Job related Advice?

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Hi All,

I've just been sacked (if that's the right term) from an apprenticehip program here in the UK. My job was in an office and i had to answer the phone and carry out data entry. Standard office work really. I worked in social care so i had a wide variety of calls coming in so i had to deal with spontaneity on a daily basis. That's fine for me, i had no problems. However, i had a couple of serious calls where people were in danger and i apparently didn't deal with them correctly and this was blamed on my Asperger's. I apparently didn't notice the urgency when actually i felt that it wasn't in my place to make such an informed judgement on this potentially dangerous situation. Im obviously sorry for this but they think i should of made the judgement. I've told them i was going to work towards the difficult bits and they were fine but then did this. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the ramble but this is greatly upsetting and it's good to get advice from like-minded people

By definition, aspies are failures with most social interactions. Therefore, we need to plan accordingly, which means seeking jobs that emphasizes our strengths rather than our weaknesses. The hard part is that since we are all unique individuals, what your strengths are is something you will have to determine.

It's very hard to determine whether you should have made a judgement call on this without going through all of the intimate details. Not a route I'm recommending. My gut feeling is that someone still in training should not be making decisions where there is a dangerous potential result.

Is there a possibility that this was used as an excuse? Obviously many with AS experience discrimination in the workplace.

Did you enjoy the job? Would you like to carry on with something similar or prefer a change?

I don't think it was wrong of them to fire you, unless there's more here than what you're saying. Whether it's due to AS or not, you describe being unable to handle emergencies or identify them so that someone better qualified can handle them. Since this is a necessary part of the job, you were not qualified for the job and they had to fire you. This is not your fault or their fault; chances are neither party knew you would not be able to handle these emergencies. If it had been me, I would have tried to find you a different position where you would not need to handle emergencies, but perhaps that was not an option for your employer.

However, since you were able to handle the rest of the job well, and perhaps (if you are like many Aspies) with superior accuracy, I do not think this means you are unemployable. Answering phones in an environment less likely to require quick reactions--for example, working tech support, taking orders, etc.--would be a job you could do. Data entry in general is a decent job for many with AS.

Did you and your supervisor part on good terms? If you did, perhaps they could even give you a letter of recommendation that basically says, "This person is a good worker [list other good qualities] and was only terminated because he was unable to handle emergencies [nature of emergency]. In any job where this worker is not required to handle emergencies, we highly recommend [etc, etc.]" You could use this letter as a way to explain why you were fired from your last job and why this does not make you a poor worker or a bad fit for the job you are applying for. You could also explain that you were adept at handling unexpected events which were not emergencies, and that it was just the truly extreme situations which you were unprepared for.

It has also given you a little more knowledge about yourself: You have trouble identifying and reacting to situations which are too far out of the ordinary and require fast responses, and you should probably apply for jobs where that sort of thing is not required.

Firstly you say the reason you didn't deal with the calls correctly was 'blamed on your aspergers'. Do you think this is the true reason why you did not deal with the calls 'correctly' or do you feel you had not received sufficient training to be expected to deal with such situations? Also how long were you in the role and were you given a chance to address the issues raised about your performance in a formal meeting or given extra training or support to deal with the situations you were presented with?

Without knowing more it's hard to say who is at fault here and given the nature of the calls it would be unwise to share the exact details as I am sure they would be confidential. Though when put in a role where people's safety and well being are at your mercy, if that was the case, could leave an employer with little choice but to terminate your employment with immediate effect. If the people you were taking calls from were frail and vulnerable then by misreading a situation or not taking the right course of action could have a profound effect on the caller and by the sounds of it your decisions would be the difference between a house visit by a carer or medical professional taking place or not depending on your assessment of the situation.

I am possibly overstating the responsibility of the role you held but in any case I feel the employer in this instance may have been left with little choice given that your role seemed to require sound judgement on a range of situations, most of which would be unfamiliar but require an application of 'common sense' to ensure the correct outcome.

It sounds like you cope well with your aspergers given that you have actually been employed and were given the role in the first place. I should think you would have no problem gaining other employment but in an area where you are given the chance to learn in an environment where you actions would not lead to a possibly serious situation for an elderly and vulnerable person. Everyone needs to start somewhere and learn the skills required for a job but I would imagine most office jobs you would have no problems with.

Best of luck finding alternative employment though on this occasion you may have run into one of the few office jobs where someone with aspergers would probably not best be suited. That is a job with possibly stressful and high pressure situations requiring sound judgement towards constantly changing situations at all times.

I don't think that any apprentice should be in a position of that level of trust, regardless of where on the specturm where one is.

