Hi all hoping someone out there can advise.
I'm caught in a situation where my employer is deciding to dismiss me or not. The reason the employer has given is i have had unplanned surgery which went wrong and was off 3 weeks have been fine since but am scheduled for a procedure any time with in the next 6 months which will put me off work for approx 6 weeks then back to normal work. As well as i have had minimum time off due to disabled child's appointments This is the reason the employer has given to possibly dismiss me will make the decision in a week or 2 was the response.
Also i am a unqualified assistant studying my cert 3 almost completed. I am often left in a room of approx 20 -22 children at one time while the other workers is unavailable my work load is massive I have 40 + observations to do in a month not to mention the extensions of learning as well as programming and lesson planning as well . I'm not sure how to handle this your help would be appreciated. Feeling stressed
Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
Last edited by Lorina on Mon Aug 19, 2013 5:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: topic heading has been edited
Reason: topic heading has been edited
Re: possible dismissal
wow you poor thing I fully sympathise with your situation.
First of all, it is not your fault that you had an unplanned surgery. It is not fair of your employer to blame you for them being short staffed. It is not your fault. It is their responsibility to cover any shifts if someone is sick not yours so don't feel guilty for having time off. So for them to say that they might fire you over this reason is completely unjustified and unfair. They should have had a relief staff member/s take over your job while you were sick.
Secondly, as you are working as an unqualified assistant, I'm sorry to say but they are treating you like a workhorse. I was in a similar situation when I first started working in child care as an unqualified assistant myself. They take advantage of you A LOT, which is what they are doing to you making you do the brunt of the programming by the sounds of it which is not right. Where is the group leader for this room you are working in? They are not allowed to leave you by yourself if you're unqualified. I had the same problem being left by myself a lot with a room full of children to look after and it's not fair on you. This is how you get stressed out and over worked. Why is the group leader not in the room? What's their excuse for them leaving you by yourself? As an assistant, there should also be no reason for you to be doing 40+ observations - if you are an assistant, most centres expect that you do do observations, but you should only be doing half that at the most. Lesson planning should also be done mostly by the group leader with input from the assistant. You should not be planning anything by yourself.
In my opinion, this centre is being extremely negligent, as they are leaving you by yourself all the time when they should be either having a relief staff member step into the room if the group leader has to step out for whatever reason. Which leads me to my next point. This group leader is being extremely unprofessional leaving you by yourself all the time when it is actually her job to mentor you and train you to be an excellent child care worker. I commend you for sticking it out at this centre under these conditions.
My advice would be to get the heck out of there ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are not mentoring you when they should be
They are leaving you unattended when you are unqualified which is a big no no
And they are threatening to fire you for something that was unavoidable and not your fault!
I know from experience that it is really really hard to leave a centre when you have formed relationships with the children, families & staff but you can't keep working like this. It is apparent that you are majorly stressed out and I don't blame you.
How much more of your certificate 3 have you got left to finish? See if you can finish it ASAP while you are still working at this centre and then quit and look for a new job. You will be much more of an asset to a company if you are qualified and with the regs changing, you need to get on to your diploma as soon as you can.
Please don't feel disappointed for their lack of competence to run a centre it is not your fault. I have been through a similar thing in the past, and they do treat you like absolute crap if you are unqualified. I still lack in confidence because of my bad first child care experience, but just know that there are good centres out there to work for that won't leave you by yourself or make you do all the observations. It might take working at a few different centres to find the right one, but you will get there. If you ever feel uncomfortable working somewhere, it is most likely not the right environment for you. I started off working at a centre in a low socio economic area, with a lot of foster care kids and I had to deal with kids being taken out of their homes, kids being abused at home, etc. It was an extremely difficult first child care job, but I did learn a lot from it. Now, I am working at a wonderful kindergarten which is attached to a private Christian school, and the environment is just so much better for me to work in. Work somewhere where it suits your personality. If the other staff are loud and boisterous and you are quiet and reserved, I would look for another centre to work for. Getting along with the staff is very important, or else they will make your working life hell.
Please, take my advice and get out of this centre ASAP. If they have given 2 weeks to make a decision, look for another job in this time frame. Use this time to get as much of your cert 3 finished as possible. And really use this time to reflect on what you want from a child care career. Which age group do you want to work with long term? Do you want to be a teacher? Do you like working with the littlies at the child care centres instead? Once you know what you want from your career, it will really help you to make the right decision about which jobs are going to be right for you in the long run. It's not worth applying for every job out there if it's not what you want to do in the future.
