Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • just lost my job – some “chin up” comments needed
  • aslongasithaswheels
    Free Member

    Just had my contract terminated with a large financial firm because I’ve been suffering from depression and its had an effect on my quality of work (their words, i’m not paraphrasing, in fact they admitted it and made no attempts to contact my doctor for a health review or refer me to occupational health)

    What the hell do i do now??

    mrsflash
    Free Member

    are they allowed to do that? take advice from an employment solicitor?

    Really sorry to hear that.

    steveh
    Full Member

    Are you a staff member or contractor? I’m guessing contractor, even so contact CAB and see what they say about if this is allowed.

    Failing that chin up, think of the summer of bike riding you can have while you find a new better job.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    jova54
    Free Member

    Sorry to hear that. As steveh says contact CAB or ACAS.

    Even though you are a contractor if you have been there for a minimum time, I think 1 year, you have similar rights to an employee.

    Good luck with finding something else.

    sofatester
    Free Member

    If you have some money tucked away get the bike out and ride for the summer! 😀

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    **** em, you don’t need to work for tossers like that.
    Go and see your doc push for some further help councilling etc.
    Were you an employee or on contract? If you were an employee i’d start speaking to a good employment lawyer.

    But don’t leave it until next week. act. You will feel better for doing something positive.

    And ride your bike.

    Plan and act, try not to dwell. (i’m saying this from experiance)

    And did i mention riding your bike?

    binners
    Full Member

    Thats rubbish 🙁

    But…. The suns out. You’ve now got time on your hands. I suggest you go and ride your bike then sit in the sun with a beer.

    That’d certainly cheer me up

    jimster
    Free Member

    Contact CAB, they’ll recommend you to an Industrial Solicitor if they think there is a case to answer, were you signed off at the time, was it due to workload etc etc your problem came on.

    Don’t put it off though, get the boring CAB stuff done now – THEN ride your bike.

    Something better will come along, did for me, left absolute sh*thole, went to work in a warehouse and ended in a job where I spend most my time answering to myself on here. 🙂

    mt
    Free Member

    loads of free time! you lucky git. The air is free get out there and take some great lung fulls of the stuff. Air is best enjoyed on a hard bike ride.

    aslongasithaswheels
    Free Member

    i was on a 6 month initial period of service but a full time contract, they’ve rushed it through because that period of six months was ending on Friday

    uplink
    Free Member

    as others have said, try to make to most of the free time

    I’ve personally had to finish people inside of their probationary period
    We were always instructed to simply tell them that they weren’t required any more & never to give a reason
    Not sure if you have any come back but it looks unlikely

    G
    Free Member

    Teeshirt Wearer here.

    All of the above is good advice.

    It is a long dark tunnel when you enter it, but the light at the end will get closer if you can bring yourself to take positive steps like the guys have said, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t. Speaking personally 10 years on I’m happier than I ever have been, and now genuinely only concern myself with what I’ve got rather than what I haven’t. So there is an outcome.

    Also you are quite right to post on here, I’ve never yet seen a thread of this nature which isn’t wholly supportive, and the best bit is that you immediately realise that you are not some sort of weirdo, in fact you are quite likely to be in the majority who have suffered in this way.

    If its any help at all, very happy to offer a shoulder to cry on etc., I think my email address is in the profile. Feel free to use it.

    G

    G
    Free Member

    PS : If the depression is linked to the job, then you still have a case, as in occupational hazard kind of thing. If not fraid not.

    aslongasithaswheels
    Free Member

    thank you all, your posts are more than supportive

    G – thank you, i may use your e-mail at some point if you don’t mind, i’ve not hit the low point yet, anger is keeping me going

    aslongasithaswheels
    Free Member

    anyone want to buy a 55 plate Passat TDI 😀

    Rockplough
    Free Member
    Sandwich
    Full Member

    Ok depression sufferer here. Depression is an impairment for the purposes of the disability discrimination act. What adjustments did they make to your work to enable you to do your job properly? Employment law time as they made you redundant to prevent you achieving the next stage in the contract. Rushed jobs tend to be bad ones. Note everything down while it’s fresh and get to a solicitor, I had Penna recommended to me for legal advice.
    Bear in mind if you go down this route it will have a professional knock-on. Have a change of career plan in place.
    Good luck and enjoy the sunshine.

    zaskar
    Free Member

    Now is the time to fix yourself.

