DD18 got fired

[ElChapo]

So DD didn’t do very well at her GCSE’s. Got a couple at grade 4 one being maths but essentially didn’t get English despite taking it twice. After applying for around 200 jobs she got a position in what is effectively a call centre. Not cold calling but answering calls for a breakdown company. It was quite a distance from
where we live and the travel really got her down and started being late. Just before she’d complete 6 months there they called her in and fired her on the spot so is now jobless. My question is does she have to be completely honest with a prospective new employer that she got fired and if so is there a way to word it that doesn’t come across so badly?

In a call center timing and team work are key most calls centers will not give a reference if you don't pass probation period she would have been given several warnings both verbally and written to which she ignored by sounds of it she needs to organise herself Better to be on-time for work many travel using public transport to and from work make if in on-time she needs to put it down as experience n try again tomorrow maybe learning to work routes out beforehand so getting to work on-time doesn't become problematic

user2848502016 ·

She’s only 18 this isn’t the end of the world. I would put it on her CV with the dates she worked there then say she gave it up because the travel became too much.
Hopefully they will provide a basic reference, you wouldn’t expect much more than that for an 18 year old who worked somewhere for 6 months anyway.
Hopefully she will learn a lesson though that you can’t take the piss too much at work because they can just fire you!

This. It's a lesson for her, it's really not the end of the world.

With her age, she will get another job somewhere, fairly easily compared to other age groups.

There's a lot if hysteria on this thread about the amount of times she was late, she's 18, her first job, a shit one at that.

If it's not somthing she wanted to do for the rest of her life, then it's just a lesson isn't it. She can get another job

I would just leave it off the CV. You live and learn. I got the sack from my first job because I turned up hungover (actually, possibly still drunk). I’ve managed to have a pretty solid career.

What’s done is done. There’s no point with posters banging on about tardiness. They’re not telling you anything you don’t already know. She knows to do better. She knows what happens if she doesn’t.

10 minutes a day (if it was indeed that) is nearly an hour every week. Persistent tardiness is inexcusable and she has now to deal with the consequences. Hopefully she'll have learnt the lesson that work is just that, work and you have to adhere to your contractual obligations.

Arrive early to start on time, everyone else manages to and they probably have many more obligations than an 18 year old who still lives at home.

WRT references, when I had to deal with less than satisfactory employees, I would just confirm role and start/finish dates.

There’s no “only” about it.

She was late daily.

As far as CV is concerned I’d put it and do as previous poster said and say it was temporary.

But if she doesn’t want things to be CV full of “temporary” jobs she needs to
understand daily tardiness is not ok whatever the distance of travel.
or she needs to find a role in admin or similar where flexi time exists as this may suit her better.

If she's taking calls from members of the public who have broken down then it's not a typical "call centre". It's a serious, important and possibly life-saving job. I know because I used to do it. You absolutely need full staff in the centre and on time otherwise you are leaving people stranded, often upset, possibly a young girl, just like your daughter alone, in an unsafe environment.

How would you feel if it was your daughter broken down who was stranded in a remote, unsafe place and couldn't get through to help because some hapless lass coudn't be bothered to get to work in time..?

On a side note, if it's for a breakdown company with its office in a large town beginning with H, then she's absolutely missed out on working at one of the most supportive, staff-centric, fun places to work. I only worked there for 4 years, but my lovely friend has just retired after 35 years there!

Most companies just do dates so she will likely be ok. The most important thing is that she learns from this and doesn't see it as unfair or unreasonable or say it was "only ten minutes most days" but instead understands that you simply cannot behave like that if you want to keep your job.

She's young. This happens. She will hopefully learn from it and be punctual in the future.

I wouldnt worry its a rare day we take references.

Good point. My first reaction was just to be neutral on the CV - briefly describe the responsibilities of the job and give the dates. But yes, there's a chance the next employer will ask for references.

So DD might end the description with something semi-rueful, as if she's learnt from the experience: 'This was my first job and it taught me a lot about the value of timekeeping!'

She doesn't have to say she was sacked on her CV - has anyone ever?! - but can elaborate if it comes up at interview. I'm sure a lot of employers despair at the fecklessness of teenagers as employees. So a kid with the maturity to recognise her failings could be a positive thing. If asked, she just has to be honest and say she didn't realise how important every minute was in the world of work, but has learnt the hard way that it really does! She's certainly learnt what's realistic in terms of her commute.

DH looking over my shoulder said he wouldn't put it on the CV - but I think 6 months' experience is a lot to throw away at that age. Get a decent length of time at a job under your belt first, then ditch the first job, I say!

Meh, as long as she knows you have to turn up cos they’re paying you, I wouldn’t worry.

Look for a better job.

If she was late every day then she deserved to be sacked. She is only young, but you should discuss with her that working hours are just that and that employers will rightly be cross with her if she is always late. You need to not minimize what she has done.

There does seem to be a generation now that don't understand 9-5 and want to work when they want and don't understand why bosses get annoyed when they won't do the job that they were employed to do.

