Failed probation

enzolondon1

Popping a post on here for a dear colleague, who in my opinion is being unfairly treated by a power hungry new manager in the NHS. My colleague has over 20 years service in the NHS previously as a medical secretary. She left the NHS for a short period when her husband took poorly and worked in a private healthcare company a few days a week but also stayed on the NHS Trust bank as well in this time. In total she left her NHS continuous service for 10 months (but stayed on the bank). She returned to an administrative role in November with the same Trust and they have told her despite her timekeeping, attitude etc. being impeccable she cannot keep on with deadlines and the work being asked of her (she barely had any form of local induction). 

She is clearly at her wits end as the breadwinner. I have reassured that this department is probably not just the right fit and considering her years of service she should find another department to work in. She is worried a failed probation in this administrative role will affect her going to another department. Any thoughts? I'm at a loss! 

gwynlas

She should discuss her fears with her union as she could have been placed in this position by the bank in which case she would not been subject to a probation period. Having been out for less than a year she might not have to go through a probationary period and should really check her contract. She could change departments but would probably require a eference from current manager.

Undervalued

"Probation" has surprisingly little meaning in employment law. It may give her certain contractual benefits if she is deemed to have "passed" probation and it may provide a structure for performance reviews but that is about all.

Given that there is very little protection of employment for the first two years then arguably everybody is on "probation" for that long!

Unless "staying on the bank" gives her continuity of employment from her past 20 years with the NHS (I have no idea) then sadly she is a new employee with less that two years service so has few rights to fall back on.

enzolondon1

Thanks 
@gwynlas I believe her contract mentions the probationary period but she was recruited as an internal member of staff but is perhaps still subject to that probationary period. I have urged her to join a union. If she was to move departments the reference simply states sickness and conduct etc. and truth be told some times jobs just don't work out or its not a right fit. 

@Undervalued yes this is true. Her concern was more about her valued work reputation and service being ruined simply by this job that hasn't worked out. Not sure how usual this is in big organisations for one job in one department not to work out and to be transfered to another department. My thoughts are surely those years of service and experience must count for something?

Undervalued

enzolondon1 said:

@Undervalued yes this is true. Her concern was more about her valued work reputation and service being ruined simply by this job that hasn't worked out. Not sure how usual this is in big organisations for one job in one department not to work out and to be transfered to another department. My thoughts are surely those years of service and experience must count for something?

Legally no, I'm afraid. As far as the employer is concerned they may well do but that would depend on their internal policies. I've never worked for the NHS so can't advise on that aspect.

MalMonroe

Hi, your friend is still and always has been, an NHS employee since she has been on the bank continuously.

I was once in a similar position, having worked as an NHS medical secretary for over 20 years and a new manager swept in and was a workplace bully. She focused on me and it was obvious she wanted to get rid of me. I did not want to be got rid of and so I went to see someone in HR. My employment record proved what a good employee I was and I made a formal complaint about her treatment of me as I'd been singled out.

They helped me so much and in the end she was transferred to another department and not me.

Please do ask your friend to do the same, that is go to see someone in HR. That is what they are there for. She's being bullied and she has not received the appropriate training for further aspects of her job, which is not her fault. She just needs to find herself a bit of confidence to not let herself be bullied in this awful way. I know it's not easy but I have been through it myself and I felt there was nothing to lose but a lot to gain in that I would keep my job. 

The fact that your friend has been told that everything she does is good (impeccable was the word you used) means that she is in a strong position to fight this manager's intention of getting rid of her. Her excellent 20 year record will also prove that she is not someone to be shoved aside lightly. You are right, her years of service do count for something. And if her Trust is anything like mine was, she will have received annual appraisals, proving her good service.

That NHS Trust would be stupid to let your friend go on the say-so of a workplace bully.

I was actually in a union, Unison - but I did not have to contact them because the HR department was able to help me. I would have turned to them if they had not.

But she could also contact acas - just to have a chat about how to deal with this situation. She doesn't have to accept any advice but they may be able to assure her that there are ways that she can keep her job.

https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

If they do try to get rid of her for no particular reason, she could even take the NHS to an employment tribunal. It's been done before and employees have won. (acas can help there, too if it ever comes to that).

But the first step, please do encourage your friend to see someone in HR. 

I wish her all the best and can assure her that just because you come across a workplace bully certainly does not mean that all is lost. 

enzolondon1

Brilliant advice there @MalMonroe. Cheers for taking the time to reply back 

Emmia

gwynlas said:

She should discuss her fears with her union as she could have been placed in this position by the bank in which case she would not been subject to a probation period. Having been out for less than a year she might not have to go through a probationary period and should really check her contract. She could change departments but would probably require a eference from current manager.

You are of course assuming she's in a union, many people in the public sector aren't. The lack of payrises over the last decade, can make it difficult to justify the membership fees unfortunately.

Undervalued

enzolondon1 said:

Brilliant advice there @MalMonroe. Cheers for taking the time to reply back 

Only if the first line is correct where the poster said....

Hi, your friend is still and always has been, an NHS employee since she has been on the bank continuously.

Whilst I am not saying they are wrong, I would be very surprised if it were as simple as that and that continuity of employment was maintained whilst doing no work at all for the NHS.

As I said earlier, their current job security (or lack of it) depends on  whether they have, legally, two year's continuous employment at the moment. 

Given that we are talking about the country's largest employer this cannot be a unique situation and I would imagine it has been tested in court.

Marcon

MalMonroe said:

Hi, your friend is still and always has been, an NHS employee since she has been on the bank continuously.

I think that's something to check. Certainly the Royal College of Nursing says something else where nurses are concerned:

Bank workers are generally not regarded as employees and therefore do not build up 'continuity of service' in between specific bank shifts. This is important as continuity of service affects your entitlement to certain things (such as annual leave and contractual sick pay) under the NHS terms and conditions of service.

and the Devon Partnership NHS Trust says:

Bank workers – workers registered to provide work on an ad hoc basis, with no obligation for regular work. Administered by the Trust, these staff are workers and not employees.

Altior

Dispassionately, good timekeeping and attitude don't negate potential performance issues. So essentially they are not relevant.

There are two sides to every coin and this could just as easily be someone who has returned to a former employer, having had a lot of previous experience and doesn't feel like they need to be 'managed', or be given the more menial types of tasks that a newbie would be given. Beginning again, on probation but having a lot of experience in the organisation is a recipe for this type of 'clash'. It seems to me, even from the employee's perspective outlined here, that they feel their history has earned them some type of special deference. 

Leaving aside the 'probationary' status (ie 2 year cut off), which we don't appear know for sure, it comes down to whether the employee is able to complete the tasks being given to them in a timely manner, and whether they are safe, reasonable and fair. The manager will need to be able to tangibly demonstrate that they aren't (if they feel that's the case), and ordinarily the employee will need to be given multiple opportunities to rectify the issues raised (as the manager sees them).