Fired Due to Not Being Able to Get to Work

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone. I joined this page to ask this specific question. I used to be a PCA, and am currently a college student. During my winter break, I was home and there was a snow storm that made visibility terrible, and the roads were not even plowed. I was scheduled to come in that night for an overnight, and had told my employer I probably wouldn't be able to get there due to the snow over 24 hours in advance. I messaged every single other person that worked as well, and everyone either did not want to or were even further away than I was. I had to end up just saying that I could not come in. I drive a very old sports car that has BALD tires. When I even hit a patch a slush doing 5 mph, I will still slide. Living in a town with all hills that was unplowed and had ice all over, I couldn't even get out of my driveway, and knew there was no way my car would make it there. My family did not allow me to take their four wheel drive vehicles, or even my brothers car which is at least a little safer. I do not live at school, so I didn't have anywhere I could stay beforehand to make it to work. I ended up being fired, and was obviously upset. I got yelled at for being "unprepared" and "irresponsible", as if I could have just snow shoed there or had any other option. This is NOT my full time job, it was simply for patient care hours. I did NOT take on this job thinking I would have to do this, nor was it ever mentioned to me. There were people on campus that just did not want to go in and cover me. Is this really my fault? I hate losing a job and a reference, but I can't control what car my family gives me, or that I have no viable option. I'm an undergrad, not a nurse knowing fully well what I have to do. Also, on overnights you get paid $20 for the whole entire night. You don't get paid hourly. I don't think totaling my car or getting hurt or killed is worth any amount, much less $20.

I did not post this to get hammered about my car. If you did not read correctly I am 20 years old and an undergrad. I work 9 hours a week at my other job and pay for other bills. My parents do not pay for really anything for me, so please do not say "get a new car", because that is the least helpful advice to someone who does not have even a percentage of the money to buy that. Hence the "student worker". I do not plan on being a nurse, and I think I'm smart enough to know that living in a snowy climate requires a good car. However, again, I am 20 years old. I didn't get to CHOOSE where I live and was raised. When I HAVE a career and actual income, I will have a safer car. Not all of you were born with money I'm assuming, so perhaps be understanding.

You were not hammered about your car. You were given good advice.

Safe travels.. and peace to you.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
I did not post this to get hammered about my car. If you did not read correctly I am 20 years old and an undergrad. I work 9 hours a week at my other job and pay for other bills. My parents do not pay for really anything for me, so please do not say "get a new car", because that is the least helpful advice to someone who does not have even a percentage of the money to buy that. Hence the "student worker". I do not plan on being a nurse, and I think I'm smart enough to know that living in a snowy climate requires a good car. However, again, I am 20 years old. I didn't get to CHOOSE where I live and was raised. When I HAVE a career and actual income, I will have a safer car. Not all of you were born with money I'm assuming, so perhaps be understanding.

There is simply no excuse for driving an unsafe car. If you were in a accident due to you bald tires and someone was killed and it could be proved that you knew your tires were bad you could be convicted of manslaughter and go to prison. No one said to get a new car but we did say you should get new tires.

Hppy

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Specializes in ED, psych.
I did not post this to get hammered about my car. If you did not read correctly I am 20 years old and an undergrad. I work 9 hours a week at my other job and pay for other bills. My parents do not pay for really anything for me, so please do not say "get a new car", because that is the least helpful advice to someone who does not have even a percentage of the money to buy that. Hence the "student worker". I do not plan on being a nurse, and I think I'm smart enough to know that living in a snowy climate requires a good car. However, again, I am 20 years old. I didn't get to CHOOSE where I live and was raised. When I HAVE a career and actual income, I will have a safer car. Not all of you were born with money I'm assuming, so perhaps be understanding.

I remember being 20 and in college.

I still made sure my 1986 Honda had decent (albeit not new) tires on my waitressing salary.

So knock it off. No one here told you to buy a new car. People here gave you good advice. The posters here, who are *actually concerned* for your safety and well being btw (which is clearly evident), posted on driving more safely (i.e., used tires, finding rides, alternate transportation).

You're welcome.

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Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.

I just wondered about this: you say you aren't a nurse and don't plan to be one, so why are you posting on a nursing site? And yes, if you are aware of potentially bad weather 24 hours in advance - you should have been at work.

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Good advice on both parts, Been there!

Last summer we had two gigantic trees block the driveway to our house and the electricity was knocked out. The temps were close to 100 degrees.

Belinda called in to say that she couldn't come in due to the electricity being out. The medical side Sup wanted to argue with her. I mean, come on now...

So when I called off to the psych division Sup, I merely said "I have family emergency".

"Well, okay", the Sup replied, "I hope things get better!"

I try to always be very honest about everything; I thought that being honest would be better than lying, but I suppose maybe bending the truth is the better option here.

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I remember being 20 and in college.

I still made sure my 1986 Honda had decent (albeit not new) tires on my waitressing salary.

So knock it off. No one here told you to buy a new car. People here gave you good advice. The posters here, who are *actually concerned* for your safety and well being btw (which is clearly evident), posted on driving more safely (i.e., used tires, finding rides, alternate transportation).

You're welcome.

