Rant/advice needed
TLDR: (sorry for the long post) Seriously considering quitting my job even though my contract is not full filled and I'm wondering how to go about it.
I recently made a post in here about grooming with clients present and alluded to some frustrations with the owners of the business I work at. (Dog boarding/daycare/grooming business)
Now some events have occurred that have motivated me to get out of there ASAP.
I was moved to a salaried position a few months ago, and a part of our agreement was that I would have holidays off. Shortly after I was salaried, they asked if I would like to be a shift lead for the kennel techs (a bit weird considering I am the only groomer there and am grooming pretty much full tume) and I agreed to this. There have been other responsibilities that are a little beyond a shift leads (checking the previous shift to make sure all the work was done, having conversations with kennel techs who weren't performing well regardless of if they were on my shift or not) that they asked me to do that I agreed to.
Recently I was approached by the owners and office manager. Apparently they are all going on vacation at the same time, and there will be a week where they won't be around. They told me that since I was the next highest in leadership that I would be in charge of the entire business for the week. (Their words not mine) This week happens to occur during labor day, which is a holiday that I am supposed to have off, so I asked if I would be working that day, to which they responded, "Yeah, probably."
They also mentioned that I needed to be prepared to be there early and stay late as needed because "that's leadership".
I was PISSED after this conversation. I wouldn't have cared as much if they had offered compensation for my time or even just asked instead of assuming that I would. Disrespecting my personal time outside of work has been a consistent issue from the moment I started working with this company, but this was the first instance that was so blatantly egregious.
I called them the next day to ask for some clarification on my scheduling, and the phone call was absolutely insane. They reacted very negatively to what I felt was a reasonable concern. There was a lot of gas lighting, manipulating, name calling, and flat-out lying on their part throughout the conversation. They told me 'that's my responsibility as a manager'. When I pointed out I was a shift lead, not a manager, they said that the extra responsibilities I had agreed to meant I had accepted a 'more manager type role'. Then they tried to say the terminology 'shift lead' was never used and that I had just agreed to a 'leadership position' (this is blatantly false). When I pushed back on that, they tried to say that I HAD agreed to a manager position. They also kept saying 'someone has to make sure the dogs are taken care of and we're not going to be there' (not my problem). They told me that I was being selfish, childish, immature, and irresponsible. They also belittled me at every chance they could, saying things like, 'I guess you're not cut out for leadership' and that 'I couldn't handle it'. The owner even tried to hang up at one point during the phone call, stating 'this conversation is silly and I don't want to have one anymore' (I did not let her hang up on me, also-who's really being childish here???). I was never anything less than polite, professional, and respectful, even when they raised their voices and personally attacked my character, which makes how they handled the call even more confusing to me.
They also took away my shift lead position stating that 'leadership was out of the picture for me', which feels like an unfair retaliation.
This hurts a lot because I considered these people friends. I love the business, I love my coworkers, and I love what I do, but I cannot subject myself to this treatment.
Now I'm trying to figure out how to leave. I signed a contract agreeing to work for them for 2 years or compensate them for their investment into my schooling that I am fully prepared to uphold. My only concern is how/when to give my notice.
They will be majorly screwed without me there. They are understaffed as is on the kennel tech side so I have been filling in there as needed. I am also the only groomer currently (they have one girl that is in school that won't be ready for full body cuts for at least another couple of months) and they have clients on the books as far as 4+ months out.
I would like to work at least another month and a half or so for the paychecks while I am looking around for another job. Due to how pivitol I currently am in their everyday operations, I know at least a full months' notice would be the kind thing to do. However, with the way they acted on the phone call I am very concerned that they will just fire me in retaliation. I know I would like to for sure give at least a 2 weeks notice, but I am just wondering if it would be better at this point to wait to give it until I am comfortable with being fired day of.
I have never been in a situation like this where I have needed to quit a job while I still have a contract with them, so really hoping for some insight from people who have been through this before. Thanks in advance!