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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

a kinda wwyd really...

48 replies

whiskeylover · 20/09/2011 11:50

at work we have a set of things we are meant to do. there are 7 of us all with the same contact and so same job title and pay.
1 part of the job 1 of the people refuses to do. ALWAYS. it is starting to piss me off. it doesnt mean extra work, just that they always say, oh i dont do X you will have to get one of the others.
our employer knows about this, but wont inforce that this person will have to do this task,
now am i being unreasonable to say to the employer, if they arent doing X part, then either they tell the person they have to, as detailed in the contract, or i'm going to stop doing this thing as wll?

OP posts:
fishie · 20/09/2011 11:52

so who is doing it for them? You won't do yourself any favours by also behaving unreasonably.

Gissabreak · 20/09/2011 11:53

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squeakytoy · 20/09/2011 11:53

Hmmm... do they have a valid reason for not wanting to do it.. do they pull their weight by doing another task instead. If it is simply because they find it boring, then tough, they should still have to do it, and the employer needs to enforce it.

Realgonkid · 20/09/2011 11:54

is it cleaning the loos?

whiskeylover · 20/09/2011 11:54

when they wont do it, one of the other 6 have to.
at the last meeting the employer pointed out that this task was part of all the contracts and as such we are all expected to do it.

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 20/09/2011 11:54

YANBU. The decision has to rest with the person in charge. If they say it's OK for one person to opt out, that's their call. Not sure threatening the same kind of childish behaviour would make you look good, so be very wary of playing that card.

LadyBeagleEyes · 20/09/2011 11:54

What is the thing they refuse to do?

whiskeylover · 20/09/2011 11:55

real, not cleaning the loos, but say if we were all cleaners and they were refusing to empty bins, or clean loos its like that. there is 1 task they will not do.

OP posts:
squeakytoy · 20/09/2011 11:56

The only solution (if they have no real valid reason for avoiding the job) is to have a rota with everyones name on it, and a list of the jobs they need to do.

Gissabreak · 20/09/2011 11:59

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squeakytoy · 20/09/2011 12:01

Its not having to sleep with the boss is it? Grin

slavetofilofax · 20/09/2011 12:02

Is it causing a problem and causing all of teh rest of you to resent this person?

If it is, then I would say you should take it to your manager and say that it is causing resentment. I think asking for a rota is a good idea.

Thumbwitch · 20/09/2011 12:07

YANBU to be pissed off but it would be rather childish to threaten not to do it as well, which would cause the other 5 people left in the team to be truly fucked off at the both of you.
Unless you ALL refused to pick up the slack of this 1 person refusing to do the job of course.

Why won't they do it? Do you know? And your boss should really be the one to ensure the job is covered properly. Failure to comply with your contract without valid reason should surely lead to a disciplinary action, even if it's only a verbal warning.

You definitely need to take it up again with your boss, not act on your own.

WineAndPizza · 20/09/2011 12:07

I'm intrigued too! What would happen if you just all refused to do it for her?

whostolemyname · 20/09/2011 12:13

It totally depends what it is and why they don't do it ... you probably are not being unreasonable ... but you might be!

Gissabreak · 20/09/2011 12:19

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Thumbwitch · 20/09/2011 12:41

lol at Gissabreak Grin

I only ever refused to do one thing my boss asked me and that was because I knew I would make a complete pig's arse of it and it would NOT be worth it - it involved finance databasing and could have been disastrous if it had gone wrong or not been kept up to date. She tried, but in the end gave it to someone far better suited to that job Grin (wasn't in my contract either but a lot of what I did wasn't).

SenoritaViva · 20/09/2011 12:47

Is it a particularly grim task?

If it is about doing extra work on behalf of that person then they should be giving some slack to the person who is covering their task. e.g. if you are cleaning the loos for them then they should be emptying the bins and polishing the mirrors for you (something equating to the time spent). Either that or you others should be renumerated more for doing it.

whiskeylover · 20/09/2011 14:23

ok, there are 7 of us, and 7 tasks. but 2 of the tasks go hand in hand so the 2 people work together. the 7 people are all on a rota. so if me and this other person are the 2 man team i will always be going X task and they would do the other task. same if this person is paired with any of the other members of staff. so on a 7 week rota we all, appart from this 1 person do each task once. this person bumps themselve from this 1 task so once in 7 weeks 1 person has to do the task 2 times.
that make any sence?
the task is not too grim, or evil in any way. but IS in all our contracts.
i didnt really mean that i would say that i would stop doing it, i meant that if all the rest of us said well if they dont have to even tho its in their contract then why should we all do it?

OP posts:
cookcleanerchaufferetc · 20/09/2011 14:37

What s the task?!?!

jendifa · 20/09/2011 14:39

I manage a coffee shop, and refuse to clean the milk fridge as the smell would make me vomit. Everyone else knows that, and it means that someone else has to do it instead of me. Do I feel guilty? Yes. Would I start doing it due to guilt? No. I will however, do some of the other nasty jobs to make up for it.

There could be all sorts of reasons why person doesn't want to do job. Maybe ask them? How much of a difference does it make to the team if someone does said job twice in 7 weeks?

jumpingjackhash · 20/09/2011 14:42

I think we need to know what the task is!

LadyBeagleEyes · 20/09/2011 14:50

Why can't you say what the task is?
Do you work for MI6 or summit as you seem very secretive?
Is it sticking someone's head in a deep fat fryer Grin.
spooks reference.

allhailtheaubergine · 20/09/2011 14:51

Are you a troupe of seven gorilla-grams who do a synchronised dance routine, and your colleague always refuses to be the one who bursts out of the big cardboard cake?

whiskeylover · 20/09/2011 14:51

i dont really want to say what the specific thing is, as it makes the job pretty obvious.
basically our contracts all say that you are required to do a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h.
and this person refuses to do g for example.
every time.
its not as general as, you are required to do general cleaning. and they dont clean the fridge. it is a specific task, and when asked by any of us they refuse to say anything and just say they wont do it. BUT at the last meeting, 3 weeks ago the manager pointed out very specifically that each of the jobs were part of our job.

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