Boss Creating new job for their mate!

Kaizen57912

I have been working part-time at my current job for about 18 months. A new boss started about a year ago and I really don't feel like "my face fits"
E.g.
- My boss communicates with me via email.
- My boss is friends with every memeber of staff on Facebook except me!
- I'm not invited to office socials.

My boss has started giving me tasks to do that are not in my job description and which I feel are a bit meanial for my role. I have undertaking these tasks but I wouldn't say I'm the most efficient at them (mainly as I'm bored out of my brains) These tasks also mean I find it hard to do the tasks that are in my job description. My boss hasn't said anything but I sense he's not happy with me.

It's been making me ill and now I have now found out there is going to be a re-structuring and my job is no longer needed. I can however apply for another more senior job which is full time. I have small children and don't really want to work full time. Also, I'm not sure I am really skilled enough to do the job.

Today, I found that my boss regular sees a member of staff from their old company who does the job that I have been asked to apply for and I suspect that this new job has been created for this person.

Do I have any rights?

CKhalvashi

Your contract will probably state you have to do anything reasonably required of you; my staff often do things that aren't in their job description, mainly because our office team consists of around 40 staff that are split into small teams.

I asked a marketing manager who was going home for lunch, to run a car to Dagenham Motors on the way through (employee lives round the corner from dealer), as it was most convenient. It was not in the job description, but saved the employee having to get 2 buses and a tube in the rain.

What is your role, and what are you being asked to do?

CK

moneyistooshorttomention

On one of the Exclusion Points, I'm wondering how notification was given to everyone of these office socials. Was it a notice on noticeboard or email sent round to everyone? How did you find out about them, in view of not having been asked?

I would have tended to the view that "If its an office social and I can see clearly its meant to be for the whole office" then I would have just turned up at a couple of them anyway. I know...it would take a LOT of nerve to do so and "face them out"...but it would have made the point "I'm part of the office too...so give me my invite too in future".

Its different if its just a small group of people from the office that are friends with each other anyway...in which case there may be other people besides yourself who haven't been invited and you haven't been picked on for the Ignoring Treatment.

It would be helpful to have more details on that point, to see if you were deliberately blanked, but literally everyone else had had an invite except you.

Re your boss communicating via email...are you sure this isn't their preferred method of communication with everyone on the one hand? On the other hand, I know that in my own life I make a particular point of communicating via email if I can see a person/firm are the sort that are likely to make mistakes and I want a record (in writing) of exactly what I told them to do. I can thus prove "No I didn't tell you to do it like X, I told you to do it like Y". Its harder to prove the OTHER person is the one who made the mistake (they made a mistake in what they heard) rather than the teller having been the one making the mistake (they made a mistake in the instructions they gave). Is there a chance that you might be carrying out their instructions inaccurately (and hence they have resorted to giving them in writing, so they have the proof of exactly what they told you to do)?

Just playing devils advocate here and wondering..

Takeaway_Addict

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

I have been working part-time at my current job for about 18 months. A new boss started about a year ago and I really don't feel like "my face fits"
E.g.
- My boss communicates with me via email.
- My boss is friends with every memeber of staff on Facebook except me!
- I'm not invited to office socials.

My boss has started giving me tasks to do that are not in my job description and which I feel are a bit meanial for my role. I have undertaking these tasks but I wouldn't say I'm the most efficient at them (mainly as I'm bored out of my brains) These tasks also mean I find it hard to do the tasks that are in my job description. My boss hasn't said anything but I sense he's not happy with me.

It's been making me ill and now I have now found out there is going to be a re-structuring and my job is no longer needed. I can however apply for another more senior job which is full time. I have small children and don't really want to work full time. Also, I'm not sure I am really skilled enough to do the job.

Today, I found that my boss regular sees a member of staff from their old company who does the job that I have been asked to apply for and I suspect that this new job has been created for this person.

Do I have any rights?

If you started after Apr 12 then you have virtually no rights (exclusions include discrimination in the eyes of the law, such as gender, race etc or standing up for statutory rights, ie making sure you have the right amount of holiday) as you have to have worked for 2 years before unfair dismissal applies.

If you're not happy start looking for other jobs I'm afraid. I'm presuming ur not in a union? If you are get onto them quickly.

goonarmy

That you and your boss arent friends on facebook is a concern made me chuckle.

specialboy

So you have been asked to apply for a job that you don't want because its full time and you are miffed because your boss might have someone else lined up for it? whats your problem?

This_Year

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

- My boss communicates with me via email.

Not uncommon. I had a team leader who would email a question while she was sitting next to you.

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

- My boss is friends with every memeber of staff on Facebook except me!

Why would you want your boss to be able to look through your facebook page? It's your boss, not a friend. I personally know people who have been sacked because of something they put on facebook.