    Ride. Laugh and find the cause and symptoms should occur again.

    I get it really bad in Winter due to SAD and shut myself up and just work my ass off, get fatter, less riding and ignore everyone else.

    Now I know it’s SAD, I try to get as much sunlight as possible or holiday in winter and ride/train to raise/mimic hormones and serotonin kick I get from sunny weather like summer. It works but I really have to put the effort in Winter -5C rides yep get out there!

    If you’re ready, find the cause and solution using your Doc and other professionals. Use the summer for your advantage.

    Jobwise-well you know what to do from tips above.

    Good luck! 😀

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    “Bear in mind if you go down this route it will have a professional knock-on.”
    Not always, although it is a very valid point. My advice would be to concentrate of moving forward. Take action against these tossers if you are advised you have a stand up case. Once their lawyers figure that out they will probably offer to settle. The question is then do you want to **** them over in court or do you fancy a few quid?
    Take their 2nd offer:-)

    And did i mention you should be riding your bike.

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    [Devil’s advocate]
    Why should an employer carry someone because they have a condition that effects the quality of their work, thereby putting them in a position where there professional reputation could be compromised, the could lose clients and therefore have to make further redundancies. And I don’t suppose they knew of the depression when they took the staff member on just 6 months ago?
    [/Devil’s advocate]

    aslongasithaswheels
    Free Member

    mastiles_fanylion, i tend to agree with you in part, but they took me on with my known condition, to no use it as a way to get rid of me seems a bit unfair

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    fair enough – if they knew of your condition, then to use it against you is very unfair.

    BTW – I was in no way trying to belittle your condition (we employ someone with similar issues and he regularly has (paid)time off to see his medical professional).

    Has your performance reduced in the last six months or do you think they are using this as an easy excuse? The way I see it (as an employer) is that no-one can be exempt from losing their job purely because they have a problem – if that problem means they can no longer work properly. If your output has remained consistent I would think you would have a legal case for unfair dismissal.

    They would have been safer just telling you they didn’t need you any more rather than citing that reason – it has just opened them up to possible legal problems…

    uplink
    Free Member

    Did they not take you on for 6 months probation to see how your condition worked out for them & you?

    That would be the normal way of doing it

    johnikgriff
    Free Member

    Dude, life knocks you hard at times. You need to look at your life and see what it is important and focus on those (and trust me your job shouldn’t be in the top 10). Not sure what finacal and family commitments you have, so this is probably the biggest thing. if your single with no debt (or you can clear it), pack a bag get on you bike a **** off. If not then you need to make sure you can support them, McDonalds if you have to (its a job and it pays).

    I’ve been unlucky a few time in my life, job loss, cancer (twice) and my oldest son is very very poorly. The last thing pushed me over into “a bit” of depression for a while, you just have to sort yourself out, which is easier said than done, but in the end you have to do it.

    Good look mate, Smile and think “**** em all” as you leave. Focus on the positives in your life and move on.

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Happened to me, it’s a bit of a slow car crash. Lots of good advice above, maybe worth taking action against them but realistically how is that going to help you in the short/medium term? You need to get a job so focus on that and be positive.

    Get out and about and network. Tell EVERYONE you know that you are looking for a new job, don’t be shy. Why not start here? What exactly were you doing, what do you want to do now? Join linkedin.

    If you are anything like me you are seriously wondering if you will ever work again. Put that out of your mind.

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    If you are anything like me you are seriously wondering if you will ever work again. Put that out of your mind

    And if he wasn’t, he might be thinking it now…

    mcboo
    Free Member

    mastiles_fanylion quit trolling. your devils advocate post showed enough epic self-regard without adding a 2nd one. it’s not about you, you **** 4rse.

    G
    Free Member

    G – thank you, i may use your e-mail at some point if you don’t mind, i’ve not hit the low point yet, anger is keeping me going

    It would be a pleasure buddy, and I mean it, please feel free to do so.

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    mastiles_fanylion quit trolling. your devils advocate post showed enough epic self-regard without adding a 2nd one. it’s not about you, you **** 4rse.

    Read what I said in the post and subsequent follow-up – and read the OP response – before shouting your mouth off with schoolyard names. I think anything I said was far outweighed by your particular brand of positive thinking.

