Adore job but future uncertain - jump or stick it out?

I_Can_Haz_Job?

Hello

After a frankly pants 2013 (redundancy followed by job-from-hell followed by termination of contract, followed by 6 months on JSA) I got a lovely little job just before Christmas, working in an admin role. It was quite a backslide as I last did entry level admin in 1999/2000. Before I got this job I was applying to everyone, including fast food places so I was just happy to have something. Thing is, not to be snooty, but the role is way below my ability level. I had worked my way up to a decent wage and was a very experienced fraud analyst before redundancy.

I'm still in the admin job but it quickly became clear to others that I was over qualified and over experienced for the post. (I'm also on less than 2/3 of my pre-redundancy salary but it's not too bad). I've happily applied knowledge built up in previous roles to help out my team and more senior folk, gaining a reputation as an IT guru. It was nice to start out with but now I'm feeling a little taken advantage of! I'm basically doing over and above and getting paid for the job I was hired to do. This is making me quite moody, although I try to keep a lid on it. I would never 'work to rule' but I get very grumpy at times (being bipolar doesn't help!)

The situation I'm in currently is that my initial 3 month contract was extended to this September. I've asked what happens to me in September (I'm getting quite twitchy as I have a horror of ever having to go on JSA again). I've been told it'll likely be another extension of my contract, as opposed to a permanent role. The rationale behind this is the business is looking to relocate - although nobody is sure when this is happening. They want to have flexibility around staff, hence a lot are on contracts. It's an easy job with lovely people (due to my delightful mental health issues I have to be careful with stress or I tend to blow a gasket) but I feel a little sad that I'm back at a career level I was at 14 years ago.

I'm not quite sure what the best plan is for me now - should I stick, wait and see or jump ship? I'm casually sniffing around for something else with a bit more stability/long term prospects but so far I've had rejections as it's competitive out there, as we know. I'd also miss the people I work with and I know I'm more than good at my job. I'd be safe in terms of ability to do the job/not stressed and so not going nuts, but less so in terms of the risk of the contract not being extended and ending up in a strange town with no job and less job prospects (we'd be relocating from London to the sticks).

Also, can an employer legally keep you on a rolling contract like this? If I was on this rolling contract for 2 years, would I have the same rights as a permanent employee?

Thanks in advance x

LittleVoice

I_Can_Haz_Job? wrote: »

Hello

After a frankly pants 2013 (redundancy followed by job-from-hell followed by termination of contract, followed by 6 months on JSA) I got a lovely little job just before Christmas, working in an admin role. It was quite a backslide as I last did entry level admin in 1999/2000. Before I got this job I was applying to everyone, including fast food places so I was just happy to have something. Thing is, not to be snooty, but the role is way below my ability level. I had worked my way up to a decent wage and was a very experienced fraud analyst before redundancy.

I'm still in the admin job but it quickly became clear to others that I was over qualified and over experienced for the post. (I'm also on less than 2/3 of my pre-redundancy salary but it's not too bad). I've happily applied knowledge built up in previous roles to help out my team and more senior folk, gaining a reputation as an IT guru. It was nice to start out with but now I'm feeling a little taken advantage of! I'm basically doing over and above and getting paid for the job I was hired to do. This is making me quite moody, although I try to keep a lid on it. I would never 'work to rule' but I get very grumpy at times (being bipolar doesn't help!)

The situation I'm in currently is that my initial 3 month contract was extended to this September. I've asked what happens to me in September (I'm getting quite twitchy as I have a horror of ever having to go on JSA again). I've been told it'll likely be another extension of my contract, as opposed to a permanent role. The rationale behind this is the business is looking to relocate - although nobody is sure when this is happening. They want to have flexibility around staff, hence a lot are on contracts. It's an easy job with lovely people (due to my delightful mental health issues I have to be careful with stress or I tend to blow a gasket) but I feel a little sad that I'm back at a career level I was at 14 years ago.

I'm not quite sure what the best plan is for me now - should I stick, wait and see or jump ship? I'm casually sniffing around for something else with a bit more stability/long term prospects but so far I've had rejections as it's competitive out there, as we know. I'd also miss the people I work with and I know I'm more than good at my job. I'd be safe in terms of ability to do the job/not stressed and so not going nuts, but less so in terms of the risk of the contract not being extended and ending up in a strange town with no job and less job prospects (we'd be relocating from London to the sticks).

Also, can an employer legally keep you on a rolling contract like this? If I was on this rolling contract for 2 years, would I have the same rights as a permanent employee?

Thanks in advance x

Yes, they can. Though you can gain the right to request to be made "permanent", they don't have to agree.

As long as there is no break (a "break" being of at least a week including two Saturdays), then your continuity of employment is retained. That may not mean that you have exactly the same rights as a permanent employee (ie there may be differences on holiday entitlement or sick pay) but your entitlement to notice, for example, would increase, at least insofar as statutory entitlement may be more than provided for in your original contract.

I_Can_Haz_Job?

Thanks for this, Little Voice