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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be fed up with my boss contacting me on my day off

70 replies

nothingbyhalves · 21/03/2013 16:16

I'm a part time teacher, and have 2 days off a week. I'm contacted by my head of department regularly. To deal with issues ranging from booking outside speakers, to double checking what homework I have set. AIBU to think that I am not in work that day and should be left alone? After all I'm not paid for these days!

OP posts:
Snugglepiggy · 21/03/2013 20:45

YANBU.Not a boss but a customer in my case.She once called my DHs personal mobile when we were away for a much needed long weekend for a special celebration.She knew this was the case as I had only spoken to her the day before and said we were away and so ready for a break.We hardly take any.
She had his number because he once or twice called from it to query something when work mobile was out of action - big mistake - and had called it before despite being asked several times to please use the 2 work nos or e-mail bookings ,queries etc.
Her call was trivial and could most certainly have waited and as we had just left a restaurant after a boozy celebration lunch I was trying to wrestle phone off my DH and tell her where to go I was so mad.Had to keep her as a customer as due to the recession needed the considerable income she generated.But some people don't think you should ever be off duty.

livinginwonderland · 21/03/2013 20:46

I don't understand why people are advising you to pretend you missed calls or can't hear them?

because otherwise you're showing them you're available.

maddening · 21/03/2013 20:47

What is your current handover procedure?

TwoBoiledEggs · 21/03/2013 20:49

Yeeeeesssss, but! Can you hand on heart say you have never taken a call unrelated to your job during your office hours?

MrsDeVere · 21/03/2013 20:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsDeVere · 21/03/2013 20:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mintyy · 21/03/2013 20:53

Livinginwonderland
But by pretending she can't hear, op is just avoiding the issue of sorting this out. She doesn't want her boss to call her on her days off, so she needs to put a stop to it by actually being brave and saying something.

Selks · 21/03/2013 20:53

YANBU!

ilovesooty · 21/03/2013 20:54

Isn't teaching a vocation still or am i missing something?

Why does that have any relevance to the OP's right not to be pestered on non working days?

livinginwonderland · 21/03/2013 21:00

But by pretending she can't hear, op is just avoiding the issue of sorting this out. She doesn't want her boss to call her on her days off, so she needs to put a stop to it by actually being brave and saying something.

true, but from experience, that doesn't help! maybe i had a persistent boss, but the only way to stop her calling was to ignore the calls. she stopped the next week.

ilovesooty · 21/03/2013 21:05

I think you can do both. Tell your boss you won't be dealing with work matters on non working days. Then ignore the calls if they persist.

PatriciaHolm · 21/03/2013 21:09

Is there any particular reason they need to keep calling?
If you only work 2 days, there will obviously be stuff that comes up on other days that only you know the answer to. Which is fine as long as you keep good records of what you do, what homework is expected, when things are being marked etc; are you? If yes, and you are having a proper handover every week so everyone else knows what is going on, then YANBU, and you need to send an email along the lines of "If anyone has any questions regarding X or Y in my absence, please see handover email/file on my desk".

If you are disappearing at the end of your days without a backwards glance and doing no handover then YABU ;-)

b4bunnies · 21/03/2013 21:12

i'm a hod with two part timers in my dept. i send emails if i'm emailing the whole dept or if i think of something i might not remember. sometimes i put 'email for monday', so they know not to open. with email, you have a choice.
i wouldn't phone them. they aren't at work.

Fairyliz · 21/03/2013 21:24

But you are a teacher, if you were f/t your 'official hours' would be 32.5 hours for 39 weeks a year for a full time salary. Obviously teachers work more hours a week than this, evenings weekends, holidays etc. So although you have 'days off' presumably you do preparation marking etc on some of these days? So why not sort out problems?

porridgewithblueberries · 21/03/2013 21:43

b4 - same, I don't really understand this irritation - I email when I have time, that doesn't always coincide when people are sitting at their desks waiting for me to email them Hmm

Sorry but I am not going to only email my department on Mondays and Wednesdays because I have staff out on the other days!

RevoltingPeasant · 21/03/2013 21:48

The thing is, with professions like teaching (or academia) people do expect you to treat it as a vocation. I'm an academic, and I don't mind this - to an extent. So I will go in on weekends, answer my BlackBerry messages at 9pm for a student, whatever.

