HR ADVICE

Michy78

Hello,


I would like if you could provide some advise in regards of few issues that i have at work . 
I have been working for the same company for the past 16 years although i TUPE twice .

Recently I have been signed off from work stress related symptoms as i have been covering double duties due to my colleague retirement.
The company has no intention to recruit and also wants to merge with another department and it is  pushing me strategically into training with another department which will involve different duties, tasks and working hours  that are different from my current role.

In regards of changing the role and adding more duties can i do anything?

I went through a tough time as my mum had a stroke and although i worked remotely from Spain full time i feel i wasn't supported and instead pushed to come back as soon as possible.

I had an appraisal 3 months ago with my temp manager and she has not completed it in writing although I have agreed to take some additional tasks which i did with the promise she will push for a pay rise but she has not put in writing what was agreed by her during my appraisal . I feel used and underpaid .

Overall it is my 6th year where an official appraisal has been properly done for myself. 
Can i do anything in regards of this ?

I feel they are intentionally pushing me into a constructive dismissal case. 

Prior of been signed off ,i have booked some holidays which are falling into the time where i will still be covered by the doctor certificate  and wanted to ask if i need to notify the employer of holidays cancellation or this should be done automatically.

Hoenir

Michy78 said:

 i have been covering double duties due to my colleague retirement.
The company has no intention to recruit and also wants to merge with another department and it is  pushing me strategically into training with another department which will involve different duties, tasks and working hours  that are different from my current role.

In regards of changing the role and adding more duties can i do anything?

 i worked remotely from Spain full time i feel i wasn't supported and instead pushed to come back as soon as possible.

The company management appears to have decided upon the best course of action to improve productivity and efficiency. Why are you reluctant to embrace the change?  It keeps you employed. At a time when keeping a lid on overhead costs maybe a primary objective. 

From a support perspective having you back in the office would appear the sensible option. Far easier to talk to people at the water cooler or in the kitchen. Than have to schedule communications to a remote site during a busy working day. 

LightFlare

Michy78 said:

Hello,


I would like if you could provide some advise in regards of few issues that i have at work . 
I have been working for the same company for the past 16 years although i TUPE twice .

Recently I have been signed off from work stress related symptoms as i have been covering double duties due to my colleague retirement.
The company has no intention to recruit and also wants to merge with another department and it is  pushing me strategically into training with another department which will involve different duties, tasks and working hours  that are different from my current role.

In regards of changing the role and adding more duties can i do anything?

I went through a tough time as my mum had a stroke and although i worked remotely from Spain full time i feel i wasn't supported and instead pushed to come back as soon as possible.

I had an appraisal 3 months ago with my temp manager and she has not completed it in writing although I have agreed to take some additional tasks which i did with the promise she will push for a pay rise but she has not put in writing what was agreed by her during my appraisal . I feel used and underpaid .

Overall it is my 6th year where an official appraisal has been properly done for myself. 
Can i do anything in regards of this ?

I feel they are intentionally pushing me into a constructive dismissal case. 

Prior of been signed off ,i have booked some holidays which are falling into the time where i will still be covered by the doctor certificate  and wanted to ask if i need to notify the employer of holidays cancellation or this should be done automatically.

What other support were you wanting ?

This “concession” seems to have been quite generous.

Full remote working (especially in a different country) can be incredibly isolating and is possibly why the company asked you back o to site if you expressed concerns over lack of support

Undervalued

LightFlare said:

Michy78 said:

Hello,


I would like if you could provide some advise in regards of few issues that i have at work . 
I have been working for the same company for the past 16 years although i TUPE twice .

Recently I have been signed off from work stress related symptoms as i have been covering double duties due to my colleague retirement.
The company has no intention to recruit and also wants to merge with another department and it is  pushing me strategically into training with another department which will involve different duties, tasks and working hours  that are different from my current role.

In regards of changing the role and adding more duties can i do anything?

