Odd vibes from temp job

[Guttedme]

Hi again,

I at least started the next temp/fixed-term contract job today.

It was a strange situation to walk into (I thought it might) I was sat at a desk that was half cluttered with someone else's possessions but as the day went on things came out that I felt uncomfortable/intimidated by.

After the grief of not being able to start last week as I already was working on another assignment (not related to each other in anyway) before the organisation concerned got back to me on whether I was successful or not, added to that when I tried to ask about the start date during the online interview previously, I was told well you can't start until background checks are complete.

I was taken aback to find someone else already started last week so they have two new starters now it seems. Two's company and three a crowd and all that.
I just don't feel I can be so direct with questions that I started the day wanting to ask thinking it was just me and a supervisor.

Also when the email confirmation came out, it was quite a good summary - pay laid out, what notice period on both sides, this was an FTC, hours, job title etc, the only little detail it was slightly vague on was the ending date saying it could finish sooner or later than expected, so I was slightly taken aback/nervous today to be told a contract is being prepared. Do you think they might try and bring the end date forward?

I'm not so fussed as I think I've made an awful move here; completely forgot now its winter, I'm walking around a town centre awfully cold for a job quite a few miles from where I live after the luxury last week of parking in a company car park when it was peeing down etc.

I also heard someone who used to do the job permanently is having treatment for cancer - I am right in my thinking they are entitled to their job back like in maternity situations?

It was all a bit strange, the job advert had one particular start date which passed by time of interview, then I was told the job was available temporarily due to organisational funding and uncertainty and then I had the trouble of them wanting a next day start last week saying it was busy but to me it seems incredibly quiet and intimidating with the 'other temp' completing things in no time at all. I just couldn't work out if HR had differing views from the hiring managers and I just got caught in-between.

Grateful for any help and if I get a quiet word with the manager then I will try.

Welcome to the world of temping. You're very lucky if the employer has thought things through - very often it's 'Shit, need a temp, can someone organise that and find a desk?' which is probably why your desk has a load of stuff on it. On one occasion I was halfway to an assignment when the agency told me to go home, there was no PC organised for me. That took three days before I started.

I also heard someone who used to do the job permanently is having treatment for cancer - I am right in my thinking they are entitled to their job back like in maternity situations?

Yes. If you're covering their job you're a stand-in. As for where you are - I've worked on industrial estates, in a corner of a basement facing the wall, as well as some very plush places. Luck of the draw, frankly.

If I'm honest, there is literally nothing here that would slightly raise red flags. Permanent or temporary, contracts can be ended. It's not the employers fault it's winter. You have no commitment other than whatever the notice period is. Relax. Breathe. Get on with the job.

Thank you. I hadn’t heard about the sickness until today and if I had known a 2nd person was appointed I think I’d have turned it down. But I feel duped by both temp and perm employers right now so I can’t call it. If people can’t ask questions and receive the truth it is a sorry state.

Sorry but I have no idea what your actual concerns are. You are doing a temp job so you are sat at someone else's desk. Yep seems normal as you are a temp. they've hired a few people to start on the day day , yep seems normal for a busy office. They haven't sorted the contract, OK well you had the choice not to turn up but just sounds like a bit disorganised. They didn't have the start date etc sorted because of funding, yep sounds very plausible especially if they are paying full pay for this poor person off on sick.
You don't like the location, surely you knew this before accepting the job.

Isn't this just normal temping kind of stuff?

Ok if it’s normal for a charity not to take emergency next of kin details or your medical history then it’s them in for a shock.

I did not see the work place due to an online video interview so lesson very much learnt going forward. I’m sat in a freezing cold workplace to add to the cold commute with a workplace that stinks like an old church. (I’ll be putting Vaseline under my nose tomorrow) with half the management working from home.

I certainly wasn’t aware I was covering for someone so deeply unwell if anything and to hear it third hand it just caught me unawares and has made me shiver.

My parents thought it was suspicious last week and said why on earth didn’t they offer the job to someone more local only to pitch up today to find out yes they have. Someone who seems to have negotiated wondering off to other interviews etc. I was told last week they were well behind but it didn’t ring true today. I’m just glad I stuck where I was last week. It just makes me wonder what I’ve walked into but I’m sure it’ll become clear.

There's nothing unusual here. Have you temped much before? I can see why it might confuse you a bit if you haven't.

What is your concern about the person being off with cancer?

This post is a bit all over the place so it's not really clear what you need help with.

I'm really not sure what your problem is. It is not the employers place to tell you about someone else's personal medical details. Thats why you heard it from a colleague rather than someone official. You dont sound like you want the job in which case leave. Or if you do want the job/the money just get on with it. Nothing in your post is concerning.

Nothing you have said is out of the ordinary for temping. You're covering someone else's job - of course you're going to be sitting at a random desk with other people's stuff on it.

Some offices are very basic. Also it is not surprising that managers wfh half the time. Hybrid working is a thing.

"Ok if it’s normal for a charity not to take emergency next of kin details or your medical history then it’s them in for a shock."

