New job role issues

Gavin78

My wife has been working as a cover supervisor in her school. However during the first lockdown during a video chat with 2 senior members of staff it was suggested after looking at her qualifications that she was capable of much more having trained to be a teacher a few years ago. They wanted to change her job role to the next highest position pending school board approval which they didn't see as an issue they just needed to approve the extra pay that comes with this role. This would be to start in September and they even sent her on an update course ready for the new role. September came and went in this new role so she contacted the Senior member to find out the board hadn't met yet. This then came into mid/late October which she was then told she would need to have an informal interview. She said it eventually turned into a full official interview needing 2 references which she said well you have them on record already from when I started employment this year start of 2020 so they wouldn't change. So she had to mess about requesting these again, there was a bit of an issue getting one from one of them due to lockdown and a change in departments as it wasn't getting to the right person.

So they decided to use one of the deputy head teachers in the school she works in.

Come November still no extra pay for this job role so my wife thought ok maybe they missed the deadline and the extra pay would be in Decembers wage. So she has just been given her wage slip this month and still no extra pay for this job role she is still on the same rate as the last job.

She asked the DH what is happening and she said speak with the HR person in the office as the job title starts January 2021.

My wife said I actually have it in writing that my contract for this job role is November, however the DH said speak with them in the office.

How does this usually work?

I said to my wife even though they interviewed her in October they had her doing the job role in September and the interview was supposed to be just procedure and because of Covid the board hadn't been able to meet till a later date to approve the extra funds that the job entailed. I said really they should have been paying her from the September and just have backdated the pay from the board approval.

Seems to me they have been taking her for a ride as this new role is around an extra £250+ a month. I suggested she contact the Unions for advice?

Marcon

Gavin78 said:

Seems to me they have been taking her for a ride as this new role is around an extra £250+ a month. I suggested she contact the Unions for advice?

Good idea.

Grumpy_chap

It probably is not that unusual when changing jobs internally for the delivery of the new role to run a bit ahead of the HR / payroll sorting it all out.  If she now has formal agreement the the new role and salary starts January 1st, then it is probably pragmatic to go with it and not make a fuss.  That does not mean that I think the way she has been treated is correct, just that it is not unusual and to live with it.

[Deleted User]

I was offered a payrise in May to start from the June. With my parents looking over this when I entered the personal tax online account only very recent, it became apparent in minutes the employer didn't start increased amount really till the end of Summer. It certainly wasn't what I was told in May.

Marcon

Deleted User said:

I was offered a payrise in May to start from the June. With my parents looking over this when I entered the personal tax online account only very recent, it became apparent in minutes the employer didn't start increased amount really till the end of Summer. It certainly wasn't what I was told in May.

How does yet another of your 'it happened to me' anecdotes help OP?

Savvy_Sue

Marcon said:

Gavin78 said:

Seems to me they have been taking her for a ride as this new role is around an extra £250+ a month. I suggested she contact the Unions for advice?

Good idea.

If she's in a union, definitely. If she's not, she should most definitely join. (Side note: I have never understood people who work in schools / healthcare settings / social care without being union members. High risk strategy!)

[Deleted User]

What sort of school is it?  Just with you talking about “the school board”, most schools have a governing body. 

TELLIT01

It would seem that the person/people who put her into her new role didn't actually have the authority to do so.  If the governors are insisting on a full blown application and interview process that would seem to support that view.  It is very similar to the situation my sister-in-law found herself in a couple of years ago in a school.  She had an informal interview with the person in charge of admin at the school and was told she was perfect for the job and would receive written confirmation of the start date.  The letter she actually received said that the head teacher and governors were insisting that the job was properly advertised and that her qualifications were not sufficient for the role.

Sandtree

I did have a somewhat similar experience many years ago when taking a secondment with a promise it would become perm if it worked out but then at the end of my secondment being told that actually HR wouldnt allow it to simply become perm but it had to be advertised internally, interviews etc etc but in the meantime my secondment could be extended, only problem is secondments dont pay as well and the “secondment allowance” isnt considered for pension, bonus, flexible benefits etc

In my case I was fortunate in that the senior management acknowledged they’d made promises that they’d been unable to keep and so “if” I was successful they would back date the promotion and payrise and fortunately I was.

It is one thing for the management to have gone outside of their authority and said something informal will happen when actually governance requires something more formal and giving you some refresher material in the meantime isnt a big issue either. Actually having started the role, presumably at their request whilst this is all working its way through the sausage machine is another however you are now mid December and the new role officially starts in 1 Jan so it does really feel a little late to take exception to it. I personally would speak to whichever manager asked her to start doing the job whilst the process was going along and see if they can consider any backdating or even a gesture of goodwill given its based on their advice that the situation has been created.

Gavin78

MarkN88 said:

What sort of school is it?  Just with you talking about “the school board”, most schools have a governing body. 

Its an academy school I believe there is a number of them dotted around the country under the same owners/private investors or however these types of schools work. So other than school Governors I think they have a board of people that handle the money as well.

My wife trained to be a teacher a few years ago so planning lessons isn’t a problem. She opted to take a cover supervisor role in the school she works in now and this started January this year, However during the lockdown the school got a new headteacher and he had been looking at changing staff around. The person above the headteacher some higher up area Manager for these schools decided that this role wasn’t really suited for her qualifications or what the school was looking to use that job role for.

So that asked her if she wanted the job of a “Higher Level Teaching Assistant” pending board approval as it came with higher pay but didn’t see it as being an issue it was more of a formality.

So the difference with the 2 roles is a cover supervisor takes lessons a teacher has planned and a HLTA role involves planning and taking lessons.

They said to her that the job would start in September and her line manager set the rota at work so that she planned and taught lessons from that date which she has been doing since. However when she contacted the area manager at the end of September the board hadn’t met she was then informed that she would need and informal interview for the role but not to worry as this this was just a formality.

This interview didn’t take place till late October which when she went into the room it was a full interview that needed 2 references and pending these is when the job would start.

As I said in my first post there was an issue getting one reference as they weren’t responding to the emails so she ended up getting one from the deputy head internally.

She got it in writing that the contract would start November what since then they have changed their minds.

The PA/office manager for the school got back with her today and said this.

 

 

“As you know we have been waiting for the references to come back and the offer is subject to references.  I have spoken with Area Manager and The Head Teacher and now that we have received them, they have agreed to start you on this role from the 1st January.  Head Office are revising your letter and contract which will be sent out to you”

 

Sorry for any confusion.

 

My wife is actually in a Union already she wouldn’t work in this job role without being in one.

 

While she will contact the Unions for advice should they have actually took her on in this job role from September if there wasn’t actually a job there till the references came back?

 

So from the sounds of it they aren’t going to back pay her and just start her contract for it from 1st January 2021

 

It’s all new to us so not sure in the real world how this is supposed to work. but I’m sure they shouldn’t have taken her on in this new role she currently only has a contract for the last role still till this one takes affect which they now state January 2021.

 

My wife says she is about £1000 down since September working in the new role.