Have you ever just left a job and not gone back?

[Stickystickgazing]

Just that really. Have you ever just though I’ve had enough of a job, and not worked a notice or handed a notice in with a sick note therefore meaning you didn’t have to return? What were your reasons, and how did your employer react and how did you feel after doing it?

Yep, I did exactly that. Came home from work one evening to find I had received a letter from DVLA informing me they no longer considered medically fit to hold a driving license. I worked 35 miles from home at the time and there was no public transport to get me to where I needed to go. I spoke to my employer, and as there was no hope of regaining my license in the foreseeable future, they agreed to a no fault instant, no notice, termination of my contract. I haven't worked a day since.

I once worked with somebody who stayed for just over a week then one day left for her lunch break and simply never came back. I think the company dodged a bullet tbh, she was already a bit of a heartsink colleague even after such a short amount of time, the sort of person who you can more or less guarantee would be obnoxious to work with and eventually flounce and try to take the company to tribunal.

Yes, Saturday job when I was 16. The Manager of the shop 'accidentally' pinned me on the wall with his hands 'accidentally' ending up on my boobs. The shop was full but not the aisle where I was. I went to the till and explained calmly, but loud and clear, why I was leaving my apron on the till and leaving. Thankfully I had go my wages earlier on. His reputation certainly took a knock - and I got quite a few cred points!

Many jobs (if not all) requiring DBS or other clearance need to have all dates covered and that includes a reference from your most recent employer to ensure you didn't leave on dodgy grounds or are under investigation but might not show up on DBS yet as not processed.

Yes, during university probably 1992 ish I kind of fell out with my parents and decided to stay in that town during the summer holidays and try and work. Managed to get a cheap housing association type room and 2 jobs. One was basically being driven to a housing estate with a group of people and us hawking rubbish paintings door to door. By the 6th or 7th house people were watching me out of their windows and I lost my nerve and gave up. Sat on the kerb waiting to be picked up for an hour. Other job was waitressing in a tiny posh restaurant. Felt out of depth and scruffy and it was really cliquey. Did one shift, went back to the room and stayed awake all night as there were masses of flies. Packed back up and rang parents the next day who came and got me. Don't think I said anything to either job.

I did this when I was a student.

So I didn't need references etc to get another job.

I was too shy to call in sick etc so just didn't go in and didn't go back.

These were only in part time min wage jobs I'd not done for long.

I didn't think anything of it at the time.

This reminds me, my lovely MIL, call her Joan, left her job when she had her first baby and didn’t go back to work for ten years, when her youngest started school. By luck, she went back to her same employer, in the same job. When she went back one of the managers said, ‘Oh hullo Joan, I’ve not seen you around lately. Have you been on holiday?’

😐😂

How dare they?

I used to temp during University vacations as my father had taught me how to work a switchboard and a telex ( ha ha I bet most of you don’t know what that is), so ‘skilled’ and quite decent money.

Generally had a lot of fun and interest ( including manning the Explosion and Leak line of the Gas Board, no training given) . One office though was very spooky, stuck up on the third floor of an apparently unoccupied building, sending reams of telex to other continents. The ‘manager’ came in and told me that if ever I told anyone about the telex contents ( just lists of cargo as far as I could see) ‘I would regret it’.

I waited until I saw him cross over to the warehouse, then I legged it down the stairs and onto the first bus which came along. Never went back, obvs.

Yes. I had worked for a specialist shop for about a year. Just me and the owner. He went on holiday very suddenly. Following day, man and woman appeared, talking about what they were going to do after they took over the shop and could I sort out X, Y, Z for them for the following day, when they were coming back to measure up for some new shop furniture. Turns out the owner was in the process of selling the business and it was due to be finalised in the next week or two.

As soon as they left, I calculated my pay to that point, took it from the till, put the remaining cash in the till into the safe, together with a note confirming I had paid myself up to date, locked up and went home. The following day I put they keys in the post recorded delivery to his home address.

My first job when I was 16 was a disaster. Waitress in a local hotel. When I arrived, someone ushered me behind the bar (alone) and immediately disappeared. Customers were ordering drinks and for whatever reason I tried to oblige instead of telling them I couldn’t. Money was piling up by the till, which I didn’t know how to open, and I was struggling with the drinks. Finally, someone looked in, realised they had an incompetent and underage kid attempting to serve alcohol to pissed off guests and redirected me to the kitchen.

I then had an evening of carrying stuff about - no training - and being touched by a lecherous customer.

Didn’t go back for the next shift.

