New job dilemma

[spacegirl]

Hi,

i posted on another thread about my new job, it was initially supposed to be a year long maternity cover at £x a year, that's how it was advertised. So i went for the interview, and i got the job and i was thrilled - as i said in my other post it's not my dream job but i'm so relieved to be working! Well when the lady phoned to offer me the job, she said the post was initially supposed to be 12 months but they'd decided to make it a 9 month contract with a view to being extended depending on what the person going on maternity leave wants to do. so i thought fair enough, that's usually how these things work. Then she said the salary they were offering me was £2000 less than advertised. O...K... i was a bit peed off cos i thought they were taking advantage of the fact that i'm out of work but whatever, i accepted.
Today I got an email saying that the contract will be 6 months with a view to being extended to 9 then possibly 12.... and that the salary is a further £3000 less than the previous offer!!! i feel like a bit of an idiot as perhaps i should have resisted more when they offered me the job but i was just so happy to get the job in the first place that i just agreed to whatever she said. now i think they're REALLY taking advantage!!! thing is i'm not really in the position to turn it down and they know that!

has anyone any advice re this?

don't get me wrong i'm grateful to be working but can't help but feel a bit deflated that this big multinational company is taking advantage of me like this! in the email there didn't seem to be room for negociation...?

[Bel Bel]

I wouod go back and politlety point out these weren't ther terms originally advertised and that the terms were altered again at your interview and say you think there has been a mistake
They migth think fair play she knows we are trying it on better give her what she agreed to at interview or they may use some week excuse and tell you that's the best you will get
It's got to be worth a try
I'm so sorry they have done this to you
Obviously you need to think carefully about taking the job as the next thing may be to mess with your hours, insist on overtime etc
Read the contract very carefully

[snail]

I agree, no matter how desperate you are this does seem like really bad behaviour on their part. It would almost certainly affect your work, as it would generate such negative feelings towards the company. I would follow Bel's advice and at least formally object - it'll make you feel better than just rolling over if nothing else.

[ILoveChristmas]

I'm from Scotland and I suspect these things work differently down in England for you guys. Up here had she made you a formal offer of 9 months @ £x it would have been binding. Verbal contracts are binding in Scotland. Check it isn't the same for you.

That's not to say you'd want to get into some kind of fight with a new employer, i'm pretty certain that would be a bad idea, but it might give a little weight if you were able to slip in a little sentence to your objection about verbal agreements.

I'm not sure that they're necessarily taking advantage of you personally, I think it's just often the way with contract work. They think people will take whatever's going and that being contracted means they can simply change their terms on a whim. Maybe they can, I don't know.

In any case you're doing the right thing by taking it either way. You need work, even if it's only to sustain you until something better comes along.

[Angel_Fairy]

I cannot believe they have done this to you??!

This is so unprofessional on their part. What's to say when you begin working for them they'll do something else?

I think try and be amicable and raise your concerns with the boss, and if not maybe contact your Union for advice.

If you had known the contract wasnt as well paid and the period of employment not as long, as you once thought when you went to the interview, im sure you would have applied for a different job, and therefore be in a better place now.

Good luck xxx

[spacegirl]

Hey thanks for your advice - i was going to say something when i started (on monday), but it turns out the hr manager is on holiday for the next 2 weeks,i haven't got a contract yet or had anyone i can discuss this with - i'm not even properly set up on systems and can't do half the stuff i need to without this. the job i'm actually doing is nothing like the job description, and it seems they're definitely sticking the arm in. i've decided i'm not going to bother saying anything, they seem like a shower of cowboys in every aspect of their work and i've only been there a week (if you knew the company you'd be very shocked at their incompetence)! I'm just going to keep looking for somewhere else to work and not feel a bit guilty when i hand in notice and leave pretty soon.