Can they do this to me?

[jennifer25ca2006]

Ok So a little overview on what has happened.. I have been working at the same call center for a little over a year now.. It is through a placement agency and it was considered a contract. So I have been getting really sick because I am a diabetic and it was the overnight shift that I was working. My doctor wrote a not stating he does not want me on nights anymore because it is making me sick and will lead to further complications..I was told that there was no day spots available for me. I get a phone call today telling me not to bother going in cause I am fired for missing to much time.. I was have been in and out of the hospital for the last 3 months and they cannot tell me what is wrong with me. Everytime I am there I get a doctors not I have missed 7 days in the last 3 months, that is the only time that I have missed time. 7 days really in a little over a year of working there and have doctors notes. Can they fire me for that?

[kaj27]

As long as the note states why you missed the time, then they have little to no reason to fire you.
Sounds like wrongful dismissal. But then again NB has lackluster labour laws and regulations.

[jennifer25ca2006]

do you know who i could contact about this then?

[Damage82]

the call center I work @ says NB law says after 5 missed days in a year, they can fire you.

[jennifer25ca2006]

Even with a doctors note? Also they say that no day shifts are available and they are hiring right now on the job bank for days....

[seashanty]

Contact the labour board, they may not be of much actual help, but other than hiring a lawyer, there arent too many other options.

[jdcb]

there is nothing you can do. that is why they like using placement agencies. technically you didn't work for them, you worked for the placement agency, so they didn't fire you, you are just still an employee of the placement agency. It's a cushy way for them to get rid of people and bypass labor laws.

[kaj27]

the call center I work @ says NB law says after 5 missed days in a year, they can fire you.

More than likely without proper release. But if you have a doctor's note stating that you are ill, then they "might" not be able to dismiss you.

[jennifer25ca2006]

Who can I call about this?

[stripekv]

You don't have a leg to stand on...sorry. They never let you go, they just told the placement agency that whatever job position you were in wasn't needed anymore. You are still employed with the placement agency, so they should be actively trying to find you work. You were never an employee of "said call centre" you were an employee, and still technically are an employee of the placement agency.

[asco11]

If you have doctors notes then go to EI.....

[rhiley_08j]

Unfortunately, those that have said there is nothing you can do are right. Call centers such as these use placement agencies because they are not held liable, as you are not their employee. These call centers have such a high turn-over for a reason. They are notorious for unfair/illegal labour practices.

Now all though there is nothing you can do legally, as with regards to labour laws, there is other things you can do. Too many people allow these companies to get away with this day in and day out. Speak out! If what you are saying about your circumstances are true, contact the media. Use the available resources. I am sure that there are many others like you, and if you come forward and make this company accountable than others might do the same.

This is a prime example of why unions are still needed in many sectors of the workforce. People need representation against companies like this.

[inuit]

I totally agree rhiley. There needs to be more not less unions. Unions are there for a reason. To protect workers rights. If you or I only knew what went on in business' that do not allow or have unionized protection, it would blow our minds. I am sure the people who work for these business' could tell us horror stories to the ninth degree.

Call centers and placement agencies are notorious for this kind of behaviour. For this we can thank dear old Frank Mckenna who back in the eighties got rid of thousands of good paying jobs and then threw a press conference every week it seemed to announce the arrival of a new call center with all the gov't grants that could be had. These call centers lasted as long as the govt money lasted. Then they closed down and reopened the next week with a new name and new govt money.They now operate with grants for each new employee they hire. More employees=more mponey.

Where in all of this is there any concern for the employees let alone employee's rights? They even changed the labour laws to accomadate the call centers regarding how many hours an employee works. There is something not right with this picture and something needs to be done. jennifer is not the first person who has run into unfair hiring/firing practices when dealing with call centers or placement agencies and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts she isn't the only one out there who is suffering from some kind of unfair practice at the hands of call canters or placement agencies.

Maybe you are right about going to the media but you can't do it as 1 person. You need 5 or 6 people who have been let go unfairly and bring it to the public's attention what's going on. People like me have no idea of what goes on behind closed doors at places like these. It';s amazing what happens when ypu get the power of the media behind you.

Sorry about the rant. I feel strongly about workers rights and fair treatment.

[kaj27]

Some unions are great, others not so much. Look at the UAW. The average assembly line working, uneducated, makes $80,000/year. Does that make sense to you? Not to me.

Now on the other note, look at the unions that help people get better wages. Like Wal-Mart.