I understand that people on here care about the well-being of others. Some commenters have said to get a new car. Unfortunately I cannot afford tires, even used ones. I wish I could obviously, that would be awesome, but I have to make do with what I have for now. I chose to stay off the roads for the sake of myself, and anyone else who was driving, because getting into a crash with a human or a tree is not helpful to anyone. I did try to find alternate transportation, but seeing as that my only options were my parents, who said they were not going anywhere, I was kind of stuck in regards to that. I don't think an Uber would even have picked me up, because damaging their car would hurt their job since it depends on their vehicle. Nor do I wish to put my life in the hands of a stranger during a storm, and as a rule I never go into Ubers alone anyways. I've encountered too many creeps to do that. If I cannot afford to go out to dinner, I don't consider myself able to purchase tires. They may not be new but $100 is comparable to $1000 in my financial situation.

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I try to always be very honest about everything; I thought that being honest would be better than lying, but I suppose maybe bending the truth is the better option here.

What kind of answers would be helpful if they aren't based on the truth?

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I understand that people on here care about the well-being of others. Some commenters have said to get a new car. Unfortunately I cannot afford tires, even used ones. I wish I could obviously, that would be awesome, but I have to make do with what I have for now. I chose to stay off the roads for the sake of myself, and anyone else who was driving, because getting into a crash with a human or a tree is not helpful to anyone. I did try to find alternate transportation, but seeing as that my only options were my parents, who said they were not going anywhere, I was kind of stuck in regards to that. I don't think an Uber would even have picked me up, because damaging their car would hurt their job since it depends on their vehicle. Nor do I wish to put my life in the hands of a stranger during a storm, and as a rule I never go into Ubers alone anyways. I've encountered too many creeps to do that. If I cannot afford to go out to dinner, I don't consider myself able to purchase tires. They may not be new but $100 is comparable to $1000 in my financial situation.

Sooo, what were you hoping to accomplish by sharing your story here? Maybe you should have framed it as a rant instead of asking other people if they thought you were right/wrong.

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You asked 'Is this my fault?' I assume you're referring to being fired, so the answer is yes, yes it's your fault. Does it suck that employers want you to work even when the weather is bad? Yep. Does it mean you get to skip? Nope.

I worked for Best Buy, and was scheduled to work on Black Friday (surprise surprise). So even though my Thanksgiving celebration was 100 miles away, and I had to drive back home at night in a blizzard, I did it because I knew I needed to be at work and calling in wasn't an option (even sick or with a family emergency). This is one of the crappy parts of being a grown up and being gainfully employed. Learn to plan in advance - which means better tires and maybe considering a vehicle that performs a bit better in the snow. I know that sports cars are cool, but you had to realize that snow happens in your city when you bought it. You could try selling it and puting that $ toward a different beater that may work better in the snow (I know that won't give you many options). Can you pick up more hours without impacting your studies too much? How many hours of class are you taking?

And yeah, I'm not sure how legal it is to only pay you $20 for an overnight ... I assume you work more than 2.5 hours?

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I understand that people on here care about the well-being of others. Some commenters have said to get a new car. Unfortunately I cannot afford tires, even used ones. I wish I could obviously, that would be awesome, but I have to make do with what I have for now. I chose to stay off the roads for the sake of myself, and anyone else who was driving, because getting into a crash with a human or a tree is not helpful to anyone. I did try to find alternate transportation, but seeing as that my only options were my parents, who said they were not going anywhere, I was kind of stuck in regards to that. I don't think an Uber would even have picked me up, because damaging their car would hurt their job since it depends on their vehicle. Nor do I wish to put my life in the hands of a stranger during a storm, and as a rule I never go into Ubers alone anyways. I've encountered too many creeps to do that. If I cannot afford to go out to dinner, I don't consider myself able to purchase tires. They may not be new but $100 is comparable to $1000 in my financial situation.

It's not your fault if you have limited options at your age and as a student, and I also think it was probably good for you to call in if you couldn't drive on un-plowed roads, where you could potentially hurt yourself or someone else.

At the same time, it's not your manager's problem to deal with the problems YOU are facing. At the end of the day, your workplace needs someone who is reliable and can show up to work, because there are people that need to be taken care of and the job still has to be done. I know the situation sucks, but it's not about you, it's about the people that need a worker who will show up.

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Legitimately - if you can't afford tires (which is basic maintenance) how can you afford to have a car? Do your parents pay for your insurance? How do you pay for gas? What about oil changes?

I mean, if you're only working 9 hrs a week, your pay check can't be much more than $120 every two weeks.

I'm sorry that being 20 and poor sucks. Believe it or not, most of us have been there and many of us figured out how to get through it. Is there any public transportation? How about a taxi (not an uber since apparently those are 'creepy')?

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Yeah, that's a tricky one. Instead of telling your employer you're going to call in 24 hrs in advance, you probably should have framed it as "How can I make it for my shift and avoid the snow?" The employer or family may have been able to work with you. I have slept on couches the evening before my night shift to make it in a snowstorm. I got a bit perturbed that the day shift person supposed to relieve me called in because they didn't wake up early enough to shovel his driveway... but I digress.

In short, the employer needed you to be there and you couldn't. Unfortunately, that's enough reason to fire you. I believe some nurses also got fired for not coming to work in a hurricane. It's not always fair but it's just the way it is in this field.

I also thought it was a bit far fetched to advise a college student to buy a subaru. Wouldn't that be nice? But yeah, keep your car and yourself safe. Don't be driving on bald tires. New tires are expensive but so is getting into an accident.

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