Published on 12, July, 2020
The first place I was in (full time contract) held a meeting between management and HR and said I could leave the job there and then and be paid for the three months notice I would have worked. I hated the environment in that place so I was glad to go. I was told in the past while in this job that I wasn't productive enough. I worked here just under a year,
The second place did not renew my 3 month temporary contract citing performance and quality issues. This does not make sense as I focus a lot on detail so the quality should at least have been good. Four other temporary staff were kept on after their contracts ended. Out of the 5 temporary people, I was the only one not kept on.
Is this a pattern that's going to keep repeating itself? Saddening if so. Do they see the aspergers and make excuses to get rid of me? I thought my work quality was far better than others who were more pally with management (in other words the *** lickers).
I have always found I need to keep starting again in life. I'm in my 30s and it's back to the drawing board.
Although it's too late now, the jobs you've lost, you need to ask for evidence of the poor performance. Actual physical examples of what wasn't good enough, and also ask why these things were not raised at the time. If they can't, and you feel like they are doing it because of your disability, you can claim unfair dismissal, if you felt strongly enough.
As for starting again in life, that can be a good thing. I was stuck in a job for 12 years, where all my issues were highlighted, before my diagnosis. I was unhappy but very well paid so it was hard to leave. I eventually did, took some family time out and then tried something so unbelievably different, starring from the very bottom, and I've been lucky enough to land in a team of people who I truly get along with and don't really feel any different to at all.
It can happen.
Thank you. That is really a relief to hear. Maybe I haven't found the a suitable place yet. Thanks for the reply. I've decided to not pursue unfair dismissal because the big corporations always win. I think you can only claim unfair dismissal if you have been working in a place for over two years so I couldn't even if I wanted to.
If you think about it, do you have any idea what they might have been unhappy with? Or as far as you were aware everything was hunky dorey and it all came from out of the blue? If you assume they did these things because there was something they were unhappy about, (think of it as a thought experiment), could you have a guess at what the reasons might have been with the benefit of hindsight?
If there was a manager there you had a reasonable relationship with, you could also try getting in contact with them and saying something like:
"I appreciate there were probably good reasons why things happened the way they did, but I'm completely mystified as to why things played out that way. I'm not looking to re-open any of that, because as far as I'm concerned, what's happened has happened, and that's all water under the bridge now. But if there are areas where you felt I was lacking, it would be really helpful to me if I could get some honest feedback on what those areas were perceived to be so that I can try and work on improving those things going forwards."
Clear case for unfair dismissal due to discrimination.
The corporations certainly don't always win. My experience was it's less than a year and you can be fired for no reason (although a reason is always given) - this makes the trial periods meaningless.
However, there are exceptions. I was fired from one position a week before the 12 months - the real reason was they were outsourcing and had promised to re-employ staff elsewhere but it was too difficult for me due to the distance from home. The "official" reason was performance. I couldn't get a solicitor to take on the case until I had filed court documents as I was given (and paid) 1 months notice period which took me over a year. They settled out of court.The next position I was in for 6 months. I had a gf that was pregnant, and at a routine scan they told us the baby had died. We were told not to leave her alone until she had miscarried, or the appointment for a termination - whichever came first. I was due on nights that night so contacted my boss to inform him. What happened next was disgusting - over the next 2hrs I was bullied and then forced to go into work for a 12hr night shift. In a conversation that night, I questioned whether HR should be informed and was told the boss would find another reason to fire me. Sure enough, 2 months later they did.Again, no solicitor would represent me because it was less than a year - however I went down the sexual discrimination route as they would never have forced a woman that had miscarried to work. That was settled out of court too. I was tempted to take it into court but they "found" an email the night before between the boss & HR listing reasons they were firing me (none of them mentioned in the last meeting, and all of them sacking offences). I later found out the boss and his boss were both fired.Both of these were major UK companies with a lot of legal power.The last job I had lasted a month and every reason given was autism related - and they knew at the interview I was autistic. I left there quietly though as I really liked the guys and felt sorry for them. It was a very small team and they tried hard to fit me in.
Yeah - it doesn't hurt to get honest, blunt feedback if you want to adapt yourself to the workplace. You can't change if you don't know what the problem is.
You may well be right. I'd still be asking for evidence for dismissal though. It may well help going forward