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Original poster

I feel work are being unfair

86 replies

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 20:36

I work on a phone line for an important helpline. Occasionally some emergency calls (our workers work remotely and up heights and can run into danger for example) and a whole bunch of other quite serious issues come through the phone line, mostly not so important though.

The 'phone' is a system, a computer screen like any call centre I suppose.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago my phone system crashed. I was talking to a worker I know quite well and it just went. I could see the call there,(seconds ticking as if someone still on the call to me) but he had gone. All the 'buttons' were greyed out and wouldn't let me click them to end the call, log out of it, or ring anyone else or any other option.

I didn't want to leave my office to speak to management because if that call dropped and another call (a crucial one perhaps) came through, that could be detrimental. I messaged my manager on the internal system..on the camera could see her at her desk but talking, she sits within seconds walking distance but I was too worried about the system rectifying itself (maybe our worker had accidentally put me on hold and would hang up, or whatever had crashed righted itself for example!) And me leaving an unmanned line.

So I waited and tried to get her attention sent more msgs no avail.

I knew another manager was further away but nearby still so I messaged her and told her what had happened in detail. I also said it was almost my time to finish work. She told me to restart my whole system so I did.

I then messaged my manager (the first one) again and told her what I had done and who had advised me to, just in case.

Managers where I work always work an hour later than staff like me.
I shut down the system and went home.

Now,I am being subject to disciplinary. Upper management have seriously come down on me and said it will go on my record for not leaving my desk to see a manager face to face and not questioning what the manager said when she told me to restart.

This is because a lot of calls came thru to my system after I had gone home. This will look bad on our company.

I feel they're being unfair. I had valid reason to not leave my workstation. I did as I was advised by a senior. I stayed behind about 20 minutes trying to be advised because I wanted it resolved, making myself late picking my daughter up. I take work seriously. I'm upset.

Name changed regular..

OP posts:

ChatterMonkey · 12/06/2021 20:40

If your manager was within seconds distance to you, then you really should have gone to her and told her what was happening. If it did magically reset itself and accept a new call, then you would be back within a few seconds so not a massive delay even for an important call.

Not surprised that your work are unimpressed tbh.

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 20:47

I wouldn't have been back in a few seconds. She would have had to stop what she was doing and id have had to explain it to her so I'm guessing approx one minute. My OP may have been misleading that way.

OP posts:

Veryverycalmnow · 12/06/2021 20:48

Your reasons for not leaving your workspace sound legit to me but once manager#2 said to shut it down could you have popped over to the manager that was busy chatting and explain that's what you were doing. Or would that have looked like you didn't trust the other manager's advice? It sounds really difficult, but you took advice from the available manager and followed it. Also, you presumably have the evidence of the written messages which should work in your favour. Good luck.

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 20:50

I did message the first manager to explain, before I left.she was at work longer so if she wasn't sure id done the right thing, could have questioned it or taken measures to make sure, and obviously didn't..

OP posts:

Leftphalange · 12/06/2021 21:06

Based on what you have said I would probably have left my workstation to get help however not knowing the industry I can't say what would be expected.

I don't believe resetting the system is your fault at all- you did what you were told by your superior. You have that in writing yes?

Deryai · 12/06/2021 21:12

OP this is crazy and not your fault at all! From a legal perspective (I’m not an employment lawyer), it seems they’ve got very ahead of themselves here. Is it your own manager who has instigated the disciplinary? If so that is wrong, given another senior member of staff gave you instructions. That senior staff should not have done that if they weren’t authorised to do so.

ChatterMonkey · 12/06/2021 21:13

You wouldnt need to explain it all to the manager in her office though. You could stick your head in, say sorry to interrupt but you were having urgent system issues you needed her help with and could she pop along as soon as she could. Then gone back to your office and wait for manager to come, and explain all in sight of the system.

I wouldnt worry about it too much, you were in a situation where you had to make a decision, turns out it wasnt the one your employer expected you to do. So they will likely want to monitor to ensure that your judgement isnt regularly different to their expectations. See it as a learning experience rather than anything else.

ElderMillennial · 12/06/2021 21:39

My first thought on reading your OP was that you've done nothing wrong and this is very unfair as there was a system issue and then you did as advised by a senior.

Having seen others' responses, I see some PPs think you should have got up from your desk, but if it's possible to message them from your desk then I don't see what's wrong with that?

Then again you say they were seconds away and maybe you should have done that when they didn't answer the message.

Overall I think they're being unfair on you.

AlexaShutUp · 12/06/2021 21:50

Hard to say without knowing a bit more about the context. Would written messages usually be used to highlight urgent problems in your company, and would your manager therefore have been expected to keep an eye on them, or would it be the norm to flag up an urgent problem in person or on the phone, as in most organisations?

