For some background information, I have worked at this 7-11 for about a year as it's night shift sales associate.
Immediately there were red flags at the job. I was hired for part time work, but was given 40 hour weeks and was moved around to different stores (some of which were hour long drives both ways.)
There was no extra pay for the extra hours or different stores.
Eventually though, after asking multiple times to only work at the store I actually applied for, I was put on my main store permanently. (I Eventually learned that the only reason I didn't get moved around anymore was because a manager from a different store didn't like me.)
Then, after working at my main store for months as a full timer, I finally had my hours set back down to part time, since I wasn't getting the benefits of full time and it was affecting my health.
About 1 month ago, we had multiple instances of people stealing from and harassing the store. Not out of the ordinary for 7-11, but in one of these occasions, the theif threatened to kill me, and it kind of made me realize just how vulnerable I was working alone there, and the whole thing shook me pretty badly.
So the next day, I wrote a note for my boss that said
“The night shift does not seem to be safe to be worked alone. If possible, any of these three changes could be beneficial.
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Two employees for the night shift, same as every other shift.
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If working the night shift alone, having the door locked.
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Higher compensation for night shift workers due to the higher risk.
If none of these three things are possible, I am not confident in the safety of this store.”
When I put that in, my boss seemed considerate and understanding about the situation. It was just mainly out of his control as he didn't make the decisions for the night shift at his store.
I also tried to contact 7-11 HR about the situation, since it would have to be a change higher up if it was ever going to happen. They didn't respond to my email.
Fast forward to today, I got covid recently, plus a sinus infection plus a severe ear inflammation, so I was taking sick days off of work.
Yesterday I got a call from my boss saying I had the next two weeks off to recover my health. This was odd for him, as typically he needs all the help he can get, but I appreciated it.
Then this morning, I get another call from him. Turns out, HR did get my email. And they talked to my boss, who read them my note. They then told him to treat that note as if it were a resignation letter. He then hung up before I got a chance to respond.
So, yeah, I just got fired for asking if there could be more safety for employees working alone at night.
Since this just happened I'll probably update as the situation develops.