Are all employers like this?

[WildThoughts89]

I feel a prisoner to my job. They have policies that make it impossible to have a life or get another job.

Including:

• Not allowed to work from home unless very sick, we also need to email hourly updates if we do this
• Holidays/time off work require 8 weeks notice, and often we are made to take these during the quietest time for the business
• A 3 month notice period
• Lunches are timed
• Doctors appointments must be booked outside of work, dentist appointments must be during annual leave
• One day of compassionate leave allowed a year
• hospital appointments must be proven with a letter
• We are asked during monthly meetings if we are thinking about another job

Wondering if this is normal? It makes me too paranoid to even think about moving on.

I refused to work a three month notice period.

It wasn't in my contract, though my employers felt it had been 'agreed'. I took legal advice and it was clear they couldn't enforce it. So I gave a month and refused any more.

Are you in China?

• Not allowed to work from home unless very sick, we also need to email hourly updates if we do this
  Lots and lots of jobs do not let you work from home, and most dont even have the capability to letp people work from home.

• Holidays/time off work require 8 weeks notice, and often we are made to take these during the quietest time for the business
  your employer can legally dictate when you take holiday, the standard notice is normally as much notice as you want to take off eg a day would be 1 days notice, a week would be 1 weeks notice, of course the company can reject an application for time off.

• A 3 month notice period
  Standard in some jobs, particularly higher paid more professional jobs, not so standard for a bog standard admin or retail job

• Lunches are timed
  some places will have a log inand out system so your breaks will be timed to the minute, other jobs have a set amount of time for lunch and will frown upon people going over, others will havea bit of give and take eg i often work through lunch so on the days i might need to a take a bit longer its fine. (but thats my employer being flexible)

• Doctors appointments must be booked outside of work, dentist appointments must be during annual leave
  its normally a given thaqt where possible you will book appts out of work time, obviously emergency appts will have to be taken whenever. my employer does allow upto 2 hours for a medical appt but again its the discretion of your employer.

• One day of compassionate leave allowed a year
  again this is at the discretion of your employer.

• hospital appointments must be proven with a letter
  pretty standard

• We are asked during monthly meetings if we are thinking about another job
  this is odd. but if you are highly specialist and they have had a lot of people leave they may be paranoid and dont want to be left without your special skillset.

As an employer I'd say no, absolutely not! But then my staff are ace and those that aren't don't tend to stay....

Can you look for something else?

Timed lunch breaks? Fuck that.

I wouldn't accept strict timed lunches

So, if you have little ones in a Nursery setting, you'd be happy for Room staff member A to wander off for her lunch before Room staff member B had come back ?
Or, if you nip out to the bank or post office, or shop in your lunch break, you'd be happy if there are no counters open because all the counter staff decided they needed a long, relaxed lunch break today?
Or, if you were hoping to get that Dr or dentist appt in or nip for your smear, you'd be completely chilled about the Dr./Nurse/ Dentist / Dental nurse not actually being there because they object to having to be back by 1.30 ?

etc
etc
etc