With great power comes great responsibility. The problem with some unions is they take the employer to the cleaners. With birthdays off and other nonsense. I'm all for uinons, but at the same time. Call centers, retail and fast food. Don't need 'em. The Government must update the outdated labour laws and make it work for the people, not the other way around.

[jennifer25ca2006]

You don't have a leg to stand on...sorry. They never let you go, they just told the placement agency that whatever job position you were in wasn't needed anymore. You are still employed with the placement agency, so they should be actively trying to find you work. You were never an employee of "said call centre" you were an employee, and still technically are an employee of the placement agency.

No where in that letter did it state that i was not needed anymore It said that I missed to much time and the contract was terminated so you tell me that they didnt say it.. did you see the letter i dont think so?

[rhiley_08j]

No where in that letter did it state that i was not needed anymore It said that I missed to much time and the contract was terminated so you tell me that they didnt say it.. did you see the letter i dont think so?


Wow, a little testy? I think you need to re-read his/her post. He/ she was feeling sympathy towards you and explaining to you that you are not the call center's employee, but rather the placement agency's.

[rhiley_08j]

Some unions are great, others not so much. Look at the UAW. The average assembly line working, uneducated, makes $80,000/year. Does that make sense to you? Not to me.

Now on the other note, look at the unions that help people get better wages. Like Wal-Mart.

With great power comes great responsibility. The problem with some unions is they take the employer to the cleaners. With birthdays off and other nonsense. I'm all for uinons, but at the same time. Call centers, retail and fast food. Don't need 'em. The Government must update the outdated labour laws and make it work for the people, not the other way around.

The UAW/CAW have proven to be excellent negotiators for their members. I think, good for them if they can make that kind of money. Trust me, the amount of money they payed to their employees failed in comparison to the money they brought in. They didn't fail because of high wages, they failed because of consumer demand.

The labour laws that you speak of, wouldn't even be there today if it wasn't for unions, so be thankful everyday for the labour laws that are in place to protect employees, be thankful for regulated working hours, be thankful for all the safety measures that are in place in the workforce. Without unions, the average non-union worker wouldn't even have the rights that they have today.

[inuit]

I do agree sometimes unions do get too big for their britches but some of the unions associated with the Irvings are so weak they are useless. All they do is take your money and offer nothing in return. Those kinmds of unions give unions a bad name and people associated with them get a bad taste about unions. Seems hard to find a happy medium. With no union, the employers take advantage and treat their employees like slaves because they have almost no rights. On the other hand some unions are so powerful that the employees are almost getting the day off with pay because they have a hangnail. There need to be a fair medium somewhere.

What difference does it make where you work to be entitled to a fair workplace? You said call centers, retail and fast food don't need unions. I beg to differ. Most of these places the majority of the employees are women. They need unions to protect their rights just as much or more than auto workers who are mostly men. There is supposed to be no difference in gender but there really is. A workinmg mother needs to provide for her family as much as a father trying to support his family.

[rhiley_08j]

some of the unions associated with the Irvings are so weak they are useless. All they do is take your money and offer nothing in return. Those kinmds of unions give unions a bad name and people associated with them get a bad taste about unions.



See the thing is, a union is only as strong as it's members. The ideology of "all they do is take your money" stems from disgruntled members who in actuality have done nothing for their union, but expect their union to do for them. Members who are actively involved in the union, and show that they are strong members reap the benefits.

[jennifer25ca2006]

Wow, a little testy? I think you need to re-read his/her post. He/ she was feeling sympathy towards you and explaining to you that you are not the call center's employee, but rather the placement agency's.

not anywhere in that posting did they show sympathy whatso ever.. but I really do not care i have a namea number of someone i need to speak to tomorrow.

[inuit]

Maybe rhiley, maybe not. I belonged to a strong union for 15 years so I do know the benefit of a strong union. My son on the other hand belonged to the labourers union and they were crap. he worked for an irving company for 8 months. Was promised health benefit similar to blue cross but there was always some loophole and he never did get it. He paid weekly for it but was never allowed to use it. He paid weekly dues to the union too but was not a member of that union because they said it was something about hours or some othere foolish thing. Whatever it was there was always a loophole to his recieving any benefit from belonging to that union. He really has a bad taste in his mouth regarding unions.

After belonging to a strong union for so long, and no I was not on the executive, I was glad when he got a job that had a union but after seeing him deal with this arse kissing union, my opinion has changed somewhat.