Years ago, shortly after graduating, working as a data inputter.

Turned up shiny-tailed and bushy-eyed, nobody even acknowledged me. Spent two hours trying to find my desk, log-ins etc with no help.

Eventually found manager after three hours to find out what I was supposed to be doing, she shrugged and turned back to her conversation with a colleague, so I fucked off at 12pm and never went back.

Never heard from them again. Now in my later years, I refer to it as 'Schrödinger's Job'.

When I was in my early twenties, I walked out on my lunch break and never came back.
I had reached the end of my tether after a toxic boss had been aggressively bullying me for a prolonged period, and it had got to the point where I could no longer stand it and my ‘flight’ mode kicked in.
I quite literally logged off my computer, gathered my things and went home.

I was quite a shy and soft spoken person living and working in a strange town a long way from home and I didn’t stand up for myself as I would now in the same circumstances.

Later on, I do have regrets - but not about walking out. I have regrets about not filing a grievance against that horrible man and reporting the abuse as it meant he might well have picked on other vulnerable employees after me and made their life a misery aswell.
I had a lot going on at the time so I was not in a very good place to go through the process and furthermore, he was in a personal relationship with a more senior manager - so I was sure there would be no repercussions for him.

I could never get a reference from them after walking out - but other than that there were no lasting consequences.

References nowadays just confirm your dates of employment, not worth the paper they are written on. It's not a problem.

That tells you all you need to know about them as employers, wow!

Yes. I was working at a company full of old white men who had zero respect for women. I walked out that day. Sent an email I would rather be in the gutter than work there and ever went back. The payroll lady sent my p45 Thing to me. She’d wondered why I had gone to work there, if she’d been younger she’d have left too. But of course you don’t know what a place is like until you start! Although tbh there was a red flag in the phone interview that I should have heeded.

Exactly this.

Worked in the underwear department of M&S for 4 hours when i was 17. Sorting bras by size on the racks. I went for my break and just went home. Never returned the uniform and they never chased me up about my whereabouts

Working overseas, business owners quickly seemed to be dodgy as hell. Second time our pay checks bounced I left and did not go back.

Of course! I’ve walked out of all sorts of jobs no reason given. If I’m treated badly I leave always have.

Apart from my past ‘career’ style role which I had relocated hundreds of miles to do. I had a wonderful manager then a new female manager from hell bullying me even in front of the rest of the team, all were older men and tried to tell me it would get better and were all so very kind. Daily comments always such as just before an important meeting telling me I remind her so much of her alcoholic and drug dependant sister (much harsher terms) and (her poor sister by the way not surprised she had issues with a sister like that) that because I was a single parent I was obviously a as was her sister, etc, etc, etc.

Two years plus of it including not being allowed time off to attend a completely unexpected funeral. after being told about my young family member passing I collapsed but still was made to go into work sobbing the next day. The men on my team sent me home and told me whatever she’s said you can’t be working like this. When I went back in the next week on day of funeral she was even worse than normal.

Also not allowed breaks or lunches ever, called at say 7am to see where I am (wtf) and made to also work from home at night and cover international meetings and calls at say 2am. None of which was in my contract or company protocol and no one else had to do, it was just me.

It was truly awful and then my body packed up on me and I had to have emergency surgery, surgeon thought the working conditions caused it. And whilst off sick was made redundant.

So yeah after that experience don’t stay anywhere ever where you are treated disrespectfully.

Only once, when DS was at school and I was temping - the one and only time I was stupid enouugh to work in the public sector

It involved a director who "needed" a PA five mornings a week, except that after three it was obvious there wasn't even enough work for one
Her reply when approached about this - which will stay with me until the day I die - was "Well, every other director has someone every day so I must too"

Yeh, summer job at uni.

Just left on Friday and didn't return, didn't contact anyone. Worst / best bit is they didn't even notice I had gone and paid me for another 2 weeks!!!

Yes, once. I sat through a ridiculous team meeting where the small number of staff were bullied and chastised about lack of performance and threatened with all sorts if sales weren't increased. I knew with every fibre of my being that "more sales" just weren't possible, so went downstairs, cleared my desk and walked away and never went back.

I got an email from my manager saying how sorry she was to lose me, to which I did not reply.

Twice as a student - both crappy retail jobs where I was treated like shit. Kind of once in a proper job. I had another post lined up and was working my notice, but in the final week I just couldn’t face it and called in sick for the last five days. I’m sure they knew I wasn’t sick but I was allowed to self-certify and did get paid.

Yes 8 year ago walked out never been back no regrets.