Husband failed interview for own job, panicking!

[UpsetAtInterview]

Name changed for this one. My husband has been on fixed term contracts for 4 years and interviews came up for permanent positions. He placed high in last years interviews and just missed out on a job, but the wait list ran out so there was a new round in interviews. He was in a pissy mood leading up to it, annoyed at having to re-interview again. He just found out he failed the interview. We're now facing a cliff edge financially as we can't get by on just my wage and his contract finishes in 6 weeks.

I'm so angry at him. I was the breadwinner until our first child turned two. Then he got this job and it was great, he doubled his salary just as the cost of living increase hit so we were okay. I worked so hard for years, I even did interviews heavily pregnant to get us in a good position financially and he's just thrown it all away because he couldn't get out of his own way and actually apply himself for a few days. He didn't take the prep seriously and was blindsided in the interview.

He's devastated, doesn't want to go back to work for last few weeks of his contract, doesn't want to complete his remaining projects. I am trying to comfort him and can see he's emotionally fragile but I just want to scream at him 'Why did you let us down? Why didn't you do the work to make sure your family is looked after?'. I wouldn't mind if he tried his best and it didn't work out, but he didn't. Am I unreasonable to be so angry? Should I tell him? Should I just try and help him get a new job first?

The long and the short of it is both you and your husband didn't appear to agree on a plan B knowing that there was a risk of unemployment in 6 weeks time.

There was always a chance that this would happen and you put all your eggs in one basket which was short sighted.

He has six weeks to get a new job so he needs to start working in plans B, C and D right now.

Neither of your current attitudes will help you right now so you both need a change of mindset.

some people find interviews hard but it doesn’t mean they can’t do the job. It may just be a fear of interviews which he experiences. You’re unfair saying he’s ’not good enough’.

Please explain how exactly is OP being awful? She clearly stated her partner has the ability to pass the interview but through his own negligence didn’t adequately prepare and so underperformed at the interview so losing his job. She is also being supportive of him but struggling internally for him risking their family’s financial security hence her reach out here - especially galling for her given how hard she worked to get her own job. Whether the interview itself after 4 years is right or not is academic - that’s not what OP was venting about.

It sounds like it's personal and his boss doesn't like him very much. So she's kicked him out.

Do you have a union or a place to talk to for some legal advice. I'd not presume anything, even though it sounds like you think you don't have any chance. You might do. I'd definitely talk to a solicitor.

He may have deliberately flunked it subconsiously because he's fed up of working in a place that doesn't value him.

this is a scary time but he may go on to better things. Try not to be too emotional if possible. He's probably pretty confused himself.

It's hard to walk into an ego battle and go back to work but if he wants good references and to leave on a high, head held high, principles rock solid, he should go through with it.

Many people experiences rejections and knock-backs. It's how you cope with them that defines you and your level of success.

I would suggest he starts creatively looking sideways at where else he can be employed. This may be the start of something better.

One door closes, another door opens. Find it. Stop dwelling in the past.

Why is the process so formal if he’s done 4 back to back contracts? Surely if they liked him enough it’d be a no brainer to keep him on? Sounds like he was never really in the running

He needs to get over himself – of course he has to go back and finish the contract and the projects. And at the same time, start applying for jobs – six weeks would usually be ample time to line up the next thing. Currently, everything’s taking a bit longer because advertised positions are receiving upwards of 500 applications so sifting is slowed down – I just did the job hunt thing and lost track of how many employers weren’t able to match their specified timeline and had to push back interview dates. The job I got, I applied to in week four of looking but wasn’t offered until week nine, and I start two weeks from offer, paid monthly in arrears from start, so 15 weeks on from first idly googling “jobs” – so I’d also start looking at cost savings and get advice on redundancy pay so you can cover the gap, if there is one. He may well (with a change in attitude) walk into a job.

If 4 years and no break of more than week between contracts, he should be given 3 months notice they are not extending the contract (civil service rule) and will be eligible for redundancy pay (anything over 2 years is eligible for redundancy pay).

OP I think you need to keep your anger and dissapointment to yourself or direct it to his employer. See it as a redundancy and beyond his control and focus on supporting him to get another, hopefully permenant role. Linked in is a good place to seek out jobs and find decent recruitment consultants who may be able to help place him.
Separately, as others have said if he has been there for four years he may have accrued employment rights so may be eligible for notice pay and redundancy pay. ACAS could advise on the first instance.

Yes that could make sense.

I’ve known jobs which are just basic admin that still require an interview even though an agency worker has been doing it just fine and would like the job. Maybe in public sectors they have to do it (this was nhs) but apart from a short stint there myself I have only ever worked in the private sector. I deliberately chose agency work to get permanent roles as I hated interviewing - this was in the 80s/90s. Simpler times I guess and it was admin not managerial.

YABU and should be a lot more supportive! Imagine a man posting about his wife like this on here. Well it works both ways imo.