Irving has a history of hating unions and has already convinced one union membership to return their cards and no longer be unionized. It's just a matter of time.

[inuit]

jennifer, was sympathy really what you were after?

I don't mean to sound unsympathic about your getting fired but if you apply or get a job that requires shift work, it is not really wise to go back later with or without a doctor's note saying you can't work nights. I know what you are saying about night shift. I worked as a nurse for 18 years. Hated night shift from day one but if I didn't want to work nights then I shouldn't have taken the job knowing there was a night shift.

Fair is fair both ways. You were aware there was a night shift and the employer needs a night shift filled. If you cannot do the nights, why accept the job?

[rhiley_08j]

not anywhere in that posting did they show sympathy whatso ever.. But i really do not care i have a namea number of someone i need to speak to tomorrow.

...sorry...

sorry - –adjective, -ri⋅er, -ri⋅est. 1. feeling regret, compunction, sympathy, pity, etc.: To be sorry to leave one's friends; to be sorry for a remark; to be sorry for someone in trouble. 2. regrettable or deplorable; unfortunate; tragic: A sorry situation; to come to a sorry end. 3. sorrowful, grieved, or sad: Was she sorry when her brother died? 4. associated with sorrow; suggestive of grief or suffering; melancholy; dismal. 5. wretched, poor, useless, or pitiful: A sorry horse. 6. (used interjectionally as a conventional apology or expression of regret): Sorry, you're misinformed. Did i bump you? Sorry

[rhiley_08j]

Maybe rhiley, maybe not. I belonged to a strong union for 15 years so I do know the benefit of a strong union. My son on the other hand belonged to the labourers union and they were crap. he worked for an irving company for 8 months. Was promised health benefit similar to blue cross but there was always some loophole and he never did get it. He paid weekly for it but was never allowed to use it. He paid weekly dues to the union too but was not a member of that union because they said it was something about hours or some othere foolish thing. Whatever it was there was always a loophole to his recieving any benefit from belonging to that union. He really has a bad taste in his mouth regarding unions.

After belonging to a strong union for so long, and no I was not on the executive, I was glad when he got a job that had a union but after seeing him deal with this arse kissing union, my opinion has changed somewhat.

Irving has a history of hating unions and has already convinced one union membership to return their cards and no longer be unionized. It's just a matter of time.


A lot of unions do require so many hours before you actually become a member, such as the Roofers and Sheet Metal Workers Union. I wasn't aware of it with the labourer's union though. Although you may be working in a unionized environment, and paying dues, health and welfare, you are not able to receive the benefits until you have the hours. I know it doesn't seem fair but it does work out in the long run.

As for the labour union, I will agree with you. I am in the Carpenter's Union, and the one that runs the labour union used to run ours until we gave him the boot. He is sneaky and underhanded. He is even training labourers now to cross trade lines and take the Carpenter's work. Not at all what being in a union is about.

[inuit]

Yeah you are right Rhiley but there is a catch. This company hires seasonally so although he paid health and dental and paid dues because he is laid off regularly, he may not for years be able to use this. They sure are fast enough to collect the dues and the health payments though. Leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. My son says he will not return to this company mainly because of the union thing. Last year he paid out so much money with very little in return.

[rhiley_08j]

Yeah you are right Rhiley but there is a catch. This company hires seasonally so although he paid health and dental and paid dues because he is laid off regularly, he may not for years be able to use this. They sure are fast enough to collect the dues and the health payments though. Leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. My son says he will not return to this company mainly because of the union thing. Last year he paid out so much money with very little in return.


It's too bad he feels this way. Hopefully he doesn't feel this way about the whole union movement. You said yourself that you experienced the benefits of a strong union, so you know that it is not all like his situation. I wouldn't normally suggest this, but, he could go to the human rights commission and file a complaint, or at least tell the union he plans on doing it. If it's one thing a union doesn't want it's a human rights violation. He could get his money back.

[jennifer25ca2006]

jennifer, was sympathy really what you were after?

I don't mean to sound unsympathic about your getting fired but if you apply or get a job that requires shift work, it is not really wise to go back later with or without a doctor's note saying you can't work nights. I know what you are saying about night shift. I worked as a nurse for 18 years. Hated night shift from day one but if I didn't want to work nights then I shouldn't have taken the job knowing there was a night shift.