I'm not sure what you mean by this but if you're temping, the company/charity/organisation you are physically temping at does not take your personal/medical details - you're generally on the agency's payroll or using your own Ltd company, so the it would be them who have your personal/medical details.

It is also fairly common for places to take on more than one temp - and they may or may not start at the same time. Having two temps is far from unusual.

Also not sure why it is surprising they need cover for someone off with cancer (or why this has made you "shiver") - places don't usually look to use a temp on a ftc to cover someone off with chicken pox.

Unless there is a massive drip feed, all of this sounds quite ordinary for a temp assignment.

Most people have covered what I was going to say but just to add as well, companies don't really care where their employees live. They wouldn't have been looking for someone to hire who 'lived locally' and how you get into work or how much of a journey/what sort of a journey you have is entirely your responsibility and of zero concern to them. They just want you in work and on time and will assume that if you've accepted the role you have worked out that you are able to do this, be that a 5 minute stroll from around the corner, a 30 minute commute in the car or 2 bus rides, a train journey and a brisk uphill walk to finish it off!

you went for the job i presume?
they dont care where you live, if the distance is far you didnt have to take the job.

I don’t really understand all the angst. You sound quite new to the world of work.

if you hate the job just quit. There’s no commitment from either side. You’re just temping, nobody owes you explanations or clear desks - lovely though that would be.

Op you sound incredibly young to be honest. Have you temped before? It doesn't appear that you have but this is all fairly standard stuff. They advertise a temp role and people who want the job put the Cv in, then they let the suitable candidate know. It's not a permanent role so often they don't do the hr stuff fully.
It sounds like temping may not be for you .

I'm also puzzled as to what the problem is. It all sounds pretty normal for a temp role. If you don't like it, quit.

I'm not sure what the sentence below is supposed to mean. Do you have a disability you haven't told them about?

"Ok if it’s normal for a charity not to take emergency next of kin details or your medical history then it’s them in for a shock."

The employer is not going to tell you the medical conditions of the person you're covering in an internecine because it's their personal data and the employer has a responsibility not to tell people who do not need to know otherwise that would be a data breach.

I certainly wasn’t aware I was covering for someone so deeply unwell if anything and to hear it third hand it just caught me unawares and has made me shiver.

I'm sorry but you are being entirely unreasonable about everything, and this bit is beyond unreasonable. It may come as a shock to you but not only is it none of your business, but it would be totally inappropriate for managers to gossip about the health of any employee, never mind to someone who doesn't even know them. You do realise that you cannot catch cancer, so what the hell is "making you shiver" - there is nothing creepy about cancer.

I can't see what on earth any of this has to do with your parents; but given your responses it seems that you didn't like your last workplace, you don't like this one, and your "problems" with work seem to be irrational. I'm sorry, but perhaps the issue here is not work but you? Perhaps some mental health support?

My parents thought it was suspicious last week and said why on earth didn’t they offer the job to someone more local only to pitch up today to find out yes they have. Someone who seems to have negotiated wondering off to other interviews etc. I was told last week they were well behind but it didn’t ring true today. I’m just glad I stuck where I was last week. It just makes me wonder what I’ve walked into but I’m sure it’ll become clear

OP - as a temp you're a warm body filling a space that needs to be filled to do a job that needs to be done and that's really all there is to it. I've had temp jobs that sent me to the other side of London (40 mile round trip every day) because it was a job I could do really well and dig the company out of a hole. Generally an agency should ask if you mind going to X or Y but it's really up to you to say nope, don't want that commute or that company.

The company wants you to turn up and do the job. I very much doubt you've 'wandered into' anything but if you don't like it you're a temp - you can 'wander out' again. And posters upthread have clearly explained what temping is like, as well.

Sounds all very normal for a temp job and I’ve done a few.

In temp jobs I always find it’s best to ask few or no questions (apart from about the job!) and just get on with things. Don’t engage in office politics though people may ask you to get involved.

Any queries refer back either to your LM or agency.

Thing is if it’s a FTC, yes she can wander in and out of a contract but she’ll have to wait to start a new one. It’s not like the old days where an agency would ring you on a Monday morning and you’d be sent out that morning as a temp to do the job.

Regardless of the type of contract, unless there is a contractual notice period (unlikely) she can "wander out" any time she likes. She only started yesterday, and has been there less than two days. Statutory notice in the first 4 weeks is nil - she can walk out on the spot with no notice if she wants. There is no obligation to wait to start a new one. Of course, whether there is any other work available is a different matter.

Regardless of the type of contract, unless there is a contractual notice period (unlikely) she can "wander out" any time she likes. She only started yesterday, and has been there less than two days. Statutory notice in the first 4 weeks is nil - she can walk out on the spot with no notice if she wants

Unless things have changed since I temped (2017) notice for a temp is a week. I was canned from a contract of three years with that.

Agreed temp notice is generally a week, unless stated in a FTC, eg they may state a month rather than a week.

