‘Slap-in-the-face’ text sparks warning for millions of Aussie workers: ‘No guarantee’

Australians have been issued a warning about quitting their jobs after a “slap in the face” for a young worker. The Melbourne woman recently learned the hard way and found herself unemployed.

SEEK careers coach Leah Lambart told Yahoo Finance employers could rescind job offers “at the last minute” and urged people not to quit before locking in their new role in writing. She said jobseekers were better off being patient and waiting, rather than risk being stuck without either job.

Adriana Marie shared she found herself in this position after she applied for a full-time job with a beauty and skincare company. She said the owner offered her the job following a four-and-a-half-hour trial and was specifically asked when she would resign from her current job at Mecca.

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“After she offered me the job, she goes, ‘When do you think you are going to resign from Mecca because we need someone immediately’,” she shared on TikTok.

“I said to her, ‘Look I can resign tomorrow if you need me to’ and she goes, ‘Great, yes, amazing and we’ll see you on Monday’.”

Adriana said she then went out and bought some new work clothes, but received an unexpected text message from the owner two days later.

“On Saturday I get a text from her going, ‘Hey Adriana, look I’m really sorry but I think I jumped the gun … Can you please give me until Monday to make my final decision’,” she said.

Adriana said she was shocked to receive the message, particularly given the owner had specifically asked her when she would resign from her current job.

“I thought to myself, ‘Are you absolutely kidding me?’” she said.

“If I were to have known that obviously I would not have resigned. Why were you pushing me to resign? Why did you say I even had the job when you weren’t certain?”

Adriana said the message was a “real slap in the face” and said she had never heard of any other employers doing this.

“I was freaking out because I was thinking to myself, I’m unemployed,” she said.

Adriana said she believed the owner had other interviews lined up despite offering her the job.

Thankfully, Adriana said she was contacted by another employer who she had applied with soon after and ended up landing a job with them.

Do you have a work story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com

Job offers ‘can be rescinded’

Lambart said job offers could be rescinded for jobseekers “at all levels”, including experienced jobseekers.

“Sometimes you need to be patient and wait for the offer to come through, but this is better than being in a situation where you have resigned from a job and have no new job to start,” she told Yahoo Finance.

She advised job seekers to wait until they had a new offer in writing and the contract had been signed by their new employer before quitting their current job.

“There is always a possibility that the offer could be rescinded at the last minute,” she said.

“It’s also important before you accept the offer and resign at your current job, to take your time and carefully read the contract to ensure that everything you discussed during the interview stage has been accurately represented.”

‘Unfair’: Aussies weigh in

Aussies flooded the comments to share their thoughts on Adriana’s job experience, with many agreeing the employer’s conduct was unfair.

“She was so unprofessional, you’ve dodged a bullet for sure,” one wrote

“You should email their head office that is SO unfair!!! Not in this economy…” another said.

Others told her she shouldn’t have resigned from her current job before she had her new job offer in writing.

“It’s never guaranteed before a contract or job offer is issued and accepted by both parties. I’m so sorry, that’s so frustrating,” one wrote.

Others questioned whether or not it was legal to make jobseekers do a four-and-a-half-hour unpaid work trial.

According to Fair Work, unpaid work trials are acceptable only if they are necessary to demonstrate the skills needed for the job and are only as long as actually needed.

This will depend on the job but could be an hour to one shift.

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