I'm so depressed I can't even cry anymore.......

Gingernutty

This isn't a co-worker, this is my Manager.

I am only a trainee, I know I don't know everything and I often have my lack of knowledge brought up in audits and checking.

It's not the job I thought it was, the whole team is miserable and I desperately want to change roles.

Gingernutty

Okay, SarEl?

You were right.

But for the wrong reasons.

We had a little session before we started breaking up for Christmas and the New Year and it really cleared the air. She apologised for the communication misunderstanding although I stood by what I wrote in the email, I was happy enough to carry on. We agreed that from then on, if there were any issues, they shouldn't be allowed to fester.

At no point during the meeting, did she say "Thanks for all your hard work, it was nice knowing you, goodbye".

She praised my work, my attitude to work and, lulled into a false sense of security, I went on my merry way, oblivious to the impending doom.

Reality hit in the New Year. TM handed me a letter on the 7th January, dated 20th December, after 'forgetting' that I was on annual leave in the New Year and making no attempt to post it to me during that time. Passive aggression is a huge trait in this woman.

The Christmas and New Year leave schedule had been devised, in an intense little conflab, during the summer of 2012. In her office. At her request. How could she not have known?

She handed the letter to me on the day she knew I had a job interview for an internally advertised job. She knew, because her mother had told her about my job interview. You can guess how that interview went, can't you?

Anyway, latching on to one line in particular, she informed me that as I hadn't fulfilled the very specific and exacting terms of my fixed term contract (I had to pass an exam), I was going to be unemployed after 31st January.

I appealed through the union rep and although he knew there have been numerous issues with/about her, he was powerless. As there was no independent witness and no advocate to save me from my fat mouth in that meeting in December - I had to rely on her goodwill and ask for an extension.

The meeting was just a joke. TM and the HR lady only pretended to consider the proposition.

Even though we were advertising a vacancy left behind by one lady who had retired (early, to get away from her), my immediate line manager was off sick through work related stress (caused by her) and we were swamped with a backlog of work, TM told HR that there was no operational need to extend my contract. Seriously.

The letter, written after the meeting, made TM look as mad as a box of frogs. Apparently, I had a chance of being employed after the 31st January if I had taken the exam in March 2013. :huh:

The guy processing my claim at the Job Centre, did a double take when he read that. :rotfl:

So, after getting my marching orders and going through a sham of a consultation, I applied for a series of jobs, some in the NHS amongst other employers. For NHS jobs, the automated application process demands that the first referee is the last or current line manager.

So I put down the only immediate line manager I previously had who was still there.

Now, in one email to another colleague entirely, I referred to this ILM in very unflattering terms.

Passive aggressive to the last, TM has told ILM about what I said about her in the email and told me that all references should go through her.

As she has failed to write references for other underlings who have previously left, that means she has effectively sabotaged all my NHS job applications.

Thanks Boss. Much obliged.

The interviews were laughable. Two showed up and were so poor that they were rejected almost out of hand. There is still an advert out looking for new people. They are prepared to take on a trainee who is prepared to qualify in 18 months!

However. After three weeks unemployment, I have found temporary work. At the hospital which has just let me go. It's just until the end of March, but it's something.

I've been getting interviews - not that I've much hope of a job offer if TM is writing me a reference.

And I've missed an interview doing exactly the same job for another hospital trust. You may have read about it recently. Dodged a bullet there, eh?

Gingernutty

Gingernutty wrote: »

I've been getting interviews - not that I've much hope of a job offer if TM is writing me a reference.

Oh yeah. And then some.

I have been for a series of interviews but have been rejected for every one.

Today, I received a 'phone call from one employer who aren't going to offer me a job after the reference that they've received from "one of my referees".

They refused to discuss the details of who had written what and even made a comment about how slow the references had been to come back.

TM has gone on leave until the end of March, so it was more than likely one or both of the two remaining TLs.

