To tell previous ex-team member to bugger off (long)

[Buck3t]

The person who had my job before me wants it back.
She has been nasty about the manager of the team. Completely unprofessional, on my first day, she said that the manager doesn't want to record time, because she's lazy and everyone will see how much work she isn't doing. She'd just met me. Even in jest it wouldn't be funny and it wasn't in jest.

The manager went through a lot of personal things the previous year and the old employee was left holding the can, and she grew resentful. After just a year in the position she moved to another position in the company, now she kept visiting and it was all good fun. She is very distracting and everyone was happy to be distracted as they hadn't seen her for ages.

For the last two months she kept letting people know how unhappy she is in her current role. When I say people I mean everyone. People not even in the same side of the business know she wants the job back. She went as far as asking one of my colleagues (her friend, call her C1) how good I was, cause if I was crap she'd be happy to come back. C1 was trying to find out if I'd job share with this girl. Problem is C1 has continuously mentioned it, until someone had to remind her last week that it was really disrespectful to me.

Now this week ex team member comes in and whispers (enough for me to hear her), that the team need her. Mostly because I'm so busy the filing has gone out of the window.

Now firstly, her one page handover notes that she left for me nowhere described the job I have managed to fashion for myself in the last 15 months nor the contacts I have made nor the good work I have done for senior management, outside of my remit (so far out I'm an administrator running non administrative projects). I'm legally qualified and have a good head on my shoulders but the next time she comes (which will be on Tuesday) I think I might get the sack for what I say to her.

Additionally, she has managed to ingratiate herself with the same manager who she has slagged off every chance she gets (calling it a joke of course). This feels like some kind of bullying and I'm sorely tempted to retaliate in some kind of way.

[SouthWindsWesterly]

Is there a HR department. You've established yourself for 15mths - time to create a time Lin for complaint

[Buck3t]

There is a HR department. But as large as this company is, she's got the right people in her pocket and quite frankly if I make an issue about it the team I work with could think of it as an overreaction.

That's not to say I shouldn't make a timeline, but I'm loathe to go down that road. Because the politics within the small team and wider office would make it difficult. Just not sure why I have to put up with the "banter", that isn't really "banter". In my much younger days I would have handled it very swiftly with a sledgehammer. Nowadays I'm too subtle, I miss the old me.

[foofoo001]

You will be surprised who else can see through her, I work with someone who makes sure she befriends the right people and charms them but over the course of a couple of years I have realised that many of these people can see what she really is.

Definitely speak to HR, give them facts and be calm.

[Buck3t]

Many thanks both, I think I may.