How do I explain this to a potential new employer?

[WorkingDilemmaargh]

After several years of WFH I started a new job earlier this year. I was excited as the salary sounded reasonable, the job was advertised as "WFH/hybrid" and I thought the "24 days annual leave" in the job description was a typo since that's below the legal minimum.
First, it wasn't a typo. Worse still, I actually only have 9 days of annual leave because the rest are taken up by bank holidays and a week of the office being closed at Xmas.

That wouldn't be an issue if I was being treated fairly. Basically there's loads of nepotism going on and one member of staff who is a relative of the company owner went on holiday in March for 21 dayslonger than anyone else gets in a yearand basically if the boss likes you, you get to WFH whenever you want instead of using annual leave and it's understood that you just answer emails/phone calls and the day is yours.

If she doesn't like you, you have to use your 9 days of annual leave for medical appointments and any other days off. As an example, someone was allowed to WFH because they had to stay in for the BT engineer, and this person regularly turns up at 10am and leaves at 4pm anyway and is paid full time. Someone else regularly leaves at lunchtime. I'm not the only person who has noticed it's one rule for one set of people and another for everyone else.

The company "don't do" parental leave for people who have been here long enough even though it's a legal right and they "don't do" any other type of unpaid leave. As another example someone used a WFH day to go to a wedding this week, where they obviously weren't working, and has another WFH day next week for a hospital appointment. I was refused a WFH day for a hospital appointment and was told I had to use annual leave instead.

I have three-year-old twins who start school in September and I wanted to do pick-ups and drop offs for the first week to get them settled but I've been refused unpaid leave or WFH to do this.

Basically, the working schedule isn't what was advertised, the holiday is below legal minimum, and I am handing my notice in ASAP as this environment is such a bad fit, but how do I explain this to my next potential employer? Because "I worked self-employed by myself for years then had a job I quit after a few months" isn't a good look. WWYD?

Not sure why "longer than anyone else gets in a year" has a line through it. It's true though.

Also what do I say in my resignation letter, would you call them out on it or just leave it the bare minimal?

I think one short job on your CV is fine. We all make mistakes. If you have a decade of six months here, three months there it doesn’t look good, but one bad fit isn’t terrible.
Also, tell your next employer that the job they have on offer is exactly what you’ve been looking for, so you couldn’t let it pass you by.

I’d just slip away quietly tbh. What good would calling them out do?

To your potential employer I wouldn't say too much.

"They were illegal in the way they treated some of the staff and I didn't want to work for a company which broke the law."

Don't get too stressed about it. Most people at some stage have one job that just doesn't work out for them . I had an awful job after I was made redundant and I panicked and took it and I should have left after a month .

i wouldn’t list anything I did for less than 6 months, so self employed 2013-2023 which is true, and you’ve til the end of the year to find a job before there’s a visible gap
If they ask you just say you didn’t put it as it wasn’t relevant to what you’re applying for.

Resign stating the annual leave is below the legal minimum and the culture of management promotes favouritism and a lack of respect to all team members.

I wouldn't worry about having one shorter role. In interviews make sure to stay away from slagging off your current employer (not a good look) and frame it as having some concerns around culture and fit instead - I'd be wary about telling potential employers that they are breaking the law because you never know who they might know at your current employer and that could play badly (also, you might want/ need a reference from them one day?)

I'd also agree not to say anything in your resignation (you're leaving anyway, no need to burn all the bridges if you're not taking legal action about it), but I would take records about their behaviour now in case you ever need it.

I'd just say to prospective employers that you realised it wasn't a good fit almost immediately. You don't need to say more.

As for the illegal lack of holiday, report the employer to ACAS.

To a potential employer just say it was obvious early on the role was not a good fit for you and you decided to move on. Don't slag them off or give them any further details.

Be prepared to then define what you do want in a role which would be a good fit.

If anyone asks I would just say the job wasn't as described and once you had worked there a few weeks, you realised it really wasn't the right job for you and decided to move on.

If the new company asks you about the previous one, just be honest. I tried but the schedule did not fit with my parental responsibilities and I want to make sure YOUR COMPANY fits with them.

Unless you will be using them for a reference, which I doubt!! Don’t even mention it at all, just say you’ve been self employed and now looking for employed work.

Yes i wouldn't even mention it, just put that you've been self employed.

I was in my last role for six months. Very senior. HAAAAAAAATED IT. Massive huge company with 70k + staff but awful to work for. When I interviewed for my current role I just said they weren't using my to the best of my abilities. Looking at my CV, it was clear I usually spent 5+ years in a role so this really was a blip. As long as you don't look like a 'flitter' then you should be fine.

I sat in one interview and didn’t need to say anything. Apparently with the interviewer saying well you don’t always accept just any old bad feedback from your employer do you. It was certainly along them lines from the interviewer.

However a job reference was requested at 8am Monday when I didn’t start work until 9:30am and had signed no contract with new employer even which Mumsnetters could never get into their thick minds was always going to be to my disadvantage, an hour and a half before my official start time.. I would never have got there ‘first’. They didn’t even have a signed contract from me as new employee. Fortunately I later found out it was an email request and no telephone conversation occurred.

Character references were not contacted until 48 hours later…..

Wonderful Great Britain references. Perhaps another way other than referencing should be sourced, wait GB wouldn’t have the capacity!

Thanks for the advice all, I think I'm overthinking a bit as I saw a MN post a few years ago where the poster said some sort of credit check agency was able to verify your work history with your NI number and it's made me worry about just striking this job off the record entirely. There's part of me that thinks I won't get another job and that I should hold onto this one even though it's not great.

If this is relevant to the thread, can you please try again, as I for one, have no idea what you are on about.

Just don't put it on your CV/application.

Make sure you have other references. Nobody needs to know.

Much easier if you've been self employed anyway as nobody will be expecting a reference from the most recent company.

I would definitely not point out the misdemeanours of your previous employer, even if it's the truth. Not a good look, not least of all because you have no obligation to tell them why you want to leave.

I would be honest and put it on your CV. I started applying for jobs after 3 months once, it’s really not a big deal. Don’t badmouth the old place but be vague - “It’s not the right fit for me” Or ”I would actually prefer to do more of X, which I know this company does.”

Thanks everyone. Just an update. I know I should have quit, but I applied for a load of jobs and got nowhere. Besides, I want my next role to be above this one, not the same as this one, so I decided to stick this bastarding job out for as long as possible so I can definitely say "I've got X length of verified experience in this industry and I want a role where I can develop my skills and move into management". Because at the moment, my only industry experience is my self-employment and I can't verify it and have no references for it.

I've now done 6 months. It hasn't really got better. If anything, it's gotten worse. Last week I printed out a week-by-week calendar I made in Excel, so I can tick off every day between now and 12 months. I might still quit before then. Some of the things that have happened have made me really angry, like being talked down to (literally told off like an 80s toddler) by the manager in a tender meeting with outside people.

I'm also using the copious free time where I've finished everything to teach myself software, skills and techniques that I can carry forward to move upwards with my next job.

Trying to stay sane and really angry with their shit policies but I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face because if I move into a like-for-like role then I've stalled my career for at least another 6 months, probably longer because two 6-month jobs will really look uncommitted, and then they've won.