Can I.......?

[audrey_aka_leah]

Can I rant about something that has absolutely no relevant about RW or what so ever? of course I can! *giggles*

EPIC TIME

Riggggghhhhhhttttt... as most of you who did know me from the old RW forum, I was having some major cr*p from my ex Shaun, so basically it buggered up my job that I really loved, cos I ended up taking time off... anyway, when it was time to renew my contract, it didnt happen, so basically Ive been working on and off via agencies, which is annoying as it is not permanent...

THEN I landed in this job that was a promised permanent one after the 13wks trial, but yes.. they decided that I wasnt good enuff after 11wks, even though there were absolutely no problems wif my performances at all, so I wasnt needed anymore, the most annoying thing was the fact cos my current boyfriend was working at the same place, and because I questioned about my so call lack of performance, he got laid off as well!

Anyway, since May, Ive been doing agency work yet again, a few days here, a few days there, but nothing promising (as agency workers get that rubbish) Anyway, Id managed to land myself a job that is permanent, pays good and again 13wks trial... BUT after 1 day, I didnt like it, so I rang my agency up and told them that I dont wanna go back, but she sorta talked me into doing the rest of the week, which grudingly I agreed.. on the second day just before I went to work, another agency rang me and asked me how would I like to work at next? the money isnt as good, and its not permanent, I jumped at the chance! rang the other agency up to more or less tell them where to stick their so call good job and started work at next the following day.

Now I see things this way, because money has never really been a big issue to me, its the work evironment Im more interest in, if I get on wif people, then great, if not, why stay in a job that you hate anyway just cos its better pay, the differences is £1.25ph, which is nearly £50 more than what I get a week, but Im really not bothered, because I loved working at next before. When Im working, I like to move about, not standing in the same spot for at least 8hrs per day, thats why an office job would never do me, I would get bored to death and a numb bum. *giggles*...

So now Im a happy bunny, and surprisingly a lot of the people remember me from last year as well, but then again, who can forget me? *chuckles*

Right, my ranting stops, so do any of you think Im stupid to take on a job thats not promising, when I coulda stay in one thats permanent and better pay?

This is an Audreys longest rant for the year, get used to it!

[anukhet]

Can I.......?

Yes

My outlook on any job is that you work to live, not live to work but there again Im a bitter soul because I trained in photography and graphic design but came out of college to be one of the 4m unemployed in the early 80s so Ive never had the chance to do what I love AND get paid. I get too well paid to give up my current job to accept a junior position doing a job that I love, also age and lack of experience are against me now.

Mind you it doesnt stop you from still looking for that ideal permanent job with good pay, it certainly doesnt stop me.

There....thats my rant over

[leorcc]

Can I.......?

Id like the job im doing right now, I only want a better pay. Life is expensive, and building and maintaining robots doesnt help matters.

[babeth]

Can I.......?

Cool ! Ranting time !!

Ever since I graduated in 1993 I had only 2 permanent jobs and both had to be terminated because of health issues (torti colli in 1994 after a year of work -due to bad working conditions- and ME + fibromyalgia in 2002 in my 4th year of work). Between those I was unemployed for 16 months and worked for various agencies in a multitude of administrative functions including the Flemish Parliament, a big pharmaceutical company, an exhibition organiser, a fuel company, the law department of a workers union and so forth. I noticed that agency work was great, always changing, challenging, meeting new people and when you dont like it you can just walk away. But without a permanent job it is very difficult to get a loan or a mortgage, a decent insurance and so forth.
Mario too liked agency work for the same reasons but now he has settled down. His current job is not the ultra-perfect one but it pays well and the colleagues are tolerable.

My late stephfather always urged me to take whatever job I could because you have to work for a living. He found out the bad way that it is not always advisable to do so... got practically poisoned on a certain job. In his last job he got psychological problems (due to troubled past) and he committed suicide when he got fired for being ill too often. Hard lesson for me: that is what happens to people who consider working too important.

