Employment Law and Performance Management - Advice Please

Smudger78

Hi All, After some advice. Due to some restructuring in the company I work for my boss has left the business and it is being proposed that I report into an individual who is contracted via a third party. I don't believe it's right that decisions on may pay and assessment of my performance should be made by someone who isn't directly employed by the company that employs me however I am unsure whether I have any grounds to object to this. Maybe its something I just have to suck up but as a point of principle I disagree with it so wondered if anyone had any knowledge and/or experience of this kind of situation? Thanks

KiKi

There's no law on that (that I'm aware of!). If it makes sense that the reporting line is to a third party then so be it. It's common in many organisations - they bring in contractors to work on specific projects or programmes of work, and it makes sense for the people on that project to report into them.

It's not clear what you object to - if there are guidelines around performance and pay then they will have to be adhered to by anyone, whether they work for the company or not. Many organisations will have ways of calibrating performance and pay anyway, and often performance ratings / pay changes go through your manager's manager for approval.

Ultimately there's nothing you can do about it - but my strong suggestion to you is that you don't go into this assuming the worst as, despite how well you think you may hide it, it's possible that you'll be giving off vibes about how annoyed you are! Assume the best - that this person will make good decisions - and showcase how fabulous you are to get a great performance review and pay increase!

Bogalot

You just have to suck it up, and/ or look for another job.

What don't you feel is right about the situation?

dlmcr

I'm assuming that in this case "contracted by a third party" meas an external contractor? Not sure why this would cause issues or why you have a bugbear with such an arrangement. There are external contractors in many places of work, in many cases they are brought in because they have skills the permies don't have. You never know, you might learn something from your new manager, I would certainly look to this as being a major advantage of a situation such as this!

TBagpuss

Why, specifically, do you feel it isn't appropriate?

If you have concerns about whether there are adequate arrangements in place for things such as reviews, and any mechanism for appeal if you disagree with the external manager's assessment then it may be reasonable to raise those with your current manager, but I would suggest that you do so not as an objection or accusation that the plan is inappropriate, but on the basis that you have that concern and would like to clarify what procedures your employer will have in place to ensure that there is still a fair process for reviewing your work and considering pay.