Left old joib for new job but now i am jobless and not my fault

ninja687

Hi there

I am really hoping i could get some advice and support regarding this very difficult situation i been put in.

please read the full post, i apologise if its long but i desperately need advice on this,.

I applied for a job with BT Openreach 4-5 month ago and i successfully passed everything and was told i got the job. I did not tell my employers (place i was working at first) until i pass the CRB and get 100% confirmation that i got the BT role . A month after my interview + all necessary checks, i was told i got the job 100% and my training will start mid august.

Now , During the interview stage, they asked me if there is any days that i will be busy or need off and i told them that 26th August which was bank holiday monday i need to have it clear for my sisters wedding. Even though it was bank holiday, i still wrote it down just in case.

I left my old job end of july . A few days later early august , i get a call from openreach telling me my start date (induction week) will be on the 26th of august for 7 days and the place i have to go is a 3-4 hour drive which they will pick us up from nearest station to us and take us there.

As you can tell, 26th is the day of my sisters wedding and its bank holiday. I told the guy that the wedding starts on the afternoon which is when the BT guys pick us up around 3-4pm, my sisters wedding finishes at 6pm. We came to an agreement that i should make my own way to the place and get there before 11pm. I told him i will ask my brother and my brother agreed to take me even though this would mean me and my brother missing the after party of my own sisters wedding.

Now, 26th arrive, 2 hours before i have to leave, my brothers car stops working. i start to panic as i try to find alternative but it was impossible to drive all the way up north on that day. I emailed the BT people notifying them of my situation and begged them to let me come the next day and reminded them that i told them literally months ago that i will be busy on the 26th which im assuming they had no problem with since no one bothered to mention it and anytime i did mention that fact, they try to dodge and avoid responding.

I get a call from openreach employment a day after telling me that there is no other start dates and i lotst the job. The person on the phone even stated that i should of prioritised the job over my own sisters wedding. She kept changing subject or blaming me everytime i tell them that i booked the 26th off and it was confirmed on the interview date (plus its bank holiday)...

Now i lost the openreach job and i cant go back to my old job. I left my old job due to getting the BT job. I would not of left my old job if i was not 100% i got the bt job. but i had to leave and provide 2 weeks notice since initially openreach told us the start date was going to be early to mid august (not 26th).

What can i do? I even sent more emails to them for advice and they stop responding to me after the 28th of august and not got any reply from them.

I am severely depressed and panicking as i feel like i been cheated and even when they confirmed and agrreed upon my day off request for the bank holiday monday 26th , even though it was a bank holiday and i assumed i would not even need to book that day off but i still did just in case, even after passing every single assessment and checks they requested, I was super excited to start working with BT but they let me go even though i begged to come the day after .

Is there any legal action i could take against them? i would really appreciate some advice on what i can do or if there is anything i can do to take action against them or any hope of support.

THank you

Dime_Bar

I take it you have a contract with BT? What does that say? However it's worth remembering they can dismiss you quite easily in the first 2 years.

I think I would have tried a bit harder to get there for the agreed time, however I most certainly would have been there for the next morning, from your post it looks like you where not?

ninja687

Dime_Bar wrote: »

I take it you have a contract with BT? What does that say? However it's worth remembering they can dismiss you quite easily in the first 2 years.

I think I would have tried a bit harder to get there for the agreed time, however I most certainly would have been there for the next morning, from your post it looks like you where not?

I would have travelled all the way there if they got back to me or responded to let me know as i would have had to take the train al the way there and since the actual hotel is in the middle of nowhere, i would have to get a taxi from the station which is a 30 min drive. It would of cost me over £70 minimum just to get there and i wouldn't even know if they would accept me. Also, i could not afford to travel there next day without guarantee as i would of struggled to come all the way back home if they told me i cannot proceed with them. Luckily , i did not take the risk since the person on the phone told me even if i came i would not of been able to start day after. The first day was important apparently.

I did get a call day after and it was around 3pm , she told me i cant come today i had to come yesterday (26th) .

I would of taken responsibility if i felt i could of gotten there somehow but it was literally impossible.

Would anyone miss there own sisters wedding which was planned a year beforehand which would be very bad if me the brother did not attend. I had to make some deal with my sister where i leave straight after the wedding and miss the after party etc but my brothers car stopped working and not even a train was available that i could take that day.

the fact that i specifically wrote down the day (26th) on the sheet of paper that asked for any dates i will be unavailable, then it was approved and confirmed , after i was told i got the job and start date will be early to mid august only to find out on the first week of august that my start date is on 26th.

The only phone number i could call was unavaiilable on bank holiday along with any other numbers that was remotely related to oopenreach.

Dime_Bar

Did you really think someone would be monitoring their emails at 6pm on a bank holiday Monday? I suspect if you had been there in time for the training starting the next morning they would have not cared that you had not arrived by 11pm.

You missed the first day of training, probably quite an important day and it's unlikely they will run it just for you?

It might be worth asking if you can apply for next year's intake?

TELLIT01

The timing was unfortunate, to say the least, and Openreach haven't exactly covered themselves in glory. The sad reality though is that the training started on the 27th and you weren't there for it. The reason for no-show is irrelevant if there is no alterative date available for the training.
When I started at DWP anybody failing to arrive on time for the first day of training was immediately taken off and the job offer withdrawn, so the situation isn't than unusual.
All I can suggest is asking if they can take you on in the next intake.

Retrogamer

It's really sad that was the outcome, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do

ninja687

Thank you for the replies.

In regards to expecting a response on a bank holiday, it is the same thing as who would of thought they would start there training on a bank holiday. I want to know what would you guys have done ? Would you still go to your sisters wedding OR miss the wedding and go to the induction? Mind you, i am very close to my sister and i am glad i did not miss the wedding even at the cost of my job.

What im mostly gutted about is the fact that i lost my previous job . IF openreach stuck to the initial start date they emailed us , there would not of been any problems. I left my old job thinking that in a week and a half later, i will be starting my training with BT, but instead they change the start date to 26th a few days after i left my old job.

What also bothered me is that, if it is in fact true that they actually started a day after (27th) and i actually could of come the next day, Why was the women who called from BT telling me that even if i did come the following day, i would not of been able to continue with them. I would of been stuck up north with no hotel waiting for the next day to travel back to london wasting over £130.00 .

So the fact that they knew and agreed about the day off requested on 26th and was ignored , doesnt this fact help me in any way?

BoGoF

It doesn't matter what anyone else would have done. YOU chose to do what you wanted to do snd know hsve no job. No you can't take legal action.

If you have people who rely on you then yes, you should have missed the wedding.

Blatchford

I'm very sorry but there really isn't anything you can do except find another job. There is no such thing as 100% guaranteed job, no matter what has been agreed. It is easy for an employer to withdraw the offer. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it won't change anything now, so there is no point in wondering what you should have done. The job is gone and you need to move on.

pramsay13

Why not go cap in hand back to your old employer.
"Very sorry, made a mistake, please have me back..."

[Deleted User]

You had an unauthorised absence on your first day, the employer can dismiss you so there is no arguing the right and wrongs of this, the wedding / bank holiday / broken down car is irrelevant - you said you would be there for 11pm and you weren't.

As suggested in another post, if you haven't burned your bridges by being off-hand with them at the time, trying to get on a future training course is your only option other than looking for another job but it sounds like you had strop with them.

A lesson learnt for you that some days it is really important to do exactly what you have agreed to do or face the consequences. It may seem harsh but many people overcome bigger issues than a broken down car to travel when it is important.

If your brothers car had broken down earlier in the day would you have missed your sisters wedding or found alternative transport?