Author: Olivia

I never want to speak to them again, but I want to leave not in a dirty way.

I had a two part interview which I was happy with and after the HR director said that they are finishing that week and we’ll be in touch next week. I have been waiting by the phone for a whole week and nothing. I honestly would rather them just send an email that I was not eligible. I hate the anxiety and stress I’ve been facing all for a job that pays $15/hr. It’s not just the jobs that suck it’s the application process too.

OK, so I get good benefits. 33 days holiday, free medical cover and final salary pension amongst other perks. However, work have started phoning me on weekends and even holidays recently. I didn't sign up for this shit. I wanna work my hours then go home. Is this sort of shit becoming more normal, do u guys get this shit? If so how do you manage it?

Some background: For 6 years I've worked with a major fashion department retailer working my way up from a sales associate to a supervisor to a department manager. This place has a great company culture on paper, but in stores the support they show to the teams is much different. It's difficult to motivate, and inspire employees and keep yourself going on what it was like a few years ago. They're reporting record profits this year and are doing less and less for their employees. Working here I always felt an incredible amount of stress, they often overload the stores with a work load that is barely manageable as far as visual moves go, and getting shipment out. It's a constant stream of pressure, where at times be impossible to maintain the standards desired with the amount of floor coverage they provide. I remember in 2019-2018 the thought of using…

Does this automatically cancel my claim…? He let me go and said it was because I missed a lot of time and it was more than the rest of the staff combined which was a complete lie. I had doctors orders for tests I needed to do, and he approved me taking these days off. I also came to work sick twice and he sent me home. Meanwhile, his kids who work for him would miss work a lot for personal appointments, while mine were medical. He also offered me a week off in December and I declined because I couldn’t afford to take it unpaid. It was after I used my 3 days of sick time. He let 3 employees come to work with Covid as well, didn’t ask anyone to distance or wear masks and did not provide any paid time off for Covid, just the 3 days…

I quit my old toxic job a few weeks ago. Finally! Then I noticed I received a direct deposit from them a week later. Odd, but maybe they were reimbursing me for my unused vacation. Then today, I had another deposit. I did the “right” thing and emailed HR. I figured it had to be a mistake, and they confirmed it was. They thanked me for my honesty, then asked I mail them a check totaling both deposits. Though I figured this would be the outcome, I’m hesitant to write the check. I think about the 60 hour workweeks and weekends, how my salary remained the same during my 3 years there no matter how nicely I asked for a raise, the toll the whole job took on my mental and physical well-being, and part of me considers this a reimbursement for all of that. Do I HAVE to return…