To make an official complaint about colleague?

[Abouttoblow]

I'm really don't want to go to work tomorrow as I've had enough of selfish workmate.
I really love my work. I've been in this job for 10 years, find it fulfilling, great terms and conditions but if things carry on I will go mad.
Colleague had twins 5 years ago and returned to work 2 days a week. Since she had her DC she seems to think that they take priority over her job - even when she is at work. Her DM and SIL take care of them so I would assume they are reliable and trustworthy but she rings them every half hour to check on things. Every half hour WITHOUT FAIL. She will even excuse herself from meetings.
My main issue though is that every appointment she has, doctor, dentist etc she arranges on the days she is at work. We have flexible working to accommodate for this, more so for full time staff who work every day, so we take shorter breaks or start early/finish late to make up the time but she doesn't bother. She just goes off for an hour or so at a time and that's it. This has been going on for years and I've spoken to my boss but nothing is ever addressed with her.
Anyway, her DC start school soon and she came in last week with a list of things she just MUST attend at school - prize givings, parents in-school days, assemblies and I know if they're on either of her 2 working days she will just go.
She won't have holiday leave to cover this as she is off for most of the summer and I'm sure she will want half term etc now too.
I've just had enough and it makes me so angry that she thinks this is acceptable.
AIBU to make an official complaint to Personnel?

[Abouttoblow]

Thanks Wageslave I think I'll try requesting Personnel coming along to a meeting and outlining expectations and see where it goes from there

[Nicketynac]

I worked with someone like this. Once I realised the scale of his work avoidance, it drove me up the wall. One year he "forgot" to apply for annual leave for a two week holiday until the week before. It was granted as his holiday was already booked (months before and against policy that you should have leave approved before booking a holiday) leaving us horribly short.
There was no way he stayed late enough at night to make up for coming in up to three hours late as he had to pick up kids from nursery and after-school.
I started to hate him for it, out of all proportion to how much it affected me. It spurred me on to apply for a promotion and now I don't work anywhere near him. He still behaves the same way and is still getting away with it from what I hear.
I don't know why it bothered me so much other than I hate piss-takers. I am by no means perfect but I make effort to get to work on time, I fill in time sheets and I don't think it is unreasonable to expect colleagues to do the same.

[NiceCardigan]

We had someone in my last department who managed to do so little work and have do many absences for spurious reasons that he was known as "the canary in the mine" i.e. If he kept his job we were all completely safe.

[Abouttoblow]

Nickety This is exactly my point but apparently it doesn't affect me so I'm jealous/fixated/obsessed/unreasonable.
Even if it does not impact directly on me I feel I'm allowed to be pissed off.

[Abouttoblow]

Ha ha ha Nice I shall use the canary analogy from now on

[BakedBeans47]

I am quite surprised at the "do nothing it's not impacting you" responses. If she's taking the fucking piss other people are going to start wondering why they wouldn't get away with it and it's going to cause bad feeling and resentment with other staff.

If she only works 2 days she should be working 2 days (save for her holidays) she sounds like a total arsehole.

[wildthoughtz]

Myself and 3 other colleagues have recently over the past year moved in to a new team at work. We all have flexible hours but most of the larger have the same working pattern day to day purely due to habit. I have a colleague, let's call him Mark. He works part time. Is never in the office. Fake meetings in his diary, dentist/docs appts, always working from home, any emails sent to him are simply ignored and tasks are never completed. It directly impacts on me and other colleagues as we have to pick his work up. What annoys me the most though is everyone has simply come to 'accept' the fact that Mark will never complete a task, so he is never given any new work. Never produces outcomes. And I found out the other day he's worked here for 5 years!!! 5 years and got away with that behaviour. And managers seem to do nothing although they do recognise it. The main reason it annoys me is - I have to come in to work, I have to produce outcomes. Why doesn't he? And yet he still expects the same wage as the rest of us at the end of the month. I would love to be sat at home doing nothing and getting paid but I would be pulled up on it straight away