I think you need to be supportive. He will know he screwed up, and feeling like his life partner isn’t on his side won’t help him get it together and find a new job.

Rant on here and to your friends, but try not to be angry to his face. It won’t get you closer to the result you want - which is for him to find another job or contract asap.

I’m usually dreadful at interviews but am a very good worker. It was why I used to go through the agency route. I used to get offers to go permanent without ever having to interview. It was a lovely way to get a job back then.

Poor guy. He must be feeling dreadful. Failing at interview for a job you are already doing must be such a slap in the face. He needs all the support you can give him. I cannot imagine he has sabotaged this on purpose.

Thanks for clarification about the fixed term contracts, as there has to be a specific reason as to why it is fixed term. I think he needs to get some legal advice, as being in continuous employment with the same place for 4 years should give greater protection. Also seems a strange set up with interviews and waiting lists......

Your claim that those who don't secure permanent academic positions “aren't good enough” fails to consider the broader systemic challenges within UK academia. The academic job market is not solely a meritocracy; structural factors significantly influence employment outcomes.

More than 30% of academic staff in the UK are on fixed-term contracts. This underscores that many qualified and highly competent are in precarious positions, not due to a lack of ability, but because of limited availability of permanent posts.

There have been significant job cuts across UK universities “due to budget shortfalls”, resulting in massive job losses. These cuts are not reflective of individual merit but are responses to systemic financial pressures.

And, institutional priorities influence hiring decisions, often favouring certain research areas over others. This means that even excellent academics may struggle to secure positions if their expertise doesn't “align with current institutional foci”. It's not all about personal failings.

The law applies to the public sector in the same way as to the private sector. There is no exemption. After 4 years on fixed term contracts he is protected against unfair dismissal. Unless there was something wrong with his work, interviewing him for the job he is already doing and then giving it to someone else is likely to be an unfair dismissal. He needs to consult a lawyer who specialises in employment law.

They won’t be continuous contracts though will they surely ? They will likely be renewed at less than 104 weeks continuously so that no such rights are attracted. My DH worked for a well known UK telecoms company on fixed terms contracts. He was there over 7 years on renewed 52 week contracts. They still let all of the contractors go when they decided to move the whole operation to another area of the country.

This is what I was going to say. He needs to speak to his union and/or get legal advice.

• The Four-Year Rule:
• The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 state that after four years of continuous service on successive fixed-term contracts, an employee is deemed to be on a permanent contract.
• Objective Justification:
• The employer can avoid the automatic permanency if they can demonstrate a genuine need for the continued use of fixed-term contracts. This justification must be objective and reasonable.
• Employee's Rights:
• If an employee believes they have become permanent, they can write to their employer requesting confirmation of their permanent status. The employer has 21 days to respond, either confirming the change or providing reasons for their position.
• Employer's Responsibilities:
• If the employer fails to respond within the 21-day timeframe or fails to provide sufficient justification for continued fixed-term employment, an employment tribunal may deem the employee to be permanent.
• Workplace or Collective Agreements:
• Employers and employees can agree to a workplace or collective agreement that varies the rules surrounding fixed-term contracts, potentially allowing for longer periods of fixed-term employment or defining specific circumstances where objective justification is required.

I've been in the public sector for over three decades and I have, temp contracts usually though not fixed term.

No - I know someone who did 26 years of one-year fixed contracts, at the end of that the position was eliminated and at the end of their last contract they got nothing, no redundancy, no pension payout, nothing.

At the same place 4 others with 24, 20 and 18 years all ended on the same day too.

If they make him redundant though, he could argue unfair selection.

@UpsetAtInterview if you have legal cover through your home or car insurance, or via union membership, you may be able to get free advice.

For example, they've all made similar contributions to departmental committes, but one candidate was on a particular committee that we ourselves want to develop more and they could be helpful for that. If a candidate has a couple marginal things like this, it adds up.

Interviewing for a job you already do, and know you can do, is pretty soul destroying. I've done it a few times and it sucks. It feels like such a massive waste of everyone's time to go through such formalities when they've been paying you to do the job, and renewing your contract for years. So I can see why you DH is fed up. But, given that he's been around the block with it before, he knew the interview was more than a tick box exercise and that it should be taken as seriously as any other interview. So he doesn't have much right to be so annoyed about it. Could it also be the organisations way of sending the message that he's not as good at his job as he thinks and they actually want rid of him?
Fixed term contracts are pretty common in my sector and I have to say that while they are mainly a bad thing, they can also be a godsend when you end up with a terrible worker (who despite feedback, lacks any self awareness and will never improve) because you know you won't have to put up with them forever, their contract will just naturally end on X date.

He stroppily did not prepare for an interview, at which he was caught out, which then led to a failure. And you don’t think he needs to take some ownership of that? Especially as he then said he wasn’t going back in a toys-out-the-pram scenario?

Did be self sabotage because he is unhappy with the job and the situation?