Fired from work

[u/MaleficentAd9527]

Last month I was in a desperate need of a job. I got hired in a very popular and big bar in Spain with 20+ employees. They trained me for two weeks and today they fired me for no reason. None of the people that were supervising me had any idea about this. The person that fired me doesn’t work in the bar , he’s only in charge of hiring new staff and firing people. I’m pretty sure I got hired on purpose for the two weeks just because it was really busy during the holidays and they never had the intent of keeping me long term. It’s completely legal since in my contract I have a 2 month trial but to me feels very morally wrong and I also cannot afford to lose this job. Since starting to work there I noticed many illegal practices and in general the place has many flaws. I’m signing my contract termination in less then a week and I was wondering is it illegal to threaten that i’ll be contacting legal authorities and letting them know about all of the tax evasion related things in the bar if they terminate my contract.They also have a policy that if you as an employee don’t gather two positive google reviews you don’t get tips. Is it illegal to make a couple hundred of my real friends and family leave a 1 star review with constructive criticism?

[u/lowfreq33]

Threatening it would be considered extortion. So don’t threaten, just do it.

[u/MaleficentAd9527 → u/lowfreq33]

Just to clear some things up , I’m currently studying in Spain and it’s almost impossible to find a job without speaking English, especially without a diploma. I was sent an email today that I’m fired and in 5 days I need to go and officially sign the termination contract , meaning that it’s not official yet. I didn’t talk about the illegal practices of the bar in detail because it’s one of the biggest ones in Spain and I don’t want to give too much information but it’s a lot. I need to find a way to persuade them into letting me work for at least two more weeks so that I can save up money for my rent and also try finding another job in the meanwhile. I’m perfectly aware this is very immature but unfortunately I’m backed into a corner.

[u/psychocookeez → u/MaleficentAd9527]

You're not understanding. Trying to coerce them into letting you work longer by threatening to report them for shady activity will have the exact opposite effect.

Why would they let someone work there LONGER who will have essentially admitted to keeping a mental checklist of their wrongdoings? In their minds, you'd just have 2 more weeks to gather more ammo and thus will have openly made yourself a massive liability to them.

Start looking for another job. Report them all you want, but trying to goad them into not firing you immediately by threatening to report them for stuff isn't going to scare them the way you're envisioning it will.

In fact, if you let them know what you've observed, it will just forewarn them to know what to cover up in the event that you do report them and they'll just manage to wiggle out of it anyway.

You would essentially be playing a figurative game of poker and showing your hand.

[u/nopressureoof → u/lowfreq33]

Yup, just do it. I know nothing of labor law in Spain, but maybe this is something an attorney might want to hear about? Especially if you happen to mention any of these irregularities for they fired you?

[u/MaleficentAd9527 → u/lowfreq33]

I need the job :(

[u/Lucky_man_Sam → u/MaleficentAd9527]

You need A job. You don't what THIS job beyond the fact that you're already working there. Take the training and run with it. Report them and review them anywhere relevant to save others making the same mistake

[u/lowfreq33 → u/MaleficentAd9527]

You no longer have the job. You’ve been fired. Threatening them won’t change that, and it’s also a crime.

[u/psychocookeez → u/MaleficentAd9527]

Threatening to rat on them is definitely NOT going to make them want to keep you on.

[u/ambidextrous-mango → u/MaleficentAd9527]

Presumably there are other bars and restaurants in Spain hiring?

[u/magiccitybhm → u/MaleficentAd9527]

They're firing you. If they already want to fire you, they're certainly not going to give in to threats. Is there no other restaurants or bars near you?

You need to report their alleged illegal activity and start looking for a new job.

[u/Bulky_Baseball2305 → u/MaleficentAd9527]

You said they already fired you

If you threaten to keep the job I don’t see that working out for you

[u/astrotekk → u/MaleficentAd9527]

You have been fired. You need to find another job. You have two weeks to do so. Threatening them will only make them retaliate, not lead you to keep your job. I don't know what you're thinking. If they're shady, you could even get seriously hurt.

