OH in a pickle with work

charlie792

Im just looking for a bit of advice because I think before long me and OH are going to find ourselves in a bit of an awkward situation.

Basically last June OH was offered a job which was initially for 1yr to cover maternity leave. The firm however also took on another member of staff a few weeks later to work alongside OH.

OH and his boss (very small company) haven't always seen eye to eye - especially as OH was lied to in regards to salary etc, the amount he was promised at interview never materialised (salary was set to rise to full amount after 3 months) this never happened as the boss said he didn't have the money. OH has stuck with it and although the job itself he enjoys the work situation he doesn't.

The boss has made no secrets that when the woman comes back from maternity leave he will have to let one of the 3 go and he has always stated to OH that it will be the other person they employed at the same time as him who will be let go.

OH stayed behind at work tonight to talk to his boss. His boss stated that OH was one of the best employees he had, and said that OH could easily get a job at a bigger company etc. He reiterated that he is still the favourite to keep on come the end of the contract as he is significantly better than his colleague and the member of staff on maternity. However he added that he was worried if he chose to keep OH on then OH would leave anyway and that he would so much easier be able to find work than either of the other two staff.

Now OH feels like he's in an impossible situation - his boss feels hes too good to keep on but under the false impression OH could easily walk into a job elsewhere. OH is now feeling it may be better to look elsewhere now rather than be forced out of a job a few months down the line just because he's better than his colleagues.

Im not really sure but can the boss really do this on those basis?

DVardysShadow

Boss speak with forked tongue. If the boss was putting the money where his mouth is, he would pay your OH the amount originally agreed.

The only thing you can do is act on the basis that what the boss said is deceit from end to end.

puddy

it depends what you think the boss is really saying...

is the boss asking your OH to confirm to him that he wants to stay?

is the boss saying to your OH that really he doesnt want him as a member of staff but dont worry cos you'll get a job elsewhere

or is the boss saying what he appears to be saying which is he will probably get rid of OH because he feels sorry for the other member of staff who is so rubbish that they cant find a job elsewhere.

in reality, why would a boss want to keep someone they felt was not as good? if your OH is best out of the 3, then why wouldnt the boss want to keep him?

as to whether the boss can get rid of whoever he wants, i suppose he can if they are temporary contracts?

Kay_Peel

Your OH has a contract to cover for maternity leave and at the end of his contract he will be thanked for all his hard work, given a stunning reference and expected to leave. I suspect that his employer has been building up his hopes just so that he wouldn't leave before the end of his contract.

He should be actively seeking fresh employment. If he does happen to get a job offer before June then you'll see whether the boss is going to negotiate to keep him, or whether he's just been bull-sugaring him all along.

Good luck!

twi1ight

I'd start looking for something else. I wouldn't trust the boss from what you have said in the first post. Sounds like your OH would be happier elsewhere. I wonder if the boss is being 2 faced and trying to make him leave so he doesn't have the hassle of laying someone off? Do you know the opinion of the other person who was taken on around the same time. Who knows what is being said to them! Would it be possible to find something similar/better?

charlie792

twi1ight wrote: »

I'd start looking for something else. I wouldn't trust the boss from what you have said in the first post. Sounds like your OH would be happier elsewhere. I wonder if the boss is being 2 faced and trying to make him leave so he doesn't have the hassle of laying someone off? Do you know the opinion of the other person who was taken on around the same time. Who knows what is being said to them! Would it be possible to find something similar/better?

Well to be honest OH is very ambitious and has no intentions on staying there long-term but the job market is pants at present and there are just no jobs in our area in his field. We'd both rather stay local rather than have to move to the likes of London which is where his boss reckons he should be.
Basically OH has been getting a lot of media attention, his personal work has been featured in magazines etc but its not resulting in any interest from employers which his current boss seems to think it must be. OH is going to get serious with his job search soon but I suppose we were both hoping we could stay here for another year or so (just settled into our house etc)

meritaten

can you clarify something for me Charlie? I got the impression from your post that out of three people - your OH, the person who was on maternity leave and the person taken on 3 weeks after your OH - the boss said that he would keep your OH on? this true?
If so, he would find himself in an employment tribunal ASAP if he 'let go' the person on maternity leave!
Sounds a right charmer! I would be sending OHs CV everywhere I could think of!

onlyroz

Never expect an employer to exhibit an ounce of loyalty to their employees. It's business after all. I'd suggest that your partner expects he will be laid off and to start looking for work, just in case. If his employer were that keen to keep him then he'd be offered the salary he deserves.

warehouse

Your OH will be leaving his job come June, make no bones about it whatsoever. Start looking NOW.

BitterAndTwisted

The boss-man is hedging his bets in case the person on maternity leave decides not to come back. If she does your OH will be out. He should get those CVs out with copies of these articles attached and soon. Very, very soon

charlie792

meritaten wrote: »

can you clarify something for me Charlie? I got the impression from your post that out of three people - your OH, the person who was on maternity leave and the person taken on 3 weeks after your OH - the boss said that he would keep your OH on? this true?
If so, he would find himself in an employment tribunal ASAP if he 'let go' the person on maternity leave!
Sounds a right charmer! I would be sending OHs CV everywhere I could think of!

Well basically the boss was going to keep the maternity person PLUS my OH and get rid of the person taken afterwards. But now hes basically saying he thinks my OH is better than both these people, they are unlikely to be able to find other jobs as easy as he is and so he's now he seems to be thinking my OH should be the one to go as he is 'likely' to leave anyway....

In reality I think it all comes down to money, he knows my OH is not on a fair salary (£2k less than orginally promised) and even that was very low to what he should reasonably expecting....for a graduate his role should be earning at least another £5k if not more....I think he knows to keep my OH on he will inevitably have to increase his salary (not a case of not being able to afford it just the boss is a greedy buger) whereas the person who was employed alongside my OH, the boss knows they wont ask for any more money as they are nowhere near as qualified as OH