What do you think?

foxy06

I went for an interview on wednesday and was under the impression that he job had been offered to me as I was asked how soon I could come in for training. I came in the following day for that training and when the training was finished I was offered a wage and was asked if this was acceptable. I said yes and that was all wonderful. I was going to start the following monday.
Meanwhile the man I was going to be working for (PA job) was in the other room and had a visit from his niece (He works from an office in his house) and she informed him that she is out of work......you can see where this is going can't you........Anyway while i'm in the other room he walks in and just announces that his niece is looking for work and he is going to have to rethink because his niece has bills and things to pay for! His assistant (who was very embarrased by his behaviour) told me she would ring me and let me know within the hour. After 4 hours I left an email which said the niece is getting the job! I haven't even been paid for the training and had organised childcare and also told family and friends I had the job. I am fuming now and think I will send a very pi##ed off letter!

keefg

That's bad form allright ......but who you gonna send a p*ssed off letter to? The company? Sound like the boss wont give a sh*te.

Did you receive a formal job offer in writing or contract? If not, I doubt there is much you can do about it unfortunately.

pwd

Clear cut case of discrimination/nepotism. Possibly get legal advice. Definitely send a letter.

keefg

pwd wrote:

Clear cut case of discrimination/nepotism. Possibly get legal advice. Definitely send a letter.

Discrimination against what? Unless the OP can show that they didn't get the job because they were male/female/black/white/gay/disabled/a traveller or anything else under the 9 grounds then they haven't been discriminated against.

Favouritism towards the niece yes, but I can't see any case for discrim here and I am not sure if favouritism is against the law where recruitment is concerned.

If it were me..I would just move on and put it down to life experience. Unless of course I had a formal job offer in writing or a contract. Now that would be a different matter altogether and I would take them to the cleaners.

And thinking about it...Now that the OP has seen what a gobsh1te the boss is (to whom they will be PA) would they really want to work for them.

pwd

nepotism is discrimination against non-relatives.

keefg

pwd wrote:

nepotism is discrimination against non-relatives.

Is that covered by any of the recognised 9 grounds?

pwd

Yes it is

"2.1 (c) That one has family status and the other has not (The family status ground)"

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:6oQP18NQGCoJ:www.era.int/web/en/resources/5_1095_3053_file_en.4433.pdf+%22nine+grounds%22+%2Bdiscrimination+%2Birish&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ie

keefg

Ahh..very good. I thought the family status one was more "You have 10 kids?? Jeez I'm not giving you a job, you will be off all the time looking after them"

foxy06

So does anyone think I actually have a case? Not that I would pursue it but I might just put that in the letter i'm sending to the boss. I didn't get a contract and it's actually just a one man business. He is an architect and he just needed an assistant/PA. I don't think I would have gotten any sort of contract even after I had started work.

keefg

Foxy,

If it were me, I would forget about it and move on. No point wasting our own time writing a letter to someone who doesn't give a sh1te.

I can't remember what gameshow it's from but as they say....The decision is yours.

Did you by any chance get the interview via an agency? If so, you might get a better response if you wrote to them.

How Strange

Foxy06, put it down to a bad experience and ask yourself honestly would you really want to work for a company which is so badly run and unprofessional?

I'd say you would hate it within a couple of months. If it came through an agency by all means inform them of the company's behaviour otherwise save your time and energy hunting for a decent job.

eth0_

Guys...she started in the job and was then effectively dismissed in order for the managers niece to take her job - I would pursue this guy, if it was me.

keefg

Hey Foxy I just had an idea....

Why don't you send the boss a padded envelope full of stinking dog sh1t??

Send his niece one while you're at it

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Maybe send him a letter saying how disappointed you are, and that you felt it was very unprofessional behaviour (but not in an angry way). And then request compensation, at the very least, for the expenses that you incurred. If he has any type of decency he'll at least sort out the expenses.

I gather from your tone that you are not willing to do anything formal about it, so it would probably be a case of just trying to get treated somewhat fairly in this unfair situation.

While not good advice on my part, i wouldn't recommend mentioning legislation in the letter, as this would mean that he would be wary about compensation for fear of it being seen as accepting liability.

pwd

While not good advice on my part, i wouldn't recommend mentioning legislation in the letter, as this would mean that he would be wary about compensation for fear of it being seen as accepting liability.

depending on how you worded it, he could sue you for extortion too. Suggesting he compensates you might be worth it though.

Ahh..very good. I thought the family status one was more "You have 10 kids?? Jeez I'm not giving you a job, you will be off all the time looking after them"

that might be what they mean. It's a little ambiguous.

Dudess

It's a fact of life that recruitment can be fickle, and I too would put the unfair stuff (which a lot of us have encountered) down to life experience and move on. In this case though, definitely write him a polite but firm letter requesting trainee payment. What a dick.
Other than that, the fact you didn't get anything in writing means he's pretty untouchable. In your letter, don't bother putting details of what he did that was so unfair. He's well aware of what he's done and he doesn't give a ****. This sounds harsh but you're nothing to him. That's why there are so many unfair stories on this forum - the recruiters, while they may be assholes for it, can change their minds once there's nothing in writing. And they're not going to lose any sleep over it because they'll never see you again - especially when they know that no action can be taken against them. There have been some disgustingly unfair cases on this forum but there is very little that can be done. So don't take it personally.
It probably isn't worth wasting your time/money/sanity going down the legal route, although do a bit of investigating to ascertain whether you've a case - e.g. the whole nepotism thing that has been mentioned.
Other than that, do move on. You'll get an admin role all right. There are plenty of them going. And the fact that you were on the cusp of getting the above job shows you're well qualified for it.
Best of luck...