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

- I'm not invited to office socials.

So? I detested having to socialise with people just because I worked with them, not through choice. How are you not invited? Most social events that happened in places that I've worked were planned and a poster put up in the communal areas to let people know. Personally I preferred the "we've had a hard day, lets go for a beer" approach with people that I was friendly with, not an enforced "team do"

RobertoMoir

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

I have been working part-time at my current job for about 18 months. A new boss started about a year ago and I really don't feel like "my face fits"
E.g.

1. My boss communicates with me via email.
2. My boss is friends with every memeber of staff on Facebook except me!
3. I'm not invited to office socials.

Some context is needed for this. From where I'm sitting:

1. A lot of the communication in my office is done by email. For the type of work we do it is frequently helpful to have written notes/references of what needs to be done to accomplish a task.
   
   As such, I don't see anything unusual in this. If you're the only person they communicate tasks to via email and there's no reason you can see for that then it might be appropriate to ask why.
2. I'm not friends with any of my bosses on facebook. I don't even know if any of them have facebook accounts. We move in different social circles and it would be weird to have them as facebook friends (for them too, I'm sure). A couple of directors are 'friends' with me on linkedin however, which is arguably a more appropriate venue for professional relationships.
   
   If you're new to the office and others have been there and known your manager longer, then it might simply be a case of them being actual friends because they've known one another for a while.
3. As an introvert, I'd love to not be invited to office socials. Or rather I'd love to not have to endure the comments and raised eyebrows when I choose not to go to one.
   
   Are these formally arranged office socials that you're being excluded from (in which case yes, I would ask why) or are these, again, people who know one another well arranging to meet up because they know one another well?
   
   If it's the latter then while I can see why you'd feel excluded, this doesn't sound like an evil plot on anyone's part.

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

My boss has started giving me tasks to do that are not in my job description and which I feel are a bit meanial for my role. I have undertaking these tasks but I wouldn't say I'm the most efficient at them (mainly as I'm bored out of my brains) These tasks also mean I find it hard to do the tasks that are in my job description. My boss hasn't said anything but I sense he's not happy with me.

This is a reason to speak to your manager. If you're unhappy with the tasks you're given then let them know. It's reasonable to expect you to do your fair share of "scut-work" in a small office team where most people are broadly equal, but unless you're in a role that equates to (or inherently includes an element of) "office junior" then its probably not reasonable to stick all these tasks on you. You need to speak up if you think this is unreasonable.

You also need to speak up if you believe your manager is unhappy with you. A good boss will give you frequent feedback (not always in a formal setting) so that their views of your performance, whether good or bad, shouldn't ever be a surprise to you but not every boss is a good boss, and you might need to prompt your one if you think they are unhappy about your performance and not feeding that back to you so that you can improve.

I don't want to be negative here, but regardless of whether or not your manager has a problem with you, a lot of your unhappiness with your job seems to stem from you sitting there passively and letting it happen to you instead of communicating.

If you want a career then you need to carve one out for yourself, including moving on if it just ain't happening at your current employer. If you want a more modest job but one where you can be happy then again, you need to set your stall out for that too.

Kaizen57912 wrote: »

It's been making me ill and now I have now found out there is going to be a re-structuring and my job is no longer needed. I can however apply for another more senior job which is full time. I have small children and don't really want to work full time. Also, I'm not sure I am really skilled enough to do the job.

Today, I found that my boss regular sees a member of staff from their old company who does the job that I have been asked to apply for and I suspect that this new job has been created for this person.

Do I have any rights?

This is the bit I have a problem with. You've essentially said you don't want and can't do the job but are apparently asking if you have a "right" to have it anyway?

tamiami

It does seem like you boss is trying to push you out. I would make a note of everything in a diary and see how it goes for the time being. As others have said you have to have worked there for 2 years to claim unfair dismissal.

Other posters seem to find it funny, but to me I find it a kind of bullying to exclude one person in the office from social events and facebook, etc.

londonTiger

It can be very isolating if you're deliberately being left out of work socials. I had a boss who had the machurity of a 12 year old and used to do these passive aggressive !!!! to people.

RobertoMoir

tamiami wrote: »

It does seem like you boss is trying to push you out.

Why? I read nothing in the OP's post that made the case for that firmly. As I said in my reply, there's a bunch of stuff there that could go one way or the other, depending on that all-important context.

tamiami wrote: »

Other posters seem to find it funny, but to me I find it a kind of bullying to exclude one person in the office from social events

Yep. If they're intentionally being excluded from what should be company events then that's certainly not good.

tamiami wrote: »

and facebook, etc.

Are you serious? Your boss not being facebook friends with you is bullying now? Seriously?