Started a new job and it wasnt for me

tinkerbell1980_2

Ok, so i have worked for the cooperative food for 6 years as a checkout team leader, anyway i was offered a job as a healthcare assistant in the local boots chemist which i accepted. I begun the job 3 days ago and to be honest was disgusted with the treatment i recieved but also the jobs i was given that i decided it wasnt for me and didnt go back( my co-op boss actually gave me my job back without me asking!) So i returned the uniform and explained the reasons for me leaving. I found the staff very miserable, they didnt talk to each other, they didnt talk to their customers and they just stuck me on shop floor stacking shelves for the 18 hours i did work for them, this wasnt what i expected. Also in this time i didnt see the manager as she was on holiday for this week and they hadnt sorted out any till numbers or anything for me, all the staff were unsure of when she would return and they didnt seem all that bothered with me training, they just stuck me stacking shelves. What i am wondering though is whether i am actually entitled to any pay that i have worked, or do i lose that?

hcb42

you would be entitled to pay for hours worked. With a large reputable employer such as Boots, I wouldnt foresee any difficulties there.

You were lucky to get old job back though! while your first week doesnt sound ideal, then if there is no manager there, then first days will always be a little ropy.

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry your job didn't work out for you Tinkerbell, I've been in positions like that in the past and they are intolerable. I am generally a persistent person but I left New Look after working there for only 27 minutes after encountering the bullyish behaviour of the boss!

tinkerbell1980_2

I found it very bad practise for a manager not be at their store when they know they have got a new starter. All the other workers there were more interested on doing other jobs other than training me and after working for so long as a team leader which involved training new starters i felt this really bad as a new employer should be trying their hardest to make a new starter feel welcome.
Also the information i recieved from Boots when i accepted the job stated that i would be a healthcare assistant and yet all i did was stack shelves. I thought very hard about dealing with it until the manager was back but none of the staff seemed to know when she would be back, and after going in the store this morning the manageress still isnt there, she has taken extra days off on holiday.
As for my getting my old job back, i knew i wouldnt have a problem as i knew they hadnt filled the position and the manager at the co-op didnt want me to leave anyway, he said he was keeping my job open for a while to see if i came back. So luckily i am going back on Tuesday and just put this down to experience. The main reason i left for Boots was because i wanted to progress my career, there wasnt the opportunity to do this at the co-op but my manager has also said that he will begin to look into extra duties for me and possibly lead onto duty manager which was where i wanted to go from the outset. So all works out well in the end

agrinnall

You have to do what you think is right but I don't think you've given the new job much of a chance. Yes, it would have been sensible if the manager had been there when you started but it seems that nobody knows much about her holiday so maybe it was a family emergency or a bereavement. Surely you could have done a few more days shelf stacking until she returned so you could find out what work was planned for you and then make a decision.

If you left without working your notice you may find that Boots will not pay you anything, reclaiming the pay for the 3 days worked to offset your notice period.

DVardysShadow

agrinnall wrote: »

You have to do what you think is right but I don't think you've given the new job much of a chance. Yes, it would have been sensible if the manager had been there when you started but it seems that nobody knows much about her holiday so maybe it was a family emergency or a bereavement. Surely you could have done a few more days shelf stacking until she returned so you could find out what work was planned for you and then make a decision.

Actually, reading between the lines, the job probably got all the chance it deserved

I found the staff very miserable, they didnt talk to each other, they didnt talk to their customers and they just stuck me on shop floor stacking shelves for the 18 hours i did work for them, this wasnt what i expected. Also in this time i didnt see the manager as she was on holiday for this week and they hadnt sorted out any till numbers or anything for me, all the staff were unsure of when she would return and they didnt seem all that bothered with me training, they just stuck me stacking shelves.

This really paints the picture for me. Nobody feels able to take initiative. It is so miserable that the mice do not even play when the cat is away. Manager does not leave instructions for a new member of staff.

OP is right to rely on gut feel, I think. Particularly if there is an option to return to the old job

dickydonkin

I think you know when you start a job if it is going to be right for you.

It is not just the job - but the working environment and the people you will be working for and with are also major considerations. These factors cannot be determined at an interview.

I have been there before where I was employed by a supposed reputable global company and I was shocked - so much so I left after five days!

They treat their workers with contempt, health and safety was none existent - (there were 3 accidents in the five days I worked there) - one poor kid sustained a severe deep laceration in his arm totally caused by an unsafe working practice.

There was no first aid equipment and the poor lad was pale and on the verge of fainting. The manager unbelievably told him he would have to find his own way to hospital!

That was the straw that broke the camels back with me.

tinkerbell1980_2

Well with an update, i recieved an email from the manager of the store i was working for. Stated in it was that the holiday was a last minute decision on monday afternoon and she decided to take some time off as she was owed holiday after working short staffed for over a month. This i found even more dispicable considering she knew i was starting that week.
I do think i gave the job a chance, i am a happy person that likes to work in a happy environment and the staff there just didnt uphold to this. Although i took into consideration i was new and sometimes trying to break the ice with new starters can be tough, i tried to do this several times during the time i was there. I have trained younger people than myself for years and therefore i know we went to the limit to try and help them feel welcome and fit in.
The email also stated that she needed by bank details so they could pay me for the time i have worked, so that a good thing i suppose.
Like i have said to many people, sometimes opportunities come along that we have to at least take the leap and try, otherwise you may wonder for the rest of your life...so i am glad i tried, i didnt fail because i tried and im not usually a quitter...therefore i know i did my best

eschaton

Although I agree that you were probably right to leave Boots, I do not agree that the Manager in your view should be there when you started.

Ideal world, yes she would be there but you would think there would be someone else capable of dealing with a new start.

As for the Co-operative - if you are capable then I don't know how it could be difficult to progress at all?

I think you sound like you are capable so maybe it is the Manager that is really holding you back. He thinks, I have a good team leader that I don't want to lose so I will just keep her in that pigeon hole.

Push him for the extra duties or he might not bother once you are back.