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Original poster

To withdraw from this job offer……

85 replies

Rockschooldropout · 21/12/2022 17:30

Gutted to have to do this but think I may have to walk away from a job before I’ve even started !

I’m self employed but due to the pandemic business has been badly affected so I’ve applied for a part time job and been offered it .

The job is within a large company and I’ve been given no details for HR but rather an app from an outsourced company where things like holiday requests etc are made .

My agreed hours are 24 a week and it’s on a shift basis. I was told it was however a zero hours contract although at the same time made clear to me I am expected to work 24 hours a week and three weekends in four . At the time of interview I wasn’t asked about booked holidays but did mention I was getting married in April .

At the time of acceptance I told my line manager that I was getting married and asked if they’d honour that . She replied
that she would “accept that absolutely “ in an email but said I had to request this leave via the HR app.

I start straight after Christmas and after submitting the leave request on the app it’s come back as denied and my line manager is now on annual leave for three weeks so I feel that I’ve no choice but to withdraw from the job or … worse …cancel my long awaited and all paid for wedding .

My other option I wondered .. is if it’s zero hours contract , then I believe I’m not obliged to accept work ? So legally could I actually say that sorry I’m not available to work the days that fall when I’m getting married ?

OP posts:
Dragonskin · 21/12/2022 19:17

Take the job, leave just before the wedding if they won't honour it

SilverGlassHare · 21/12/2022 19:17

Rockschooldropout · 21/12/2022 18:47

Well not quitting but rather withdrawing from the job offer although quitting in March is an idea 😂
On a serious note , I need a regular guaranteed income so this is why I’m having to give a lot of thought as to what I do

Show quote history

I’d take the job, try to clarify the annual leave for your wedding as soon as your line manager returns to work, and if she won’t let you book it off, start looking for another job with the intention of quitting this one. It’s easier to get a new job when you’re in work, plus this will at least give you an income while you’re looking.

Buffypaws · 21/12/2022 19:21

i would have disregarded the leave thing but as they’ve put you on a zero hours contract and said you have to work on day you’re not available, I say run a mile

isthisit83 · 21/12/2022 19:30

Smidge001 · 21/12/2022 17:38

If its an app its probably been automatically declined - maybe because it doesn't think you'll have earned enough holiday by then or something. If the person hiring you said it would be fine (And you've got that in an email) I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just start, and speak to your manager when they are back from hols. I'm sure it will be fine.

This ^

Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 22/12/2022 08:59

Thanks for all the advice everyone - I’m going to stick to my start date and try and get the leave for my wedding booked and obviously I’ll be walking away if that’s not done or If they start being awkward about unavailability despite me being on zero hours . I hope it won’t reflect poorly on me if I leave a job after five mins !

OP posts:
NotMyDayJob · 22/12/2022 09:03

Rockschooldropout · 22/12/2022 08:59

Thanks for all the advice everyone - I’m going to stick to my start date and try and get the leave for my wedding booked and obviously I’ll be walking away if that’s not done or If they start being awkward about unavailability despite me being on zero hours . I hope it won’t reflect poorly on me if I leave a job after five mins !

I'm sure it will be easily explainable if that happens. While not a legal requirement it's general business convention to honour holidays booked. I can only thing of one time I know this hasn't happened, and that was because it turned out the person had a big trip booked (three months or something) and the nature of the project couldn't take the absence so the offer was withdrawn but that was an extreme example.

lieselotte · 22/12/2022 09:12

Don't worry about leaving after five minutes. If you go to an interview and they say "why are you leaving" and you answer "because they won't give me time off for a hospital appointment or my wedding" I am sure no reputable interviewer or employer will hold it against you.

Your LM may not realise that you can't just rearrange hospital appointments so give her the benefit of the doubt on that one until you've spoken to her again. But if she says no again, walk away.

stevalnamechanger · 22/12/2022 09:38

Sonyrecording · 21/12/2022 17:36

I'd take the job and email the manager reminding her of when you need the leave and telling her what's happened. If it doesn't get sorted after Christmas out you dump the job after finding something else. You're over-complicating things.

This

Singleandproud · 22/12/2022 09:47

Don't rearrange your hospital appointment either. Just tell her it will have to be sorted as you've waited 6 months. She'd soon sort something out if you rang in sick that morning. Businesses do not own us, put your boundaries in place now before she starts using you for all the shifts no one else wants to do.

Zombiemum1946 · 22/12/2022 09:48

I think that, as others have said, you should look for another job. No way of properly contacting hr or a line manager, booking you for a shift you already said you couldn't do for health reasons ? Not just red flags but screaming alarm bells.

Swinewitch · 22/12/2022 09:50

Sonyrecording · 21/12/2022 17:36

I'd take the job and email the manager reminding her of when you need the leave and telling her what's happened. If it doesn't get sorted after Christmas out you dump the job after finding something else. You're over-complicating things.

This!

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 22/12/2022 10:30

Don't ditch your hospital appointment for this job!

It's supposed to be a zero hours contract; they don't own you, and it sounds like your line manager isn't exactly doing a great job.

She is either careless or incompetent to have tried to schedule you to work a shift you'd already made clear you couldn't do. As soon as she heard about your wedding, she could have gone online and sorted things out on the app. She's failed to do either, and now gone off on annual leave for 3 full weeks?!

