Manager edging me out of role.

[Runningawayfromthecircus]

Hi,

What are my rights if I have covered a Jobrole beyond my contract for over a year? I flagged it up via email a year ago to my line manager and director and have requested clarity of my job role verbally countless times since?

Never had the promised appraisals etc. finding my manager suddenly likes my job role and is attending meetings without me, micro managing me ( have done my job for years and I'm bloody good at it)

I am job hunting but want to know if its possible to salvage my current role as I love my job and team.

[flowery]

"What are my rights" is a bit of a vague question really. Your rights in what sense? You are entitled not to be unfairly dismissed, if that's what you mean.

Can you be a bit more specific? What is it you want to either do or avoid being done to you?

[Runningawayfromthecircus]

Sorry Flowery, I typed a huge post the panicked that it was too specific, deleted and you got the above.

I'm curious as to what rights I have with regards maintaining the level of work and responsibility I currently have, I'm scared I am being demoted back to my original role now my manager has decided he wants to carry out the work I have been. This is increased client contact, meetings and project leading. None of this is in my contract, I have a job that is a skilled technical position, a lot of the work I have done is more account/ project management within the field.

I have requested once in writing and verbally on several occasions that my role be clarified with boundaries and goals etc so I can see progression and have security in my job day to day.

So my questions are:

Do I have a claim to the role I have carried out despite not being contracted to it?

If casually demoted to my contracted duties is this actually considered demotion ( carried out the duties for 18 mths, since day one of the job, verbal assurance that I should continue as I was)

No appraisals despite being due them at 3 mths and a year. Is this acceptable.

I don't want to be the boss, or have a pay rise. Just assurance in my contract and role that I am doing well and progressing, stability. My boss wasn't interested at all last year, left me to fend or myself. This year he wants to do all the interesting stuff and I'm finding myself more and more back to basics, although I have been off work for some medical treatment so there is an element of the company ensuring I am not over doing it. This situation has been going on long before this.

I'm very frustrated but genuinely want to support my team, manager and company. I love my job and just want to do well.


Aaarrgghhhh!!

[Runningawayfromthecircus]

And, at no stage has concern over my performance been raised, but I do have to give priority to ensuring the departments work goes out ( this is meant to be above my position, I should be able o do 9-5 and pass the buck. I can't. I have worked through several holidays due to not having cover)

[flowery]

Well there's no legal entitlement to an appraisal, that's an easy one. It's not good, obviously, but not illegal.

In terms of job content, that is rarely contractual so it would be difficult to argue a breach by changing it. Does your contract/job description have anything vague in there like "other reasonable duties as required" or something?

If someone has lots of their job taken away from them to the extent that there is significant loss of status/they are given work they are not suited for /have nothing to do or something like that and their position becomes untenable, then there may be an argument that the person has been constructively dismissed. But proving constructive dismissal is difficult at the best of times and attempting to prove changing your responsibilities was so awful it amounted to a fundamental breach of contract would be an uphill struggle tbh.

You'd also be expected to have made every effort to resolve the situation internally, by raising a grievance etc. and would have to resign before bringing the claim.

What you can't do is bring a claim to a tribunal of "my boss has taken bits of my job away" and the tribunal order him to give it you back.

[Runningawayfromthecircus]

Thanks Flowery, to be clear I'm not looking to raise a constructive dismissal case. I want to be as knowledgable about the situation as I can be to enable me to present myself clearly and with confidence when discussing the role with my superiors.

I am carrying out the role my previous manager would have carried out, to reduce completely to my originally intended role would be a significant drop in status, there would be no client contact beyond very limited scheme approval and occasional change in plan. I am certain my contract will have some form of loose wording as to owing the company the moon ;)

I just want security. I was relied on to step in and learn very fast, I did that with dedication. I want to know the best way I can progress this whilst looking after my interests. My nature is to support, I tend to roll over to make sure the situation is as good as possible for the other person. With all that I have done and learnt I am finding the situation demorilising and distressing.

To be clear, it's not bits of the job. I am managing a department, with the pressure of delivering a fast paced programme under pressure. I also heavily support the client with day to day events plus additional projects/rol outs. My contract is essentially admin of a technical kind, a pleb. It is a whole level beyond, not just odd bits. Suddenly my manager is micro managing even the basics which I would not anticipate having to manage a junior on.

I'm not sure I am expressing this clearly. We are a very isolated team, so the rest of the company including my line managers manager are generally not aware of our eek o week work let alone our day to day. My managers role should not cross over with my role, either that that I am carrying out or that of my contract.

[Runningawayfromthecircus]

I think I just want to own the work I perform and have no idea how to progress this.

[flowery]

When you've raised it with your manager, what was the response?

Ultimately this is not a "rights" thing and that line is not likely to get a good result anyway. You need to find out what the reason is for this, and explore addressing those with your manager in order that you can carry on supporting the team and the business.

What's changed that your manager suddenly started doing this? Why did he suddenly have time to do this? Were aspects of his job taken away? Understanding reasoning can help enormously in working out the most effective way of addressing a problem.