I went through a tough time as my mum had a stroke and although i worked remotely from Spain full time i feel i wasn't supported and instead pushed to come back as soon as possible.

I had an appraisal 3 months ago with my temp manager and she has not completed it in writing although I have agreed to take some additional tasks which i did with the promise she will push for a pay rise but she has not put in writing what was agreed by her during my appraisal . I feel used and underpaid .

Overall it is my 6th year where an official appraisal has been properly done for myself. 
Can i do anything in regards of this ?

I feel they are intentionally pushing me into a constructive dismissal case. 

Prior of been signed off ,i have booked some holidays which are falling into the time where i will still be covered by the doctor certificate  and wanted to ask if i need to notify the employer of holidays cancellation or this should be done automatically.

What other support were you wanting ?

This “concession” seems to have been quite generous.

Full remote working (especially in a different country) can be incredibly isolating and is possibly why the company asked you back o to site if you expressed concerns over lack of support

Quite.

That was way above and beyond the legal entitlement which is "a short period of unpaid leave for emergency situations involving somebody who reasonably depends on you". Both "short" and "emergency" are undefined in the relevant law. Normally is is taken to mean a day or two to arrange care, not long term to do the caring yourself.

Some companies, to their credit, show far more flexibility and understanding in these situations but that doesn't mean they have to.

Michy78

So where is humanity gone ?  I am overworked and underpaid but of course i should be grateful and embrace the modern slavery? 
Been bullied to come back when i am dealing with life/death situation and  i am still doing my job which was in the company interest since they didn't have a contingency plan. What shall i ask for ?
And i don't need to be in the office , my job does not require a face to face interaction as i have been doing diligently for the past 5 years

I feel the word EMPATHY is forgotten as well as human rights too but thanks for all your advise

Tabieth

Are you in a union? Hopefully you are as I think having a union’s advice and support would be really helpful. 

lincroft1710

Although "employer" and "empathy" start with the same 3 letters, the similarity ends there. But letting you work remotely from Spain doesn't seem to show a lack of empathy on their part.


Employers will always put the needs of the business first. If an employer is not seeking to fill a vacant post, it may mean they are not making enough money. Whatever you may believe to the contrary, if your employer says they need you in the office, they need you in the office.


Throughout my 35 year Civil Service career, in each grade I was in I was required to learn and carry out completely different aspects of work relevant to that grade. Parliamentary legislation changed the job we had to do more than once . There was no "ooo, I don't want to do that", you were given your task and that was that. If you didn't like it, the only alternative was to resign, which the occasional new entrant did. 


With the arrival of individual computers with word processing, my department decided it no longer needed typists. So in the 80 offices nationwide, the typists were offered clerical roles which most accepted.


I don't agree your employer is pushing you into constructive dismissal, they seem to be trying to keep you on board rather than possibly make you redundant.

Savvy_Sue

Michy78 said:

So where is humanity gone ?  I am overworked and underpaid but of course i should be grateful and embrace the modern slavery? 

No, you should look for another job. No-one can force you to stay: if you choose to do so, then you can make it clear that you can only do the work of one person, and ask what can be left for another day.

Marcon

Michy78 said:

Hello,


I would like if you could provide some advise in regards of few issues that i have at work . 
I have been working for the same company for the past 16 years although i TUPE twice .

Recently I have been signed off from work stress related symptoms as i have been covering double duties due to my colleague retirement.
The company has no intention to recruit and also wants to merge with another department and it is  pushing me strategically into training with another department which will involve different duties, tasks and working hours  that are different from my current role.

In regards of changing the role and adding more duties can i do anything?

What does your current contract say?

Michy78 said:

I went through a tough time as my mum had a stroke and although i worked remotely from Spain full time i feel i wasn't supported and instead pushed to come back as soon as possible.

I had an appraisal 3 months ago with my temp manager and she has not completed it in writing although I have agreed to take some additional tasks which i did with the promise she will push for a pay rise but she has not put in writing what was agreed by her during my appraisal . I feel used and underpaid .

