Fast food restaurant hires employee, declines to contact them, and fires them within 2 weeks: 'Never went in or earned a cent'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Sep 24, 2026 2:00 PM EDT

Are you really fireable if you never show up?

No matter what industry you're working in or what level you're at, it is indisputable that the job market is tough these days. Hundreds of people at a time apply for the same few positions, companies lie about their salaries and benefits, and job applicants are generally at the mercy of recruiters and potential employers. While unemployment has always been demoralizing, it seems to be particularly bad right now.

You might think that the problem ends when you finally secure a job offer, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Some workplaces have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve to ensure what should be a moment of relief and celebration turns into a stressful or just plain confusing incident. Most people expect that the way an employer presents themselves at the interview stage probably isn't going to align with reality completely, but there are levels to this game of professional catfishing. A lot of job seekers have no idea just how insane it can get until they have the misfortune of experiencing it. If only things could be less about weird institutional games and more about hiring legitimate employees.

Advertisement
  • Close-up of a tray with a burger and fries, with a woman putting her fork into the fries and a man behind them.
    via Quilia

    Close-up of a tray with a burger and fries, with a woman putting her fork into the fries and a man behind them. Picture does not depict real parties.
     

  • A job applicant was happy to secure a role at a fast food restaurant, or so it appeared. The manager told them that they had got the job, and they were set up on the online portal for employees, where they filled out their information.

    However, after that, they didn't get any contact from their new employer. There were also no contact details for them to enquire. After two weeks, they received an email letting them know that they were fired, despite never working a shift.

  • I got fired from a job I never worked

    I'm only half mad about this because I can't stop laughing. So I interviewed at a fast food restaurant, it went great, was told that I would probably start Monday (it was Friday) and got access to the employee portal that same day. Filled out all of my information, chose how I wanted to be paid, etc etc. And
    via neighborhood_freak
  • then nothing. No calls. No texts. No emails. No shifts appearing on my schedule. All contact info in the employee directory was censored and they had no contact info online aside from corporate so I couldn't even reach out to them. Then a few days ago (about two weeks after the day I interviewed) I received a termination
    via neighborhood_freak
  • email. Never went in or earned a cent, but I guess technically I was employed for two weeks.
    via neighborhood_freak
  • A man checks his email on his laptop while sitting on the couch.
    via Inka Kapturewska

    A man checks his email on his laptop while sitting on the couch. Model portrayal.
     

  • At least there might be some benefits to the arrangement.

    Buster_xx File for unemployment?
    via Buster_xx
  • Hot_Cold83 I think something similar happened to Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld.
    via Hot_Cold83
  • paintray98 Happened to me once, some place I had never even applied to said they fired me. They reported it to the state and since I was paying child support at the time I had to talk to child support enforcement and explain that I have no idea why that company said I worked for them when I didn't
    via paintray98

  • Apparently it wasn't an uncommon scenario.

    Past Championship827 Happened to me once, I filed for unemployment and they couldn't deny me
    via Past_Championship827
  • dialsoapbox Same happened to me, but with target. I've been rejected from target like 2-3 times before. Then i finally got "hired" there. then didn't get scheduled called (nobody answered), emailed, ect. Then terminated. Weird.
    via dialsoapbox
  • Deep_Sea_Crab_1 There was a post going around where someone rejected the rejection letter. Send the company a letter and tell them you reject its firing you. Or send a letter and ask for the reason so you can file for unemployment insurance.
    via Deep_Sea_Crab_1

  • Maybe there was a mix-up.

    Ok_Ingenuity_9313 My dad once sent a rejection letter to someone who never applied for the job. He was an absent-minded professor. The letter she wrote in response was absolutely hilarious.
    via Ok_Ingenuity_9313
  • Proper-Agency-1528 Honestly... why didn't you go into the restaurant during the first week to explain that you were waiting to find out your shifts so you could show to work? Yeah, they screwed up. So did you.
    via Proper-Agency-1528
  • pudding 7100 You can't just find the local number for the restaurant online?
    via pudding7100

  • It was a crazy situation.

    Public-Juggernaut537 Imagine being an employed for 2 weeks without working a single shift,,,,, and then getting terminated......
    via Public-Juggernaut537
  • xHatebreederx Sometimes the manager of a fast food place will "hire" people, take that couple weeks pay themselves, and then fire them. It's a known scam among low wage managers. Not saying this is that, but you might want to try to see if anything was supposedly payed out to you, but was really diverted to someone else.
    via xHatebreederx

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

getting fired work stories new hire food service
Scroll Down For The Next Article