[PagingDrMarcel]

It'd piss me off too ... once you've noticed it's hard to ignore or not feel frustrated about, shows a lack of regard for everyone else and I couldn't respect someone who thought this was ok

[Abouttoblow]

Wild This is my situation exactly

[wildthoughtz]

I completely get where you're coming from about. I think 'Mark' has got away for the last few years as he was part of a smaller team, could talk the talk when needed, and was badly managed. Now we've all joined a bigger team it's so much more obvious what everyone does, who is shirking their responsibilities etc.

For some reason some members of the team are like 'aah well that's just him, he's a nice guy really' and my opinion, along with others in the team is, but is he really a nice guy when he is literally stealing a living, quite happy doing so and leaving other colleagues to do his work at the last minute because he hasn't done it again yet managers still expect us to include him in projects and tasks etc. He obviously doesn't seem to have any respect for us as colleagues therefore I have no respect for him.

However, going back to your original q re reporting. 'Mark's' behaviour in my team has been reported to a senior manager, 3 different managers in the team are aware, his line manager is aware and apparently it's being looked at. It's been the same situation for a year now, it's causing issues within the team as people are becoming more and vocal and angry but it seems like highlighting it or even raising it with mangers directly as some colleagues did got us nowhere. Some people have also started to direct their anger straight at him whenever he is in which isn't often. But me, I just refuse to work on projects with him and if I do have to, I make it known in emails the tasks that I have done and the tasks he is yet to do. I can't be as vocal as some of the team members but I really don't have any respect for him at all.

God what a ramble! Sorry!

[MarcelineTheVampire]

YABU to call it personnel- it's HR.

Plus, why are you getting yourself so worked up - she may have certain arrangements in place agreed with her manager, she may be being performance managed, she may have severe mental health issues - all of which you wouldn't be privy to.

YABU - let it go.

[Abouttoblow]

Marceline It's Personnel in our organisation so wind your neck in!

For the last time THERE ARE NO ARRANGEMENTS IN PLACE! She has no mental health issues. Jesus, if you want to weigh in read the thread. She is a piss taker, end of story.
She should flexi on/off for personal appointments. She does not. How hard is it to understand??

[Abouttoblow]

Wild Everything you said.

[TheCelestialFox]

Have you had fraud prevention training OP? It is compulsory in our public sector organisation. We learnt that falsifying your timesheet was considered fraud and we were encouraged to report it if we had any suspicions.

[GreenTulips]

Can I ask about the appointments? I used to work flexi but we still needed approval for time away for appointments. We couldn't just up and leave. Cover was arranged or workload rearranged to suit.

So who's signing off her escapes? Who agrees she can go? Who agrees you can/can't go?

Can you check that point and ask for clarification?

[ZaphodBeeblerox]

Just wanted to say I get how frustrating it is OP. It's really annoying when someone so blatantly flouts the values of a place and gets away with it because her manager is poor at pulling her up on it.

I too don't think you can actually complain without coming across as petty. And tbh sinking to her level will just make you feel worse about yourself. Instead if you are ever asked to pick up the slack for her just refuse, and try to let go of your resentment. She is emblematic of the fact that the world isn't fair and pisstakers often don't get punished. Aren't the success stories of so many politicians or wankers in high places similarly reinforcing that sad lesson? The only thing you can do for your sanity is shun her socially and work on letting it go.

But I feel your pain!

[Abouttoblow]

Fox We haven't had that training but you would assume that people would understand that being dishonest on your flexi sheet would be an issue.
It is no different than going into the petty cash tin and taking £100 every week. It's stealing whether it's cash or time.

[Theycalledmethewildrose]

We'll see how that goes.

I doubt it will go well.........seeing as you like your job so much I am surprised you want to do this.

Your manager will possibly tell you it's none of your business what arrangements he makes for other staff, and you have no idea if that time off is unpaid or not.

