I started working in a warehouse in the middle of the pandemic and got fired when i finally got the virus myself when the pandemic wasnt that serious anymore. (No masks, everyone vaccinated multiple times)
Even though i submitted my doctors notice, which said i had the virus and couldn't leave the house under any circumstances my boss would not believe me. He kept asking for an extra test, which is not allowed in my country.
So what did i do? I left the house and took another test at a pharmacy which was recognized by my government just in case they would try to fire me. Kinda like a backup, i didnt send them this test because they arent allowed to ask for it anyway since i had already submitted my doctors notice.
One week later, i go back to work and get called into his office at the end of my shift. I already knew by now he had been talking shit about me being a liar to the whole warehouse because some coworkers told me.
He straight up tells me i'm getting fired because i didn't do what he asked me to. I tell him i have extra proof of my absence. He did not even want to see it and i got handed a paper saying i'm fired, with no actual reason or anything on it. I sign the paper and go home (which was kinda stupid but i didn't know better at that time)
That same day i sent a letter to my boss's boss asking the to put the reason i got fired on paper, because they didnt give me a reason on paper. (He is required by law to answer within two months in my country)
So a few weeks later i get my unemployment certificate stating i got fired because of 'economical reasons'. This was not the reason given to me in person. This was obviously just a reason to get rid of me. They told me i would not get fired like ten times before because im a good worker, always on time, always going the extra mile and picking up others slack.
Two months after asking for the real reason i get a letter of my boss's boss stating i got fired because i was a bad worker, not flexible, not pleasant to work with, couldn't handle criticism. Despite me having the evaluations stating the exact opposite, coworkers knowing damn well i gave 110% everytime and a teamleader recognizing my efforts and promising me to learn new stuff and getting more responsibilities.
All this bullshit because my boss did not believe i had the fucking virus and talked shit behind my back while i was in isolation.
I feel like a fucking idiot for working twice as hard when coworkers were absent. I even skipped my breaks a couple of times to get all orders sent out on time. I thought maybe i would be able to grow in this company if they saw i was motivated and running around like a fucking mad man to serve the shop and online orders… to just get done dirty and treated like garbage.
Looking back i should've recognized some red flags;
-High staff turnover
-Benefits after two years (got fired just before two years)
-My boss drinking on his own in his office and having no clue what was going on (ignoring teamleader reports etc)
-My boss talking shit constantly when coworkers were absent (asking everyone if he should fire them)
-Him being a homophobic, racist narcissistic manager. He was never serious, always acting like a clown to make people like him..
-Absurd favoritism (his 'friends' could get away with doing jack shit, taking double amount of breaks while i was drowning in work)
This whole experience left me fucking traumatized.
It was a reality check that minimum wage workers can get treated like shit even though you do your absolute best, i even fucking showed up when my knees were hurting terrible or stayed when i couldnt move my back.
On top of all that: a few days after i got fired they accidently sent me an internal mail asking for people to transfer to another department, a department which i have the fucking certificates/ went to school for… I was fuming. In my country you have to try to transfer workers to other departments if its because of 'economical reasons'..
It's been almost half a year and i still dont have a new job because my mental health is fucking killing me. I dont want to get treated like shit again.. being replacable fucking sucks.
Sorry for the long post and bad english//