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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Work.. no manager for a while, and now...

19 replies

HadEnoughOfWork2015 · 04/12/2015 16:35

Work.. no manager for a while, and now a colleague has been given the position as a secondment.

Pretty fed up as this wasn't advertised and has been handed to us as a 'this is how it is'

Annoyed as i like the person a lot, but this will change the dynamic of our group, and am resentful as this wasnt a 'fair and open'w decision

OP posts:

goodnightdarthvader1 · 04/12/2015 16:36

Secondments don't usually work the same way as fresh job openings, IIRC. It would have been given to the person who asked / was deemed most capable.

Enjolrass · 04/12/2015 16:39

Do they treat secondments the same way as a job opening?

I thought it was different.

Original poster

HadEnoughOfWork2015 · 04/12/2015 16:54

The trouble is while the person asked is REALLY nice, they have no management experience, and we have been told they've been leading the team for a while now. Which is not correct.

Just really fucked off with it

OP posts:

RatherBeRiding · 04/12/2015 17:21

What is it you are so upset about? The fact that you think they will be a hopeless manager and mess things up? I guess if its a secondment they will be very closely supervised by their manager to ensure they do an adequate job until the real manager returns to work, or the job is advertised and filled competitively.

Would you have liked the secondment opportunity yourself?

Original poster

HadEnoughOfWork2015 · 04/12/2015 17:45

I'd like to have had the opportunity, I'm also posted off because we are understaffed already and now it's going to be even worse

OP posts:

Enjolrass · 04/12/2015 18:56

Did you ask for secondment or to even interview for the role?

It may be that the other person did. It maybe that the other person has been talking themselves up.

Enjolrass · 04/12/2015 18:56

If you had got the job you would still be understaffed

Marshy · 04/12/2015 19:02

YANBU. I would be unhappy with this being handed to someone with no discussion. In our organisation this would have been opened up to 'expressions of interest' from those eligible with a competitive process if more than one person was interested.

Marshy · 04/12/2015 19:04

You could suggest that colleague does it for a defined period and then you get a go! We've done that before.
Try not to sound bitter though...it never goes down well imo

mineofuselessinformation · 04/12/2015 19:16

Sorry, this is rather long!
I'm in the position of your colleague.
The whole department knew our manager would be off for a month, so I asked who would be running things in a meeting which everyone was at. The next thing I knew, I was asked if I would (with no extra money or time, though). I said yes as I want the experience in a role I used to hold and would like to again... I would have been stupid not to.
But, I am aware that another colleague would have liked the chance too.
It's a difficult one.
Go and talk to a manager and explain you would have liked a shot too. Then you'll have flagged it up and they have no excuse not to know.

Marynary · 04/12/2015 19:25

I don't blame you for feeling annoyed. Where I work they advertise all "acting up" opportunities to all eligible staff. I would also be quite suspicious about the fact they think your colleague has been leading the team for a while now. Do you think your colleague told them that? If so they are perhaps not quite as nice as you think....

tobysmum77 · 04/12/2015 19:26

Yanbu but mn sometimes has a slightly weird 'employers are god' mentality.

Is she actually getting paid more??? The answer may well be no....

RatherBeRiding · 04/12/2015 19:43

Yes she may well have got the extra work, extra responsibility but no extra pay - it can be a valuable learning experience but secondment can also mean management on the cheap for the company.

But if you're keen, speak to your manager and stress how much you would have appreciated such a wonderful opportunity blah blah blah, and never appear less than positive and supportive of your colleague's new status - it really won't go down well.

Original poster

HadEnoughOfWork2015 · 04/12/2015 19:45

Oh no, tobysmum, she will be paid the managers role for acting up. we've been asking for a while what is happening with our manager role

even worse, i have managerial experience and qualifications.

I'm upset because i would have liked to have been considered, i'm upset because other favourtism has been shown in the past (cant say what as will out me even more) There was NO indication that this was the way they were looking.

And i feel like a complete bitch for feeling this way, but am just so fucked off - sick of people getting perks because they 'fit'

OP posts:

redexpat · 04/12/2015 20:20

I would have expected someone with managerial experience and qualifications who wanted the role to be more proactive. Sorry if that sounds harsh. You're right about fairness of opportunity, it would have been fairer to open it up.

Original poster

HadEnoughOfWork2015 · 04/12/2015 20:55

No, you're not being harsh redex, we were waiting to be told about the new manager, not that they had stopped recruiting for a while.

And no, i will be supportive of her, like i say, its not her fault that i feel crapped on at all. But i just think the whole place is a giant joke, and am job hunting, (this is not the first thing thats annoyed me here, they way they handle some things is abysmal)

OP posts:

tobysmum77 · 08/12/2015 08:24

Job hunting is the most sensible plan, good luck hope you find someone who values you properly

araiba · 08/12/2015 10:57

maybe you were considered but the other person was deemed a better choice?

KakiFruit · 08/12/2015 11:01

I definitely think you should speak up to the higher management. Not to complain, just to let them know you're also interested in a management role if they plan to fill it internally in the long-term. You can't expect them to be mind-readers and have you have no idea what went on behind the scenes for this decision to have been made - perhaps this other colleague approached them and, since they had no other offers, they thought they'd give her a chance.

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