I think you are setting yourself up for a fall but it's your decision.


This. You are going to sound bitter OP. I understand you are bitter but as it doesn't directly affect you, I can't see how you are in a position to make an official complaint.

My sister who doesn't have children spends hours complaining every week to anyone who will listen how unfair it is that her colleagues who have kids, work part-time, take days off when their children are sick, etc. I can totally see why my sister says what she says but it has started to consume her and makes her very bitter outside work and I can only imagine what she is like to the couple of women who she has the issue with. At this stage she would be better off leaving (although it is the best job she has ever had).
Her own working conditions are extremely good. She too gets a lot of time of additional 'worked up time' off work enabling her to take almost a full day off a week. Personally I think the office is overstaffed enabling people to come and go with more freedom and therein lies the real problem.

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Abouttoblow - good idea to call Personnel in for advice on flexi time and how it should work. That will be interesting.

And, for the record, I absolutely agree that you have the right to be pissed off at her behaviour - but it would still be the wrong thing to put in a complaint about her. However, I do still think it would be ok to tell your manager that her constant piss-taking is affecting morale in the workplace, as you're not the only one who is pissed off at her behaviour (careful with the witch-hunt aspect though - I've been on the back end of that problem before, even when it was to do with sexual harassment in the workplace - you're supposed to only stick to your OWN issues, apparently and let others make their own complaints, even if they don't want to/cba/too scared.)

[Abouttoblow]

Thanks for the last few understanding comments. I know deep down that making a complaint would not be productive but I feel really strongly that the job we do is important and her lack of work ethic is appalling. I need to accept that though. I just hope it doesn't have a negative impact long term.

[Theycalledmethewildrose]

It will have a negative impact on you long term if you allow it to consume you.

My sister works in healthcare, is passionate about her job and is so bitter about two of her work colleagues. She is not the manager, it doesn't affect her directly. She has complained to the manager and while the manager agreed with her, nothing was done and this irked my sister even more. I think she shot herself in the foot complaining as previously the manager saw my sister as being the more reliable, and therefore more respected, worker. I honestly think my sister should look elsewhere but she doesn't want to give up the job because of all the benefits of working there. Meanwhile, my DH thinks her job is a bit of a running joke because of all the time off she has herself so it is all relative I suppose.

[MarcelineTheVampire]

@Abouttoblow did you mean to be so rude?

I very much doubt it is called personnel- literally no organisation in the world calls it that anymore.

How do you know she isn't being taken to task? Doesn't suffer from mental illness? Unless you are her manager or have access to her personal records you have no way of knowing this?

You sound incredibly rude and the way that you reacted to me makes me think you would be a nightmare to work with. I work in HR and people like you make my day worse.

[SenoritaViva]

@abouttoblow I think you're getting a rough ride here. It effects you because if we all take a collective responsibility for where we work and the outcomes then she isn't pulling her weight. Why should everyone adhere to the policies but she takes the piss? It doesn't make you jealous etc.

I wouldn't do an official complaint but I'd speak to manager and HR. Get them to clarify policies to department and consequences of not happening. They may remove the flexible working policy if it isn't working and that would effect you (that's why I wouldn't do it Offaly). You're not really complaining she does these things but that she doesn't make up the time right?

[RefuseTheLies]

I'm public sector and I absolutely would complain about this woman. Loudly and repeatedly. She is effectively stealing taxpayer's money and ethically, I'd not be able to let that go. The public sector is becoming increasingly stretched - why should anyone carry a slacker?! Absolutely not on.

[Tensecondrule]

I'm staggered by the number of people suggesting it's the OP who has a problem with being fixated/over invested. This is a a ridiculous situation and I would be furious too. I think you do need to get other staff on board so it doesn't seem like it's only you who has the issue with her, although I know some people will whinge about people behind their backs but be reluctant to take any action. Hope it goes well with getting personnel involved.