Why is new boss being such a knob?

I'd be scheduling a full-on Japanese tea ceremony!

Did you get the job after he left @Calmdownfolks ?

Surely someone else I. The house you’re working coujd have made you a cuppa - how does he know who is st home with you

You sound like a great boss, @Buggeroffboss.

Very pleased to hear your peers have raised the same points with BB/HR.

I remember having to sit opposite the new recruit who got the job I had applied for and which I should have got. He was in the job for almost a year. He had completely lied about his history, had no idea of the job, was a waste of space and an alcoholic to boot, always swanning off for a tipple. As all staff also worked outside the office too, it took quite some time before the "problem' was realised! I wonder if your new boss was properly "vetted",or indeed is the person he purports to be.

Well this would totally suit him wouldn’t it? The employee makes a coffee before working hours snd then not again.
so how is that playing him at his own game?

What he actually needs, as well as termination of contract, is a good, old-fashioned bollocking. It's deeply disappointing how this has apparently died the death - if people screw up they need to know a. how they've screwed up, b. what they should do differently next time and c. what effect they have had on colleagues and the organisation. Just passing them on to the next schmucks who hire them is negligent, IMO.

(SIDE RANT) I think there's an awful lot of people who are good at interviews, especially the competency-based ones, but who are absolutely useless in post. I used to work for one of the Big 4 professional services firms and did a lot of interviewing - we were supposed to work within a strict competency-based framework, and I did always tick those boxes, but I also asked quite a lot of random questions to try to find out about the actual person, which we weren't supposed to do. Oddly, my recruitment recommendations had a much higher retention rate than the firm's average....

Play him at his own game. Make a thermos up BEFORE working hours and drink it throughout meetings.
He can't dictate how you spend your lunch break (as long as you take the correct time).

Absolutely. I now work remotely but in my office years, at various companies, not once did anyone have any issue with people making drinks at any time of day for themselves / colleagues. I can't believe someone would take issue with that (unless it's in a job where it's a health and safety risk)

Does this mean that if people are in the office drinking tea, they can't do it at their desks?! He sounds like a total tosser.

Also, he can't control what people do in their lunch breaks.

He is on probation
They don’t need a grievance to get rid during probation.
just need to give him notice which is usually a week during Probation

I agree

IMO, what big boss is saying to @Buggeroffboss is "give me the bullets for my gun, and then I will carry out the assassination". I imagine there will have to be some sort of process within the company, but it does make it a lot easier if you can point to grievances which will ultimately lead to a drop in both morale and productivity.

When did I suggest development?

You don't need a grievance to get rid. I can't see how one is in the best interests of anyone here and I don't understand why BB suggested.

Who does the grievance reflect poorly on in this situation? (Other than boss....)... BB (cause a grievance of that nature screams culture fit miss match which was BB hiring choice) or (if I was being Machiavellian) OP (her team is so entrenched in the old culture that she orchestrated a coup, raised a malicious grievance etc)

Disagree. The main boss made a mistake hiring someone who is a poor fit for the business, the culture and the role.

If they decide to sack this guy, accepting they made a poor decision and correcting it is the right way to go.

Not everyone is suitable for development. This guy is wrong for the business, off he pops.

It does sound like a big shift in management style. If the team has a strong track record and is meeting its targets, introducing lots of monitoring all at once is bound to affect morale.
It's not surprising people have stopped going above and beyond if they feel they're no longer being trusted.

To put it another way, OP if you hired someone who didn't fit culturally and was causing issues within the company, if a subordinate and HR TOLD you there were issues, wouldn't you just sort it if you agreed with it? Rather than tell the person who had an issue to raise a grievance? It's just really odd.

Is he new to Management ? He sounds very insecure , as if he’s trying to assert his authority but going about it in the wrong way . You either need to have a word with him , have an informal word with HR or raise a grievance. Soon enough morale will be rock bottom & productivity will go down.

He’s not the right culture fit

OP, please take the job and negotiate a 4 day week

This sounds like an amazing company to work for!

Exactly

He just tells the op to submit a grievance. I mean… wtf? He hired him. The company would have invested so many time and money in to recruiting someone at this level.

I think there's one going to be coming up in a few months at the OP's place 😉

Is he American? Does he think if he's exceptionally unpleasant, he'll be promoted as the easiest way of getting rid of him? Sounds a nightmare.

That is definitely not leadership

You don’t need documentation to end someone’s probation. You just have to give them notice. Usually only a week if during probation.

It is straightforward to dismiss somebody with less than 2 years' service as they can't claim unfair dismissal (though that is set to change from next year when it will reduce to 6 months,,,,but for now he has very few rights). Unless he can claim discrimination due to some protected characteristic eg a disability the boss has which no provisions were made for...no evidence suggests that is the case.

Probation has no legal implications at all, just a window for both parties to decide if the job is a good fit. So no there is no need to wait till probation ends, that wouldn't make sense if it is clear that things haven't worked out. I think that racking up multiple staff complaints in just 6 weeks is evidence enough of that!