Also, you said that the other manager told you to restart your system, which you apparently did, but then it appears that you shut it down straightaway? Did the manager realise that you were going to do this? I don't really understand the timelines for when the missed calls came in. Were they during your working hours, in which case you should have been able to see them after restarting the system? And should therefore have flagged them up to someone? Or were they after you shut down and therefore after your shift was scheduled to end in any case? What would normally happen to calls coming in after you log off?

Lemonwoe · 12/06/2021 21:58

Do you have a union?! If so, get them involved. If not, contact ACAS.

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 22:04

Thank you for all the replies. I'm considering getting the union involved but wasn't sure if I had a 'case'. I did as I was advisdd by a senior. And didn't leave my desk for what I felt was good reason.

To answer some questions.
I felt it was urgent but,I could have caused chaos in my view if I left the line unmanned and I was afraid to. Turns out that's just what happened :(

The calls came through after id gone home. I've no idea how this was possible but it was.

My manager was told what id done via theinstant message system, and was she unsure it was right, had plenty of time to make sure even once id gone.

I restarted and then shut down (could this have done anything different to merely restarting)?
I couldn't have phoned management due to this issue.
It is my own manager (the first one I messaged) who has done the disciplinary.
I do have copies of the messages

OP posts:

purpleme12 · 12/06/2021 22:17

I agree that work are being unfair
Based on your teaching your instructions from your senior! This should be enough!
Not surprised you're upset!
I'm sorry but if you've done what a senior said that should be the end of it! You need to argue your case as much as you can

Bluntness100 · 12/06/2021 22:18

Op how long did this all take. How long were you waiting for Before you restarted?

Miranda15110 · 12/06/2021 22:18

Is there a fault resolution process? Or are you expected to use your instinct? If there is no process you have every right to go to the union. If you didn't follow the process you are in the wrong.

bubblebubblebubbletrouble · 12/06/2021 22:26

Not an employment lawyer.

From what you've written it sounds unfair.
Is it possible that your manager is doing disciplinary for you to try to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they obviously weren't at desk working/picking up IM's and feels you've undermined them going to senior.
Good that you have copies of messages.

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 22:29

It took about 20 mins from the fault appearing to my trying to get managements attention to my msging the 2nd manager to doing what she told me to

Id never seen this fault before. Face to face manager told me I should have left my desk..but in the written thing I have they've not said that, they've said that I should have taken the specified action and questioned things if I wasn't sure. I'm not sure what specified action they refer to, I did as I was advised to do..if there is a different specified action that I wasn't aware of, why didn't manager 2 tell me what it was?

OP posts:

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 22:29

The managers are both on same levels as one another.

OP posts:

purpleme12 · 12/06/2021 22:31

You need to tell them that then about the specified action
And when they're saying you should query it they're actually saying your senior was wrong aren't they! Which proves my point that it falls back on her or should do! I'm annoyed for you!

BettyBurntBuns · 12/06/2021 22:32

Go to the union. They are there to make sure the company acts within its own policies as well.

Original poster

MumtoEri · 12/06/2021 22:36

@purpleme12

You need to tell them that then about the specified action And when they're saying you should query it they're actually saying your senior was wrong aren't they! Which proves my point that it falls back on her or should do! I'm annoyed for you!

This is my point really. My senior was wrong and I should have known this? What?! Thank you. But I'm watching all the replies and some obviously aren't thinking I'm right. I just don't know. Don't want to protest if I'm in the wrong. Speciided action I find wasn't specified

OP posts:

trunumber · 12/06/2021 22:36

Do you have your seniors advice in writing? If so challenge the company. If you did something wrong in not leaving your desk, the senior should have raised it immediately. She didn't. So how can you be so wrong.

BrilliantBetty · 12/06/2021 22:38

Not your fault at all.

If they are super strict on you not leaving your workstation, and it sounds like they are, then of course you wouldn't have wanted to leave your station.

I think it is unfair how they are expecting you to know exactly how to react in this instance.

If the line had returned as you left the room, someone else called about a critical emergency and you'd not been there to receive it because you were wondering off to report an IT issue... i'm sure they wouldn't be happy either.

Get representation, don't let this to quietly.

Slipperrr · 12/06/2021 22:41

Did you shut down at leave early, or at normal time? If anything they should learn from this that they need to have a protocol in place for if this happens so staff know what to do. If you'd have got up and the caller would have still been there you would have got in trouble for that also. What's probably happened is that one of them has been told off from up high, and are slopey shouldering the blame to you. I'd say you weren't sure of the procedure but followed what you thought was best.

unfortunateevents · 12/06/2021 22:43

This all sounds confusing. You were afraid to leave your desk for maximum of a minute in case an urgent call came through, yet you spent 20 mins messaging and waiting for your manager to respond, what about all the calls which were waiting during that time? Also if you left work at (or later than) your usual time, what were you supposed to do about calls which came through after that time - what would normally happen to those calls?

Womencanlift · 12/06/2021 22:44

What were you doing when your system was restarting? Surely you could have left your desk at that point when it was booting up to tell the first manager what was going on.

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