Now Im on disability since 2002. I miss working, I miss having colleagues to talk to, I miss having challenges. And of course I miss the money too. Going down from 1500 ‚ to 850 ‚ is not easy. But the moment I am fit to work again I will have a hard time... people with my background are not easily hired, something I learned between 1993 and 2002. I will try to find a job with a good happiness/earnings ratio. And until then its agency work again.

Even when you have a job thats not too bad you should always keep in mind that you can get fired. You should never cease to look out for greener pastures. And dont despair. There is always a solution, even when you lose everything. We live in a priviledged country... starvation is not a danger here. Homelessness is, but even then there are always solutions. Never give up. Get on with it. And dont look back at missed opportunities.

Take heart in a millenia-old saying:
Noli nothis permittere te terere !
(Don€™t let the bastards get you down.)

[audrey_aka_leah]

Can I.......?

more ranting!!

I shoulda noticed this before, but I didnt, until my car needed taxing and i sorta ran outta money before even doing anything else. So I checked my wage slip from the old agency that I left wifout the guilt... and boy.. was I mad when I found out that theyd done me nearly £45!!!

Originally I was sposed to be paid at £5 then after 6pm, I get this what they call premimum shift rates which was 25%... (I was doing 2-10pm), but when I checked the wage slip, not only they didnt pay me that, theyd even reduced the wage to minimum (£4.50ph)... Needless to say, I rang and played hell up, so they said because I didnt give them enuff warning and let them down in the last minute, thats why theyd reduced my hourly rates... i slammed the fone down, or as well as i could wif a cordless, pondered a lil, then i rang my other agency that i had worked for and have a good relationship wif. (which i found is always a good thing)

The guy told me that because when I signed the contract wif them, it stated that the minimum wage as £4.50, legally they cant do it, but because Id signed, i dont really have a leg to stand on, as it is sorta your words against theirs.

So there I was, fuming like anything, because for someone who hasnt got a permanent job, every penny counts, and to some maybe £45 is not a lot of money, to me, its a hell of a lot!

But Ive found a claus... as you do... I think Ive found that contract, although it doesnt have a minimum wage, BUT in another piece of paper, i have the notes that i needed, the one that says how much the pay was per hour and so forth... I WILL GET MY £43.50!!!!

My better half is going to write to them and ask them *ahem* nicely to gimme what i was entitled to, and if they dont, well take it further, YES, that agency is only a small company that is employed by one of the biggest agencies in UK (at least)

Watch this space for more progress...

This is an Audreys Wednesday rant, get used to it!

[babeth]

Can I.......?

Always read the small print Audrey, especially in contracts, even more so when it is with an agency. Never sign a contract without thouroughly reading it and demanding a copy for yourself with ALL signatures on it.
Never trust them. Ever.
And always scrutinize your paycheck. Look up what the numbers mean. Get an explanation at your union (if you are member of one, always advisable because they have a nice legal department with not-so-nice lawyers).
They are out there, trying to ripp you off.

Hmm. Have I pressed the subject of paranoia well enough now ?

[audrey_aka_leah]

Can I.......?

lol.. no you havent babeth... Ive read EVERYTHING last nite, and it clearly says that I only hafta give them one hour notice prior to the day i go to work, as id only worked two days at this other place, im not really bothered about that part, it was the whole week before when i didnt let them down or bugger all thats what im chasing... theyre in for it!...

[audrey_aka_leah]

Can I.......?

I know Id put a rant on this forum somewhere, but now Im not gonna rant... much anyway... *giggles*

Okay, the above thingy, I didnt bother to pursue, as I had been really busy working at the time because of Xmas time, and I was trying to fit in as many hours as I can for the pressies... Now nearly 5mths later...

Firstly, I am happy to say that Im working at the same place, although sadly during those period, I was still working on an agency basis...
Back in November, there was a vacancy for the job that Im doing, so I applied for it, but didnt hear anything about it until two weeks ago... I went for the interview, and Tuesday... I got offered the position!!!!!! By this time there were 5 positions available, 11 applied for it to begin with, but by the time the actual interview came about, there were only 7 people turned up... I was the only one that applied for the job with a CV and a letter, others filled in an application form...

