Well, I heard good news that my friend who lives in London England was safe from the explosions. Then about a half hour ago Matthew called me.... he was fired from his job that he's been working at since Jan 2004. He just last week got moved to a different supervisor's team and he told me then that she was a b*tch and he was just trying to do his work and avoid her. Well she called him into an office this afternoon and informed him that his rap-time on calls was too high, and that he took one too many bathroom breaks... so he was fired! :o(
I'm mumbling Polish expressions... I wish I could SPELL it... but I'll attempt a rough English spelling of what I'm saying' yesus madia, yusephe', shventey'... Noreen Translation: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Saint!
Oh, Gem, I'm sorry to hear this. It sounds like she is not a very good supervisor. After only working with him for a week, if she had a problem with his job performance she should have sat him down and talked to him and given him the chance to prove himself. I hope he can find another job soon.
Oh Gem, you have my sympathy and empathy! Been there -- last year, after three months of praise and perfect reviews, I was moved to a new supervisor and new job by a new manager who said she hand-picked me to be on her "team" because of my performance. A week later, I was fired for "on-going performance issues" and "attendance problems" (I hadn't missed a day of work, except for an hour and a half the day before to go home to deal with an emergency home repair, and even then I gave her 7 hours of notice). I turned out to be the first of several, the underlying motive being for the supervisor to bring in her own group, and by firing and claiming it was for cause, they could then attempt to avoid paying unemployment (which didn't work). I'm STILL out of work, more than a year later.
I think you can probably bet that Matthew's supervisor had another agenda -- although it is painful to lose this job and this income, I think that would have not been a good place to be long-term.
Wow, Karen... your case is very similar to Matthew's. I just had him read your response because of the similarities and he said "Yeah, I would have been very unhappy for much longer on her team for sure." Then he told me about another lady who works on the same team and said that she will likely be the next one fired.
Apparently this other lady got news that her grandmother had passed away the other day, and put herself in "rap-up" for about 45 minutes while she tried to compose herself so she could finish her shift. She told someone higher up, but unfortunately it wasn't her supervisor (the b*tch) because she wasn't there handy when it happened. The supervisor called her to the office yesterday (before calling Matthew in and firing him) and informed the woman that she is on notice because of her rap-time. The woman explained what had happened and that she *had* told someone... but the supervisor said "That's no excuse!"
Excuse me?!? A death in the family is no excuse? Yet about three months ago one of the supervisors at work died and everyone who had been close to him (whether working with him, or having gone to school with him as Matthew had), were allowed to leave work early to adjust to the emotions of it all.
Not yet, Pam. But someone Matthew work(ed) with is going to let the higher-ups know today that the supervisor has been seen *everyday* taking personal calls and chatting on the computer (instant messenger) when she is actually supposed to be working and being ready to help the reps when they need her to talk to customers from time to time. She has been noted for looking at the reps when they walk up to her and pointing to her head-set and saying "I am on a call!!" Yes, she's on a call.... but it's a personal call, and no one working there is supposed to take outside personal calls on the floor. Nothing like getting paid a supervisor's wages to chat online and talk on the phone with friends. Too bad we can't ALL get that kind of work.
Aren't there any procedures required to complain to Human Resources about firings that seem rather arbitrary and without merit? Where I worked for many years, you would be verbally warned about inappropriate behavior or absences, then placed on written warning. Reviews of the situation were conducted either at 30-, 60-, 90- or 180-day intervals as deemed appropriate, before a firing(with the exception of something like a direct physical assault on someone). Not following company procedures could lead to a court case around here, if someone knew the rules.
You would think so wouldn't you? But apparently the company has a clause in their agreement somewhere where it says that they may "dismiss" you at their disgression. The supervisors go to the higher-ups who listen to them, and if the supervisor thinks the person should be "let go" then they are... but because of a "reason" (ie - high rap-time and too many bathroom breaks). What really gets Matthew about this is the last supervisor he had (he has been moved to training new-comers now) told him straight out that "high rap-time and one or two extra bathroom breaks don't count right now because you are considered to still be in A-Bay for a while longer." Matthew didn't mention this to the ones who fired him because the other supervisor was very nice to ALL the workers and he didn't want to get him in trouble if what he said wasn't correct... and there is no way of saying that he was told, without getting that supervisor in trouble. :o/
I think it depends on the state. In Minnesota, either party can terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason, with or without merit, as long as it does not violate federal discrimination law. I saw an attorney in my case who said by law, the employer has to give a reason when asked, but it doesn't even have to be honest. There are procedures (employee handbook) that gives the guidelines like you have as far as reviews, warnings, etc., but a company is not bound by them. However, when it came time to file for unemployment, the employer could not back up their claim, could not show any warnings given (because there never were any), and it was determined that the termination took place for reasons other than misconduct or lack of performance, and that there was not just cause -- so I was eligible for unemployment.
Karen, yes, it probably does depend on the state. I'm glad you had an attorney that was able to assist you. I bet most people don't bother to argue about a reason, even a false one, figuring that the company would win, being much larger and with more funds. Seems to me that if they can't prove there was just cause to fire you, you could probably get your job back, though I would think that would be a considerably tense position to be in and you probably wouldn't want to be there anymore, anyway. At least you got the unemployment while you are looking for another job. Best wishes.
No union, Katherine! In fact the Union was there last year trying to get the workers to sign on with them, but they didn't get enough people to sign (Matthew did sign), so it fell through. :o/
He got a letter of termination (funny how they had it all written up) the day he was fired that says that he will receive Compensation for two weeks worth of pay... the benefits will continue on for another two weeks... and he will receive a lump sum of any accrued vacation pay on his final cheque.
He hasn't gotten his ROE (record of employment, for those who don't use that abbreviation) yet, so we have no idea what they will put on there for why he no longer works there. And because of the fact that he will be receiving a lump sum (although it won't be humongous by any means), Unemployment may be delayed (we are going in to talk to them tomorrow) *if* he is entitled to it at all due to being fired. :o/ Until Matthew gets his ROE though, I have cautioned him against using the word "fired" until he sees what StarTek puts on the paper. I honestly don't know if it will keep him from being able to apply for unemployment, or if it will just delay the process further (beyond the delay because of the lump sum payment). Guess we'll find all that out.
We are still shocked by it all though. Matthew is a very good worker, who went out of his way to help the others. In fact since they stopped doing "activations" and are now only doing "business care" a lot of the actual supervisors haven't been properly trained in business care so they didn't know most of the answers to questions from newbees on the floor and/or customers, so Matthew had been helping them (supervisors as well as the newbees) and this is the thanks he gets.
He had even said to me a few days ago when he came out from an overly busy day of helping others... "That's it! If there is a supervisor's position that opens up, I'm going for it because I know more about this new stuff than the supervisors on the floor right now." The company stupidly took the supervisors off the floor who knew what they were doing, to put them in as trainers for the newer employees... instead of training the other supervisors in this stuff first before removing knowledgable supervisors.
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