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Antiwork

Advice on shitty work environment and concerns

I'm already aware that most people here are most likely going to suggest I quit which is my intention once I have used all my pto and have enough money to be kinda financially secure for atleast a couple months which will be before Christmas. A little about me, I have autism, dyslexia, adhd and spent alot of my early 20s unwell to the point I couldn't work (26 currently) all this to basically say the world of work is a challenge to me but I try my best to work. My current position is in care working with autistic children and I got accepted for this position in May (rather quickly after the interview which should of been red flag number 1) but started 2 weeks of online training in August and a on boarding week to learn the area and meet the kids we were going to be…


I'm already aware that most people here are most likely going to suggest I quit which is my intention once I have used all my pto and have enough money to be kinda financially secure for atleast a couple months which will be before Christmas.

A little about me, I have autism, dyslexia, adhd and spent alot of my early 20s unwell to the point I couldn't work (26 currently) all this to basically say the world of work is a challenge to me but I try my best to work.

My current position is in care working with autistic children and I got accepted for this position in May (rather quickly after the interview which should of been red flag number 1) but started 2 weeks of online training in August and a on boarding week to learn the area and meet the kids we were going to be caring for. Aside from the long ass wait time all good, right? Firmly downhill from here. Within those 3 weeks of training and on boarding my CPI training got cancelled which to my understanding is the training for how to defend yourself and correctly restraint the service users should there be an incident. Incident do happen a fair bit especially as the children can be violent to staff.

I've been working here for about a month and a half and I feel like these is do much wrong with this place. To start I'll talk about the missing CPI training. Originally I thought it was just the people who started at the same time I did, I later found out the majority of staff were not trained and they have had situations where they had to move people around just to make sure they had a trained person in each flat.

For me personally I do my best to avoid these situations by taking clothes to the laundry and dishes, basically keep the place clean as I don't feel confident in handling the kids but if I do have to restraint someone and I hurt them I feel like I'm going to get in trouble in a legal sense. I can't 100% avoid it and I do assist them with various things and it's quite stressful on my own as I know some of the kids can just switch for no reason. I wouldn't mind if I had the training or if the 2 to 1 policy was adhered to (2 staff to 1 kid) in my interview it was repeated said fo me that I would never be alone as they have this 2 to 1 policy, it has rarely been adhered too. It has led to few times where I thought if this kid decides to attack me it's going to be a good few seconds before someone comes to help and a few seconds is all it takes for me to get seriously hurt, the worst case of this is when I got tasked with supervising one kids outdoor time alone who happened to be our most likely to swing, if something happened I don't think I was actually in earshot of anyone. This happened yesterday is what prompted this rant as I decided this is to much risk for the pay.

A few comments about my fellow staff/team to start and being blunt I do not like them I've overheard mean comments about me like 'strange' 'weird' 'useless sack of spuds' and the moment I enter the room they be all friendly. Do I need to apologise for anxiety and not fitting into this social circle and not being trained and trying my best despite my disabilities? I've come to notice everyone is two faved towards each other in my flat (i've heard so much slander about one another it's honestly concerning) One member of staff who started at the same time as me has got a more get involved despite missing the same training I have and has recently got written up for mishandling a kid. I hate this guy for his many vile comments about mental health but I also think it's unfair he got written up given they haven't provided the training. It also means that one if the staff he got all chummy with ratted him out which makes me smile on the inside.

A few days ago I cleaned the dished with paint. Someone had filled the washing up liquid with paint. I asked if someone if it the washing up liquid was okay as it was mixed with the liquid and they said yeah so I continued. Later on someone came in and said don't use this it's paint… WHY LEAVE IT NEXT TO THE SINK WHERE THE WASHING UP LIQUID ALWAYS IS?!? I said oh shit I've used it to do those dishes and they just shrugged and put them away…

Obviously I'm going to quit soon but I want to do something in a legal sense as I feel they are breaking legislations but I really don't know as I'm not particularly aware of where I can report stuff like this and what exactly I would be reporting. I know that the school is under some kind of investigation as they are having an inspector come in 3 out of 5 days to observe what's happening. Last week someone came in (I can't remember his exact work title but he is external from the company to check on employee welfare) I explained alot of this and he told me i was doing the right thing not getting involved in incidents and he asked if I was getting supervision which is supposed to be a check up every 2 weeks to see I'm doing and if I have any concerns.. I had no idea It was a thing and that I was entitled to it.. safe to say that did raise a flag with him.

I apologise I'd it's hard to read at times and the rant went on a big longer than intended but I needed to get this off my chest as it's left a horrible taste in my mouth for the working world

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