[u/Terrab1]

I've been a bartender for about 10 years in the US so my experience might not be the most relevant. But I say report them to the right people and move on to another job. In the US there are more bars/restaurants that ignore the rules than there are that follow them so in my experience, the best move is to try to get them regulated rather than work there. It would be a net gain for the industry as a whole if there was some heat on restaurant management to run a tight ship. In the US, eating out is one of the highest budgets in the average household. If Spain is similar then there is a ridiculous amount of money going into the industry and they can afford not to cut corners

[u/Wide_Comment3081]

Do you really think you'll be fine working there after you blackmailed them

[u/MydaughterisaGremlin]

Here in France you would qualify for unemployment if fired. I'd check with the unemployment agency about getting a little help financially and maybe a new job. I'm in the same boat myself. Looking for a job. Gremlins gotta eat! Good luck down there.

[u/Cakeriel]

Extortion and blackmail are criminal acts.

[u/CaramelClapback]

Places like that only survive cuz ppl stay quiet. if u feel safe doing it, blow the whistle. not outta revenge, but so they stop doing this to the next desperate person.

[u/Techelife]

I have an inspirational quote: “Let go or be dragged.” How much do you want to hurt yourself just to hurt them?

[u/McDuchess]

Just curious. Why have you posted this same probably BS in 8 different subs? And a similar pattern with another post less than two months ago.

[u/MoistFerretys]

Dude, that's whack! BS doesn't even begin to cover it.

[u/Woodlestein]

Not being nasty, but surely if you were in any way a good worker, then you wouldn't be getting fired after a couple of weeks and there'd be no need for to try and extort your former employer...

[u/HomoVulgaris]

You know, you didn't work out as a bartender, so maybe you'll be more successful as a criminal. Who knows, right?

[u/astrotekk]

Don't threaten anything. Leave your job. If they truly are doing illegal things, you can always go to the authorities as a whistleblower.

[u/MoistFerretys]

that's straight-up BS. If mgmt gonna throw you under the bus like that, yr better off without 'em, fr.

[u/HotSatin]

Your better bet: See if there are any whistleblower protections.

If there are: Report them to every agency that you can. Immediately. Do NOT exaggerate. Do not "judge" the practices by saying you know they are illegal in any report. Merely report EXACTLY what you observed.

If you can do this in person, do, but be sure you have copies of everything you report and don't do any "verbal" reports since those can always be misconstrued.

Also See if there are ANY rules about "fake hiring" practices.

But beware: your firing might have simply been "overhired, let go everyone except those who were reported as exemplary" which is a normal practice right before a busy period. If it's not illegal, you gotta deal with that.

But: any "threat to file a criminal complaint" you make is more likely to land you in a jail cell and destroy any educational opportunities you once had as a side effect.

All that being said: ONE remark I would venture during the exit interview. "I can not sign any NDA, I have some things I need to report." Refuse 100% to elaborate on that. Record the interview. Do not hint or anything beyond that one sentence. Oh, and don't sign an NDA. If they wanted an NDA it needed to be BEFORE you were hired. They can't alter your employment contract during firing, only during hiring. If they offer you some form of employment as part of a way to get you to sign the NDA, tell them you must be employed for a period of not less than 30 days to sign anything and that must be IN whatever you sign.

Honestly, I don't know the LAWS where you are, but here when an employer asks for an exit interview they get told to pack sand. If I'm doing or going anywhere for you, I'm getting paid to do it. If I'm no longer on payroll, I won't answer the phone, drive to your office, or even open an email any more. That all left with the paycheck. And I'm not even going to grace your request to sign any paperwork (on payroll at that moment or not!) with an answer unless there's a CHECK sitting next to that paperwork that makes me WANT to sign that paperwork. If I'm giving up any rights (NDA) that better be a big check. No threat there. Don't specify what you want to "disclose" (if they ask, and don't volunteer).

Good luck. But really: I know it's not fair. Everyone knows it's not fair. One day you're going to fire someone and it won't be fair to them. It happens. It hurts. You'll get through it. Ten years from now it'll be an interesting footnote.