New manager told role is now a job share after 10 days

[JobSharingNitemare]

I'm 10 days into a new role as a manager in a new start up.

Today the owner informed me that my role was now a job share with a person that has no management experience and very little experience in what the start up specialises in.

It caught me by surprise and I'm really disappointed.

I've been pulling 12-14 hour days for the past 10 days to get them up and running and now I'm thinking why on earth did I bother?

I don't know if I should make it work or if I should just jump ship now.

💪well done. Onwards and upwards.
Lesson learned: never start without a signed contract.
Sounds like they will be in the 💩 without you. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.

Presumably you have something in writing tho... An email offer so you can claim your pay. Take some legal advice as this sounds like constructive dismissal. You presumably gave up a secure job to join them and are now out of work. Well done you standing firm x

Just curious, why did you start without a contract? It’s awful you’re in that situation but I think I’d be jumping ship asap.

Really sorry to hear that but good on you standing up for yourself.
They should pay you appropriately for work you have already done.
To have started working without a contract and putting in 12-14hrs days, you must have really believed in them.
They have lost that.... such a shame because as a startup they need people like you. Thier loss... and a lesson learnt by you re:contract before starting any job. They should pay you. And pay you properly.

Surely you have the job advert? Offer letter? Something that states what you applied to or accepted was a full time post?

How long would you have had to pull 12-14 hour days for? Maybe it became clear to them another pair of hands would be required?

I hope the massive amount of work you have put in there isn't really really helpful for them going forward without you. I would hate to think they have milked your skills and ideas for a couple of weeks and have now binned you!

I would be bloody furious.

Please check up on employment law, I’m no expert but I’m fairly sure there is an implied contract when you accept the terms offered and start working, even if no paper contract is signed and this is considered legally binding by a court..

As you were working long days with no contract, I’d be tempted to send them an invoice for consultancy at a high day rate. You won’t get anywhere but you haven’t got much to lose at this stage!

I cannot believe they were willing to sacrifice you over someone inexperienced?! Who is that person to them?! Highly unprofessional of them. I hope they pay you properly for the days you’ve worked. Write down all the hours you’ve worked so you have a record and can roughly work out how much you should get paid. I hope the new person pisses off the new staff and they all leave. I hope she arrives late and leaves on time ignoring real work deadlines!

It's incorrect to say OP had no contract. She was working under a verbal contract.

Definitely take legal advice from an employment lawyer!

If the other person is male you might be able to make a sex discrimination claim?

I'd definitely give ACAS a call for advice. They might be able to help you recoup your pay at least.

Record everything that has happened (contemporary records are very useful if it comes to court) you may have a case for constructive dismissal

You did well in walking away, you saved yourself lots of aggravation.
Some start-ups really are a nightmare, I would never work for one because of this sort of mentality. You will find a much better job.

Well done. You have done the right thing. They clearly know this person and you would’ve forever been looking over your shoulder. Be prepared to find that they have a high turnover of staff, and it serves them right if they are so unprofessional.

Wow! Have they paid you for the work you've done at least?

Good call. Hope you sort something else out soon. These startups can be an absolute nightmare.

Well done for making this decision. If you plan to move to other start ups I want to recommend (other than having an actual contract as PPs have said) to make sure you have a long enough probation period (6 months) to allow yourself time to evaluate the role and company and, if you’re unhappy, to secure a role elsewhere before you leave.

Start ups like to pretend long probation times are good for them (because they think it gives the more power over you) so they will likely agree to it, but the reality is recruitment cost is so high they rarely let people go unless there’s extreme performance issues

Edit: the reality with start ups is sometimes there is no contract and job description because that’s part of what they’re working on creating (if you’re one of the first hires post-founders).

The key thing is that you have some form of written agreement around pay and that you get paid. You can then work with them to define what the role should look like and if you don’t like it then I refer to my original comment above (you leave them).

Remember if you are an early hire you should also be getting some form of equity, even if that’s delayed

Was my first thought. Maybe also someone with money who could be a potential shareholder or who has contacts useful to the business.

Either way it sounds shonky and I would get out ASAP.

Being slow with contracts etc is not a good sign at all.

My only concern is that they sound so unprofessional - there could be issues aound pay- if you've left before your pay day.

Yep. Cowboys and grifters. This won't end well for anyone who gets involved with them. Sorry OP. Hope you find something better.

Do the other employees have contracts yet?