Went for a job and got offered a cleaner job instead I feel miserable.

[Aw4foxsake]

I applied for a job working checkouts and everything went well they asked me if I would be interested in a cleaning job and that I could sort of have a dual role where I could clean and do the tills but the starting pay would be less but it would allow me to have extra hours when I'm free.

Went to the contract signing and it's just the cleaning job that has zero chance of extra hours and I will not be put on checkouts.

I have to take this job as my hours have been radically cut from my previous job so I'm left with no choice right now.

I feel like this is a step backwards as for the last 2 years I've been working tills. Which was a step backwards from my previous job as a graphic designer.

To make it worse I feel like I'm being discriminated against because I have a child since they said " we feel like this job would provide better flexibility with your commitments"

My availability is during school 9-3pm and 5-10pm and weekends are fine. I also share custody with my son's father who works 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off so I have him when he is away working and he has him when he is home. So I can work any hours when my son is away. I can't find a job that is willing to work with my availability which I think is pretty reasonable.

I've been trying all of the shops but no one is willing to hire me. All of the office jobs in my area start at 8am and finish 5/6pm but I would have to pay for a childcare space that would go unused 1/2 the time.

I'm miserable and I will have a really really low income with no opportunity to even make more.

Am I just overreacting I've been crying ever since I signed the contract. I wanted to learn how to drive I will not make enough money to even learn it will cover the cost of our food without much left over. I feel like once people see I've been cleaning on my CV they will not hire me for anything more.

What do you think ?

YADNBU. I'd be upset too because of the loss in pay and status despite being overqualified.

Pay for the childcare space, before and after school only might not cost as much as you fear. You are limiting yourself massively by not being available for longer hours. You sound like you are already working well below your skill level, I wouldn't take the cleaning job and look at your childcare instead. What trouble working does your ex have? And yet you have to squeeze it all in to school hours?

I think I would not take a job that lied to me about the role.

Can you do any freelance graphic design work to fill in?

Is this in a supermarket?
If so I wouldn’t worry
They usually have one department only listed on the base contract but train nearly everyone on checkouts so you would still be able to pick up extra checkout shifts.
I can understand how your availability would be a problem during the week for a lot of supermarkets as the early shift usually start around 6 and so they often need afternoon/evening staff to start around 1 or 2. However I would have thought your weekend availability was perfect, especially for checkouts

I also don’t think anyone will look down at your cv for listing cleaning. However if you’re really unhappy about the job then don’t take it and keep looking
Definitely worry looking at the options of school breakfast club and a childminder after school as you could potentially earn a lot more if you could work longer which would cover their costs and give you a job you enjoyed doing

If you used to be a graphic designer, why not get back into that? You can do that from home and be self employed. Might take a while to build up your business, but do you have clients you could approach from your last job?

Surely you would be better getting a remote role that you can be flexible with your hours? If you’ve been a graphic designer there should be lots of things you can do remotely. Don’t take a role that you are dreading like this!

Lots of us have done crappy jobs just to keep food on the table at some point. I've never been criticised for having scrubbed shitty toilets or waited on tables and over the last 3 years, there will be loads of professionals who have a stint working as a driver, cleaner or shelf stacker (and anything else they could find during Covid) in their employment history.

Do the job, apply for other jobs and jack it in at the first opportunity.

I wouldn’t say a cleaner was a step down from being on a checkout. But each to their own.

Does the school offer wraparound care? The wraparound care at my sons school is flexible in that you book online and only pay for what you book. Can you pay for a place if it's not used if you can afford to. What about working from home? Lots of Administration roles are wfh. It wouldn't take away the cost of childcare but there would be no commute to work

What happened to your Graphic Designer job? I know so many who have gone freelance and can’t keep up with the volume of work. Why not do the supermarket job for the base salary and use your spare time availability for building your graphic design business? Spend time getting your portfolio up to date, get yourself listed on the freelance sites and work your way up to full time.
Realistically only freelance work is going to fit the very particular availability you have - no one is going to give you weeks on weeks off full time work, so unless you are prepared to give more consistent and usual hours, you can’t really complain about not getting the jobs you want.

Agree with PP that you should do freelance graphic design.

Freelance graphic design for sure especially on the days/weeks your son is with his dad. Then look for an office job, paying for childcare is temporary, after school clubs and breakfast clubs are affordable. And you might get 30 hours funded soon.

Some office jobs are PT too. Graphic design is a very in demand skill, build a little website or LinkedIn profile and start promoting yourself. sounds like you are well qualified so try and be more positive and proactive. Good luck!

OP I get the waste of money/extra cost but for most people with a ‘career’ rather than a job you can’t really work school hours/ad hoc. I know people will come along and say they do but usually that’s after they’ve established a career in the area. School hour jobs and adding in extra hours is often going to be lower paid work sadly. Can you go back to graphic design? Even if you get a 9-5 and have to pay wraparound care you’ll likely be earning more and probably feel more valued and like your skills are being utilised.

There may be a good reason why the OP can't pursue freelance graphic design.
But anyway, it does sound like they're messing you about/lying to you, OP. I'd be really pissed off.

@Aw4foxsake have you considered care work with an agency? I've worked in the care home sector and there are lots of night shifts where agency carers cover absence. I note you can't drive but you could do a few nights when your DC was with his dad - you would make good money and you would pick your own shifts. Most of the agency carers I have worked with take an uber to and from the shift and still find it good money.

I work only school hours or when my husband is available home which is not always , so I could consider a cleaning job if it does not involve someone telling me how they want me to clean toilets. But about a grocery store, I would hate cleaning standing hours by a regrigerators. So these two reasons would be the No for me. If i would clean in a nice, sun lit, warm place, I might consider.

Graphic design is one of the careers that has been worst-hit by the introduction of AI. Salaries and job availability are falling. Same with editors, journalists, writers etc. I've been a freelance editor/ researcher/ designer for 25 years: solid experience, reliable, excellent contacts, string of big names on my CV — and I'm being paid less per hour than I was in 2002 and being expected to do more for it.

Get out of it, OP. Retrain as a counsellor or psychotherapist. Huge demand and you can work online with people from all over the world at times to suit your schedule.

Are you limiting yourself to look for only supermarket jobs? There are loads of other industries where you can work 9-3 .

i’ve never known any breakfast or after school clubs where you need to lock in full time dates. They are usually very flexible with kids being booked on that very day.

Why can’t you just book him on the 3 weeks you have him? Many of the chains will allow this. If it’s school run then it’s worth speaking to the head and see if you are allowed wraparound care 3 weeks on and 3 weeks
off. It’s an unusual situation.

But even if it’s absolutely not allowed- you are limiting yourself hugely by not taking up wraparound care. It might be worth lumping it for a few years until secondary whilst you build your career

How do you think you were discriminated against? You say you can't work certain hours because of childcare, and they offered you hours which offer you flexibility.

Take the job, prove your worth, let them see how reliable and efficient you are, then ask for work on the checkouts at higher pay.

As someone who has done cleaning jobs I would see that as far preferable to till work. You don't have to deal with the public (generally), it keeps you fit and if you get a bit of experience under your belt it could be a useful springboard to going self employed and working whatever hours you like.

Op - YANBU - I think there should be some contributing from child’s dad for childcare as his shifts are too awkward to share weekly childcare - you have a good skill set and should not have undersell transferable skills - could you work remotely for now or even get a support role in a school where you can be free during holidays ect? I know it’s so hard and difficult juggling, I’m still doing it but it has gotten easier over time. Best of luck