eployers offering internal roles to outsiders

Dudeface

Hello. My girlfriend currently works for a large retail company that I won't disclose and a few weeks ago, a full time member of staff left to work at another company. The role was offered to the part time people to take on a full time role and were told they were not advertising this vacancy to the public. 3 people were interviewed and then they were told they would have an answer the next day. Nothing. They were then told next week. The she found out that the girl who left had decided she didn't like her new job and wanted to come back so they decided to give the job back to her and leaving the part time people who they interviewed screwed. Now, as soon as that girl left, she was no longer a part of the company and therefore should not have been offered the role as it was clearly stated that it was internal and also, she had not been interviewed.

Surely this is not legal?

suited-aces

And why not?

Dudeface

well the job wasn't advertised. She just came round crying she hated her new job so they just gave her back her old one after interviewing the other 3. How is that fair? surely there are rules. Shouldn't have they made her at least go through another interview?

suited-aces

If they were using public funds, almost definitely. Privately, as far as I'm aware, they can hire whoever they want however they want as long as there's no discrimination involved. Feel free to correct me folks, I'd like to be sure of this too.

Dudeface

surely they have discriminated against the part time people. They have remained loyal to the company and are wanting to move further within yet this girl thought the grass was greener on the ohter side and then cried like a baby when it wasn't. They should have interviewed her for the role at least to make it look at least fair. I just feel like it's dodgy the way they went about it.

suited-aces

They have dropped the ball in terms of employee morale, but discriminated? I struggle to see how you could say that.

iclayt

It's not like the full time job was offered to and accepted by a part-timer and then the offer was withdrawn. I don't see how it's any different to getting a promotion that hasn't been advertised. But I don't know much about employment law so maybe it is illegal.

But if it is, what would you do? Ask them to sack her and reinterview her along with the three part timers again? It's a shame for those who have missed out, but I don't think there's anything you could do.

nearlyrich

If they know she can do the job and she is already trained it would be silly to refuse to take her back. Private companies can do what they like within reason on recruitment like a lot of things in life it's not fair but you will get over it.

inmypocketnottheirs

I would say a private company is free to offer employment to whoever they feel can do the job the best. Albeit a part timer, an existing employee, an outsider.

My advice, move on and don't get bitter and twisted. Dudeface, if your girlfriend is that cut up about it she is free to seek alternative employment elsewhere.

geri1965_2

What would be the point in interviewing her when they knew they would give her the job back anyway? Pointless waste of time.

SarEl

Any employer, private, public or anything else, is perfectly free to do this, and there is no discrimination involved. Provided that there is no discrimination in a legal sense, they may recruit however they like, and they may equally change their minds about how they recruit at any time they like too.

That said, I suspect that anyone here in this position would hope that a former employer might be equally considerate if you quickly found that the dream new job was a nightmare.