unemployed and the rest!

MoneyWaster2007

hi, on friday i was sacked for gross misconduct (collusion to theft); in other words i allowed myself to be manipulated by a customer into incorrectly booking out items which he had purchased, meaning that he took more than he had paid for. i hang my head in shame.

anyway, the result is that i am now unemployed. i will receive a final wage from my previous employer at the end of this month, which i am hoping will keep my head above water for another month. But when this money runs out i no longer have any income and therefore will not be able to meet my monthly repayments on my personal loan.

so im getting a bit panicky here! because unemployment is so high...and rising, how will i possibly get a job?! when i had a perfectly decent one already. ive been so foolish.

another problem. after my dismissal, things got worse. the police are now involved. i was arrested and have to answer bail at the end of the month. i have been told i may get away with a formal caution, however there is the possibility it may go to court, in which case i will then have a criminal record!!!

criminal record + bad reference from previous employment = no job offers!!

its all a bit worrying, can anyone help?

bchnnc

MoneyWaster2007 wrote: »

hi, on friday i was sacked for gross misconduct (collusion to theft); in other words i allowed myself to be manipulated by a customer into incorrectly booking out items which he had purchased, meaning that he took more than he had paid for. i hang my head in shame.

anyway, the result is that i am now unemployed. i will receive a final wage from my previous employer at the end of this month, which i am hoping will keep my head above water for another month. But when this money runs out i no longer have any income and therefore will not be able to meet my monthly repayments on my personal loan.

so im getting a bit panicky here! because unemployment is so high...and rising, how will i possibly get a job?! when i had a perfectly decent one already. ive been so foolish.

another problem. after my dismissal, things got worse. the police are now involved. i was arrested and have to answer bail at the end of the month. i have been told i may get away with a formal caution, however there is the possibility it may go to court, in which case i will then have a criminal record!!!

criminal record + bad reference from previous employment = no job offers!!

its all a bit worrying, can anyone help?

It is a lesson to be learnt here, and it is a harsh one.

On the brighter note it means your job is now open for applicants to apply to, so you have done someone else a favour!

Everyone makes mistakes and you learn from them, you have learnt from one mistake. Theft is serious business and it is not taken lightly.

To be blunt I will say you should of thought about this at the time and the consequences but sometimes temptations get into our lives.

What did the customer do for you that you stole on his behalf, as I am sure you would not of done something for nothing?? Especially when your job was involved. Maybe a back hander?...

It makes me so mad!

Sorry if this upsets anyone on the boards but thats my view

Horace

Go and sign on - JSA won't be much and they don't care about personal loans either. Have you considered writing to the loan people and offering them a token payment? Whatever you do don't consolidate your debt as you will never pay it off. Consider speaking to one of the debt charities such as CCCS (their details can be found on the Debt Free Wannabe board).

Allowing yourself to be involved in a theft from your employer was a very stupid thing to do and now you are suffering the consequences - it must involve serious really serious if the police are now dealing with it. I have never stolen anything or even allowed myself to be coerced into stealing so I have no idea what sort of advice to give on that score.

MoneyWaster2007

it was a moment of weakness, the person in question was someone i know and he put me in a position. i felt slightly intimidated. obviously the correct thing to have to done would have been to report the incident to my manager, but it was my own weakness/ naivety that led to it happening. hindsight is a wonderful thing!

however, i must face up to what has happened and attempt to rebuild on things. i have done a detailed budget and cut out any 'pleasures,' so that all my money is kept back for the essentials ie. loan, housekeeping (still live with parents) etc. i have also applied for 4 jobs and have been checking the job centre website daily for new vacancies.

i dont know what more i can do except hope that something will turn up. and i have had enough criticism already thankyou bchnnc.

Horace

Try registering with some staff agencies for temporary work that may also help.

MoneyWaster2007

thanks horace, i rang an agency up yesterday and they said they currently have no work on offer, im guessing that pretty much sums up how things are right now, there is little if any work regardless of which approach you take to look...however i will keep looking and hoping

bchnnc

I am simply not criticising, i am simply stating facts, and i did say that was my HO.

I have been unemployed for a year now, so welcome to the world of unemplyment! I have had more temp jobs in 5 months then ive had hot dinners, its all i can get at the moment with things being so tough.

Sometimes it makes me wonder why i studied so hard at university to be swamped in debt with fake promises of a glistening career!

My advice is to make amends and put together an action plan - which you should stick to, take this as a very bad mistake that you have learnt from.

There is bound to be sometimes out there eventually and I would not give up hoping or praying... Just don't let it bring you down as times are hard out there on the job markets.

Everyone as a moment of weakness, but in the eyes of the law theft is theft and it leads to prosecution

jobbingmusician

You have my sympathy - it sounds as if you have indeed made a mistake as a young person and are truly regretting this. My own view is 'there but for the grace of God go I'.

If you do end up in court (and I suspect this is unlikely) make it very clear to them that you are truly repentant and now understand that you should never have got yourself into this position. Courts like defendants who admit when they are in the wrong - I believe there is evidence that these people get far lighter sentences (and your aim is obviously to get off with a caution or a suspended sentence at worst).

I have no real advice to give about getting another job - you are right to think that employers will not be keen to employ someone who has been sacked for theft. Could you work as a volunteer for a while and build up a good reference as a steady worker that way?

MoneyWaster2007

thank you, voluntary work is certainly an idea, if things turn out for the worst. however, i will not know my next move until i have been told what is going to happen on the police side of things (at worst i will get community service, i have been told by a police officer) and at best, a formal caution. If it is the latter, i will have got off virtually scot free, as a caution does not show up on a CRB check by an employer. then my only problem would be getting a job with a bad reference from my last place of employment. however, if i did manage to get another job, albeit a low paid one, it would be the spring board to a better job, as it directly affects the chronology of my employment ie. i will then be able to get a good reference.

but if it goes to court it is another matter altogether; i am up !!!! creek so to speak

bchnnc

MoneyWaster2007 wrote: »

i will have got off virtually scot free

You will never get away 'scot free' because you are suffering at the moment, and in some respects that is alot better then community service etc...

You have done wrong, you realise this but don't just push it under the carpet as this has happened and you have to deal with it.

Lindyloo321

Moneywaster.... this is my first ever post on here, and I felt compelled to join the site, to add my comments - hope you don't mind.

I think you are extremely brave, to disclose what you've done, and risking the wrath of the great and the good. Everyone knows that it's not a good idea to steal - and I'm sure you've absolutely learned that lesson. I sincerely hope that you get a caution, and that this doesn't affect you for the rest of your life. Hands up those people who've never stolen so much as a pen from work. Theft is theft. You got caught - probably for the best in the long run. Nuff said!

Moving onto advice from another poster. By all means make your claim to Jobseekers Allowance. However, you're not guaranteed to receive this, as it depends what your former employer puts as the reason for your job ending. Gross misconduct can mean that your benefit can be suspended for up to 6 months.

You need another job, and very quickly, as you and others have stated. Apply for as many as you possibly can. Perhaps you could apply for jobs that don't involve handling cash, goods, etc. Call centre work, perhaps? Also, send out your CV (make it a good one, highlighting your strengths). Personally, I think honesty is the best policy. If you get to an interview, you'll probably be asked why your last job ended. Something like ' I did an extremely stupid thing, and will never repeat it' might help. People DO like honesty.

The advice about voluntary work is an excellent idea. You need to build up trust again. Agency work is another possible option. Again, you'll need to be honest. If you get a few temp jobs under your belt, you might get away with not having to go into too much detail about a job in the past.

Very best wishes to you, and good luck. Time to move on.