Advice about an awkward work situation

SuperCat007

Hi,

I'll be as brief as I can. One of the senior members of our team has been on again off again on sick leave, as a result I was asked to cover whilst they weren't in. I said for cover, short term I'd do it (the more senior role is paid a lot more than my role, but for cover I agreed). It has now been announced that said member of the team has left with immediate effect, but the manager expects my team and I to cover all of his jobs until at least October when she will think about recruiting someone new. She knows we're already spread thin and has pulled help from other departments to help us get all our work done, so I don't get how she expects us to take this on as well. But not only that, the senior job gets a lot more pay and benefits which we won't be seeing. I will be refusing to cover soon as my team are starting to struggle with the workload as our workload increases, but is there anything else I can do?

Guest101

I don't see on what basis you and your team can refuse to cover this work..

bugslet

Is it not possible to go to your manager and ask for a temp to cover some of the work, even on a part time basis? Rather than refuse, I'd go for the you are all willing to help, but the amount of work means you are not physically able to get through it.

tacpot12

If you want a promotion, it sounds like there is an opportunity there. Discuss it with your boss, point out promoting you will be cheaper than hiring a replacement as they will save the recruitment fees. And you will accept a bit less than an external candidate as it is a promotion.

The temp idea is the right way to go. It allows your manager to give you a trial but lay the temp off and revert to Plan A if they think it isn't working. I wouldn't do the trial for zero additional pay. They had the money in the budget to pay the person who has left, so there is no reason they can't give you, say, half the difference between what they were and you are paid, during the trial. :-)

Ozzuk

It really depends what your contract/policies say, a quick google found this:

http://www.hrpulse.co.za/editors-pick/230497-can-an-employee-refuse-to-perform-duties-outside-his-job-description

sangie595

Ozzuk wrote: »

It really depends what your contract/policies say, a quick google found this:

http://www.hrpulse.co.za/editors-pick/230497-can-an-employee-refuse-to-perform-duties-outside-his-job-description

:rotfl: You do know that is South African law? SATAWU is a S African union!

But I agree with the message you were trying to convey. Refusing a reasonable instruction (and, believe me, this will, in the eyes of the law, be a reasonable instruction) is a disciplinary offence. More than that, refusing will mean that you can not only kiss goodbye to any chance of this promotion, but you may as well find another employer, because your promotion prospects for any job will be dead.

Ozzuk

I'm half asleep this morning

getmore4less

SuperCat007 wrote: »

I will be refusing to cover soon as my team are starting to struggle with the workload as our workload increases, but is there anything else I can do?

Not a good idea, present solutions not bigger problems.
if you want the job then that approach has been covered make the job yours before they find someone else.

If you don't want it then you need to get them sorting out your replacement.

As you were cover who will cover you if you take a weeks holiday or go sick is a far better way to approach this problem than a refusal.

If you suspect they won't look at that seriously book 2 weeks holiday let theme work it out for themselves..

Often when these situations arise the team is under time pressure and any sick or holidays blow the schedules and planning.
Any holiday refusals just create a liability as the holiday years end comes closer, what happens holiday year end if everyone has a couple of weeks to take?


Another angle is the delegate up/sideways approach and task management if it gets to the point not everything can't be done get others involved that are impacted by the limitations by setting their expectation more realistically,

Sorry we cant do that till next week or we have to move some other task back.

Nicki

I'd go to the manager now and say I wanted the job, and ask what they needed to see to give it to me. I'd then make sure I delivered this between now and October. In the interim if I was taking on the responsibility of the former manager, I'd ask for the "acting" title with or without extra money, so that if I didn't get the promotion come October I'd be well placed to get an equivalent role elsewhere.

If you get the acting role, then part of that will entail assessing the personnel needs of the team, so if you needed a junior temp, then you'd be well placed to ask for it.

On the other hand, if you don't have any ambition in that direction, you need to speak up now and say so, but in that case you won't have control over what you are being asked to do, or the authority to have an extra member of staff recruited, so you'll probably still end up working harder than you did before and with no ability to refuse.

lincroft1710

Reminds me a scenario I witnessed a few years ago.

Colleague A was on several occasions offered a temp promotion and extra pay to cover for absent higher grade. He accepted all these temp promotions and subsequent reversion to his substantive grade until one day he declined the temp promotion as he decided he would only accept a permanent promotion.

Colleague B was offered the temp promotion and proved himself equally capable as A.

A few months after B's temp promotion ended, a permanent promotion vacancy arose. The more experienced candidate was A but because he'd refused the last temp promotion and B had accepted it, B was given the permanent promotion

SuperCat007

Thanks very much for all your helpful responses. Today I said I didn't feel comfortable doing the extra work leaving the other people doing my job one person short, so I was taken out of all training and it's been given to someone else who accepted it. I actually don't want that senior job at all and it turns out it doesn't matter because I was offered another job today! :T

I really do appreciate all of your help though.