I'm mad and feel like walking away from this situation.

esoteric

esoteric

esoteric

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Joined
5 Aug 2004
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Due to a several reasons I left my job in April, and before I left I trained my replacement, let's call him Dave. I left the company on good terms and they were gutted to see me go. Yesterday the agency I worked through contacted me and said the company are asking if I can come back because Dave has been in a car crash so they are looking for someone to cover for sick leave, so I say yes I can do it and in my mind thinking it maybe two weeks to a month. To find out for sure I phoned Dave to see how he's doing and what his situation is and he said he's doing okay now he has pills and is going to work on Monday. Now I'm confused so tell him the agency has asked me to go back to cover for him while he's sick, ended up leaving it with a verbal shrug and a looking forward to see you on Monday.

I was pretty excited to go back and see my old mates, but then he phoned me 30mins ago to tell me that they've sacked him. Now I feel that I've cost him his job by agreeing to go back and it's no fault of his own, the car crash wasn't his fault and he didn't go sick from work they sent him home. I feel like there are two different conversations going on, the company wanting me back full time and the agency telling me it's only sick cover, so the company feel like they can sack Dave.

So yeah it's soured me a lot and I want to phone either my old boss to see what's going or the agency because now it feels like an ongoing contract not two week to a month sick cover. When I gave notice I gave them 4 weeks, as an agency worker.. yeah.. and then gave them another 4! which was a two week extension and then 2 weeks training Dave. I'm not going to put myself in that situation again and it feels like I am in that situation because they've screwed over Dave.
 
Unfortunately, this is how a lot of agencies and the employers they work with operate. Unless I was desperate for the money I would refuse to go back after finding out that information.
 
Certainly sounds like there's more going on that you've been told.

Do you have alternatives for other work (assuming you need to work) ?

Are the reasons you left back in April still relevant, or has something changed to mean you'd be happy to go back if the Dave situation wasn't looking suspicious ?
 
Unless you are very close with Dave, it should not really matter why he got sacked to be honest. Main questions need to be asked as above. Do you need the money? Do you need this role right now?
And as an agency worker I thought you could leave whenever you wanted, you did not sign a contract did you?
 
Another thing to consider; if you refuse to go back, or cut your contract short, will it sour your own relationship with the agent? That may prevent you getting future work through them.
 
peterwalkley said:
Certainly sounds like there's more going on that you've been told.

Do you have alternatives for other work (assuming you need to work) ?

Are the reasons you left back in April still relevant, or has something changed to mean you'd be happy to go back if the Dave situation wasn't looking suspicious ?
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I don't need work right now no, I had loads of savings and a small passive income and my streaming income. My reasons for leaving aren't as severe so I was willing to go back

Robi_uk said:
Unless you are very close with Dave, it should not really matter why he got sacked to be honest. Main questions need to be asked as above. Do you need the money? Do you need this role right now?
And as an agency worker I thought you could leave whenever you wanted, you did not sign a contract did you?
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Dave is a friend so it matters to me. I can take the role and give it up when he was ready and it sounded like he maybe needed two weeks, I'm not interested in long-term and someone else might've taken the role and hijacked the job so for me it also felt like a favour for Dave holding his job. I don't need the money but can certainly use it, who doesn't want more money?
 
esoteric said:
Dave is a friend so it matters to me. I can take the role and give it up when he was ready and it sounded like he maybe needed two weeks, I'm not interested in long-term and someone else might've taken the role and hijacked the job so for me it also felt like a favour for Dave holding his job. I don't need the money but can certainly use it, who doesn't want more money?
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With regards to the money thing I meant if there wasn't any other roles going right now. But looks like you are lucky and in a position where you can relax and take a break if you wanted.
Unfortunately you cannot really do much other then just leave them and hope it causes them a lot of headache (depending on the importance of the role and how difficult it is for them to get a replacement in it might or it might not cause any issue whatsoever for them)
 
Hades said:
Another thing to consider; if you refuse to go back, or cut your contract short, will it sour your own relationship with the agent? That may prevent you getting future work through them.
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Nothing signed and I'm not contracted for a fixed time. I can leave whenever and they can get rid of me whenever. The only things I've signed digitally are my bank details and tax info. And yes if I back out now it would surely sour our relationship, but so has this, and I bent over backwards and beyond upon my leaving to leave on good terms so one day I might return to this company and have opportunities from the agency in the future. But I just like I've just been massively used.
 
esoteric said:
I want to phone either my old boss to see what's going or the agency
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Out of those options, definitely phone the old boss. The agency will:
a) Know less about what's going on than the boss
b) Have a vested interest that may not be the best interest of either your nor the employer (i.e. they want their commission)

Clearly you are in demand so if you go back make sure you milk it on rates.
 
There's obviously more to the story, they haven't sacked Dave because he is was in a car crash.

I personally would not get involved in the politics of it all. Either go and do the job you have been contracted for or don't citing conflict of interest or something. I certainly wouldn't be souring my relationship with both your previous employer or the agency over something i do not have the full facts of.

Remove the emotion, you're a scummy contractor now :)
 
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By talking to your old boss you aren't guaranteed a full explanation, he may not also be fully aware of the details since it would likely have been dealt within HR. Further, whether you took the contract or not if Dave being fired is on your conscious consider that he would most likely have been let go eventually.

Depending on the outcome from your talk with the company, it's shown how much they now need you. If it's skilled work, this is an opportunity to command an increase in salary for the work carried out. Professional relationships only last as long as you're willing to fulfil the businesses needs and given how they have just let Dave go I wouldn't consider this one worth maintaining in the future.

I should also make it clear that Dave could have been bringing this on himself whether performance related or other reasons.
 
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