To think they've made a massive mistake here?

[PepsiColaaa]

I've recently started a new job working from home. I was miserable in my old one and wanted to try something completely different. I found this job online via an agency who was recruiting for a company and they put me forward for an interview. I was offered the job last month, my equipment arrived last week and I started my training yesterday. It is only minimum wage but it was a way for me to get experience in this type of work (I've done the same jobs for 10 years). The job was advertised as working Mon-Fri 9-5 with weekends off and when I spoke to a lady from the agency she confirmed that over the phone to.

This morning whilst we were all on teams (8 of us) the trainer asked everyone to explain why they had applied for the role. One person said it was because they had a family and wanted to spend more time with their kids on the weekends etc. At that point the trainer must have realised and asked us all if we knew it was shift work. Apparently they operate 7 days a week 8-8 Mon-Fri and 9-6 on weekends and we would be expected to work shifts. They are also open during all public holidays (even Christmas Day ). I explained that there had been no mention of any shift work at all and I was under the impression that it was Mon-Fri. Everyone else said the same. Apparently we only work that during the 2 weeks training and then we start working on a rota basis.

It's not a huge problem for me as I've worked shifts before and I don't have any other commitments, but I think it's terrible that the agency have given all the applicants the wrong information. Some people have even left their jobs to take this one. One lady said she wouldn't have taken the job if she had known it was shift working as she has other commitments on weekends. Obviously some wires have been crossed but AIBU to think this is a huge cock up on the agency's part? Or maybe even the company itself if they've not passed the correct information on?

We're all stuck now and unless we want to be unemployed we need to continue with the job...

@tubularhells

I work in an employment agency and no way on Earth would we ever do anything so underhand or dishonest as this

1. The client would not come back again due to the mahoosive cock up
2. The candidates would just leave straight meaning we would not get paid anything for our efforts
3. It would be loads of work for nothing. Total waste of time for everyone involved. We would be back to square 1
4. Nobody at my company would be that horrible. We would prob get sacked too
5. We recruit for shift work all the time and its not that hard. Maybe this is really terrible pay
6. The candidates would all of received a contract before starting

I could go on. What a balls up of epic proportions

Well it’s funny how such a balls up of epic proportions has happened to multiple people on this thread

Tubular your 1st point is nonsense. You know full well some clients are desperate to recruit, don’t have the internal resources sometimes so end up at agencies. A good boozey lunch, apologies, and a promise to do better always works until 3 months down the line when we’re looking for more unsociable hours. They then advertise the ‘training hours’ as the working hours, 9-5. Not shifts patterns etc.

Ah cool. Yet another company that pays the absolute legal minimum for maximum effort and disruption to an employee’s private time.

Get the experience you need and get out of there OP. There are other companies who will treat you better and not bullshit you to get you through the door.

@tubularhells I have dealt with a few agencies recently and they always advise hrs and pay etc , which i also check at interview
Like any industry will be good and bad
A fee companies near me use agencies a lot and sometime for quite longterm roles

This is the first time I've applied for a job through an agency before so I'm absolutely shocked that their this bad. I wish I had been more clued up now and asked more questions...

@CatNameChange101 how though as every job i have throuvh the agency I still have to interview for so confirm hrs again at interview if the interviwee doesn't go over them again which they often do
Also do employers not check the agency advert? They do here

@PepsiColaaa did you not interview for the job with the employer ?

@PepsiColaaa

If they've done it deliberately then it's bloody awful and I can't quite believe their actually allowed to do something like that tbh. It is literally messing with people's lives.

This is so true!

Very disingenuous

Not all agencies are cowboys or they wouldn't survive in a saturated market

None of my clients would stand for this. They wouldnt come back again if we fucked up this bad. And we can't invoice for candidates who leave on week one because they were missold the role

But then again, our clients are uber professional too so would have double checked everyone's understanding of the role at interview and of course in the paperwork before they invested time training and onboarding new starters

Two very shite sounding companies here!

