# Termination help?



## NotsureHi (Oct 25, 2021)

So I need advice on what to do.

I just started working at Target again and so did my brother, we got hired at the same store, me two weeks before him. We both have open availability with just one stipulation being we cannot work at the exact same time. This is because I have a three month old puppy and no one to watch it while I am away from home, I cannot afford a pet sitter and it cannot be alone for more than 40 minutes at the most. 

When I got hired I mentioned this and asked if they could hire my brother as well, they agreed and hired him. They verbally agreed to the terms of us not working at the exact same time before he was hired, during the hiring process and during his orientation. Now after only working there for two days they have deemed it too difficult to schedule us not at the same time, so they want to fire him. 

He even works more hours than me and they only schedule me three days a week, I have no idea why they would want to fire him instead of me and they will not agree to any terms in order to keep him on. They told him they would rather have someone with open availability. He could work opening and I could work closing, or since they only schedule me three days he could work the other four. They denied both of those options. 

If both of us are not working I will be forced to move as I can not pay the rent by myself and it has taken months just to get this job. Is there anything I can say to convince them to work with that schedule? I'm at a loss because they would still be getting two full time employees. They hired several people who only work one to two days a week so I'm genuinely confused.


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## Anelmi (Oct 25, 2021)

They want to fire him? Heading into Q4? That seems really drastic and kinda fishy. Maybe there is more to this story?


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## sunnydays (Oct 26, 2021)

Anelmi said:


> They want to fire him? Heading into Q4? That seems really drastic and kinda fishy. Maybe there is more to this story?



always is


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## Hardlinesmaster (Oct 26, 2021)

Sounds like spot try to schedule accordingly. Business needs come first.


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## Planosss enraged (Oct 26, 2021)

Common event.


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## MrT (Oct 26, 2021)

Did you try splitting hours like you are scheduled nights and he does days. Or one of you works inbound.  I agree that there is definitely more to it then just that.


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## IhateOPmodel (Oct 26, 2021)

What a strange situation to be in because of a pet.  Maybe try putting the dog in a crate?  At some point it's going to have to learn to be home alone for more than 40 minutes.

Imagine if every team member had requests like yours it would be impossible to schedule.  And it isn't like your request can be fixed with something like an availability change since you were both hired with open availability.


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## NotsureHi (Oct 26, 2021)

The dog is a baby, if you would not leave your infant home alone you would not leave your puppy in a crate. Puppies cannot hold their bladder for more than an hour and I cannot leave work every hour to care for it. If you crate a puppy for more than that it would be animal neglect. She is not old enough bottom line, when she is older she will be able to be home alone for longer times but not at this point and time. 

I had gotten the dog before Target ever contacted me back as they hired me seasonal for a job application I put in 8 months ago for a full time position. I never even applied for this seasonal position. I had no intentions of staying where I was as I had planned to leave this month but changed my mind and decided to stay because they agreed to hire both me and my brother with the availability given in mind. The fact is they knew the situation and agreed upon it on three separate occasions, even before they ever hired him. They even had him go through orientation and made an entire schedule that worked perfectly with the availability but are now backtracking on their word.


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## IhateOPmodel (Oct 26, 2021)

NotsureHi said:


> The dog is a baby, if you would not leave your infant home alone you would not leave your puppy in a crate. Puppies cannot hold their bladder for more than an hour and I cannot leave work every hour to care for it. If you crate a puppy for more than that it would be animal neglect. She is not old enough bottom line, when she is older she will be able to be home alone for longer times but not at this point and time.
> 
> I had gotten the dog before Target ever contacted me back as they hired me seasonal for a job application I put in 8 months ago for a full time position. I never even applied for this seasonal position. I had no intentions of staying where I was as I had planned to leave this month but changed my mind and decided to stay because they agreed to hire both me and my brother with the availability given in mind. The fact is they knew the situation and agreed upon it on three separate occasions, even before they ever hired him. They even had him go through orientation and made an entire schedule that worked perfectly with the availability but are now backtracking on their word.


Target does not offer maternity/paternity leave for baby pets.  I guess I'm just not an animal person.  I couldn't imagine letting an animal control my life to this extent.

But if they agreed to it on so many occasions then you need to go talk to whoever agreed to it and ask what's going on and why they are going back on it.  I'd assume it's because they found it to be too hard or when they were writing the schedule they simply forgot and are not going through the hassle of adjusting it for you.


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## NotsureHi (Oct 26, 2021)

That's just how getting a puppy works, they rule your life until they reach a certain age. Just like human babies 😂

Let me break it down simply though so it's less confusing for everyone. 

I was going to move because finding a job was not going well, so I put in my two month notice and gave up. Target offered me a job and my brother, problem solved now I can afford to finish my lease so I cancel the two month notice.

Before hiring both of us, we both say we cannot work the same time as the other, they agree and hire us both. After making one schedule with no mistakes, they bring him in on his second day and say he can finish the schedule but they are letting him go and keeping me.