During the interview, at the beginning I was a total wreck, even though I knew both of the interviewers... but as it went along, I got more relaxed, and near the end of the interview, the manageress asked me why I think they should offer me the position, I said, right, this is the time Im sposed to be selling myself? she nodded...

I hafta admit my selling myself point wasnt exactly the greatest, because basically it went something like... okay, I wont and never will consider myself as an excellent worker, but I am a damn good worker, I learn things fast, and I can work as a team if everybody pull their weight. Most of the people I know that started as an agency worker worked really hard to make a good impression, but once theyre set on, they dont work as hard. I enjoy working here, no, sorry, I dont just like this job, i LOVE this job, and I get on wif most of the people. I treat people wif respect and would treat them the way I would like to be treated. Im one of those sad people that actually enjoy work and not just turns up because of the money. Thats all I can come up wif regarding selling myself, so the decision is yours as to what you think of me.

It musta worked, cos on Monday 31st January, 2005, I will be offically a Next employee! *great big cheesy grin*

Funny thing was, when the manager told me Ive got the job, I just sat and nodded, tried not to show too obvious that I was happy, and most of the girls in the room just outside the office kept peeking, waiting for me to come out... when I eventually came out of the room, I walked about 5 steps before dancing wif my arms up in the air, and as I was prancing out of the room, I heard one of the girls said, look at her, shes got the job, shes prancing, and the rest of the girls laffed.

The greatest feeling for me was the fact that although there were 5 positions, there were only 2 got filled, and the other guy was on the nite shifts.

This is the one good news Id really needed after Kev lost his job two weeks ago...

This is my happy ranting for the nite, get used to it! --- still havent stop the cheesey grin...

[anukhet]

Can I.......?

Great news, You deserve to grin as much as you like. In fact Ill stand here and grin too just for the hell of it

Sorry to hear about Kevs job though. :sad:

[thorak_nemesis]

Can I.......?

it must be the time of year for jobs, i got my notice on monday that our firm is being shut, got to start job hunting soon :sad: , the worst part is that the other company are sending people over so we can show them how to do our jobs,

sorry just saw a ranting session so i thought id crash it

[anukhet]

Can I.......?

James, thats just disgusting behaviour by them and shows no respect whatsoever. Youre right insofar that it must be the time of year because several people I know have been chucked out of their jobs in the last couple of months.
Why dont you all show the new lot how to do it wrong - be very nice about it though :wink:
Theres something better around the corner so good luck

[bex]

Can I.......?

most people get contracts renewed after christmas and get there performance looked at so yep it is the right time of year

[babeth]

Can I.......?

Natural Law of Magic: everything you do will come back to you thricefold.
Do a good job training your replacements and leave that company with the knowledge and satisfaction that they just lost a prime worker. Take that confidence with you to job applications. It matters a great deal how you feel about it yourself when trying to sell your services. (Thats basic psychology by the way. Translated to magic its headology.) I know its tough (been there, done that, even have a t-shirt) but the best way to cope with it is make the best of it. Dont let the bloody idiots grind you down !!

Bugger... Ive just been calculating: in the past 12 years since graduating I had only two longer-term jobs (one for a year, one for 3 years), been unemployed for 17 months and fired because of illness/now on welfare since March 2001. That makes 5,5 years unemployed, 4 years with contract and 3 years through agencies. Yeuy.

[thorak_nemesis]

Can I.......?

right is official now, i am now officially redundant as of friday 1.30pm. its been a boring few weeks not really had a lot to do at work so the time has really dragged.

karoline i hope you have plenty of flying saucers with you at portsmouth i need consoling

oh and babeth you were right about it comming back to them thrice fold, it turns out the group just got bought out by a british firm known for asset stripping.

p.s. no i dont sleep in all honisty ive not had a lot of sleep all week i just keep waking up. yes i know thats the idea to wake up again but i like to have a few hours in between.

(Message edited by thorak nemesis on October 02, 2005)

[anukhet]

Can I.......?

Too many smileys James - I know you feel like s**t!

You can have as many FSs as you like from me