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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be annoyed at my employer?

90 replies

Ecgwynn · 23/04/2012 15:11

I am expecting my first baby, due this Thursday. I am a secondary school teacher and my maternity leave started on 16th April. I have just received a phone call from my line manager asking me to do reports for 90 children. The reports are done on a computer system and the spread sheets to put the comments into were opened from 16th April, so I was not supposed to have done them before I left.

AIBU to be really annoyed at this? I understand that I taught the classes and that only I really know about their progress and how to improve etc but I would have happily done this before I left work if I'd been told I was still responsible for it and been given a bit of time to get it done (ie have someone cover a few lessons).

I'm really upset that I'll probably end up having to do them. I can't see a way out of it. :(

OP posts:
Noqontrol · 23/04/2012 22:01

If you feel you can do it then I would, I know it's hard at the stage you're at. I had a similar sort of thing when I had my first baby, work were contacting me just days after the birth about work stuff, I felt a bit miffed, but the organisation I work for is crap and I knew people would be at risk if I didnt do what was needed. Having said that I negotiated a nice fat hourly rate to do the work, think you should do the same. But if you feel too tired then don't feel you have to be obliged. Although still think it would be nice if you did.

emsyj · 23/04/2012 22:02

McHappyPants the fact that the OP is on maternity leave doesn't mean that she is absolved of all responsibility for her professional conduct up to the moment when she finished work - it's not the same as working in a shop and complaining that you are being asked to serve customers after your clock-off time - this is work that she should have either completed in advance of finishing or adequately handed over.

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 23/04/2012 22:02

If the HOD has all the information required to complete them, simply tell your line manager that.

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 23/04/2012 22:03

emsjy - it sounds, to me, like it was handed over - to the HOD.

iloveACK · 23/04/2012 22:04

I think as a professional you are being very unreasonable. By all means, ensure you are paid for the time, but it sounds like it is definitely your responsibility.

trixymalixy · 23/04/2012 22:04

I would be pissed off too, but I agree with emsyj. If it was me I would be professional and do them.

TheSecondComing · 23/04/2012 22:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

emsyj · 23/04/2012 22:10

Unless the 'handover' involved a clear statement agreed by both the HOD and the OP that the general discussion about which children weren't progressing and the knowledge of the HOD that the OP hadn't yet done the reports amounted to a handover of responsibility for the reports to the HOD then they remained with the OP.

You have to be 101% clear with this stuff. In my experience (not as a teacher) you can 'discuss' something all you like, but unless you explicitly say, 'I'm handing this over to you now and won't be taking any further responsibility or having any further involvement with this' no bugger will actually take your work on.

McHappyPants2012 · 23/04/2012 22:19

Surly the employer knew when she was going on maternity leave and could of told her before, this women has been on maternity leave a week and is due in 3 days she could go into labour tonight and then by law unable to work for 2 weeks

emsyj · 23/04/2012 22:23

Could have told her what? That she has to do her own work? Confused

The onus was on the OP to be clear that she was handing over. As a professional, people tend to leave you to get on with your own job without supervision rather than constantly second-guessing you and giving you instructions.

McHappyPants2012 · 23/04/2012 22:33

But the reports where open on the day she left, it is not possible in my eyes to get 90 report done in 1 day.

They could of allowed her access to the system before hand or told her she would still need to do the reports.

Why wait a week to tell her

zipzap · 23/04/2012 22:33

Why can't you just tell your line manager that you handed this all over to your HOD before you went on maternity leave and that she should be able to sort it all out?

If the HOD had booked time to be out at the moment and the line manager realises they need to be done before her return, it's not really your problem that they didn't sort it out between them beforehand.

Could they not issue a separate late report for your students when your HOD returns?

What happens if you were to have your baby tomorrow? They can hardly expect you to give up precious first days with a baby to be doing reports that you have already handed over. So they would have to come up with a way around using what they had got. If they can work out something for that scenario, they can use it now.

Would you be happy to talk to your replacement and go through what you went through with your HOD again with him, so that he could do them? Even if you then went through them to check them?

I can understand why you are annoyed, if it's your last few days before your baby is due then you are bound to have lots of things already planned (even if it is only organising cake for elevenses, having a snooze before lunch, sorting out lunch, having an afternoon nap, catching up with a friend... it's one thing missing out on those last few days because the baby arrives early but completely different if work has screwed up and you end up having to do work - not least because if you are anything like me, when you finish, it's really easy to wipe it from your mind and move on to the next thing - like thinking about the baby coming.

