…to ask what to do about my former employer trying to ruin my life any way they can for their own amusement?

[Renegader]

Hi MNers,

Unfortunately back in September I was dismissed from my job due to failure of probation. This was the next working day after I took a few hours off which I requested TOIL to go the vet to seek an update on the cat I rescued from outside my workplace. My manager whom was very controlling and acted angrily to any kind of challenging of his ‘authority’ used this as a reason to fail my probation and dismiss me immediately. I sought legal advice and was told as I was in probation there’s not much I can do, even though I wasn’t even on a warning nor did I commit any kind of misconduct.

My weasel of a manager calls me after the charity manager dismisses me saying he was having a stressful day and didn’t think his boss would actually fire me even though he blew the cat situation out of proportion and knows she is very harsh. He said to give him as a reference for any future jobs and that he is so sorry about everything, so that’s what I did.

Fast forward to today and I get an email from a job I was due to start in a few weeks saying they are withdrawing the job offer as my former manager would only provide a basic reference thus raising a red flag for them. This was when he said he would give me a positive reference. I was good at my job and my clients I supported were very happy with me.

I have been in tears for most of the day, feeling completely powerless and hopeless about my future. Am I going to be blacklisted from this sector because I did a good deed and stood my ground about it? I need a job, this cat is expensive and I feel like my former manager and employer are trying to ruin my life. Because of their inept Payroll team I am also having my Universal Credit slashed by 20% as my employer took a Direct Earnings Attachment from my salary for a previous DWP advance then appear to not have actually sent the monies to HMRC as DWP told me they have no record of it despite the deductions being on my payslips. So, in conclusion, they sabotaged my employment with them, my benefits whilst out of work and now my future employment prospects. The most laughable thing is they are supposed to be a mental health charity but are doing everything in their power to push me to despair! Any advice on how to overcome this would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

Seriously? Rare to see so many red flags in one post.

In some sectors you HAVE to give a detailed reference by law. Eg nurses have to have a reference regarding their clinical practice. Teachers in relation to their teaching practice FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.

The OP works with vulnerable people. Trying to loophole around her own failings (which they absolutely were) has the potential to cause actual harm to others.

The employer appears to have done little wrong here.

Bloody hell OP you sound like a nightmare employee, unsurprised that you didn't pass your probation and were let go in your meeting. Several weeks off sick during your probationary period and then you pissed off without waiting for a response to your request for TOIL, on something that was not an emergency at all. Your old employer aren't trying to sabotage your future employment, you are doing that all by yourself, and NOW you are doubling down and are going to write to the trustees and funders. You are a legitimate liability to a business. You really need to reassess your approach here and take on board some of the excellent advice you have been given.

OP you should write to everyone including newspapers outlining what happened. Not that your in any way right in what you did. But it will help other potential employers avoid you. You sound like a nightmare to employ.

What others have done or do isn't relevant to your situation. You didn't do the right thing, the cat was safely with a vet, there is no way to justify what you did. The only thing telling the board and anyone else relevant about this will achieve is torpedoing your own career. It wont hurt them because they can simply rebut with the truth. It will hurt you because even if you were justified in your actions no one wants to hire someone that bad mouths their last employer. You're in the wrong here and your inability to see that is only going to hurt you, no one else, just you. You can keep sabotaging yourself or you do what is necessary to get a new job and to get treatment for your OCD so it doesn't lead you to leave a job for no reason again. You're the one abotaging yourself.

Nothing you can do. You wouldn't have any grounds for unfair dismissal if you were with the company for less than 2 years. The company is not obliged to provide a reference and they didn't give you a negative reference, just a basic one. They don't HAVE to write more. Did the manager express any other issues with your work when they told you that you had failed the probation?