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Hi guys,
I’m a 31 year male from Cape Town and im in urgent need of good advice because I fear I might do the wrong thing.
I started working at a construction company in a well-paid position in Nov 2013. A Very stressful and very responsible position, but I managed to cope…just about. Soon after I got the drift of things and started to make a huge success of it. Everything went well for about 6 months, and then the one site manager decided to push me to the side and replace me with someone else. Being in a responsible job I tend to question everything that comes by me. And he didn’t like it. So he shipped me off to the head office and I became the responsibility of the CEO of the company. He didn’t really know what to do with me, because they can’t fire me. April of this year he asked me to go to Pretoria for 3 months to do a job there. I left for Pretoria on my own cost. After I got there I realised there is no need for someone in my position to be there. And figured that it was a cheap way to get rid of me. Sitting day in and day out in a place where you don’t have anything to do is torture. At the same time I have family and a fiancée in cape town that had to go through an emergency operation, of which he refused me to attend. There was no need for me to be 1500km away from home; I could have done my part from anyway in SA.
After 3 months I returned to cape town on my own cost again. A couple of weeks later he told me to go to Durban for a 6 month job and I must share a 3 bedroom flat with 12 construction workers. Sometimes in the same room or bed. At that stage my mood and drive was very low due to my depression and the instability didn’t do any good. The people in my life know exactly how to handle me to aid me in my daily tasks. My fiancée is home alone and must now all of sudden run everything I leave behind. So these decisions touch everyone in my life. I decided to look for my own accommodation because I can’t live like he is planning on, it will mean the end of my mood. Yet again I travelled to Durban on my own cost. Hiring a car on my on cost and use my cell phone for business deals.
Yet again I realise there is no need for someone in my position on site and all the work can be done from anywhere in SA. Two months later he sent me an email, instructing me to report to Kroonstad. Yet again I travelled to Kroonstad on my own cost and yet again I realise there is no need for someone like me.
I can’t go on like this anymore. My fiancée is on the verge of leaving me and I can’t blame her. Nowhere in my contract has it stated that I must travel. The company has 4 other people with the same job title, why can’t they go for a change? If it’s a case that they don’t have work for me in cape town, why do they appoint more and more people with my job title.
What keeps me from going?
1. I get a real good pay for someone with only 2 years’ experience. I won’t get it anywhere else, I looked around.
2. Work in this field is very scares in Cape Town
3. Can’t find anything else.
I received inside info from the HR guy and he told me if I tell the CEO I can’t travel anymore and I want to go home then he will fire me by telling me there is no more work for me and I refuse the available work.
My church asked me to take on a Sunday school teacher position, and I rejected it because I’m married to my job. If I tell him I can’t travel cause of my responsibilities at church. Do I have a case at the CCMA? Maybe this shunting around is a clever way of constructive dismissal?
What I want to know from you guys. Can I ask him to go back to cape town and explain to him how it is effecting my personal life outside the company? And I can’t travel no longer Does he have any foot to stand on and fire me? Can you guys please explain to me what to do, and how to do it to avoid dismissal?
Guys, please help!
I’m a 31 year male from Cape Town and im in urgent need of good advice because I fear I might do the wrong thing.
I started working at a construction company in a well-paid position in Nov 2013. A Very stressful and very responsible position, but I managed to cope…just about. Soon after I got the drift of things and started to make a huge success of it. Everything went well for about 6 months, and then the one site manager decided to push me to the side and replace me with someone else. Being in a responsible job I tend to question everything that comes by me. And he didn’t like it. So he shipped me off to the head office and I became the responsibility of the CEO of the company. He didn’t really know what to do with me, because they can’t fire me. April of this year he asked me to go to Pretoria for 3 months to do a job there. I left for Pretoria on my own cost. After I got there I realised there is no need for someone in my position to be there. And figured that it was a cheap way to get rid of me. Sitting day in and day out in a place where you don’t have anything to do is torture. At the same time I have family and a fiancée in cape town that had to go through an emergency operation, of which he refused me to attend. There was no need for me to be 1500km away from home; I could have done my part from anyway in SA.
After 3 months I returned to cape town on my own cost again. A couple of weeks later he told me to go to Durban for a 6 month job and I must share a 3 bedroom flat with 12 construction workers. Sometimes in the same room or bed. At that stage my mood and drive was very low due to my depression and the instability didn’t do any good. The people in my life know exactly how to handle me to aid me in my daily tasks. My fiancée is home alone and must now all of sudden run everything I leave behind. So these decisions touch everyone in my life. I decided to look for my own accommodation because I can’t live like he is planning on, it will mean the end of my mood. Yet again I travelled to Durban on my own cost. Hiring a car on my on cost and use my cell phone for business deals.
Yet again I realise there is no need for someone in my position on site and all the work can be done from anywhere in SA. Two months later he sent me an email, instructing me to report to Kroonstad. Yet again I travelled to Kroonstad on my own cost and yet again I realise there is no need for someone like me.
I can’t go on like this anymore. My fiancée is on the verge of leaving me and I can’t blame her. Nowhere in my contract has it stated that I must travel. The company has 4 other people with the same job title, why can’t they go for a change? If it’s a case that they don’t have work for me in cape town, why do they appoint more and more people with my job title.
What keeps me from going?
1. I get a real good pay for someone with only 2 years’ experience. I won’t get it anywhere else, I looked around.
2. Work in this field is very scares in Cape Town
3. Can’t find anything else.
I received inside info from the HR guy and he told me if I tell the CEO I can’t travel anymore and I want to go home then he will fire me by telling me there is no more work for me and I refuse the available work.
My church asked me to take on a Sunday school teacher position, and I rejected it because I’m married to my job. If I tell him I can’t travel cause of my responsibilities at church. Do I have a case at the CCMA? Maybe this shunting around is a clever way of constructive dismissal?
What I want to know from you guys. Can I ask him to go back to cape town and explain to him how it is effecting my personal life outside the company? And I can’t travel no longer Does he have any foot to stand on and fire me? Can you guys please explain to me what to do, and how to do it to avoid dismissal?
Guys, please help!
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