Fair is fair both ways. You were aware there was a night shift and the employer needs a night shift filled. If you cannot do the nights, why accept the job?

I was not aware that my body could not handle doing the overnight shift. I did a little of 1 year of it. Unfortunatly my diabetes is not responding to it very well and is making me really sick. That being said If i had of known that i would get sick I defiantly would not have accepted the night shift. I love working the night shift but my health is more important then that. I just do not understand why it is that they say they didnt have a shift available in the day time and that they needed me on nights and now on the job bank they are hiring a bunch of ppl for the day shift..

[inuit]

Call centers can be pretty sneaky. They may advertise for day shift and once they get people they get switched to nights. My friend work for a call center a few years back and she was hired to do day shift but once the training was completed and she had worked a few more weeks, they said her numbers were down and they switched her to nights. She found another job and quit. That's why I think call centers should be unionized. They do whatever they want with no recourse for the employees. They have even changed the labour laws to better suit the call centers. It really sucks.

I guess the only thing good is that if you quit or get fired from a call center it is easier to get EI than anywhere else. I may be wrong there but that's what my friend told me. It is a job I could not do.

[inuit]

Yeah Rhiley I see what you are saying. They are really not doing anything wrong legally but morally I think it sucks. They should not be allowed to collect payments and dues from workers that may never acheive the hours needed to get use of what they are paying for. I am certain the union breaks no laws, it's just a *removed* way of getting money out of people.

Unions have changed and people have changed so much that eventually unions will no longer exist. JMO. I think people have become complacent and have forgotten why the unions were formed in the first place. I think people take it for granted now that they will be treated fairly by their employers.

When I started working within a union, if you went out on strike the other unions within your trade went out in support. Boy have those days passed. Now you are on your own. If your membership is low or weak you are at the mercy of the employer. Nobody's going to come to your support. Do you remember the days when if the teachers went out, the custodians and the bus drivers unions wouldn't cross their picket lines. Does not happen these days. It's every union for themselves.

Wal mart has a long history of union breaking and denial. Look at the Walmart in Quebec. They closed the store down rather than accept a union and most people who didn't work there agreed with Walmart. How crazy is that. Good unions bring in heath care,pensions, sick leave, job guarntees and fair working conditions for the employees. Walmart hire everyone part time so they don't have to pay health care, overtime, sick days, holiday pay or pension. Saves the company millions a year while the workers become day workers with no benefits or pensions.

[stripekv]

I've worked at an actual placement agency office before..you won't go anywhere with this. Request to your placement agency to seek other employment for you. You are more than likely wasting your time while you could be working somewhere else.

[Blazingsun]

Jennifer everyone who has stated that you dont have a leg to stand on is right. Your contract was terminated; your employment with the agency was not. My daughters friend just had the same thing happen to her after 2 years with a company she thought cared a lot about her. In this case they did not even give her a reason just that she was no longer needed after they spent weeks getting HER to train other people on her jobs.


So call the labor board they are going to tell you the same thing they said to this girl; sorry we can not do a thing. Unfortunately saint john call centers are laying off big time (wyndham, NCO, eddie bauer, etc) and without a formal education getting much else around here is slim pickens. So she has decided to move with my daughter in 2 months to ontario in search of more stable employment.

As someone who was a manager for 18 years even with a doctors note a chronic sick person becomes a headache. However thats what happens when you work in an industry like that....you get what you get and with no formal education you can not expect much better. Maybe its time to look at education or job skills training jenn seems like it would be more suited to your needs

[inuit]

This is where a union would come handy. A sick person should never become a headache. It's not their fault they are sick. Should the fact that they become sick while employed with a company mean that they should be dismissed and no longer be able to earn a meger living? This is part of the reason unions were formed in the first place.

[rhiley_08j]

...you get what you get and with no formal education you can not expect much better.

Education or lack thereof should not have any bearing on how you are treated. It's attitudes like this that go to show that management has no consideration for others, and why employees in this day and age still need representation.

That's why I will organize until I die!

[jennifer25ca2006]

.....

[jennifer25ca2006]

As someone who was a manager for 18 years even with a doctors note a chronic sick person becomes a headache. However thats what happens when you work in an industry like that....you get what you get and with no formal education you can not expect much better. Maybe its time to look at education or job skills training jenn seems like it would be more suited to your needs

Just becuase I worked in a call center does not mean that I do not have an education.. I have a great education, but to tell you the truth what I am trained for no one will hire unless you have experience. How the hell am I suppose to get experience if no one will give it to me.. DO NOT just assume that I have no education. You know nothing about me and have no right telling me that that I need an education and better job skills training.. You have no right..