I would not have accepted the job if he was not hired as well, which they knew that so I am starting to think they only hired him to bring me on into beauty because they needed someone there. He was hired in fulfillment. So the fact that they went back on their word so fast has caused me a giant issue in life. I'm heavily worried about them letting me go as well if he was so easily let go.


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## seasonaldude (Oct 26, 2021)

I'm guessing this is far less about scheduling issues than it's about not wanting to keep the brother as a TM. Target, at least my store, is willing to accomodate reasonable scheduling requests of good employees. We even have 2 team members who don't work at the same time and haven't for a couple of years because they babysit for each other. However, as soon as a TM they'd rather not have around makes a scheduling request, it's NOPE, BYE, we just can't do that. It's the easiest way for Target to get rid of people.

While 2 weeks may not seem like a very long time to judge whether someone is going to work out, I've certainly seen my store act fast with some recent hires, including the one who was supposed to be my seasonal helper unfortunately. A lot of this year's new people seem to have an attitude that because everyone is so desperate for workers they really don't have to put for any effort at all to get things done and do it correctly. My helper spent an entire 5 hour shift doing tasks that would take me about an hour. And, they were done so poorly, I've already spent at least an hour cleaning up after him and there's still more to clean up from that one shift. He gone.

Please don't take that personally. I don't know you or your brother. Just offering a possible explanation of what's really going on.


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## NotsureHi (Oct 26, 2021)

seasonaldude said:


> I'm guessing this is far less about scheduling issues than it's about not wanting to keep the brother as a TM. Target, at least my store, is willing to accomodate reasonable scheduling requests of good employees. We even have 2 team members who don't work at the same time and haven't for a couple of years because they babysit for each other. However, as soon as a TM they'd rather not have around makes a scheduling request, it's NOPE, BYE, we just can't do that. It's the easiest way for Target to get rid of people.
> 
> While 2 weeks may not seem like a very long time to judge whether someone is going to work out, I've certainly seen my store act fast with some recent hires, including the one who was supposed to be my seasonal helper unfortunately. A lot of this year's new people seem to have an attitude that because everyone is so desperate for workers they really don't have to put for any effort at all to get things done and do it correctly. My helper spent an entire 5 hour shift doing tasks that would take me about an hour. And, they were done so poorly, I've already spent at least an hour cleaning up after him and there's still more to clean up from that one shift. He gone.
> 
> Please don't take that personally. I don't know you or your brother. Just offering a possible explanation of what's really going on.


Ahh I see, that could be the case that they just really don't want to work around the terms they agreed to prior. It's funny because my brother is an exceptional worker and brought numbers way up at his last store when he worked fulfillment before whereas this store is always in the red in fulfilment with their current employees. They work around a lot of other schedule conflicts, there is one person who only works one day a week, several who do only weekends, one who does only nights, one only mornings and 5 highshool students. 

They dumped it on him just before leaving last night so we have to talk to them today about everything.


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## StaticSun (Oct 26, 2021)

NotsureHi said:


> That's just how getting a puppy works, they rule your life until they reach a certain age. Just like human babies 😂
> 
> Let me break it down simply though so it's less confusing for everyone.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately you're going to find a lot of people that disagree with you. Crate training is a real thing, and there are pet owners around the country, even around the world, that utilize crate training while both "dog parents" work an 8-10 hour business day. 

Dogs don't require constant human attention, nor do they need a babysitting. Look into doggie daycare if you don't want to crate train. Trust me, they'll get over it the second you get home.


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## NotsureHi (Oct 26, 2021)

StaticSun said:


> Unfortunately you're going to find a lot of people that disagree with you. Crate training is a real thing, and there are pet owners around the country, even around the world, that utilize crate training while both "dog parents" work an 8-10 hour business day.
> 
> Dogs don't require constant human attention, nor do they need a babysitting. Look into doggie daycare if you don't want to crate train. Trust me, they'll get over it the second you get home.


Obviously you know nothing about puppies but okay 😂 I have been raising puppies for my entire life and am a service dog trainer. They should not be left alone when they are under 6 months of age in a crate for longer than an hour. There are no pet daycares near me and like I said she is only 3 months old and cannot go to one anyway. A pet sitter would basically be my entire paycheck. 

My dog is currently crate trained but a baby animal, any infant, human or pet, cannot be left at home alone for 8-10 hours a day, that would be neglect. I'm not going to abuse my dog because Target lied to me. I'm also not going to give up my dog because they lied to me. I'm asking for suggestions for my current problem not animal care advice.


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## Hardlinesmaster (Oct 26, 2021)

inf & metrics are not your friend in flex.  its appears to a performance issue.


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## Black Sheep 214 (Oct 26, 2021)

Scheduling two people so that only one is working at a time is not some Herculean task so complicated or time consuming that it is beyond the capabilities of Spot ETLs. My store did it all the time, mostly for child care reasons.

ASANTS, but judging by many posts on TBR, lying by leaders is not unknown at Spot. Since corporate goes to the trouble of putting leaders through ethics training, perhaps they should also hold them accountable for acting unethically, as in not following through on promises. If the OP’s brother is not working out in fulfillment, there must be a place for him to be successful somewhere in the store, especially during Q4, a pandemic and a labor shortage. If not, something is going on here besides a scheduling issue.

