"Hired" in March but still haven't started due to covid

**ladymuck** · 26 May 2020, 20:09

It's a bit silly that the company didn't get you on the payroll in March so you could be furloughed at no cost to them. Although, maybe the timing of things meant that it simply couldn't be possible.

I would look around for work elsewhere and if you find something that starts sooner than this company can start you then go for it. Don't tell them to stick it until you have something else lined up.

**northernladuk** · 26 May 2020, 20:14

Was this contract signed by both parties and accepted? If that's the case I'd imagine you are both bound by it and you should start. It's not like contracting where then can just pull the work and we don't get paid. If you've a signed contract with a date you'd think it would be binding.

That said, if you go down that route then nothing is going to go well for you from here on in...

I think once you've calmed down you'll know the answer to be fair.

You can't tell them to stick it as it's still better than nothing and could take weeks to find something else. In the meantime do everything you can find a better gig so you can ring them at 10 am on the morning they finally say to come in and tell them to f*** themselves.

At some point they will either say get started or you start a new job so hedging your bets a little.

To be fair exactly happened to my lad last month. Did a weeks trial which ended the day of the lockdown. They went quiet on him for two weeks and I said the same to him, put it on backburner and keep looking. They eventually came back and started him. To be fair they paid him for it as well but that was a bonus IMO.

Re the laptop... You could be right although I wouldn't expect they would send you that until a couple of days before and maybe not even that if there is any confusion over the situation. Half of me says that's a bad sign but the other half thinks it's fair enough. I'm on the fence with that one. My lad didn't get his until the morning he actually started. A mate of mine started a new job and they sent him it 2 weeks early... so not sure what to say about that situation.

Either way, let it smoulder in the background for how and hit the jobs boards again hard.

It appears the same contractor saying goes for permie land as well. You've got nothing until you are sitting at your employers desk.

**edison** · 26 May 2020, 23:30

My current client has been doing the same for perm hires made in April, some aren't starting till June/July. It's as much to do with the capacity/ability to do remote onboarding and inductions as ensuring safer practices (everyone is still working from home.)

**Anonimouse** · 27 May 2020, 06:52

Some here have been pushed back to August

**jmo21** · 27 May 2020, 08:17

Originally posted by DrGUID View Post

Hi all,

Has anyone else found themselves in the weird situation that I've got myself in?

I was interviewed mid-March and offered a permie job (through an agency). Then the lockdown happened and...

Eventually I got a contract from them with a provisional start date of June 1. That's next week. So I email the HR woman today to make sure everything is ready and a few hours later my agent phones back and says they're pushing back on my start date because they're waiting for guidance from the government on safe working in offices.

I lost my rag with the agent. To be fair it's not their fault

.

So do I continue bending over and

taking it or do I tell them to stuff it and go for plan B of leaving software development while the job market is so poor.

My feeling is that if they really wanted me they'd have Fedex'd me a laptop by now

.

Tough one. I know I'd be pretty sour on the job after that.

Especially as I've seen lots of chat online of people starting jobs seamlessly online.

I'd be applying elsewhere.

**PerfectStorm** · 27 May 2020, 08:27

Keep looking until you're at their desk - physically or remotely - and you still want to come back the next day!

**LondonManc** · 27 May 2020, 09:38

Originally posted by PerfectStorm View Post

Keep looking until you're at their desk - physically or remotely - and you still want to come back the next day!

Keep looking when you're at their desk too. If they behave like this when onboarding you, it's going to be the same for the rest of your career there. Make sure you leave in the first two years so that your notice period is as short as possible.

**GigiBronz** · 27 May 2020, 10:12

Am supposed to start on 1st as well albeit in my case had the offer made at the beginning of last week.
Have been pushing to see a draft of the contract but complete silence so far.
I am assuming they would either like to postpone the start date or have a clause in contract that would like to push over the fence last minute.
Either way I am not going to play along, I'll say that I am keen to start as agreed and it is my way or no way.
From the interview, got a feeling that the manager could be a bit difficult so alongside poor pay puts me off quite a bit...

I am wondering if they ever stop and think what the other party is feeling... or do they just assume we are so indebted that we'd crawl on our knees to get some pennies thrown at?
Permanent employment feels like a punishment for something we did in a previous life indeed...

**Mephisto** · 27 May 2020, 11:24

Sorta the same but for a temp role in a warehouse. Didn't make it in time and they decided to put the brakes on all hiring unsurprisingly.

Dunno if anyone has considered it but volunteer work can you give you a bit of self-relevance again as well as expanding skills and filling the tedium of lockdown. I always did a bit here and there around normal work but have ramped it up and am part of some things trying to make a difference.

Surprising the skills asked for nowadays too. I have seen roles asking for migration specialists, PMs, 'product' owners(barf) etc. I guess they're all using the same IT kit SaaS, collab. etc. so it calls for such.

"Hired" in March but still haven't started due to covid