paolosmythe

An interesting situation, which others might draw some parallels between how things are done in Canada and in the UK....

I got a job at the start of the year. I got the sack at the start of yesterday.

Disappointed i might be, but bitter i am not. And so this is not a diatribe against ex-bosses, companies and the like.

However, whilst i realise i am still within the (seemingly global) standard of 3 month's probation where employers can basically do whatever they like, i do feel a slight element of injustice in my dismissal.

Without going into any specifics, my role was a new one to the company. They seemed to want to exploit my 10 years experience from the Euro-zone. As such, they offered me no Job Spec, no Job description, no guidance of any kind. They showed me how they did things and expected me to fit in and start to tweak it.

I worked hard, cleared my in tray every day, arrived early and usually left late. No feedback was offered, although the occasional exclamation of dissatisfaction arose. But surely such were mere teething pains no? Certainly nothing sustained. My efforts to tweak were often denied, so i tried smaller more 'covert' steps in development....

And so the first and second meetings i had with any official quality to them, was my hiring and then my firing. Nowt in between. The Canada Gov doc that came with my severance cheque stated dismissal due to 'unsatisfactory performance'. Considering the above to be true, is this reasonable?

I guess this post is just an effort to gain sympathy from a bunch of online strangers. My boss was a wally, but i was determined to be 'professional' and not dwell on such personal animosity. I guess he thought the same about me, but had the authority to not have to tolerate me and my strange accent?

Any hoot, live and learn. Anyone hiring?

iaink

Argh, that sucks Paulo. Sadly you are not the first, and wont be the last. There really is nothing you can do about it, so I admire your attitude.

Ive been canned after several years of nothing but positive performance reviews, as was a (cradle) colleague, its just the way it works. I know other posters here who were brought in to introduce some European whileyness to an organisation, only for the management to decide they didnt like that sort of change after all, its politics as much as anything.

Dont know about BC, but Ontario employment law has no provision for fair warning of a problem before dismissal, they can basically legally fire you because they want to. Morally thats of course questionable, but it just seems to be the way it is here. Within the probationary period you have even less provision and entitlement to compensation Im afraid.

Fingers crossed you find something else. Are you here on TWP or PR?

paolosmythe

Cheers Iain. I am PR and a determined one at that.

I hear what you are saying and i know it to be true. In many ways it is a blessed relief; I was never gonna quit and so they sort of did me a favour!

They weren't all evil..... they gave me 2.5 weeks severance which i think is pretty darn good as i was there for just 10 weeks. But it just smarts a bit, that the boss indulged in his petulance and was allowed to!

But hey, money for nothing is a profit and this 'redundancy' was always a possibility, otherwise why did i not delete all my favourite job hunting website addresses?

the adventure continues....

Paul_Shepherd

Iain,

Would you know what a persons stance would be if they were past the 3month probation period and were unionised? does that make much of a difference?


Cheers

Paul

iaink

I imagine it depends on the unions collective bargaining agreement. Outside of that my basic understanding (and this is not legal advice) is that if they pay you the basic legal minimum time served compensation/ notice requirement, they can do whatever they like.

Even in the case of CBAs though there is not much can be done to enforce them if an employer wants to screw over the workforce, look at the way compensation agreements have been ignored in the case of many of the automotive suppliers going under

I did retain a lawyer at one time in a dispute over compensation, and all he was able to negotiate was that his fees would be paid by my ex (and current again) employer!

Alan2005

Changing things? Oh dear, thats your mistake right there. "Well, hey, you know, it's just the way things are eh?"

Still, getting redundo'd sucks. But on the plus side you get to listen to your landladies prayers for your immortal souls more.

ExKiwilass

sorry Paolo.

Doesn't sound like a good fit anyway, so here's to a better job coming around the corner!

Tangram

Happened to me after 2 1/2 years, satisfactory appraisals and then BONK...out the door.

Hope a much better job with a much better company comes along, like it did with me.

AzzHoylander

The key thing I have noticed in Canada is that it only takes someone to say something bad about a fellow employees performance and that is enough to get someone fired. I found that in the UK it was more fact based. In Canada there is not only an expectation that you perform but you have to constantly remind people that you are performing. One piece of advice I would give anyone out here is to sell the successes you have at work. The people I have seen fired have been great people and have made significant contributions to the business but they were never good at informing and presenting to peers and management what improvements they had made to the business. If you improve efficiency, come up with the latest mouse trap or even just manage to stay within your budget that will not save your job unless you sell this to your boss and your peers. It is a cultural difference but it is easy to adapt even though it is not so much of a British trait to sell ones self!

ExKiwilass

AzzHoylander - whereabouts in Canada are you? I see where you're coming from, in a way.

What I've noticed in my brief time back in the working world is that personality 'fit' seems important and building relationships with your coworkers really helps. I was talking to a recruiter before I got my current job who was originally from Ontario - he was saying recruiting in BC is very different to Toronto. In Toronto they cared more about the bottom line, in Vancouver they care whether they like you or not. It's more about relationship building here.

I don't know if that helps at all...but I thought it was an interesting observation.

Paul_Shepherd

Hmmm... yes thats what Im thought..so really your in the lap ot the Gods or a wing and a prayer. Personally I see Canadian employers at looking at you as if you fit in with their team more than the high points of your career. I dont know.....so many people give different examples, personal experience seems the only way, there doesnt seem to be a norm.....

johnh009

Of course, who you know not what you know. If you can, you are better off just contracting, then no drug plan.

Aviator

When we hire, whether a candidate can fit in is as important as experience and qualifications. The last thing we want is a highly skilled pain in the arse. Harmony in the workplace contributes far more to productivity. Our key employees are involved in the 2nd stage of the interview process. What they say plays a significant part in the decision making process.

Who you know can play a part in getting an interview, but a good recruiter makes their decision on the best candidate for the company. We made the mistake of hiring friends, that rarely works out. Had to let a couple go and now not friends.

Alan2005

The problem is that lot of companies use the 'not a good fit' excuse to not employ women, black people etc. Not that I'm accusing you of that mind.

Aviator

We're 90% staffed by women, 7 different nationalities, ages from 18 to 60+.