If you do decide to leave this centre, which I really hope that you do, because it sounds like a toxic environment to be working in, and as you are just starting out, you need to be part of a team that will support and mentor you, maybe you could think about doing some casual/relief work through an agency. The rates of pay are fantastic as it is casual work, and you will get to experience working in a lot of different centres so you will see a big difference between every centre. This will also allow you the freedom to pick and choose your own hours, and they won't be phased if you need to take time off, as they always have a lot of staff. Maybe try going through Expect a Star or Randstad, or other child care work agencies where you live. Just do a google search of some in your area. Or else just put your resume out to your local child care centres looking for casual work and see what response you get back. I would start doing this straight away, as I also know from experience, that it is a far sight easier to get another job when you are already working than if you are not working but looking for a job. If the worst comes to the worst, which is what happened to me, and you get fired and can't find another job, just finish off your cert 3, start your diploma and look at heaps of centres, and decide which one you would most like to do work experience at, which may lead to a job at the end of your diploma, or you can use them for a reference to get another job as a group leader this time if you want.
Concentrate on getting yourself out of this centre as soon as you can, theres really no point for you to try and fight for your job and try to stay there it just hasn't worked out by the sounds of it. I would just chalk this situation up to experience, at least you are getting a lot of experience with the programming and observations which is a plus, and being left by yourself can also be a plus as you know how to control the room/children. Maybe they just leave you by yourself because they think that you are just fantastic and don't need any help? lol
Don't let this experience shake you too much, just know that you will find somewhere great to work, but it might take a few trys Please let me know how you go. I know this must be hard for you, to put in so much work for this job, only to have them throw it back in your face saying that they might have to let you go. You don't want to have to work for someone like that trust me. Please take my advice it will work out in the long run. Maybe look at what centrelink payments you are entitled to if you are having trouble finding work? I've been unable to find work, and am currently doing work experience for my diploma and have had to live just off centrelink payments all this year which has been really really hard, but I know that if I just stick with it and get my qualification finished off ASAP this nightmare will soon be over.
Good luck!!!
First of all, it is not your fault that you had an unplanned surgery. It is not fair of your employer to blame you for them being short staffed. It is not your fault. It is their responsibility to cover any shifts if someone is sick not yours so don't feel guilty for having time off. So for them to say that they might fire you over this reason is completely unjustified and unfair. They should have had a relief staff member/s take over your job while you were sick.
Secondly, as you are working as an unqualified assistant, I'm sorry to say but they are treating you like a workhorse. I was in a similar situation when I first started working in child care as an unqualified assistant myself. They take advantage of you A LOT, which is what they are doing to you making you do the brunt of the programming by the sounds of it which is not right. Where is the group leader for this room you are working in? They are not allowed to leave you by yourself if you're unqualified. I had the same problem being left by myself a lot with a room full of children to look after and it's not fair on you. This is how you get stressed out and over worked. Why is the group leader not in the room? What's their excuse for them leaving you by yourself? As an assistant, there should also be no reason for you to be doing 40+ observations - if you are an assistant, most centres expect that you do do observations, but you should only be doing half that at the most. Lesson planning should also be done mostly by the group leader with input from the assistant. You should not be planning anything by yourself.
In my opinion, this centre is being extremely negligent, as they are leaving you by yourself all the time when they should be either having a relief staff member step into the room if the group leader has to step out for whatever reason. Which leads me to my next point. This group leader is being extremely unprofessional leaving you by yourself all the time when it is actually her job to mentor you and train you to be an excellent child care worker. I commend you for sticking it out at this centre under these conditions.
My advice would be to get the heck out of there ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are not mentoring you when they should be
They are leaving you unattended when you are unqualified which is a big no no
And they are threatening to fire you for something that was unavoidable and not your fault!
I know from experience that it is really really hard to leave a centre when you have formed relationships with the children, families & staff but you can't keep working like this. It is apparent that you are majorly stressed out and I don't blame you.
How much more of your certificate 3 have you got left to finish? See if you can finish it ASAP while you are still working at this centre and then quit and look for a new job. You will be much more of an asset to a company if you are qualified and with the regs changing, you need to get on to your diploma as soon as you can.
Please don't feel disappointed for their lack of competence to run a centre it is not your fault. I have been through a similar thing in the past, and they do treat you like absolute crap if you are unqualified. I still lack in confidence because of my bad first child care experience, but just know that there are good centres out there to work for that won't leave you by yourself or make you do all the observations. It might take working at a few different centres to find the right one, but you will get there. If you ever feel uncomfortable working somewhere, it is most likely not the right environment for you. I started off working at a centre in a low socio economic area, with a lot of foster care kids and I had to deal with kids being taken out of their homes, kids being abused at home, etc. It was an extremely difficult first child care job, but I did learn a lot from it. Now, I am working at a wonderful kindergarten which is attached to a private Christian school, and the environment is just so much better for me to work in. Work somewhere where it suits your personality. If the other staff are loud and boisterous and you are quiet and reserved, I would look for another centre to work for. Getting along with the staff is very important, or else they will make your working life hell.
Please, take my advice and get out of this centre ASAP. If they have given 2 weeks to make a decision, look for another job in this time frame. Use this time to get as much of your cert 3 finished as possible. And really use this time to reflect on what you want from a child care career. Which age group do you want to work with long term? Do you want to be a teacher? Do you like working with the littlies at the child care centres instead? Once you know what you want from your career, it will really help you to make the right decision about which jobs are going to be right for you in the long run. It's not worth applying for every job out there if it's not what you want to do in the future.
