I was there to be negotiated with at any point. Even if they’d told me that “I wouldn’t be back after Furlough is over” - it would have been less spiteful than slinging me out at a time when I really needed that 8 grand in furlough payments which I had already qualified for, but I needed to keep 20% of my hours in order to make it pay the agency for keeping me on across furlough, of course…
It was the Client that said “no” rather than the agency in that regard. It is already well known that block bookers of drivers such as Supermarkets in general - have this nasty habit of “bullying” agencies to be flexible with the contract when it suits them, but rigid in it’s application when it does not. For instance, I once turned up for a shift @ different supermarket yard years ago only to get told “Oh I thought we’d cancelled him tonight? Oh someone must have forgot to phone the agency” when I arrived at Transport… I requested the contracted 8 hours pay for being sent home once I’d turned up uncancelled, only for the agency to phone me next day saying “Don’t push that clause in your contract. They’ve told us they won’t want to book you again if you don’t let this one go”. Thus, I was expected to lose about £100 because someone else f—ed up, and my contract clause was to be “ignored” because Clients don’t get into trouble for mistakes - agency bods may be thrown under the bus though. I told them to pay me the money and fair enough, I’ll not work there in future. A week later, I hadn’t been paid, and there was an attempt to book me for another shift there, which I refused. I didn’t go back by my own choice then after that. If I consented to be robbed on request, then I felt it likely that I’d be getting further similar treatment, walking around with “MUG” written on my forehead as it were…
Overall then, I blame the big business for their bullying tactics and abusive management, whilst blaming the agencies for being weak in the face of that “client contractual abuse” which would be as it appears from their point of view. Supermarkets also run this con where they push farmers to drop their prices, or they won’t buy the bumper crop that will then SPOIL if farmer cannot then shift it. This has been a standard political business practice for many years and it stinks of course, just as it stinks when multi-million pound outfits take the full 90 days to settle their invoices - with smallest firms attempting to trade with them - getting the longest wait of course. I would be the first one to cheer if this Crisis ends up bringing a lot of these shysters in billionaire’s clothing down in due course… 
There is a middle-way however. There is such a thing as “ending an employment contract by mutual consent”.
I have seen a worse “political sacking” thing done to someone however…
There was this guy eligable for a £40k+ redundancy payment, and weeks before he would have left and got paid it - he got sacked over a trumped-up charge of “answering back a client customer”.
There’s me moaning about being robbed of 8k and this poor guy ended up losing five times that “Weaponized Management” is the common denominator of the two of course.
If a manager can make something up, perform some political shenanigans like “use computers to cover himself”, and save the firm some money… The FIRM won’t be taking any hostile action against that manager, but FFS a firm OR a manager has got rather better cashflow than someone out on their arse with no payoff eh?
I’ve said it on here before that I’m very Left-Wing on financial matters. I aboslutely detest being robbed by those higher up in rank or financially than myself, simply because I’m not in the position to afford such a downturn, when I’m already arse-to-the-wall, bumping along the bottom hand-to-mouth like I have been for the past decade now.
The biggest “leak” when working on agency was being booked for short shifts far away when petrol prices were at their peak…
I was spending something like £30 a shift and taking home £50 some days. Five shifts of that, and I’m only £100 up on the entire week of working flat out.
THAT is why I decided to be a bit more fussy about the shifts that I was prepared to do.
“To make work pay” using Gordon Brown’s words from years ago. Good as a chancellor overall, but lousy as a Prime Minister in the end.
We’re all trying to earn a crust out there at the end of the day.
There’s not much that can be done here, other than me hoping that an opportunity to get back into well-paid work again comes my way before it is time to retire “before I’m ready”.
Meanwhile, I’ve now sorted myself for the year ahead, “treading water” financially. Enough to pay the bills and put food on the table, but nothing more.
This has meant giving up all my dreams and pet projects in my private life, leaving me with time on my hands.
There’s no “Cabin Fever” at home yet, despite what some may think I may be having issues with behind the scenes.
I may have over-reacted to the stick I’ve had on here in the same way that it would be easy for someone who’s just been burgled or suffered a financial loss in any other manner - doesn’t want nor expect to be laughed at, and told “You got mugged because of your own stupid fault” at the end of the day.
As for what I’ve posted on here, I’ll take the Pontius Pilate line: “I’ve written what I’ve written - What I’ve stated - stands”.
There’s no point taking back any remarks I may have made in haste, - because I’d consider it dishonest to act thus. (I don’t hold people who delete their tweets in high regard either btw)
) but mkst importantly keep your chin up.
Your rep on TN (and in any workplace) is what you make for yourself, so if you don’t want to spend valuable time (in victim mode) defensively firefighting what you wrote/said after you wrote/said it… then possibly writing/saying a bit less in the first place might be a way for you to help yourself gain some relaxing spare time.
