To balance out the 'best resignations' thread. Share your experiences of being 'let go' or fired.
The first time was on my 17th birthday on my first day back at work after a new year's break.
Was called into the manager's office. Told the news and was in total shock. A month earlier a lot of staff had been let go, in one of those early nineties recession led culls, everyone else had been told their jobs were safe.
I went back to my office, wining and moaning about how unfair it all was. My line manager had a quiet word with me and explained how they had kept me on for the extra month because of my age and the timing (xmas). They allowed me to look for work whilst working my remaining days. I had another higher paid job within a week of leaving. The experience helped me to decide to eventually return to education.
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Our company overpriced an annual quote by 1.5million, spent every penny and then the claims that came in only came to 1 million leaving 1.5 million to pay back to the client.
As the money wasn't there the company made 100 people redundant and had to do 12 months at no fee.
Never easy to make a decision to deny someone their livelihood and I like to think all of mine have been based on sound and reasonable judgements - but I can't guarantee that.
It's a horrible thing to have to do, even sacking someone who's had plenty of chances to improve.
The worst one was when I had to let a couple of people go the week before Christmas.
Obviously it's nowhere near as bad as being on the other end of a redundancy/sacking but I hate having to put people out of work.
I had been doing the job as I went through Uni, and had generally always done it fairly accurately, with just the odd made up one slipped in.
But on this occasion, I think the area I had been asked to cover looked pretty "lively", I was short on time to do it, and by then, I was pretty experienced at creating a rounded series of views from the great British public.
Now the company did random checks, and unfortunately discovered that Mr Umbala of Falton Road did not exist, nor did Mrs Edie Webster, Dr. Antonio Rodrigues, and Claude Saint- Wilson either.
I was cast adrift, without even an exit survey.....
I was working on the phones, taking calls from prospective customers. If they asked for a prospectus, I was well happy - there was a little button I could press to do that call.
If they asked for literally anything else, I was fucked. And I wasn't allowed to ask colleagues for help, some finance law or something precluded me.
Eventually the team leader called me into his office and said he had to let me go. I smiled broadly, let out a big sigh of relief and said "thank fuck for that, I've no idea what's going on in this building" which surprised him. He thought I was going to be a tricky one. I shook his hand, and skipped out of the office.
I got a job delivering fried chicken soon after and that was the end of that chapter.
Since that day I've learned the art of "pre-emptive resignation"..
When the other interviewer and I left the room we agreed it was a no-go, and went back in to let him down. He kicked off majorly, and after persuading him to leave I was scared to leave the office to grab lunch as I figured he may have been irate enough to be waiting for me by the entrance.
Eighteen months later, and one month before I was going to hand in my notice and move over here, I was made redundant again. So I walked away with three months money rather than sweet FA. Even happier days...
After the first week of the initial observation placement, the school asked me to leave. Because I fell asleep while watching one of the lessons.
Bit unfair really as they didn't sack her.