to quit my job after 2 weeks?

[sweetlilacsinspring]

Because:

1. The hours are awful. I'm a home care assistant and I was told I'd be doing a couple of hours a couple of evenings a week. The reality is - start at 6, finish at 11. 24 people to see in that time. I'm driving all over the place, am permanently shattered.

1. Pay is rubbish.

1. Working conditions are non existent - no breaks, had to pay for uniform, crb etc, aren't paid for travelling time so if I go to one person and the next is 10 mins away and the next and the next it amounts to half an hour unpaid.

1. Paid by the minute - so if you finish early it's docked off your pay (I'm talking 1/2 minutes not hours by the way!)

1. I hate it.

But I'm worried as I haven't worked properly for a few years now.

Stay in the job for a little while longer, but apply for everything you see, as well as sending - are they called unsolicited applications? You know where there's no advert but you send a cv and covering letter just in case? It's easier to get a job whle you are working than if you are not.

I've worked with home carers before so know how awful it is.

They were universally unhappy in their jobs.

Dead travel time? Tick.

Min wage? Tick.

Poor management? Tick.

Low status? Tick.

Hard physical and emotional work? Tick.

Responsibility for vulnerable people? Tick.

Provide own uniform/crb? Tick.

Zero hours? Tick

Lack of training? Tick.

Isolation? Tick.

I think it's the worst job in modern society.

OP I'd quit if I were you.

As long as people keep accepting these conditions they will continue.

I won't be applying for anything else! Clearly I've got to have a think about next steps career wise but I haven't got the stomach for these zero hour things.

Will you be able to claim any benefits if you willingly quit your job? I don't know, but make sure you know before you quit.

Nope. Care work is poorly paid and workers are treated like shit. Plus there is never enough time to provide proper 'care'. YANBU to quit.

I've never claimed any benefits

God, it sounds horrific! I was thinking of being a care ras I thought I could fit it around childcare and I'm genuinely interested in the field.

I would quit Lilac if it's bringing you down. Or maybe say to your agency that it is untenable for you to continue as there is so much unpaid travel time and so little certainty on hours and see if they change it which they won't and then quit?

Good luck, I hope you feel a weight off your shoulders.

You don't sound thick at all OP. You sound pretty eloquent actually.

Yeah, I would and I have, like you say if it's only for a couple of weeks you need never mention it on your cv.

If you can afford to, you could try looking to volunteer not at the library somewhere which will give you some experience to help you get a better job.

You don't sound in the least bit thick to me.

Of you like that sort of work have a look at whether you could be employed to help someone with disabilities via direct payments/personal budgets. If you only want a few hours it might well suit you.

Thanks :)

The 'thick' comment was a little tongue in cheek in response to somebody wondering why I hadn't checked out every aspect of the job.

It does appear though that if you're on minimum wage, people think you're stupid I was actually shocked at a couple of kindly meant PMs this evening: if you're reading, thank you for your kindness but your advice wasn't really relevant to me!

I am thinking of retraining and this sort of work seemed a bit more related than my pre-DC profession but I'm just not cut out for it, I am seriously, totally exhausted, upset and drained every night.

I DO have a lot more sympathy for the employment situation in this country though which is no bad thing - was a bit of a Tory beforehand to be totally honest!

I would just leave.

For the sake of weeks, not even worth putting on your cv. Just put it down to personal experience.

I quit a job after 5 weeks when DD was little for similar reasons. Never put it on cv, started volunteering for a reference and just used pre DD job down as second reference.

Hope you get something better.

I quit a job after 2 days once. The job I was offered and the job I got were 2 totally different things. Not least getting a mouthful about "commitment" from the manager when I expressed surprise and concern about several 3 week trips away from home that were part of the training and yet had never been mentioned at any point during application or interview. I tried to explain my childcare issues and got told I just needed to sort it. So I did. I left.

Tell me about it Bogeyface ...

I just can't believe, at the risk of sounding like victor meldrew, how appalling the working conditions for the staff are and as such, who the job attracts, who have access to vulnerable peoples emotional, physical and financial needs.

It's a miracle there aren't thousands more cases like that winterbourne or whatever it is called.

Thats it though OP. That kind of agency will have such a high turnover of staff and only those with no other option will stay. That's why you pay for iniform etc.

Completely agree with you. So many I applied for said no experience required etc but were for particularly vulnerable people.

Good luck!

Kim, I needed no qualifications but a "caring nature".

In fact, a caring nature is the biggest thing that hampers you. Go in, let's say somebody doesn't feel like going to bed straightaway but wants to stay up and watch the rest of eastenders, you can't let them

It's horrible.

I am actually fairly well educated. I have a 2:1 degree from the Mumsnet grail, a RG university, A levels etc and a teaching qualification. But I never want to teach again! or do care work

My son is disabled, his carers get £9 an hour and shifts are 2-4 hours, occasionally longer. It sounds like you've been pm'd good advice, but I'd suggest you contact local disability charities, age concern, facebook groups, etc. Alot of us avoid agencies like the plague.

I would stick at it and find a new job. If you gain some experience, you could become a healthcare assistant for the nhs, and the pay, hours and working conditions will be much better.

Go on the nhs jobs website to search for positions in your area. You could start off doing "bank" work which is essentially flexible, temporary work, or get a more permanent job. Or how about applying to a residential home?

I would stick it out til you find something else though, because then you will gain experience and references to back it up.

The PMs have been about how to claim benefits, how to pass GCSE maths and English (have degree in the latter) - I am not sure they're good advice, kindly meant of course.

I've absolutely no desire to work as a care assistant ever again, to be honest.

I stuck this job out for a year as a way if gaining experience to get onto a hcp degree course (which I did) but it was utterly soul destroying. I agree with everything you've said especially the 'caring nature' actually hampering you. Looking back I was actually an excellent care worker because of the way I was with clients (although I didn't realise it at the time) but if i'd stayed much longer I would have burnt out.

It sounds awful, but I would suggest sticking at it, whilst submitting as many applications as you can to other jobs. I hope you find something better soon. :(

I definitely don't want another job in this field and probably not for a while (dd is still v young. I wanted just 2 hours or so a day) so I've decided to quit as of today thanks :)

ah i feel for you. when i left school i went into the health care industry - did care home, nursing home, hospital, hospice - hated everyone. left all jobs really badly eventhough had bills to pay etc. dh was very worried but i eventually decided to retrain and now im in a fantastic career. the care industry is bollacks