What should be done is to seek Citizens Advice or get a full written explanation of why the apprenticeship was terminated. Either that a Reference would be ideal form them to help with future employment.

if there is no way back to the job,what about working as a support staff in a residential unit or outreach services for an autism organisation?
in the past four years have been living here/a largish residential facility for kids,teens and adults on the severe or profound spectrums of autism, we have had many aspie support staff,every one of them has been able to offer a different view for the company and its great having staff who can relate to us better,one aspie staff have got now is a current member here and had been reminded of wp today by her,not been on for years.
this particular company offers a lot of adaptions for staff on the spectrum such as hours, not having to do specific jobs such as personal care etc depending on the person,its worth a look as woud no doubt be able to offer a lot in this kind of work!

Thanks a lot for the replies guys,

There was no formal training given. My 'training' was day to day learning. so taking notes for every different call i received. I was notified i would possibly receive calls of an urgent nature but my colleagues were going to be available to assist me for the first few so i could get a good footing. The way i dealt with that urgent call was to take a name and number and tell them they would get a call back immediately as i had to consult my manager. I knew it was an urgent matter but i was in no way willing to take it into my own hands so early on in the apprenticeship. I was told that i should of taken it into my own hands.

If i'm completely honest i don't want to go back, I've only been there 3 months so debatable whether there is even much point putting it on the CV. For fellow younger members, we all know how hard it can be when you have little or no workplace experience to back you up in interviews. I just want the council to be brought to justice. I was an APPRENTICE not an employee. Therefore i should not be held with the same responsibility as an employee with years of experience of dealing with these situations. I'm an incredibly caring person who wants to help others. they can't just give up on me after they hit a snag. especially after they discussed focusing on my strengths and taking pressure off me for answering the phones. Poor management is what springs to mind. I do understand that the council are at great pressure to remove any risk posed to vulnerable people. however, they should focus on their training structure and think about how they can't immediately blame the employee.

I think them blaming your AS is a cop out for not giving you adequate training. An NT apprentice wouldn't have had sufficient training to handle the emergency situations either. What if you were undiagnosed? Who would they blame then?

It sounds as though they threw you in the deep end without adequate training and then blamed your aspergers to cover themselves. Imho, you did the right thing not trying to deal with the emergency yourself - how could you if you didn't know what to do? I think if you need to mention the apprenticeship in any future interview then you should mention your lack of training and tell them about how you were expected to make important decisions without the appropriate knowledge. Even if you did struggle because of aspergers they were still in the wrong, and if they were aware of you being aspie from the start they should have made more effort than normal to help accommodate you.

That's exactly it.

I was the one the volunteer the asperger's due to my difficulties with organisation. big mistake really in hindsight. They have used this as an excuse to latch on to. Agreements had been made that we were going to focus on ways to improve my ability on dealing with these more difficult calls and focus on data entry and other IT based tasks. They stabbed me in the back and said "We don't think you will ever be able to progress to dealing with complex calls due to your asperger's" Are they fair to make this judgement? are they breaking the law? Why are they not giving me a chance? I was only there for 3 months after all. I'm 19 and never worked in an office before. They shouldn't seem so surprised if i'm making mistakes now and then especially if no formal training is provided.

I'm afraid that local government can be just as political and insensitive as any other work environment. From personal experience I can assure you that the culture can be unprofessional and some are corrupt.

I do not feel that the way you have been treated is appropriate. However, I do not know the current standards regarding discrimination or what the expectations of an apprentice are held to be. If you do want to pursue this then I would suggest you get your contract and any other documentation and visit the CAB, Citizens Advice Bureau, for some impartial advice. I understand that you want to stand up for what is right but prepare for a long tough fight if you do choose this route.

I feel you do not have much to gain from a dispute. I suggest you put this down to experience and direct your energy to finding something you will enjoy more. There will always be bureaucrats and hypocrites in this world that are best avoided if possible.

This is ridiculous. An 19 year old apprentice admin person should under no circumstances be expected to take this responsibility. There should be a very clear system to deal with potentially urgent calls, usually by referral to a duty officer who can make a professional decision. If this person is not available it would not be your fault. If it is felt that the AS is an issue the employer should look to Access to Work to support the employee. It is possible to pursue the council via the DDA and Disability Equality Duty but success is low and you do not want the job back anyway. I worked in local government for many years and they can be very poor at employing people who are disabled.
Is your AS obvious? I would be tempted not to tell your next employer.

It sounds like they were lazy in their training of you and wanted an excuse to lay you off. Apprenticeships sound like a good idea if you can get the right one for you.

They offer them in more technical roles, like IT or hardware repairs too.