Who are you supposed to contact if you have any issues in your first days in this new post? What are you supposed to do if you're ill? If necessary, tell them you're ill on the day of the hospital appt - what are they going to do about it?

You said you're expected to work 3 weekends a month - does that mean the full weekend (both days) or just one weekend day? That doesn't leave much time for working on other weekdays, which makes it even more crap that she's not willing to consider letting you attend the hospital appt.

I agree with PPs that this job has alarm bells all over it, they don't sound like good employers at all, and you won't have any problems finding a different job at the moment, so definitely keep applying to other places.

Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 24/12/2022 01:09

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 22/12/2022 10:30

Don't ditch your hospital appointment for this job!

It's supposed to be a zero hours contract; they don't own you, and it sounds like your line manager isn't exactly doing a great job.

She is either careless or incompetent to have tried to schedule you to work a shift you'd already made clear you couldn't do. As soon as she heard about your wedding, she could have gone online and sorted things out on the app. She's failed to do either, and now gone off on annual leave for 3 full weeks?!

Who are you supposed to contact if you have any issues in your first days in this new post? What are you supposed to do if you're ill? If necessary, tell them you're ill on the day of the hospital appt - what are they going to do about it?

You said you're expected to work 3 weekends a month - does that mean the full weekend (both days) or just one weekend day? That doesn't leave much time for working on other weekdays, which makes it even more crap that she's not willing to consider letting you attend the hospital appt.

I agree with PPs that this job has alarm bells all over it, they don't sound like good employers at all, and you won't have any problems finding a different job at the moment, so definitely keep applying to other places.

I must admit I’ve already started looking around . I’m supposed to be on two weeks training when I start yet the line manger won’t even be there for the first week or so !
apparently I’m contracted to work one day for two weekends, then a full weekend then one full weekend off
It us an appointment I’ve waited a long time for so I’m not cancelling .. they’ll have to find someone else to cover me that day !

OP posts:
RedHelenB · 24/12/2022 07:40

If it's a zero hours contract they have no right to expect you to work any day. If you have said you're unavailable you're unavailable.

Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 24/12/2022 17:15

RedHelenB · 24/12/2022 07:40

If it's a zero hours contract they have no right to expect you to work any day. If you have said you're unavailable you're unavailable.

This was my understanding as well - I’ll be interested to see my actual contract when I start work

OP posts:
Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 27/12/2022 22:20

Update - I’m withdrawing from the job after I was contacted today and given my rota for the month of January . I had been rostered on to work every single weekend on lates , including my days in the week . When I asked why I didn’t have a weekend off she said it was due to low staffing and holidays and the fact that they need to recruit more staff. I said it was unfair that I wasn’t getting my weekend off every three weekends as promised when offered the job and she said this was going to be the situation until staffing improved and made no promises of when I was eventually going to get a weekend off .
The original agreement was that I would work rotating shifts weekly to include a weekend day , at least one full weekend and a weekend off .

OP posts:
Singleandproud · 28/12/2022 10:19

@Rockschooldropout good on you for having high expectations, it sounds like they would be awful to work for and you've had a lucky escape.

Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 28/12/2022 12:32

Singleandproud · 28/12/2022 10:19

@Rockschooldropout good on you for having high expectations, it sounds like they would be awful to work for and you've had a lucky escape.

I feel I made the right decision as the expectations from my employer certainly weren’t what was discussed at interview !

OP posts:
BringBackFoilWrappers · 28/12/2022 12:55

Definitely think you've made the right call they sound awful to work for.

Buffypaws · 30/12/2022 09:24

God what pisstakers. Serves them right to lose you. How did they react when you withdrew?

LlynTegid · 30/12/2022 10:51

I am assuming it is not someone any of us would deal with. In the unlikely event it is, please name the employer if you can. We should have the option not to do business with them.

Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 31/12/2022 21:10

BringBackFoilWrappers · 28/12/2022 12:55

Definitely think you've made the right call they sound awful to work for.

I discussed it with a couple of people who said that the company had just moved the goalposts and it didn’t bode well for getting all the time off for my wedding and agreed withdrawing was right . Line manager (who is on leave ) flatly ruled out me having a weekend off

OP posts:
Original poster
Rockschooldropout · 31/12/2022 21:12

Buffypaws · 30/12/2022 09:24

God what pisstakers. Serves them right to lose you. How did they react when you withdrew?

I was quite surprised by the line managers response, she merely emailed back saying fair enough , as stated I need someone flexible (I’m flexible but didn’t agree to work every weekend ) and wished me well .. quite bizarre really . I suspect she realised I wasn’t going to be walked all over

OP posts:
Preparedforjobnottolast · 31/12/2022 21:50

I think you did the right thing declining job. Working every weekend in January does not bode well.

in Summer 2019 having been given a contract that stated zero hours for a Receptionist in a hotel, I found myself working every weekend of that summer. I firmly believed myself working simply a week’s notice in the event I wanted to resign.

I had trouble leaving on a week’s notice come that winter. The hotel arguing my hours had become
‘consistent’ despite a contract in black and white I was zero hours. It’s not easy just refusing to work thinking you have the protection of zero hours.

NutellaEllaElla · 31/12/2022 22:04

Well that's ridiculous on their part. They're so low staffed, they've chased away new a recruit. Smart 🙄