my daughter got fired and can't get another job

IrKirsty

Hi there, my daughter started working in a call center last year and got fired in March this year due to a breach of contract and now she's been trying to get a job but is finding it impossible due to this.
You see, the breach of her contract is the she actually went AWOL - not something she would have done under normal circumstances but with the situation she was placed in she saw no other option. She worked for quiet a big company so there were quiet a few managers where she was but one of them took a special liking to her and began to send her messages on facebook and texting her. She thought nothing of it at first and thought he was being friendly but considering she was only 16 it was I who pointed out that he was starting to get a little 'creepy'. This went on for quiet a few months and the messages were getting worse and worse, my daughter wouldn't let me speak to anyone at work about this for her nor would she do it herself due to the fact that this man was married to her boss and was also old enough to be her dad so she was rather embarrassed by the fact that this was happening. Anyway, we finally get into March and this man starts to make physical suggestions so I told her she either had to quit or report him but she then didn't feel safe going into work anymore so instead of doing anything, she did nothing. In hindsight (as useful as that is lol) she knows that she made the wrong mistake by just not turning up but at the time she felt like she had no other option.
Now the problem that we're having is that when shes filling out job applications, she isn't even being considered due to the fact that she has been fired! And what she is worried about is that if she does finally get an interview for somewhere, what is she supposed to say the reasons were for? Any advice on this would be much appreciated!

sarahdd

ok easy thing to do is write to her ex employer ask them what they will say if employer asks. You might be able to get a reference as seems harsh to sack for this. My friend was sacked and her dad wrote to the company asking for reference they said they would not mention she was sacked unless asked. Your daughter should mention the situation to HR and say she wants to move on needs a good reference or hr could have nasty situation on their hand with legal case.

paddedjohn

as she's so young she could omit the last job from her cv

IrKirsty

sarahdd wrote: »

ok easy thing to do is write to her ex employer ask them what they will say if employer asks. You might be able to get a reference as seems harsh to sack for this. My friend was sacked and her dad wrote to the company asking for reference they said they would not mention she was sacked unless asked. Your daughter should mention the situation to HR and say she wants to move on needs a good reference or hr could have nasty situation on their hand with legal case.

According to my daughter the man involved has already been reported to the HR on many occasions for similar incidents but nothing has ever been done about it as he is one of the more favored colleagues there. I think we will give this a try but not too sure how much help this can be giving the relations with the departments and the individual. Its a shame really

paddedjohn wrote: »

as she's so young she could omit the last job from her cv

I did suggest that to her but she pointed out the fact that it was her last employer as well as it being on her P45 which she will have to hand in so this could draw questioning later on could it not?

tizerbelle

IrKirsty wrote: »

I did suggest that to her but she pointed out the fact that it was her last employer as well as it being on her P45 which she will have to hand in so this could draw questioning later on could it not?

She can "lose" her P45 and fill out a P46 instead - won't cause any problems or raise any questions in new employers mind and she doesn't have to say who her last employer was.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

tizerbelle wrote: »

She can "lose" her P45 and fill out a P46 instead - won't cause any problems or raise any questions in new employers mind and she doesn't have to say who her last employer was.

Besides, if she was fire in March this year then that would be a different tax year anyway so the P45 would irrelevant.

SarEl

sarahdd wrote: »

ok easy thing to do is write to her ex employer ask them what they will say if employer asks. You might be able to get a reference as seems harsh to sack for this. My friend was sacked and her dad wrote to the company asking for reference they said they would not mention she was sacked unless asked. Your daughter should mention the situation to HR and say she wants to move on needs a good reference or hr could have nasty situation on their hand with legal case.

Much as I sympathise with the OP's situation I cannot agree with this. I am sorry but it does not seem at all hrash to sack someone who has simply not turned up for work and given no explanation. Whilst the OP's stated reasons are good explanations for what her daughter did, as she has stated - the employer was told none of this. Whether or not they would have acted upon a complaint isn't really relevant since the young woman in question didn't make one. And it is now far too late, 5 months later, to be contacting HR and trying to get a reference based on a five month old complaint - the time to have done this was whilst she was still in time to make a claim for sex discrimination and harassment (after having complained first to the employer of course).

I think there are a number of options / choices here though. One is that, as suggested, she looses her P45, and simply forgets to mention the job. I have to point out that if she is found out for this, she may be dismissed for lying in her application. It may be unlikely - but unlikely things do happen. It only takes a former workmate to see her in her new job and mention something, even innocently, about having worked with her.