Overall it is my 6th year where an official appraisal has been properly done for myself. 
Can i do anything in regards of this ?

I feel they are intentionally pushing me into a constructive dismissal case. 

The chances of winning such a case on the facts you've given are close to zero. It's always exceptionally hard to prove and there is nothing in your post to suggest the company has even come close to forcing you into a position where you felt you had no choice but to resign.

If you've been signed off sick on stress related grounds, you aren't going to be feeling great, so please at least try to tread water (ie take no precipitous action which could work to your disadvantage) until you feel brighter. 

Michy78 said:

Prior of been signed off ,i have booked some holidays which are falling into the time where i will still be covered by the doctor certificate  and wanted to ask if i need to notify the employer of holidays cancellation or this should be done automatically.

Not automatic. You need to communicate with your employer.

gm0

You need to concentrate on short term actions which help you to feel sufficiently better. 

To regain a usefully informed and subjectively realistic perspective on what is going on in your workplace (and why it is happening).  And then how to best approach it for YOU - on the basis of staying or going.

Your post doesn't SOUND like that.  How you sound matters - because how you engage around return to work from sick leave with current employer.  Could well affect the outcome.  

So phone calls. emails.  meetings. content and tone - are representative of attitude.  They are.  Whether you agree they should or should not be is not relevant.

Maybe that's an overwhelming task right now.  Sick leave.

Scenario A

You have had a temporary difficulty caused by combo of work stress and family issues.  Now being overcome and the plan is to get back to work in a suitable way and pace is A,B,C.  Recovery from stress, mixed with grief and being down about things - takes time.  Implication - agree a sensible timeline.  You appreciate their support.  You believe you have more to contribute due to your long employment, core skills, knowledge of the business etc. And you still want a job in the new structure so engage and line one up that you prefer as best you can rather than being fitted in at the end - if still employers a few months on.

Scenario B

The circumstances your family situation can handle and what they need no longer align.  And this isn't a temporary issue.  You want it your way.  Or you can't do it.  And that's not what they need or want.  If that situation cannot be resolved. Sick leave has pressed a PAUSE button.  

But the now mismatched employment will be ending by one mechanism or another.  You quit for a more suitable job or they use one of the available legal exit paths to remove you - capability, performance, redundancy.  How incompetent their HR is and how they feel about tribunal will affect how they behave.  Financial pressure can push the required schedule forward.  A big corporate with OK numbers can drag this out a long time.

Pretending the changes are not happening and your old duties at old staffing ratios in disbanding teams still exist to go back to would be wishful thinking. There are a very few regulated employments where this sort of role stability DOES exist but in most business and a lot of government - it's not a reasonable expectation that it can't be changed.  The good news is that nothing is forever.  The bad news is that boring and extra work turns up

My two pence worth is this - you need to LOOK like A to them.  

Even if it is ACTUALLY - B while you work through finding your path to a job which works with your family as it is now.  Find something which suits you better and then resign and jump across to it

But looking like A convincingly first requires you to be well enough - to think about it clearly and present yourself in that way.  

Then part two is the new teams, the work, the other people, managers..  Where you would best fit - and be most wanted.  Making the connection.  Securing a new role of choice.  A purely passive approach will likely not get the best result.

Self care comes first.  Strategy after.  And what will be - will be.

Hoenir

Michy78 said:

And i don't need to be in the office , my job does not require a face to face interaction as i have been doing diligently for the past 5 years

To the same degree you are accusing your employer of a lack of support.  Relationships in the workplace are a two way street. "I want"  is never a good tack to take as an employee. Creates disenchantment amongst colleagues as they view it as somebody being given preferential treatment by the employer.  Employer's have to keep a happy ship. Employees are expendable. There's always some else to do the job. If it means somebody walks the plank so be it. Nothing personal in the decision. Simply business. 

We all face challenging personal situations during our working lifetimes. Divorce, death, illness etc etc. Few people are immune. Remaining to be professional is key. However tough it maybe.