Seventeen year old three month contract not renewed

[oapcarer]

My son got a job which was technically a temporary contract which, according to the interviewer, would go to permanent unless he was awful. I know this to be true as I work for the same company. They then said they would not renew the contract due to the budget and it was nothing personal. He had done nothing wrong. They normally do monthly feedback chats at 30 days, 60 days and 90 days respectively. The 90 day one did not happen as I think they'd decided he was going. The other two were positive. He also received his discount card, which normally only happens if you have earned membership, lulling him into a false sense of security. He had had one day off sick with the flu as he had been very unwell with an excessively high heart rate and temperature and had to visit A&E. The doctor had advised him not to work. After his dismissal, I provided documentary evidence of this. If this was not bad enough, other temps are being renewed on a rolling contract until they know what happens with the budget. He was not given this chance and his shifts, along with another colleague, are being filled with overtime

What's your question? On the face of it the company don't seem to have done anything wrong.

Nothing illegal. Less than 2 years' service = can be let go for any (non-discriminatory) reason

Thanks for your honest feedback

Sounds like this is Waitrose to me. It's frustrating for him but unfortunately they are able to decide who to keep on or not. Onwards and upwards for him! Don't take it personally, don't get down.

Thank you. Yes, it is. And it seems they can do this. I'm trying to get feedback from the managers re his performance to help him in the future but it's like getting blood out of a stone

It would be very wrong of them to discuss another employee's performance with you and an invasion of your son's right to privacy.

It's annoying but you can't do anything. Btw one day off with flu? Obviously a mild case!

You need to step back. If your son wants feedback he can ask for it himself.

When he was told they were letting him go, did they offer him a reference or did he ask for one? That could be very useful in getting another job.

Do you think that him having time off sick during his probationary period has gone against him?

Sometimes if we're trying to make the end of financial year targets, we'll put a recruitment freeze and contracts will not be renewed.

If he really hasn't had any negative feedback, I suspect that may be the case. Also why they might not want to broadcast that.

I would be encourage him to write an email/letter to his manager saying that he had really enjoyed working there, he learned a lot and if there are future opportunities he would like to be considered. There's nothing to be lost by doing that. If he doesn't want to, you may not be hearing the whole story.

Re the sick day, I asked but they said it was fine. He was off a day because he was ill on a Sunday. He wasn't back till the following Friday as he only worked 2 shifts (college student)

Reference only comes from head office but, yes.

It could be for any number of reasons, but top 3: because he had more time off than the people they kept on, he wasn’t as good as them at the job, or his face just didn’t fit.

it’s really tough at his age to have something like this happen. Unfortunately, much as you’d like to get to the bottom of it, he’ll be treated like an adult in the workplace and managers will not be open to you providing information or enquiring about anything on his behalf; he needs to do that.

I hope he gets something else soon. It should be easier now he has some retail experience. Aldi and Lidl tend to pay the most, so could be worth trying there.

This happened to my son (B & Q). They gave him 2 week's notice that his contract wasn't being renewed. He worked there for 9 months and never called in sick even once. He had a 2 hour journey if I didn't drive him. He was so committed or made me sick that he was treated like that. He's very sensitive and now thinks he's useless at working, not worked since August and not signing on as he doesn't feel confident enough to seek work.

Encourage him to see the positive (1) life is rarely fair and full of challenges (2) when one door shuts another and probably better opportunity opens up (3) learning how to cope and bounce back from rejection is important life lesson (4) dont expect feedback it regretfully rarely happens, learn to self appraise.

Best predictors of potential are (1) perseverance (2) curiosity (3) empathy (4) integrity.

HE needs to ask for feedback and have the discussion. It's not for you to do and really comes across as reinforcing their decision as the right one in their eyes. Mummy does the talking. (Sorry OP but it is true.)

While it's a shame they haven't kept him on, I would also stop asking for feedback. They'll stop focussing on him and start focussing on you and if he needs feedback he needs to ask for it.

It’s always depressing when contracts end but it happens a lot and you need to help him bounce back. My DD19 has ASD and got her first ever job as a supermarket Christmas temp this last Christmas. She loved it but the job ended. We (well frankly me) are now applying for lots of other retail jobs but the big difference is she now has this on her CV. She turned up, made a decent job of it and now has a much better idea of what the role requires. This should help her with future applications. Very good luck to your DS 🤞

I second the pp who said about him writing to his manager saying how he enjoyed working there and would they please consider him for any future vacancies. Worth a try.

This is not for you to do so stop…he needs to do this himself.