If you do decide to leave this centre, which I really hope that you do, because it sounds like a toxic environment to be working in, and as you are just starting out, you need to be part of a team that will support and mentor you, maybe you could think about doing some casual/relief work through an agency. The rates of pay are fantastic as it is casual work, and you will get to experience working in a lot of different centres so you will see a big difference between every centre. This will also allow you the freedom to pick and choose your own hours, and they won't be phased if you need to take time off, as they always have a lot of staff. Maybe try going through Expect a Star or Randstad, or other child care work agencies where you live. Just do a google search of some in your area. Or else just put your resume out to your local child care centres looking for casual work and see what response you get back. I would start doing this straight away, as I also know from experience, that it is a far sight easier to get another job when you are already working than if you are not working but looking for a job. If the worst comes to the worst, which is what happened to me, and you get fired and can't find another job, just finish off your cert 3, start your diploma and look at heaps of centres, and decide which one you would most like to do work experience at, which may lead to a job at the end of your diploma, or you can use them for a reference to get another job as a group leader this time if you want.
Concentrate on getting yourself out of this centre as soon as you can, theres really no point for you to try and fight for your job and try to stay there it just hasn't worked out by the sounds of it. I would just chalk this situation up to experience, at least you are getting a lot of experience with the programming and observations which is a plus, and being left by yourself can also be a plus as you know how to control the room/children. Maybe they just leave you by yourself because they think that you are just fantastic and don't need any help? lol
Don't let this experience shake you too much, just know that you will find somewhere great to work, but it might take a few trys
Please let me know how you go. I know this must be hard for you, to put in so much work for this job, only to have them throw it back in your face saying that they might have to let you go. You don't want to have to work for someone like that trust me. Please take my advice it will work out in the long run. Maybe look at what centrelink payments you are entitled to if you are having trouble finding work? I've been unable to find work, and am currently doing work experience for my diploma and have had to live just off centrelink payments all this year which has been really really hard, but I know that if I just stick with it and get my qualification finished off ASAP this nightmare will soon be over.Good luck!!!
Re: possible dismissal
That's complete BULL! Very unfair of your work to be dismissing you because of your unforeseen situation. They should be there to provide you with support not make matters worse.
I'd suggest contacting Fair Work Australia to take action against the centre for Unfair Dismissal if they do end up terminating you. I'm providing you with an article on Unfair Dismissals available in Resources, Childcare Professionals. This will give you details about the process and what to do etc.
Dealing With Unfair Dismissals
I agree with Law92 that you should leave straight away as well. Why bother working in a centre that treats you unethically. It's madness really! The longer you stay the more stress, pressure and unhappy you are going to be...
Keep us posted,
,
L.A
I'd suggest contacting Fair Work Australia to take action against the centre for Unfair Dismissal if they do end up terminating you. I'm providing you with an article on Unfair Dismissals available in Resources, Childcare Professionals. This will give you details about the process and what to do etc.
Dealing With Unfair Dismissals
I agree with Law92 that you should leave straight away as well. Why bother working in a centre that treats you unethically. It's madness really! The longer you stay the more stress, pressure and unhappy you are going to be...
Keep us posted,
,L.A
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littlewhalers
- Newbie
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:54 pm
Re: Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
They cant dismiss you on grounds of illness, if you are unqualified, and the staff child ratio is slightly different in each state, I am in WA. it is
0-2 4 to 1 staff member 1st must be qualifed then the next after the first 4 is unqualified
2-3 5 to 1, 1st staff can be unqualified but after 5 then 1 qualified
3-6 10 to 1 staff member, 1st unqualifed and after 10 1 qualified
These are in the reg's so techincally if you work in the 3-6 you can be in the room with 10 children on your own.
You need to ring fair work to see what your rights are, are you a member of the union, if your not I suggest you join asap.
good luck
ps in agreeance with all of the above posts too
0-2 4 to 1 staff member 1st must be qualifed then the next after the first 4 is unqualified
2-3 5 to 1, 1st staff can be unqualified but after 5 then 1 qualified
3-6 10 to 1 staff member, 1st unqualifed and after 10 1 qualified
These are in the reg's so techincally if you work in the 3-6 you can be in the room with 10 children on your own.
You need to ring fair work to see what your rights are, are you a member of the union, if your not I suggest you join asap.
good luck
ps in agreeance with all of the above posts too
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NorthLight36
- Helper
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 12:09 pm
Re: Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
I agree with Janet. If you're not a union member, you need to join asap. Everyone's right to say you're being treated poorly and you need someone in your corner. That's what the union is for.
Re: Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
Hi Megsy,
I was just wondering, how are things going with you now?
Jules
I was just wondering, how are things going with you now?
Jules
Re: Possible Dismissal Due To Unplanned Surgeries
Unplanned surgery is not your fault But all of that depend on your contract that you have with your employer.Because some times there are some conditions that you must follow for all that.So consult with any lawyer to get legal help if there is not such conditions.