However. People need to appreciate that going above and beyond is at your discretion. So when I take next week off I have already prewarned colleagues that I will ignore my email and don't expect to be contacted, and I expect this to be respected. People take the piss otherwise. I have had journals send me proofs on a Fri afternoon to be corrected by Mon morning - !! No, thanks, I didn't have plans for Sunday Hmm

IMO if there is a culture of 'going beyond' you should probably fit into that to some extent, but you also have a right to draw your own boundaries. Agree with others who have said do a proper handover each week and make clear when you're out of contact.

RevoltingPeasant · 21/03/2013 21:49

When I say 'don't expect to be contacted', I mean don't expect to be chased when I don't answer. In my profession people 'cover' themselves by putting on an out of office but they are generally checking email anyway and so OoOs get ignored.

2rebecca · 21/03/2013 22:32

Being a nun or a vicar is a vocation. Being a teacher or health professional is a job. They are jobs that require some dedication but still jobs and unlike nuns and monks etc most people in these jobs wouldn't do them if they didn't get paid. If you only get paid half the salary of a full time teacher you are entitled to only work half the hours.
I know from teaching relatives of mine that you can be contacted evenings and weekends about stuff that crops up even if full time, so think as a part timer you have to accept that sometimes you'll be contacted on days you aren't working. You should not be regularly contacted on these days though or expected to do time consuming jobs, and if you are out walking in the hills all day or ploughing a field and not contactable your boss should not complain.

PurpleStorm · 21/03/2013 23:40

YANBU.

Being regularly contacted by work on non-work days isn't reasonable. Not counting contacted about occasional emergencies or unforeseen urgent stuff here.

If your boss is regularly asking the same questions (i.e. about homework), it might be worth having a meeting / sending e-mail before your non-work days, doing a handover and covering the frequently asked questions.

If that doesn't work, try saying that you'll deal with xyz when it's your working day again. Followed by telling them that you won't be dealing with non-emergency stuff on your non-working day - because you're not at work and therefore not available for work - and then not answering phone / e-mails.

BubaMarra · 22/03/2013 10:23

My boss e mailed me while I was in hospital giving birth asking when could I finish a report for which he was sending materials in the attachment. Hahaha...right. I ignored him.
Of course this kind of behaviour is usually not a one off, but part of an attitude. He often drags people from annual or maternity or sick leaves into office. I just ignore. Maybe once in 10 times I actually respond and do stuff, just to show that that much extra work is acceptable anything above that no, sorry. I have always been part of that going beyond culture, and have no problems with doing extra work, but this is something else. On the other side, when he leaves he cannot be reached and we all cover for him.

MrsDeVere · 22/03/2013 10:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Shesparkles · 22/03/2013 10:35

I don't answer calls from my boss on my days off-it doesn't stop her trying though! She's these who goes into work while she's on annual leave, even having travelled back from a holiday for an inconsequential meeting.
Unfortunately she thinks we should all do the same. NOT A CHANCE!!
Just don't answer the phone or
Is ten to. Essages

Shesparkles · 22/03/2013 10:36

Listen to messages!!

MrsDeVere · 22/03/2013 10:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WhatchaMaCalllit · 22/03/2013 11:50

You shouldn't be contacted about work related issues when you are not at work. You mentioned that you are a part time teacher and you have two days off per week. If you work Mon-Wed and you are off every Thurs & Fri, do you put together a document/email/whatever explaining that
A has been booked to come in and speak about XYZ
B The following home work has been set 1.2.3.4.5. etc.

As others have already suggested, you need to do this and leave it readily available for the other part time teacher to see on Thurs & Fri and they need to do the same sort of document for you so that you know what is happening when you get back in on Monday.

It just makes sense to have some sort of formalised handover document each time you're going to be away.

I don't know which days you do work and don't work but if you could come up with some sort of template document that has sections in it that you just need to fill in, then print off a load of them so you have them handy.

I would also go with a suggestion that you have a phone number that is specifically to send/receive calls on for work. Have another number for your personal calls and then you can turn off said work phone when you're not there.

Good luck in sorting it out Smile