Signed off yet work are contacting me

[ThePerkyCoralPoet]

I’m signed off. Work are emailing me about things that I said I would hand over before the end of my employment. Meaning in my time. Manager has emailed and text me. I’m actually seeing it as borderline harassing me now.

I did not ignore what you have said. I do not agree with what you have said. Your response is to insult - but I have had more than a bloody book thrown at me in my career! I did not say that nearly being hit by a book was ok - it isn't. I said that but you weren't reading it. Your comprehension skills for a teacher are sadly lacking. But you flounced off - the evidence is on your many threads because you can't cope with this and weren't even prepared to complete your notice period. Do you think people can't see "pulling a sickie" when they see it? You knew you were going to be sick before you got sick - you posted about it! And you then didn't even bother to adhere to sickness reporting processes - but that also wasn't your fault, it was someone elses. Do I think you are suited to teaching - NO. See, we can all do that.

As for having things thrown at you - for 20 years it was mostly BOMBS in my case. You wouldn't have lasted an hour.

But I am so glad that you are feeling so much better - you can argue with posters all day without any problems, so maybe go in to school tomorrow?

I said that my school had that policy in place.

In fact, the LA had that policy in place. A line manager would be allowed to contact in order to do a "welfare check": they would not be allowed to contact in order to require a person to do something work related.

I mentioned above a case where the HT tried to persuade a teacher to mark an assessment. That did not go down well with the LA.

I think you’re lacking in common sense, I applied to be a teacher. You having bombs being thrown at you was a choice YOU made. That’s not what I signed up for, I signed up to TEACH. I think maybe once your get your head around that, common sense hopefully might prevail. Don’t dictate to me that mental health involves “pulling a sickie” your argument is disjointed and it’s poor form to draw comparisons between a career you chose and the career I have chosen.

So just to be clear- you handed in your notice and then went off sick. Now, because your employer (a school who have to consider children’s needs) have emailed you a few times you think this is harassment and haven’t considered any sort of handover.

sorry YABU.

In most jobs I might have a bit more empathy, but this is about kids. We don’t know the emails so it could be children’s welfare. You didn’t want to work your notice (we remember the previous threads so there is more to this story) or give any sort of handover and now are annoyed they are contacting you.

Your employer can contact you during stress leave btw.

Speak to your union or ACAS, some employers have had to pay out thousands in damages for harassing employees when off sick.

I don’t think I can. I think that would trigger disciplinary action in my field of work.

Honestly MNers, there is no point in responding here. The OP is pretty clear she thinks she is completely right, her employer is completely wrong and unreasonable. She doesn’t want to consider what many many many many others have said.

OP why did you even ask for advise? You don’t want it and unless people completely agree with you, you just want to argue. Let it go and move on.

The message about the Christmas dinner payment wouldn't have been done by anybody with access to the cover rota; most likely somebody on Reception or Finance who just clicked send on either the cashless or messaging system - they're not linked to absence recording software, whether it's managed in FMS, Parentpay, Edulink, Teachers2Parents or any other system.

Whoever is taking over your classes has tomorrow (likely full of special events, lessons, making sure the Christmas care parcels are handed out/welfare checks and CPOMs records are completed for any signs of children being at risk over the two weeks, dealing with over excited or anxious kids, and Friday morning consisting largely of assembly and not a lot else, before all hands on deck at break so that the kids on FSM still get a chance to eat, organising everybody to get off the premises by lunchtime, clearing classrooms, tidying desks and the compulsory present giving for other leavers once the last detentions are completed) to teach their existing classes, hand over any that are being transferred to another member of staff and get fully up to speed with yours for the first day back.

I'm sure they'll be very grateful tomorrow morning that they'll have what will effectively turn out to be Christmas holiday homework presented in a timely fashion. Or what anybody in that position would probably term 'The last bloody minute'.

This is stress leave. Just to clarify.

1. While I have been off I’ve maintained communication involving work.
2. I handed my sick note in and also with that gave all my lessons till the end of term for all classes and a scheme that I have for another class that’s more an off curriculum thing.
3. I have detailed info about where I placed these files on my personal area on my work desktop. They all have access to that anyway as it’s more like a departmental desktop in the staffroom. We all have files on there.
4. I said I will before the end of term be back in touch about some extra bits that aren’t major. It’s just a login but slightly nuanced as I need to explain some of the processes and I need to recall that from training.
5. To email me twice then get me on my personal phone is excessive. I promised I’d get them the handover. They have it now. I didn’t know that I was expected to work every day while off clutching at the last bits of sanity I have left.

But that’s not the norm. Maybe for certain settings or a PRU. But a normal school shouldn’t have that going on.

It was a text message. Not just one either. Then I paid extra just because I figured I didn’t want anyone to think I’m fussing over money. Just for my manager to say no need? Like it’s just confusing things for no good reason.

Honestly, @ThePerkyCoralPoet , the amount of time you've spent on here today writing these posts justifying not communicating the last bits of your handover with school, could have been used just firing off a few emails with the last bits of info the school are asking you for.

What is stopping you from doing this?

You voluntarily told the school that you'd be in touch before the end of term with the information. It is now the end of term.

The only reason the school are contacting you is because you said you would give them this information by now, and you haven't. So you either need to deliver the goods as promised, or tell them it's not possible because of your mental health. It's really as simple as that.

Your complaints about the text messages are completely out of proportion.

I think you are not in a good place right now and can't see the wood for the trees. For your own sake, just send the bloody information they've asked for and then you never have to deal with them again. Why drag it out?

Texts are generated through all of the messaging packages/bolt ons as easily as emails. Because it's relating to your personal account (through Parentpay? Squid?), your mobile number is linked from the MIS.

Somebody in Support triggering a message saying something along the lines of 'Please make sure you have paid for your Christmas meal' to All Staff isn't a personalised attack or harassment, it's just somebody who has needed to send 'Please make sure you have paid for your Christmas meal' to all staff - once on Monday, once on Tuesday for the meal on Wednesday, for example - to avoid staff forgetting to pay/creating a debt/leaving with settling any outstanding balance after payday's gone.

Being off sick then leaving can come across as taking the piss

Being hit in the face with a book and already dealing with external issues is not taking the piss. I’ve actually never even had a day absent. Apart from to attend a late family members memorial ceremony.

I think that’s been misunderstood. This conversation was going on by text.

Rule one: never give your employer your personal phone number.

Block their number and enjoy your Christmas.