Doing personal tasks for boss and paying with own money

PasturesNew

He'd get short shift from me. I simply wouldn't have the money in the first place to fork out.

Tell him to get a company credit card to be used by you (and others) - and then he can settle that bill through the accounts dept each month.

theoretica

Similar to other posters I agree that the tasks are perfectly reasonable, the money isn't. However, I wouldn't tell him to organist a float or petty cash for the food and bits - he has people for that sort of thing and I suspect telling his EA you need one for when you next cover the role might be more effective.

Polarbeary

Thanks for the replies. If I was employed by him personally yes they would be part of my role. But I'm employed by the huge corporation -you will have heard of them and you may be one of its customers. I don't feel that it's an appropriate use of customer money to spend half my time doing personal chores that have nothing to do with work. My job is to assist him with admin tasks. I have no problem getting senior people a sandwich and coffee when they are back to back. But that's different than being expected to get a cab across the city to bring him back a fancy lunch he fancies. That's 40 minutes of my time when I could be doing actual work, the work stated in my job description.

My previous boss asked me to book some restaurants for him occasionally for non business use. He might ask me to pop to the bank for him very occasionally. He always apologised and said he knew he shouldn't be asking me to do that as the bank would take a very dim view of assistants being used to run personal errands. But he was nice and the tasks took a few minutes - not hours each day.

In the public sector, I wasn't even asked to get coffee and I imagine tax payers would not be happy knowing that their tax money is spent on personal errands. As an employee, I do not do personal errands on the job. I do them in my unpaid lunch break. Why is a senior manager any different?

Regarding the cash - I will not be paying with my own money. He's on half a million a year - I'm not.

His current EA works 24/7 for him. I leave work and leave it behind. I've never worked anywhere where even senior secretaries are meant to be responding to emails at 1am or on a weekend. Occasionally I'll stay late for urgent stuff but I'm not getting into that habit!

theoretica

Polarbeary wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. If I was employed by him personally yes they would be part of my role. But I'm employed by the huge corporation -you will have heard of them and you may be one of its customers. I don't feel that it's an appropriate use of customer money to spend half my time doing personal chores that have nothing to do with work. My job is to assist him with admin tasks. I have no problem getting senior people a sandwich and coffee when they are back to back. But that's different than being expected to get a cab across the city to bring him back a fancy lunch he fancies. That's 40 minutes of my time when I could be doing actual work, the work stated in my job description.

My previous boss asked me to book some restaurants for him occasionally for non business use. He might ask me to pop to the bank for him very occasionally. He always apologised and said he knew he shouldn't be asking me to do that as the bank would take a very dim view of assistants being used to run personal errands. But he was nice and the tasks took a few minutes - not hours each day.

In the public sector, I wasn't even asked to get coffee and I imagine tax payers would not be happy knowing that their tax money is spent on personal errands. As an employee, I do not do personal errands on the job. I do them in my unpaid lunch break. Why is a senior manager any different?

Regarding the cash - I will not be paying with my own money. He's on half a million a year - I'm not.

His current EA works 24/7 for him. I leave work and leave it behind. I've never worked anywhere where even senior secretaries are meant to be responding to emails at 1am or on a weekend. Occasionally I'll stay late for urgent stuff but I'm not getting into that habit!

You clearly have concerns - have you adressed them to your line manager?

I think it perfectly reasonable for a corporation to provide personal assistance for busy staff - should it wish to do so. The alternative would be a pay rise and then the boss hiring someone himself, but it is probably easier all round this way.

Just to address the bit I have put in bold, how much time does he take off working at lunch beyond what is actually needed to eat? And those out of office hours emails - they can't all be personal stuff are they? If he is working those hours that will be why he has less time for non-work stuff.

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/concierge-services-grow-as-a-popular-employee-benefit

theoretica

I have just been doing a few calculations - on £500k that would work out about £250 an hour. Assuming a senior manager is worth £250 an hour to his company, if they can get an extra hour a day 'unpaid' out of him by paying out less than £250 in assistance and perks then it is worth it to the company. Less than £250 a day would probably pay for a personal assistant, and anything else the assistant did for the company would be a bonus.

