…to ask what to do about my former employer trying to ruin my life any way they can for their own amusement?

I do feel bad for you because you’re clearly upset but you’ve got to start taking responsibility OP. Unless there’s something huge you’re missing out here you haven’t been treated very poorly

I don’t think you’re going to get what you need from
this thread, or at least what you want.

For what it's worth i have found people working for mental heath and learning disabilities charities are the worst people to work with.

I haven't got a clue why but having had a 6 year career detour to this area I can tell you I will never work in this sector again it's awful and managment are ether useless and have been promoted for the wrong reasons or are absolute control freaks.

Get out while you still can!

Basic reference is all anyone does in HR these days.

If you want someone else to do your “character reference” then give next employer that persons name. Someone who u know full give a better than basic reference. You can say - employer only gives dates, person X can give character reference.

Perhaps look for a job in a cat sanctuary?

Your future is not “being sabotaged”, you sabotaged it yourself by walking out of work without permission in the middle of a shift whilst still on probation! Regardless of how good you are at the job, employers want people who are reliable.

Very gently, OP, and speaking as an HR person (and cat lover) who has experienced severe mental illness, if your OCD is affecting your life and decision making to the extent that your posts suggest, you are probably not currently well enough to be working supporting clients with mental illness. Please think about whether you should seek support.

With the HR hat on:
You mentioned the cat had been hanging round your office for several days. How much time out of your working day had you been spending obsessing about it? Might a more rational response have been to get in touch with a local cat rescue and see if they could come out to the cat, or at least lend you a basket?
At the point you left work without authorisation, you had signed the cat over to a rescue and left it with an actual vet. Yet you decided you simply must leave work to make an in-person visit to a cat that wasn't even yours, whose care you weren't responsible and couldn't influence.
How many other times did you leave suddenly during 7 months? And how much sick leave, emergency leave, unpaid leave etc did you take?
You were in your probation period. And if your employer had a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for your OCD, I don't think they failed in it by not letting you take time off work to visit someone else's cat at the vets.

You're there to work. Whilst it's commendable that you helped a cat they can't run a company on flaky staff who keep nipping out on no work related issues.

You are being very unfair on your ex employer.

OP I think the more pressing matter atm is money deducted from your wages but seemingly not repaid to DWP. Suggest you speak to Citizens Advice asap to get this sorted.
Rethink future job applications, find people who know you well as referees, try to avoid mentioning previous employer.

Made to feel like a pervert????

OP it's time to log off.

You didn’t have a valid reason. And I love cats and am as flexible as I can be with my team. Will cover for them myself if I can and they really need to get off - but would not have been covering you to visit a vet personally for an update on an animal you met the day before. I’d have been raising big concerns about you. The fact you did it on a WFH day would make you seem even more unreliable to me.

This decision was not bullying. You may have had other grievances with your manager and there would have been formal HR processes which would have allowed you to raise concerns.

if you want complete flexibility work for yourself. J needed flexibility for 15 years so ran my own business. I now am employed which has benefits over being self-employed but I do have to ask permission for time off…..

Sorry i know im not an animal person and I apologise for being insensitive- but I genuinely cant believe someone would risk their job, especially in this market to check up on a stray cat!

takes all sorts i guess

Sorry... but if you have TOIL to use then there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be used as long as there is adequate office cover. What people do with their annual leave... toil etc is up to them and doesn't really even need an explanation

It's hardly a baseless character 'assassination' you clearly have a flair for the dramatic. We are basing this on your dozens of defensive replies and lack of self awareness. Read my previous supportive replies and realise not everyone is against you OP but your replies lack any sort of accountability.
And what do you have against an emoji????

Hang on... you wanted time off work to get an update on a stray cat?

Would an email or phone call not have sufficed?

Out of interest, is your OCD medically diagnosed and did you declare it when you took up your role at the old charity? I ask because, whilst in probation it is much easier for companies to terminate your employment with very little reason, HR departments tend to be a little more reticent when the individual involved has a protected characteristic, as they do not want to open the company up to the risk of accusations of prejudice and discrimination. As a result, managers will usually be expected to demonstrate all efforts have been exhausted to improve performance before moving to dismissal.

I’m not sure if there were any other performance concerns in your case OP, but I would say the fact you chose to take leave when you had been denied it is likely to have raised concerns about your ability to follow direction, comply with company policies (when else/what scenario might you decide the rules don’t apply to you in future when the consequences could be far more serious)and how effectively you can operate as a member of a team where cooperation, collaboration and group goals and objectives take precedence over individual’s own interests and wants.

As an animal lover I sympathise re the cat, but you made the wrong call and are now having to deal with the fallout.

As I suggested in my previous post, maybe contact the new charity and see if they would accept a more in depth personal reference from another person. If not, chalk this down to experience, remove this man from the list of referees and channel your energy into applying for other opportunities.

Providing a basic reference is very very normal. They are not sabotaging your future in any way by doing so.

And as harsh as it may have felt, dismissing you for going on leave when it was refused isn’t malicious.

OP, you seem to be twisting this way too far. It could be as simple as the future employer asked them to say why you left in the basic reference, and failed probation is the truth. That’s red flag to any employer if you haven’t explained this to them or told them something different. You need to put it behind you and stop blaming everyone for what sounds a mistake on your part.