I respect your decision not to leave your puppy in a crate all day. Personally, I think crating dogs is cruel and would no more leave a puppy in a cage all day than leave a human child in one. Young creatures of any mammalian species require regular attention in order to grow up to be healthy and well socialized. Bet your pup will be an awesome dog!

As far as advice goes, if your store won’t accommodate you and your brother working different days, or having one of you opening and the other closing, I don’t see any road ahead at Spot. It sounds to me like they want to get rid of your brother. Why him and not you? Beauty TMs are hard to replace. Perhaps your leaders are happy with your performance and not his, or maybe they truly are too lazy to schedule you apart and are using scheduling issues as a reason to terminate. Hard to tell, but good luck to you both.


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## Rarejem (Oct 26, 2021)

Lots of tm's have had puppies.  My dog (a small breed) was once a puppy and she grew into an fabulous, happy, healthy dog.  Perhaps she's very amazing or we are an amazing duo as she was completely potty trained at 10 weeks and slept through the night without needing to go out by three months. Three months old seems late for your pup to not yet be potty trained for more than 40 minutes. Typically, the rule of thumb is that a pup can go their age + one hours without needing to go out (3 months=4 hours)  By 6 months pups should be able to hold its bladder for 7-8 hours.  You may want to try a "play pen" with a gradually smaller area for waste pads so your pup has freedom with boundaries. This will take some training help from you, but all potty training does.  (Out of all of this, I find it unusual that they hired your brother based on your asking them to hire him rather than after an interview. )  Your best bet is for you and your brother to use myTime and coordinate your available hours with those of your brother so that they do not overlap and both submit availability changes.  The same person does not always write the schedule and a verbal agreement simply never holds up for hourly employees with multiple supervisors.


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## StaticSun (Oct 27, 2021)

NotsureHi said:


> Obviously you know nothing about puppies but okay 😂 I have been raising puppies for my entire life and am a service dog trainer. They should not be left alone when they are under 6 months of age in a crate for longer than an hour. There are no pet daycares near me and like I said she is only 3 months old and cannot go to one anyway. A pet sitter would basically be my entire paycheck.
> 
> My dog is currently crate trained but a baby animal, any infant, human or pet, cannot be left at home alone for 8-10 hours a day, that would be neglect. I'm not going to abuse my dog because Target lied to me. I'm also not going to give up my dog because they lied to me. I'm asking for suggestions for my current problem not animal care advice.


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## StaticSun (Oct 27, 2021)

Let's try this from another angle:

Unfortunately, we cannot help you with a termination. This is a site run by regular people. We do not perform any HR related services or affect any internal information regarding Target.



> Is there anything I can say to convince them to work with that schedule?


Probably not.

Good luck!


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## NotsureHi (Oct 28, 2021)

Thank you for your well worded and kind reply unlike another commenter here haha. I have decided to move instead and get a much higher paying job in another state (already got the job) and will be leaving Target. I will be kind enough to give them a two weeks notice instead of the 2 day notice they gave my brother.

After talking to them it turns out they wanted to hire seasonal staff they could throw around anywhere at any time with no questions asked. They basically fired him before telling him they had concerns regarding his availability and he was already let go before they told him. So talking to them about it was pointless. Well, I hope they find another decent Beauty TM. Won't be me 😂


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## NotsureHi (Oct 28, 2021)

Rarejem said:


> Lots of tm's have had puppies.  My dog (a small breed) was once a puppy and she grew into an fabulous, happy, healthy dog.  Perhaps she's very amazing or we are an amazing duo as she was completely potty trained at 10 weeks and slept through the night without needing to go out by three months. Three months old seems late for your pup to not yet be potty trained for more than 40 minutes. Typically, the rule of thumb is that a pup can go their age + one hours without needing to go out (3 months=4 hours)  By 6 months pups should be able to hold its bladder for 7-8 hours.  You may want to try a "play pen" with a gradually smaller area for waste pads so your pup has freedom with boundaries. This will take some training help from you, but all potty training does.  (Out of all of this, I find it unusual that they hired your brother based on your asking them to hire him rather than after an interview. )  Your best bet is for you and your brother to use myTime and coordinate your available hours with those of your brother so that they do not overlap and both submit availability changes.  The same person does not always write the schedule and a verbal agreement simply never holds up for hourly employees with multiple supervisors.


I wish that could be the case but my puppy is already 26lbs at 3 months, she is a large breed. She has a play pen but a potty pad needed to be changed too frequently so she is trained for going outside to go potty. She usually pees every hour now. Crating her for 8-9 hours like I am normally scheduled or leaving her in a play pen alone for that long is just out of the question. I am also training her as a service animal so she cannot develop bad behaviors that can happen when you leave puppies alone that long. Toy breeds are a lot easier for households that work, to be fair it was never the plan for both of us to work before I got her, it just happened that way through bad circumstances.


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