Is there any way that she could go back to college, or do an apprenticeship? she could resit her English again. Have you looked into getting a tutor for her? Is she SEN?

Similar happened to my son in that he was sacked and he emailed HR to check they would provide a reference. Then decided to keep the job on his cv as some experience better than nothing especially as it’s so hard to get a job. As long as she’s learnt her lesson to not be late and she’s honest about it it in interviews she’ll be okay. Then once she’s been somewhere else a year she can take it off her cv. All the best to her!

All those advising that she doesn’t mention the job how you explaining the P45?

Ask your daughter to email HR asking what they put on a reference.

Ordinarily they will say something super generic like she worked from x date to x date as a (job title) and not much more.

All she needs to do is come up with a reason for leaving. This could be it was a short term job and not aligned with her long term goals. Something simple like that is not an outright lie.

Or you can just leave it off - a cv doesn’t need to be complete.

Also kind of good she has made this mistake now at a young age when she doesn’t have a family to support and (I’m assuming) low financial commitments.

It sounds perfectly reasonable she was sacked and I don’t think anyone is disputing that.

most likely the company will confirm dates of employment and salary.

on future applications if they require a reason for leaving I would just say - distance made role untenable.

can she also look at some functional skills courses to bulk out her CV?

Encourage DD to look on this as a learning experience. Employees can't keep being late because the journey is getting them down especially in a new job. If she has to disclose this to a future employer she should hold her hands up and say that she realises now that the journey was too difficult and unpredictable for a daily commute and she now only applies to workplaces she can get to reliably; it was a mistake but she's sorted it now.

Did she like the job? After 200 applications, I'd be gutted to be fired for being late after less than 6 months (although 6 months seems like an long time to an 18 yo)

I'd stick it as a temp role. Explain distance was challenging.

Could you help her get her English gcse? I know she has already sat it twice, but it may open a few more doors for her. It may take her a little time to get a new role, so she could potentially word to a new employer 'the travel distance to my previous role was too far and it meant I struggled to reliably arrive on time. I've taken the opportunity to focus on my English GCSE as, after my last role, I feel it would be beneficial ' and then ideally say ' I achieved grade 4 in x month'.

Good luck!

It’s obviously not going to be important in the long run but I would really recommend you and your DH take a big step back and let her figure this out on her own. The worry and uncertainty over getting the next job is the punishment (and the lesson). Don’t take that away from her otherwise she will never learn.

I understand that an employer is not allowed to say anything negative (eg, her timekeeping was poor and she was continually late, so we fired her).

This again. You understand wrongly. Employers can absolutely give a "bad" reference as long as they can prove it's true. They can get sued if they give a reference that damages someone's future employment prospects and (critically) they can't prove that what they said is true. And many employers have a policy of just giving dates, titles, and perhaps reason for leaving/eligible for rehire. But this employer could 100% say "failed probation due to 20 instances of lateness in a 30-day period" or similar. And many employers will include whether the leaving was voluntary or involuntary in a reference.

How would any of it come out? It’s a minimum paid job. Get a grip.

The new employers won’t be the bloody Gestapo

Sounds more like she failed probationary, than was fired.

I've see countless people screw-up their first job in this way, and let them go in almost identical circumstances.

Interestingly in the proposed new employment legislation, I wouldn't be able to terminate their employment so easily, and are more likely to get lumbered with someone who's a bit useless but I can't fire.

Regardless, hopefully she's a little more aware of what is required of her when she gets her next job, I hope she finds something soon and makes the most of it.

P.S. Just put it on the CV as a temporary role.

She can just send a simple email to the former employer and say something like “I am sorry for how my previous employment worked out but I was still grateful for the opportunity and learned a lot from the experience. I would like to ask whether you are willing to provide me with an employment reference in future, and if so, could you tell me what that would include?”

If they reply and say they are able to supply a factual reference confirming she was employed and when, then she should include the job on her CV. Any job and work experience will be useful to include in her situation.

If they say the reference would include the fact that she was dismissed, or if they don’t reply, then it would be better to leave off her CV and not use them at all.

She’s made a mistake with that job, but she’s young and she can learn from it. If she’s struggling to find paid work It might be good for her to find some voluntary work instead, doing anything at all - it’s all work experience and a voluntary job would also provide her with a reference in future. Likewise, she could contact some employers and ask whether she can do a week or few of work experience. Any experience will help her now.

It’s definitely not the end of the world but don’t minimise it to her, people lose jobs over being late and this is a valuable learning experience. Mine (long ago) were - don’t look exhausted at work, and don’t dress shabbily.

I agree she should ask her old employer what their reference will say, I’d expect just dates. She can email if she doesn’t want to call, but again, making a call she doesn’t want to make would be good practice. She’s in the workplace, not at school anymore, and excuses won’t cut it so she’s just going to have to get better at being responsible and womanning up.

In her place I'd say I was looking for a job since leaving school and doing bits and pieces of temporary work, odd jobs, to fill the gap. Be non specific. It all depends on the prospective employer and kind of job, for some references are very important, others are just happy to fill a vacancy.

Your daughter is young, it can take time for youngsters to find their feet in employment.