do holiday cover when it crops up. This person won’t be!

Yes, I think you're right here (and in your other post), but I think it needs calling out when you see it. It is a continuation of the diminution of standards of behaviour, both publically and professionally. It it also self-defeating for young people generally. They spend much time whining on about not being able to find stable work (or even work sometimes), but when they treat employers like the OP has, it makes it more difficult for them, not less.
As an example, we tend to exclusively hire older workers now, both for f/t and p/t, seasonal or temporary contracts? Why? Because by and large, older people are better educated; more polite; better turned out; know how to interact with the public, colleagues and business partners alike; turn up when they say they will, don't have endless time off for 'mental health problems'; aren't entitled enough to think that they're too good to muck in with the rest of the team to get work done when it needs doing... I could go on. This might be anecdote, but it's anecdote from many years experience in business, and it is widespread.

Yes, I think you're right here (and in your other post), but I think it needs calling out when you see it. It is a continuation of the diminution of standards of behaviour, both publically and professionally. It it also self-defeating for young people generally. They spend much time whining on about not being able to find stable work (or even work sometimes), but when they treat employers like the OP has, it makes it more difficult for them, not less.
As an example, we tend to exclusively hire older workers now, both for f/t and p/t, seasonal or temporary contracts? Why? Because by and large, older people are better educated; more polite; better turned out; know how to interact with the public, colleagues and business partners alike; turn up when they say they will, don't have endless time off for 'mental health problems'; aren't entitled enough to think that they're too good to muck in with the rest of the team to get work done when it needs doing... I could go on. This might be anecdote, but it's anecdote from many years experience in business, and it is widespread.

I told my job that I joined in March I wasn’t going to uni this year despite already having my place offered to me as this year was my gap year. I’m planning giving in my notice around mid-August, but I’m not sure if I should tell them that plans changed and that I applied to uni last minute and plan on going in September, or if I should just lie and say something about me moving away. I know I shouldn’t have lied really, and I finished my probation this month so I feel bad for wasting their time only to leave a month later 🥲
I know that they don’t do transfers, and chances are, I won’t be offered a seasonal spot regardless. I have made close connections to the team as it’s a small one though, so I want to leave on good terms

Hi strawberryjess,
My advice would be to just be honest & let them know that plans have changed last minute & that you are going to university. It's far better than just leaving without any warning. You don't really have to say that you lied, you can just say that plans changed (which they do unexpectedly).
Hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Jiya Constancia Windsor (Jiya Mahmood at present)
University of Bradford
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I told my job that I joined in March I wasn’t going to uni this year despite already having my place offered to me as this year was my gap year. I’m planning giving in my notice around mid-August, but I’m not sure if I should tell them that plans changed and that I applied to uni last minute and plan on going in September, or if I should just lie and say something about me moving away. I know I shouldn’t have lied really, and I finished my probation this month so I feel bad for wasting their time only to leave a month later 🥲
I know that they don’t do transfers, and chances are, I won’t be offered a seasonal spot regardless. I have made close connections to the team as it’s a small one though, so I want to leave on good terms

😊Hi, just wanted to say, probably best to say that you’ve changed your mind about uni and are starting in September, everyone changes their mind and everyone lies at some point. It really isn’t that deep and any staff can change their mind at any time, you have free will. Ignore the people who chose this thread to have a rant and to have a go at you when they don’t know anything about you, quite frankly, shows their arrogance and possibly where there have failed when employing similar ages to yourself. You also worked from March and were paid for this work, so they still gained from having you as an employee otherwise you wouldn’t have passed your probation. You can always say that you would like to have the opportunity to come back in the future. At least you won’t leave with any regret from both parties. What you did, is something many people will have done, will do and will continue to do, it’s called survival of the fittest and the tables turned, it would be the same scenario. You’ve gained experience as well and hopefully kept good contacts, you shouldn’t be ashamed of that. 😊

The thing is that OP said they’d made an error, and had done something that they regretted, so I suggested a way out which would let them walk away with their respect in tact. But what is worrying is that since then a number of people have posted saying that something OP regretted was actually normal behavior because it’s a dog eat dog world , and this is a worrying indication of the moral compass of an increasing proportion of those entering the job market today!
Look at it this way, if OP is supposed to be working in August and is now going to disappear, it is quite likely that someone who was supposed to be on holiday, now won’t be and the family holiday, or holiday with friends somewhere on a beach will now be in November. If that person who was supposed to be on vacation was you would you still hold out that it’s fair? That the dog eat dog world that has just made you a victim is the one you aspire to?
So while I’d say to OP that what they did wasn’t great but they know it so let’s help them out of a tough spot, I’d say to many others that have posted here, don’t come looking to me for work because if you find it so normal to lie about this and looking out for number one is all that counts, what would you do in other tight spots? What kind of ethics do you have? Answer: NONE.