Hi Chelsea....sounds like you have been treated shabbily and illegally, but whether or not you can get some satisfaction and redress will depend on the evidence you have, on the company's expressed reasons for your dismissal. I recently completed a law degree, spending a good while on employment law, and my wife is a nurse who now works for an agency around a wide number of care homes. Undoubtedly standards vary from home to home and some are very poorly managed. Money is very much the driving force not love of people, so you can be dealing with detached and ruthless owners. I don't agree with the comment that you should stay away from care work and health care in general. I'm not sure what the person advising you there has as experience...and it's a very extreme and subjective condemnation of the NHS and social services. Nursing is still an excellent profession with a lot of job security (here and abroad), and there are very good opportunities in specific skilled areas. Sure there are all kinds of problems with management, cut-backs, organization, etc etc...but that applies to every industry in my experience..and having worked in insurance, construction, demolition, education, renewable energy and small business in my time, I can tell you it's everywhere...and worse now than ever, but...let's not confuse poorly run profit making private homes with the NHS and with some very good care homes, palliative care homes, residential homes and social care facilities. The point isn't that you should give up because everything's terrible - it's that people need to challenge illegal activity and shoddy practice, when they are discriminated against. My wife may have criticisms of places she has worked, but in today's confused world, nursing is a good qualification and a job for life. Don't let the....grind you down...
My advice is either accept the negative advice of others and give up on the career path you have chosen...or challenge it, learn from it and go on. Fair enough if you have arrived at your own decision to change direction but don't be bullied out of it by idiots, money-grabbers and crooks. So - call a solicitors near to you (preferably not a large expensive one) and ask the if they do a "free diagnostic"...and if so, do they have an employment lawyer you could come in and see. If they do, the diagnostic is an interview where you can say what's happened and they can say (without any fee) whether or not you have a case. They will tell you what they can do for you (and that's where cost comes in, but only if you engage their services). It's common practice today for solicitors to offer free diagnostics. There is also the route of formally complaining to the employer and pushing for arbitration (an independent organization to judge), and there are tribunals you can appeal to. Up to ypu, but don't be put off your chosen career. No-one can sack you for being diabetic!