However the schadenfreude is still mine. Two more of the team have given notice (one qualified and one there for less than two years) and there is an external audit being carried out. Without TM. Unthinkable.

All I need to do now is find a job that only requires personal references and a note from HR. Then I'll be free of the cow.

Edit 22/03/2013: I have since found out that the other employer, fed up at the delay in providing a reference, rang the office at the same time TM was there.

She had the call transferred to her office and spoke to them for less than a quarter of an hour.

Then they called me stating that they weren't going to offer me the job at all.

B!tch. :mad:

Yorkie1

You can get a copy of the reference which has been supplied to the prospective company by doing a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act (to the prospective company).

Jules2012

Yorkie1 wrote: »

You can get a copy of the reference which has been supplied to the prospective company by doing a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act (to the prospective company).

The person who wrote it will still be withheld and if they have expressed an opinion rather that fact they will most likely be asked their permission first, which they will mostly likely refuse.

So waste of £10 IMO.

OP I hope you find something soon and your previous TM gets sacked.

Tiddlywinks

Jules2012 wrote: »

The person who wrote it will still be withheld and if they have expressed an opinion rather that fact they will most likely be asked their permission first, which they will mostly likely refuse.

So waste of £10 IMO.

OP I hope you find something soon and your previous TM gets sacked.

Which part of the DPA allows you to refuse disclosure of an opinion? There are very specific exemptions but no blanket 'it's my opinion so I can refuse to allow disclosure'.

Anyway, I would recommend applying under the Data Protection Act to ask for a copy of all references.

Whilst you're at it, I would ask your former employer for a copy of your whole personnel file - to check for accuracy and then to make a comparison against the information given in the references.

I would also use the Freedom of Information Act to ask for a copy of their policy for producing references for former employees.

References should be factual with little opinion offered so why would it need to be written by your former line manager? It is unusual in the public sector for LMs to get involved in referencing; it is normally left to HR... so this might be a way of drawing attention to an unfair application of a policy.

I know it sounds like a lot of faff but this referencing problem won't go away as most employers want a reference from your last employer.

I think it would be worth the effort.

The Information Commissioner has a great website and a good helpline for any questions to help along the way... he will also get involved if the authority fails to comply with your request, applies an exemption unfairly or is holding inaccurate data about you (as this is a breach of data principles 3 and 4).

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public.aspx

Good luck.

Gingernutty

I've got another interview. At the trust where they have a trust wide bar on hiring my TM!

They know about her! A manager there did my initial training! They know!

There's also a 3 hour assessment test and a 45 minute interview. :eek:

I'll accept the invitation tomorrow and hear about the details of the interview and assessment at the same time.

Wish me luck?

dandelionclock30

Good luck, if you don't get this one then something else will turn up for you.At least you are out of that awful place.

Gingernutty

I've got another interview! A one year fixed term lab position at my local hospital for the middle of next month.

I must be doing something right, that'll be 8 interviews in 4 months!

I'm not completely useless................:D

Gingernutty

Okay, I trying not to panic here but,

I've been signed off sick for 7 days. I feel awful. Damn virus. I can't sleep because I can't breathe through my nose. As I'm a temp, I get no sick or holiday pay.

AAAAARRGGHH! :mad:

Starting at 06:15, I've got a three hour assessment on Thursday. Followed by a two hour wait and then a 45 minute interview. Then I lug myself and a load of books home again.

Any tips on holding it all together for the day?

I want to look capable, efficient, 'at ease' and 'a joy to work with'.

At the moment, I'm blowing my nose and there's blood in the tissue, I feel like I'm swimming through glue, I'm sweating buckets and I can't get warm enough.

And the zits. Let's not forget the great boil like lumps that are currently appearing around my hairline.

I'm revising by looking through old exam papers but does anyone have any tips about getting through the one day that counts.

I can collapse with relief and exhaustion on Friday. I just need some sort of boost/advice for Thursday.