As a tax payer I am not shocked that my taxes are spent on personal errands if the end result is more work done overall for less cost.

Polarbeary

I've worked in a few places and never been asked to do this kind of personal stuff. There is a difference between being helpful and getting lunch/drinks from the canteen or Pret next door to make their life easier and running around buying presents for the wife/mistress.

We do have onsite caterers so I don't need to set up food and drink for meetings and serve it to them thankfully. In one meeting I was minuting, they looked at me when the catering trolley came in as if they expected me to personally serve and pour drinks for them. I didn't do it and they helped themselves. I once worked in a little office where the 3 secretaries would have to set up the meeting room with food and drinks for external meetings. Not ideal and we didn't like doing it but we got on with it - and it was purely for WORK purposes.

The real work I have to do (my own two plus this guy) then gets neglected. HR stuff, pulling together agendas, travel booking and itineraries, managing their inboxes and my own, expenses, invoices, really busy diaries, meetings to organise etc...

My husband shares a PA with with 2 other Directors. He said he might ask her to buy a coffee and maybe lunch if he was back to back but he pays cash and tells her to get a coffee for herself. He said he would not dream of asking her to do shopping for him or collect his dry cleaning. An MD in his workplace was disciplined for getting his PA to do a host of private tasks.

His EA picks his kids up from school sometimes and drives them home! I lied and said I don't have a driving license. Nor am I picking him up at the airport.

Oh and I don't get thanked - just a strange grunt to which I smile and reply "you're welcome."

pickledonionspaceraider

no way would I purchase his stuff and claim it back. cash up front or no dice

getmore4less

Polarbeary wrote: »

I'm asked to do personal tasks for him which take up half my time as well as doing my everyday work for the two managers I am already assistant too.

If you can no longer service the other managers then tell them why they need to do stuff, themselves, wait or get someone else to do it.

The pecking order will soon establish the priorities for your time.

The money side is a separate issue, tell him you are too poor to be paying and claiming dosh(lots of it) up front.

Another option is buy rubbish presents for the wife and get the kids into the most expensive not so good school...

paddyrg

Polarbeary wrote: »

.
MD in his workplace was disciplined for getting his PA to do a host of private tasks.

Who disciplines the managing director? There aren't many higher ranks?! :-$

I do find it interesting though that there are so many posts from people saying 'I wouldn't do that', as if people feel it's beneath them at some kind of personal level. The point of a manager is to manage, and if their judgement that got them to this point tells them that they need to focus on other things, go with it. He might be in the middle of the deal that saves the company, and tasks like buying for his wife or whatever take time away for something you could likely do faster and better than him. If you need more resources, request them.

Similarly, directors who feel guilty asking a PA to be a PA seems a bit awkward. If I'm paying someone to do a job, I don't feel guilty for holding them to it. 'Hi, just turn a button on this shirt, could you pop to M&S and get me another in time for this meeting in 2 hours' etc is a perfectly reasonable request, for instance.

Polarbeary

paddyrg wrote: »

Who disciplines the managing director? There aren't many higher ranks?! :-$

I do find it interesting though that there are so many posts from people saying 'I wouldn't do that', as if people feel it's beneath them at some kind of personal level. The point of a manager is to manage, and if their judgement that got them to this point tells them that they need to focus on other things, go with it. He might be in the middle of the deal that saves the company, and tasks like buying for his wife or whatever take time away for something you could likely do faster and better than him. If you need more resources, request them.

Similarly, directors who feel guilty asking a PA to be a PA seems a bit awkward. If I'm paying someone to do a job, I don't feel guilty for holding them to it. 'Hi, just turn a button on this shirt, could you pop to M&S and get me another in time for this meeting in 2 hours' etc is a perfectly reasonable request, for instance.

In banking there are many directors and MDs. The CEO is at the top and he's still accountable to the Board and Chairman.