Good luck - hope you manage to get it sorted without having to sacrifice too much of this special time - and good luck for when the baby arrives!

StealthPolarBear · 23/04/2012 22:36

I don't think you can legally do KIT days until near the end of your mat leave. Fairly sure that's how it was for me anyway, may have changed

emsyj · 23/04/2012 22:39

No, it's not possible to do 90 reports in one day - the OP would have had to prepare them beforehand or arrange a proper handover (of a type that would enable her to say, 'sorry, I handed this over to X so can you speak to them about it please'). The fact that the OP hasn't just referred it back to X suggests it hasn't really been handed over - and she knows it.

Back in the days when I had a proper job, we had to do handover lists - this would have been helpful here I think. A big long list of everything that needs doing, the stage it's at/what is happening on it currently, and the name of someone who has agreed to take it on next to each item - circulated a couple of days before the OP's departure (to ensure everyone has seen it before she goes). They are really really useful for holidays and maternity leave, although they are a PITA to prepare.

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 23/04/2012 22:39

Yet another whinging teacher. Of course you shoudl do the reports, you taught the kids.

t0lk13n · 23/04/2012 22:42

You should have alerted someone to this well before that and they may have 'opened' the report writing before then just for you. As for getting your marking done before Mat leave...it is your job. I too am a secondary school teacher and I think that is the least you should have done!

McHappyPants2012 · 23/04/2012 22:42

Well if the op hasn't done a proper a handover then she does need to do the report

t0lk13n · 23/04/2012 22:43

Plus I would be pretty pissed off if I had to write the reports because you didn`t think to query it!

ilovesooty · 23/04/2012 22:44

Yet another whinging teacher

Great. Turn it into yet another teacher bashing thread, why don't you?

dictionarydiva · 23/04/2012 22:46

Yanbu. As a teacher in a very disorganized school this is exactly the kind of thing that happens there a lot and has happened to me- other way round. I am second in dept and a woman went on mat leave on the day reports opened on SIMS. She couldn't be expected to do them, but she had left notes and levels so I did them. No dramas. Not her job once she's on maternity leave. If you've left notes then worst case scenario, line manager can do it. Get the union involved if they push it.... You don't need the stress.

hairytale · 23/04/2012 22:50

Yanbu.

This was not work you were meant to do, and your employer should have thought of this.

You are entitled to do up to 10 days work while on mat leave (keeping in touch) but your employer cannot force you to.

spinningtillifall · 23/04/2012 22:55

I don't see how your line manager can expect you to do them now. Surely it would take 20 to 30 hours to complete 90 reports properly? I agree with fussbucket, whether you should have done them or not I think your line manager is BU. If a teacher is unavailable, for whatever reason, in my experince the HOD has completed reports or seen parents at consultation evenings. YANBU, best of luck for your new arrival. :)

emsyj · 23/04/2012 22:59

"This was not work you were meant to do, and your employer should have thought of this."

But why is this not work the OP was meant to do? And why is it her employer's job to think of this? The OP says herself: "I understand that I taught the classes and that only I really know about their progress and how to improve etc " - so who should have done this if not the OP? Either she does it herself or she hands over properly (so that the person she is handing over to understands that this is being handed over to them, and is given sufficient information to be able to do the work) - the employer shouldn't have to prompt the OP to do this. It's her job.

ComposHat · 23/04/2012 23:01

A bit of fault on both sides I'd say.

Presumably you've been through this process before and had an inkling of when the reports would be due. I find it hard to believe that it didn't cross your mind at some point how and who was going to do the reports, 'given that you have taught them all year. Be honest, was there an element of 'If I keep my gob shut, hope they won't notice, I'll be off on maternity leave and it'll be someone else's problem' in your thinking?

Arguably HOD should have raised it with you, but as a professional you really should have been pro-active in chasing this up.

MadamFolly · 23/04/2012 23:01

FFS, yet another whinging teacher AngryDragon

IT IS NOT HER RESPONSIBILTY, SHE LEFT HANDOVER NOTES, SHE DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THE WORK BEFORE LEAVING!

And as for working harder than usual to get all the marking etc done, I expect she was working harder because she was doing it in much less time than she normally would.

Are teachers not allowed to have workplace grievances anymore?

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