I should start by clarifying I live in the UK. I have worked in temporary or very low paid jobs since I graduated university during a recession where there was zero jobs for graduates and nothing full-time. I started in the care industry a few years ago as a stopgap and every single care job has treated me like absolute shit. I moved to a care home in order to get more regular hours rather than homecare where I was travelling and had sporadic hours. I ended up leaving this care home after I was punished for taking too much time off sick after I was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. I thought I had found a really nice job with less hours that would still support me in paying rent and bills and would be better for my physical health. At the interview the manager promised the world.Anything I needed for my job it would be provided and there would be no issue taking pre-booked holiday or accommodating my health condition. I was there for three months and within two weeks I was doing duties that were not included in my job and I was told at the interview I would not have to do. I was promised all my pre-booked holiday would be honoured at the interview and I submitted all of the request forms and all of these were approved by the manager herself. The morning I went in on the last day before my holiday I was reprimanded for taking holiday when it was Father’s Day because I was told I needed to be in for any major holidays or events or any residents birthdays. Despite the fact she had already authorised and said it was okay for me to take the holiday. I had my first review that afternoon and I was told all of the things I was doing really badly which turned out was absolutely nothing and basically stuff she had expected me to do but not told me to so I had no idea I was meant to do these things. I went away on holiday and came back and tested positive for Covid. In care homes in the UK you are not allowed to enter the building if you test positive. So legally I could come back to work and would not qualify for any sort of sick pay but the care home refused to let me back to work. I went a week with zero pay until I tested negative and on return was treated like I had deliberately gone out to get Covid and get time off.I later found out they changed my entire holiday to unpaid sick leave because I got Covid.
She then refused to authorise my wedding day despite the fact I wrote in capital letters on the holiday form that it was my wedding day and she had already said it was fine in the interview and when I booked the rest of my holiday. From the moment I got back from having Covid I was treated like some sort of leper with stuff ignoring me and refusing to speak to me and the manager telling me to die quietly every time I coughed due to the after effects of Covid. The straw that broke the camels back was when she got angry at me for kicking up a scene as she put it because I asked for my wedding day off work and said she had to authorise it now because I’d made a fuss. I immediately started looking for jobs elsewhere and started to think that maybe it was my fault that I was being treated badly.
I signed off work with stress and there was no acknowledgement from management that I’d even sent my sicknote so I doubt I will even get paid for that. I had an interview last week for an admin role which was perfect. Office hours holiday all approved training that was thorough and supported and the opportunity for wages to go up as I progressed.I got the job and I immediately handed in mMy resignation to my manager saying I would be leaving on my resignation was in effect immediate. There was no acknowledgement that I had even resigned and I had to contact her via the WhatsApp group she had created for Work when she constantly messaged people day and night when they were off work to confirm she had received my resignation. All I got was “I saw…” and nothing else. Immediately felt like the world was right again and I wouldn’t have to ever go back to that place. I actually don’t start my new job for another week or two but I am willing to live frugally until then just so I don’t have to go back.I love how all of these care industry jobs think you will give up your entire life to come to work and work extremely hard and long hours for very little pay and have zero life outside work. All I can think now is for the first time in three years I will actually get to spend Christmas day with my own family. I will never be dragged in to work six days of nightshift plus Earlies and no time off in between.If I get Covid I will be able to work from home and won’t be punished financially. All I want to say is if you hate your job just quit there will always be something else and nothing is worth the stress and misery of going in somewhere you hate. I have been in the position where I can’t pay my rent all my bills because of workplace has screwed me over for being ill or having Covid and there is always a way to survive. I will never ever sacrifice my mental health my time with my family my sleep or my physical health ever again