OP, walk away if you're getting a bad vibe. There are loads of jobs out there

@worriedatthemoment I had an interview with the agency who went through the job details with me, hours, pay, job description etc and asked me a few questions. They put me forward for an interview with the company but it was more like a 10 minute informal chat. They asked me a few questions, asked me to provide ID and told me when training would start, that was it. Admittedly I didn't ask them any questions about the hours as I'd already spoken to the agency about it and I would have at least thought that the agency would provide the correct information

@tubularhells thats my experience with both working for agencies , getting jobs through them and using them.
The good ones often have same clients for years and I have never been told wrong hrs or pay etc,

@CatNameChange101

Its the other way round. Getting new business is fucking hard. Recruitment agencies are ten a penny

I took a job with 111 a few years ago. Got offered the job but in day 1 found out it was entirely dependent on successfully passing exams at the end of the first two weeks training. People had left jobs believing they had a secure job lined up and then failed the exams and were left unemployed.

Organisations can be really shit!

I was lured into my last job with two promises within a certain timeframe, (not contractual things but business related for my role) and I found four other staff members were told the same. It was all a lie to get staff in and all five of us quit when we found out.
They’ve since said the same thing again when hiring new people.

Also hired for a job role in NHS - the nhs website even described it as one thing and after a few weeks I asked when I would start doing X Y and Z and told I would never be doing that. turns out the hospital I was at called the job role the same, but the duties were completely different. That fucked me off as I thought I’d got my dream job.

Never trust an employment agency, they are all lying scum

That’s a rather large and sweeping generalisation. I’ve worked with dozens of agencies over 3 decades, some have been bad and some have been excellent.

@Goofers

It’s a legal requirement to get a contract before your first day, did they not read their contracts?

Is it ? I work for the NHS and was told they can issue contracts up to 6 weeks after I start.

@QueenBee52

OP never had a job ... to leave ..

What?

I had the same thing happen with a room full of trainees who were told we would only work one sat a month. The boss basically said if you don’t like it there is the door, knowing that people didn’t have a choice. I assume click bait like this is standard.

Please tell me you're getting paid for the training period... Because actually, I suspect the best thing is to walk away at the end of the training period, if you don't want the weekend working. If you start on the shifts, then that may amount to agreement to the contract, whereas if you drop out at the point at which it stops being what you'd been led to expect, they probably can't do anything about it (and they would at least have to pay you for the training period, unless that was specified as unpaid).

@Dixiechickonhols

Yes not a mistake it’s shitty tactic by agency who are paid to place people. You are ok with shifts but shift work usually carries higher wage. So if they’d advertised it as shift they may not have attracted candidates. If you are happy with contract and it suits you go ahead. Just be very clear what correct position is and if need be clarify by email how many shifts you work, how bank holidays are allocated etc.

@PepsiColaaa YANBU.

As the poster I have quoted here has said, it's a nasty tactic to get people in to work for them. It stinks, and it's a nasty thing to do.

I had something similar happen a few years ago. I applied for a job that was meant to be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9am til 3pm. So an 18 hour week. I was even told this at the interview. They offered me the job to start 2 weeks later. I got an offer letter - 18 hours per week at £9.00 an hour etc...

The day before the 3 training days (and a week before I started,) they called me and said they want me to do 1.30pm to 6pm, four days a week. (Still 18 hours but over 4 days and later in the day.)

I didn't have a contract, and at the time, I seem to remember jobs giving the contracts once you started. I was livid. I had young kids, and no WAY was I working til 6pm, 4 days a week and not getting home til half six to 7pm. The kids went to bed at 8, I would hardly have seen them!

I was gutted. I had given up my other job and they had replaced me. I had to take it and I stayed for a month and found another (better) job with the hours I wanted.

@pianolessons1

I've worked in the NHS for 20 years. Never had a contract before starting a job, not usually within the first 3 months.

Same in education. Especially when most people are starting on the same day across the country!

Oh well take the homer simpson attitude and go in each day and do a really half arsed job.

Disappointing to hear that other people have experienced the same sort of treatment. Unbelievable

I've only just managed to read through all of your replies properly and I just wanted to clarify that we did all receive a job offer letter before we started. People didn't leave their jobs without confirmation. Unfortunately on the letter it only saids hours - 40 and didn't confirm what days. I can't speak for all the other people but at the time I didn't see the need to double check with my employer as I expected the agency to tell the truth as a bare minimum. Massive mistake on my part. We received our contracts yesterday which do say 40 hours over 7 days.

@TerriblyNaice none of those but they sound just as bad!