To think that this can't be right

[Houseflower]

I am applying for a job as a teaching assistant and have applied for 5 or 6. I have had one interview which sounds good but is fixed term. I find out about this later this week. I have just found out that I have 2 more interviews next week that are permanent and better money.

My sister who works in a school said that if I get offered the first job and accept it this week, then go for the interviews for the others and get offered a better job then I aren't allowed to ring up to turn down the original job.

I am older and have worked in many other workplaces and this often happens. I was told it was different in teaching and it wasn't the done thing and would give me a black mark against me for future jobs.

Does this really happen? I find it hard to believe that someone would talk bad about me because I made the decision to give my family more money and more stability.

You can take the job you want.

But accepting a job offer and then refusing may leave the school in the lurch. I would be upfront and ask for some time to think about any first offer before deciding to accept or not.

if you accept the first job you have entered a contract, and if you then take another job you have breached your contract, which can be actionable. And they might or might not.

I disagree with the previous posters.

I have heard before what your sister is saying.
My understanding is that teaching recruitment practices are VERY different to other places.
I'm not in teaching, but I have teacher friends. Do you know a teacher you could talk to about this OP?

For teachers that’s usually the advice but it’s very different - you find out on the day as well

id say if they offer it be honest- say thanks, I’d love to accept but have a interviews and why they’re on better terms. Then they have a choice to offer you better terms themselves or to wait

I get what you're all saying. I'm just not sure how I should have done it. All the jobs I applied for, closed at the same time so I wouldn't have been able to apply for one and then wait til interviews were done before applying for another. There isn't a lot going in our area to be honest and had to apply for all at once.

Seems a bit daft that I have to take a fixed term contact that's only for 6 months as there's no guarantee I'll get another. But if I do get the permanent one after I've accepted then it's tough.

I also haven't found out on the day. I went last Friday and they said they would let me know Thursday or Friday this week.

But you have already given them an answer, probably - did they not ask in the interview if you would accept if offered? you can try deferring giving them an answer, might or might not work, depending on how long you ask them to wait for an answer

Unless things have changed recently the offer only be provisional based on safer recruitment checks, so while in that period you won't be under any contract so if a better off comes in you can take it and decline the earlier offer.

No, verbal agreements have no legal standing.

This happens all the time in my school 🤷‍♀️

You have to do what's right for you.

I would explain the situation; look, I'm waiting to hear about another permanent opportunity with better pay. If they really want you, they may even offer to match the pay.

In my experience, most workplaces are understanding when you decline one job for a better one.

Whether or not it’s the done thing in teaching, you haven’t applied to be a teacher, so your sisters comments are irrelevant.

Schools are not large profit making corporations so I think it’s quite shitty to mess them around and cost them time and money. If you like the look of the job, accept it. If you’d rather wait and see if you get a permanent position then decline it, or be honest with them. They might be willing to give you more time to accept or decline.

Wrong!

You have not entered any contract until you sign one and start

Your sister is right, it's not the done thing. If you get the job, other people will be turned down and they may have gone on to get other jobs. This means the school have to go through the while advertisement and recruitment process again which costs time and money.

no, the contract starts from when you agree to accept the job

I run a company with an employment lawyer for all staff. It does not. Utter nonsense.

it does in teaching and schools,

She’s right, it is frowned upon to accept and then change your mind down the line especially in teaching if better comes along and at least where we are it would be a mark against you for other school jobs yes

Yes, but it’s not fair to expect unqualified teaching assistants to be held to the same standards as postgraduate professionals.

Yes this is a teaching assistant post, not a teacher.

If I turn down the job because I have an interview for a better job, then don't get the better job, I then have no job.

I think I'll just have to be honest and tell them I've got another interview but I assume that will be frowned upon too.

I do love the job but the politics of school life are crazy.

..if it's only a verbal acceptance it's not actionable legally, but yes I agree about it possibly not looking very good.

Not necessarily so. Creation of a contract can be verbal provided the requisite parts of contract creation are there (offer, consideration, intent to create legal relation).

Very hard to prove and action in reality however

It takes time to formalise the offer and likely at this time of year, no-ones expecting to start until September anyway. Reference checks, DBS checks etc. The second/third choices won't be told they haven't got the job until the first person has passed these and signed a contract.

We've been recruiting a lot recently and many people who've been offered jobs haven't actually started working with us because while the onboarding process has been going through the motions people who've attended multiple interviews at the same time have been offered other jobs that they've accepted instead. So we've then moved on to the next best candidates. It's totally normal and expected.

What a load of rubbish! 🤦
accept then turn them down later. It’s about you, not the employer.