Sometimes you feel like you've made a good deal and then without warning, Fate kicks you in the balls to remind you that anything can happen. It is with a bitter taste in my mouth that I write these lines. For confidentiality reasons, I will not tell the names of the organizations and individuals involved.

At the beginning of the week, I arrived in the morning on the site of a job to which I applied and I met my responsible manager there. He took me to a room with the other co-workers and when he introduced me to the team, I was stunned by what he said. He announced that I was a "extra" worker, that I was here "in reinforcement" if the other co-workers needed an extra pair of arms, and that my hours will be "variable", depending on the situation, can be from 6:30 a.m., 8:00 a.m. or 11:30 a.m., etc....

I absolutely did not sign up for this when I made an appointment last Friday at the employment agency and when I read the employment contract, nothing matched what the responsible manager did say.

During my interview, they sold me a stable job, with fixed hours, from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and I do not remember that I was informed and warned the hours will be variable. Perhaps it is an oversight or a lack of communication from the agency or the client, but the facts are there. I feel like I've been the victim of a scam or false advertising...

I then reported all this to the responsible manager and he was as agape as I was for this negligence/error. He told me that if I could not adapt to the variable hours, he was not going to insist and force me to work on the place against my will. I then affirmed that I could not and did not want to work under these conditions which were revealed to me late and we made an agreement.

He was ready to release me immediately and pay me half a day for my presence on the place, but I offered to stay from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for observation, in order to have an overview of working with the workers, and thus be paid for a full day's work. He agreed and we parted on good terms. So, I contacted the employment agency to explain the situation to them and I wrote a letter of termination of the trial period, rendering the employment contract null and void, invalid for the reasons which I quoted before.

Never let yourself be pushed around and always check that the agreement between two people is always explicit and fair.