@Neriah if OP did walk out after 2-3 days then yes in theory she can do this but she’s breaking the terms of her 1 week’s notice with the agency and therefore she would be paid that time only and also she runs the risk of annoying the agency who won’t employ her again.

I worked at Government Legal Department in admin on a temp contract there but they had lots of people there on FTC usually 18 months to 2 years. We had a newly qualified lawyer working there via an agency but turned out after 4-5 months of her being there that she’d regularly take unpaid leave off when she liked it - eg call in sick and usually either on a Friday or Monday. It got that if someone asked where she was on these days it was expected that she wouldn’t be in. She was let go immediately, don’t think she was even given a week’s notice because her line manager didn’t believe her sickness this time, she’d loudly and openly said she was off to a festival the weekend before and she had several cases open which had deadlines on them.

As I said, unless there is contractual notice, the statutory notice is nil in the first four weeks. That was the case in 2017, and it is still the case now.

To date there is no evidence that the OP works for an agency, or whether there is a contractual notice period, so I covered both bases.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns If the OP works for an agency then there are two contracts in place. There is the contract between the agency and the worker; and then there is the contract between the agency and their client. If the client contract allows the client to terminate the placement of one of the agencies staff with immediate effect, they can do so - how that impacts on the worker is subject to the contract between the agency and the worker. But yes, I do agree that a worker who terminates unreasonably may not get further work. Whether the OP is being reasonable in wanting out is between them and the agency - if they even work for one. But that also doesn't stop them walking out if that is what they want to do. I wasn't recommending the action, and I did point out that it didn't mean they would have anywhere else to go - I was just pointing out that this is not slavery, and they can leave if they want to.

Yes, I do know the two types of notice and as I stated in my example the client can terminate immediately and so can the worker if they so wish. This usually happens however if the worker isn’t fulfilling the needs of the contract or eg can’t think of correct terms but say the worker displays unacceptable behaviour. And OP hasn’t stated which contract she’s under.

All I was saying is generally (been told to me by a recruitment agency friend no longer in that business) that it looks bad for the agency and to the client, if the worker terminates the contract with no notice unless discrimination etc which isn’t the case here.

It was a strange situation to walk into (I thought it might) I was sat at a desk that was half cluttered with someone else's possessions yes. It's someone else's desk. Why would you find this odd? but as the day went on things came out that I felt uncomfortable/intimidated by.

After the grief of not being able to start last week as I already was working on another assignment (not related to each other in anyway) how is you unable to start due to you working elsewhere suggesting anything negative about the employer? before the organisation concerned got back to me on whether I was successful or not, added to that when I tried to ask about the start date during the online interview previously, I was told well you can't start until background checks are complete.yep. This is normal. Why are you making out that this is some sort of affront ti you?

I was taken aback to find someone else already started last week so they have two new starters now it seems. Two's company and three a crowd and all that.they can hire as many people as they want. Surely you aren't suggesting that a company should check with a temp who else they can hire?
I just don't feel I can be so direct with questions that I started the day wanting to ask thinking it was just me and a supervisor. Why? This is a you problem.

Also when the email confirmation came out, it was quite a good summary - pay laid out, what notice period on both sides, this was an FTC, hours, job title etc, the only little detail it was slightly vague on was the ending date saying it could finish sooner or later than expected, so I was slightly taken aback/nervous today to be told a contract is being prepared. Do you think they might try and bring the end date forward? It's a temp role. They have clearly said the end date is not fixed in concrete. Again. This is a temp job. Temp. Temporary.

I'm not so fussed as I think I've made an awful move here; completely forgot now its winter, I'm walking around a town centre awfully cold for a job quite a few miles from where I live after the luxury last week of parking in a company car park when it was peeing down etc. again this is a you problem

I also heard someone who used to do the job permanently is having treatment for cancer - I am right in my thinking they are entitled to their job back like in maternity situations?
Yep. That is why they have hired a TEMP and not a permanent person. You seem very confused about what temp means.

It was all a bit strange, the job advert had one particular start date which passed by time of interview, then I was told the job was available temporarily due to organisational funding and uncertainty and then I had the trouble of them wanting a next day start last week saying it was busy but to me it seems incredibly quiet and intimidating with the 'other temp' completing things in no time at all. I just couldn't work out if HR had differing views from the hiring managers and I just got caught in-between.

Grateful for any help and if I get a quiet word with the manager then I will try.about what?

OP, temping can be odd, just accept it and either get on with it or move on. I took one job where I came into a desk with papers all over it, coffee cup etc. It turned out the previous job holder had had a stroke at her desk. They had just left everything untouched, and didn't explain to me until a few days in.

I stuck with that job for a few months, hoping to get an 'in' to a permanent job in another department. HR agreed I was perfect for another role, then ghosted me. I found out later they wanted me to stay in the temp role as it had to be filled a certain amount of time so they could make it redundant and end the permanent contract with the lady off sick. I got fed up in the end, found a permanent job elsewhere and walked out that day (there was no notice period stated, it was through an agency).