    WackoAK
    Free Member

    mastiles_fanylion – by that respect should the NHS pay for IVF treatment for infertile couples if there is a chance that the subsequent offspring may be infertile???

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    WackoAK

    Love it – really intelligent posting. Keep it up.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    I think mastiles is a Yorkist – usually that causes a subtelty bypass… 🙂 Anyway, he knows about employers taking the p*ss, so I’m sure isn’t trolling.

    aslongasithaswheels – while depression is a sh*tty illness, and it can make inaction seem like the only option, you need to do the following:

    Send an email to your employer’s HR people indicating that you have a grievance. Use that word. State that you consider that you have been unfairly treated only because you suffer from depression (which is subject to disability discrimination rules) and that you will be seeking legal advice on this. Do not delay – you need to get your grievance in early.

    As to whether you get anywhere, I don’t know – I’m not an employment lawyer – but you lose nothing by doing it.

    Good luck and I hope you get a positive outcome. 🙂

    OMITN

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    I was not trolling, I was asking a serious question – should any employer be duty bound to keep on a member of staff purely because they have a medical condition irrespective of their performance? Surely if the staff member isn’t working to the required levels, they shouldn’t be expected to be able to keep their job just because they have a medical condition.

    Perhaps the wording of the original post was a bit, well, strong, but the OP understood it in the spirit in which it was written, I suggest the self-righteous amongst you try doing the same.

    And as OMITN has said – I have seen unfair dismissal close up after my wife was dismissed (and subsequently reinstated at appeal) because her boss thought she was unable to do her job because she was pregnant.

    And here was I, thinking I was frequenting a grown-up forum where different views were expected and accepted in the spirit of full and frank discussion. And for WackoAK’s sake, I had better hope my 3 week old twin daughters grow up with the same medical condition that precluded us from conceiving without the help of (privately-funded) IVF – poor sperm morphology. Sit and have a think on that one Wacko.

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    “The way I see it (as an employer) is that no-one can be exempt from losing their job purely because they have a problem – if that problem means they can no longer work properly”

    Dark satanic mills.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    If you have a stand up case, then nail/screw them to the wall as it’s discrimination the award can be unlimited compensation.
    Make sure the legal beagle gets a compromise agreement that includes a good reference as well.
    If you get enough money then do what you want.
    And as said above get on your bike.

    WackoAK
    Free Member

    [/quote]Sit and have a think on that one Wacko

    – I know all about your recent success from reading about it. I was just playing the extreme devils advocate based on your first post which you have now explained further. No offence intended!

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    No offence intended? Wishing my three week old babies to be blighted with similar problems to the ones I have purely because I posed a conscientious question on here did smack of being particularly offensive. Apologies accepted if you did not intend it so, but I struggle to understand what you were trying to say otherwise.

    clubber
    Free Member

    Wishing my three week old babies to be blighted with similar problems to the ones I have

    I don’t think that’s what he did.

    Let’s all take a chill pill and concentrate on the OP here, eh…

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    Perhaps you are right – I think I mis-read it in my sleep-deprived state.

    Apologies.

    But I would say that professional opinion precludes the belief that infertility is primarily hereditary anyway – factors such as diet, lifestyle, age and exercise (lack of / wrong kind of) are the main reasons for both male and female infertility and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommend that any couples facing primary infertility should be allowed three cycles of treatment within the NHS system.

    Zedsdead
    Free Member

    The first thing you must do is get to the CAB first thing tomorrow morning. When I had my work problem the advice here was absolutely brilliant.

    Go to the CAB first thing, be early as you’ll find a queue and it’s first come first served. Also, in this ‘current climate’ you’ll find lots of people there in a similar position.

    They will listen to your case and provide you with excellent advice and put you in touch with the right people.

    Also, go and take a look at your house buildings/contents insurance – I found I had £50,000 worth of free legal cover with mine. Once I found that out I suddenly found a bit of confidence when facing my employers and they pooped their pants as they realised just how serious I was – combined with the cast iron facts that they were completely and utterly in the wrong.

    I know it is the hardest thing to do but try not to stress too much. It’s hard though, everyone said that to me but it didn’t make much difference – it was the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through.

    Now, go get your stuff together and prepare to meet the CAB – they are very, very good. It’ll take a huge weight off you once you’ve seen them.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)

The topic ‘just lost my job – some “chin up” comments needed’ is closed to new replies.