The second is to tell the truth. Do not mention what happened on applications (give no reason for why she left the last job), and either at interview or if she is offered a job, tell them what happened and why it happened, making sure that she also tells them what she has learned from the hindsight. In other words, explain it and put a positive spin - "I was very young, it was my first job and I didn't realise early enough what was happening. I became frightened by... In future, I would...." It wouldn't be the first time that employers have heard such stories and it won't be the last - and at least if they then want her despite this, it will give her some confidence that they are less likely ti take such harassment lightly, if it were to happen again.

The other obvious answer is to reconsider why she is working at all - she is still young and there is just about enough time to go back to college. Some extra qualifications never harmed anyone, and after some work experience, perhaps even especially after the work expereinece she has had, she is more likely to make wiser educational choices and recognise the benefit of being in education.

In addition, whatever she chooses to do, get some voluntary work - that could provide her with something useful to do, some new ideas and directions for the future, a new reference, and greater experience (of the world too!).

And finally, another one of those hindsight things - next time she is in work, join a union. I can perhaps see why she wouldn't want mum at her works making a stand for her, but there are people who do it because that's their job! It would have been better if she had someone independant of family to talk to and to advise and support her.

getmore4less

Under 18 would the police not have been interested in this predatory grooming.

Any mention of pictures in text or facebook could involve child pornograpy as she is under 18.


full details here
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents

Interesting that if this has happened to under 18s before and HR and the wife have done nothing they could be in a bad possition if that can be proven.

HappyMJ

getmore4less wrote: »

Under 18 would the police not have been interested in this predatory grooming.

Any mention of pictures in text or facebook could involve child pornograpy as she is under 18.


full details here
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents

Interesting that if this has happened to under 18s before and HR and the wife have done nothing they could be in a bad possition if that can be proven.

All I see is that the manager was "creepy". That is not an offence and certainly not an offence against a 16 year old. He asked. She said NO! that's it. There has been no offence. People can have sex at 16 and you can only find out if someone is interested if you ask them. If anything if he kept on asking and being quite insistent then it's harrassment and the sentencing guidelines require aggravating factors that are much worse than that. Anyway, it's 5 months later nothing will happen about that.

IrKirsty

tizerbelle wrote: »

She can "lose" her P45 and fill out a P46 instead - won't cause any problems or raise any questions in new employers mind and she doesn't have to say who her last employer was.

Thanks a lot for this, had no idea she would be able to do this.

SarEl wrote: »

I think there are a number of options / choices here though. One is that, as suggested, she looses her P45, and simply forgets to mention the job. I have to point out that if she is found out for this, she may be dismissed for lying in her application. It may be unlikely - but unlikely things do happen. It only takes a former workmate to see her in her new job and mention something, even innocently, about having worked with her.

The second is to tell the truth. Do not mention what happened on applications (give no reason for why she left the last job), and either at interview or if she is offered a job, tell them what happened and why it happened, making sure that she also tells them what she has learned from the hindsight. In other words, explain it and put a positive spin - "I was very young, it was my first job and I didn't realise early enough what was happening. I became frightened by... In future, I would...." It wouldn't be the first time that employers have heard such stories and it won't be the last - and at least if they then want her despite this, it will give her some confidence that they are less likely ti take such harassment lightly, if it were to happen again.

The other obvious answer is to reconsider why she is working at all - she is still young and there is just about enough time to go back to college. Some extra qualifications never harmed anyone, and after some work experience, perhaps even especially after the work expereinece she has had, she is more likely to make wiser educational choices and recognise the benefit of being in education.

In addition, whatever she chooses to do, get some voluntary work - that could provide her with something useful to do, some new ideas and directions for the future, a new reference, and greater experience (of the world too!).

And finally, another one of those hindsight things - next time she is in work, join a union. I can perhaps see why she wouldn't want mum at her works making a stand for her, but there are people who do it because that's their job! It would have been better if she had someone independant of family to talk to and to advise and support her.

She is actually in college as well, shes in full time education but decided she would get a job as she is losing out on her EMA next year due to the cuts and I wouldn't be able to give her any additional money as i'm off sick from work. She was working so hard as well, doing 20 hours a week in college followed by 25 hours a week at work. I can't say I approved but shes her own person now.
I've spoke to her about her options and she is going to follow your advice, on the specific forms that do ask why she left she will fess up (only in the interview of course) but if she isn't asked she is just going to try and keep it quiet. The only problem is with those forms that ask if you have been fired, they won't take a second look at you which I guess is a harsh lesson she's had to learn.
Thank you everyone for all your advice.

poet123

As she is is/was in college too any job she had could easily have been temporary not permanent, so she really doesn't need to mention the incident at all imo. A reference from a tutor would suffice for a future job.