[trinity]

I never understood why places would do that, especially if they are hiring for day shifts. I do understand though why they would choose to terminate the contract, because no matter the reason, trying to schedule around everyone's wants, needs, and health issues becomes a scheduling nightmare. My roommate has a chronic illness and has had major surgery last year, but I KNOW some days she just feels a little "off" and just doesn't go in. I won't even consider taking her resume to my employer because we absolutely cannot have someone like that on our staff, since the 11-7 and 7-3 shift have only 1 person working it, and sometimes the 3-11 as well. We run into situations enough as it is for normal levels of sick calls-when the 3-11 person calls in sick and the 7-3 person has to pick their kids up at school at 3:10, what DO YOU DO? When the 11-7 am person calls in sick and the 3-11 person has to already work at 7 am the next morning? Leave the place unattended til someone can get there? At one of my other jobs it is even MORE specialized, I am the ONLY one who can do what I do, no one else has the math background. At my third job, there we all do basically the same functions so one person calling in sick just makes the other 7-10 be a WHOLE lot busier.
Call centers are often the only place where someone WITH a chronic illness can find success, because they *plan* for sick calls and if one employee out of 31 calls in sick, all it means is everyone takes 110 calls instead of 106 and that calls wait 2 min 14 sec instead of 2 min. Have you tried Iron Mountain? For them, the night shift is a perk, for only the best and most trained. They won't even LET you work overnight if you want to.

[jennifer25ca2006]

I have and unfortunatly they are not hiring at this time... I wish they were.

[Pumpkin]

Just becuase I worked in a call center does not mean that I do not have an education.. I have a great education, but to tell you the truth what I am trained for no one will hire unless you have experience. How the hell am I suppose to get experience if no one will give it to me.. DO NOT just assume that I have no education. You know nothing about me and have no right telling me that that I need an education and better job skills training.. You have no right..

:( You are stuck in that vicious circle many of us get in. You go and spend thousands on education and then can't get hired in your field because there are no jobs available and when one does come up, you are not experienced enough. Like you said, how the hell do you get experience if no one will hire you!!!! I am in the position of making the decision of going back to school AGAIN or going out to look for another no paying job!! Where do you go, what do you take so that you aren't in that vicious cycle!!!?? Hard call to make huh!!

As everyone else has said, unfortunately you were hired through a placement agency and when it comes to terminating your job, it makes it WAY to easy for them!!

Call ceneters SUCK!!! They may pay better than your average job, which is why everyone grabs for them...so they can pay their bills. Call centers are not family friendly, they are not health friendly, well let's just say they are not friendly at all. It's almost like going back to highschool from my understanding. You run with the crowd you move with the crowd. You don't, u stay where you are and never get ahead. You piss the wrong person off, then you're gone!! And they WILL DIG until they find something on you to give cause for termination!!

Here's an example of what call ceneters do for ya!!

A family memeber of mine has been working at one since atleast 2002 or somewhere near there. He was promised a tv after being there for a year or something to that affect, and ofcourse just as the day rolled up, they decided that they weren't doing that anymore.
Then he was promised a bonus or something else appealing, and again when the date rolled around, "Oh we have decided not to do that anymore" This has been happening to everything they have promised him since he started there!!
The last one...he was supposed to get a raise. All the night staff, sleep during their shift except for my person...who ends up taking ALL the calls......funny one of the girls who sleeps EVERY night got the raise and then my person was told they decided not to give the raise.... so he has been working for that many years with them, doing every one else's jobs while they sleep and what does he get? Nothing and my guess, is he never will!!

And before I go, I'd like to add, if you work at a call center and then get laid off and decide you want to go back to school and want help paying for it thru EI, forget it!!! You already have a skill!! LoL Imagine!! Answering phones is a skill!! lol I answered phones, etc for a year as an admin assistant, and I am allowed to utilize that service because I guess I don't share that skill??? ...odd huh!! Call Centers seem to screw ya one way or another!!

Anyways Jennifer, good luck, I hope you find something that suits your health needs and that is understanding of your condition!!! and I hope you are feeling better!! =) I have diabetics in my family and friend circle and it's not something to screw around with, it does sometimes make what is easy for "me" hard for "you" and it's no joking matter!!!!