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AIBU?

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Original poster

Who was BU? Manager or Colleague - Time And Pay

214 replies

Notss · 22/05/2019 14:08

Hi all,

I’d welcome thoughts on an issue that happened in the office last week; as I can see both sides and wanted others thoughts:

We’ve just gotten a new manager. Before he joined, the unwritten policy was that as long as you didn’t take the P you could leave the occasional half hour early for appointments, childcare whatever as long as your work wasn’t behind and you would made it up at some point when it was needed.

The new manger however isn’t keen on this; last week a colleague asked if she could leave half an hour early for an appointment. The manger asked her to email him with a written request. She was then allowed to leave half an hour early but was docked half an hours pay. (We’re salaried)

Yesterday, we were in a staff meeting lead by this manager. It got to got to the end of our directed hours; and we were about two thirds through the agenda. My colleague stood up, said see you tomorrow and walked out. She said this morning it was in response to being docked pay — if that’s the way the manger wants to play it, she isn’t working a second beyond her contract hours.

What are people’s thoughts?
Thanks!

OP posts:
zucchinicourgette · 22/05/2019 14:22

How did your manager react?

He sounds like a total jobsworth. The admin involved in docking a salaried employee for half an hour’s pay must be substantial. My guess is he may not be the kind of person who is able to accept he took the wrong approach!

QuizzlyBear · 22/05/2019 14:23

I had this when returning to work after DS1. I'd been back a month or so, always in early, working through lunch etc, then half an hour before the end of the day I got a call from the nursery telling me DS1 had a high temp and needed picking up.

I told my director and started getting my stuff together (rattled as he's my PFB!) when she said snottily that she'd need me to specify before she'd let me go whether I was 'taking the 25 minutes as holiday or unpaid leave'.

I'd worked there for 8 years in senior roles, working evenings, holidays, weekends as needed, all unpaid. After that day I never did a stroke outside of my contracted hours.

cuppycakey · 22/05/2019 14:25

Why didn't you all walk out behind her? Not much solidarity there is there?

Realitychecktoaisle3 · 22/05/2019 14:25

The manager was harsh for docking your colleague but she was an idiot if she walked out of the meeting so abruptly.

If she keeps up this game, she'll be the one who loses out.

herculepoirot2 · 22/05/2019 14:25

Perfect response.

ChicCroissant · 22/05/2019 14:27

If the colleague is hourly paid, then yes they can deduct from her pay AND she can stick to her hours! The manager clearly didn't think that one through properly.

If you are salaried - that would normally be a set annual sum and you are expected to do whatever hours are necessary to get the job done - then the manager was wrong to deduct pay and the employee was wrong to walk out of the meeting.

I think it's the first scenario in this case, though. The atmosphere must be terrible ATM!

RhiWrites · 22/05/2019 14:28

I think ideally the colleague would have said something to the manager before the meeting. But she’s not wrong. If she loses pay for taking time for an appointment then she shouldn’t be expected to work unpaid overtime.

I expect the policy will change next week.

MeredithGrey1 · 22/05/2019 14:29

I'm also on your colleague's side. I used to work in an office where we had to clock in and out with a card which recorded the hours we were in the office. One day my manager sent me my timecard recordings for the previous week, which showed that every day I had stayed at least half an hour late, and two days had stayed over an hour late to get things done while another colleague was on holiday. One of the days I'd clocked in at 09:02 and the only reason he sent me the timecard was to tell me that arriving at 09:02 was unacceptable. This (along with other things) gave me an attitude similar to your colleague's ("why should i stay until 19:00 if you're going to call in unacceptable for me to come in 2 mins late").

I should add, my role wasn't one which required me to be at a desk/answering phones at a set time

Original poster
Notss · 22/05/2019 14:30

To clarify:

I think the manager was an ass; there was just some discussion as to wether walking out of a meeting without a word was the right response. I think she was brave, but can see the angle that it was unprofessional.

We’re salaried. HR literally divided it by our contracted hours; and worked out what half an hours pay is and deducted it from her pay this month. They do the opposite if we agree to do extra client work above our contracted hours.

OP posts:
Spidey66 · 22/05/2019 14:30

@PolarBearBubbles
Can you repeat that, I didn't catch it.
Wink

nornironrock · 22/05/2019 14:30

As others have said, although not in the same way - the manager is an idiot.

Comes into an existing culture (I assume it's working well) and immediately tramples on one of the bits of flexibility that makes the culture what it is. I wonder what other response he/she was expecting???

cstaff · 22/05/2019 14:31

Fair play to your colleague - she got her point across and stuck to HIS rules. There needs to be a bit of give and take in these situations. He is being completely unreasonable and an arse. Lets hope he learns from this. As a PP said - I presume they weren't getting paid overtime for this meeting.

tenbob · 22/05/2019 14:33

Good for the colleague

The manager doesn't deserve to be in a managerial position with an attitude like that

LakieLady · 22/05/2019 14:34

Good for her.

The manager sounds like a complete pillock.

Nearlythere1 · 22/05/2019 14:34

I did this as a student. Was 2 minutes late to start 11am shift (not arrive but start) with an agency catering job. The jobsworth standing with their clipboard ticking staff off their list put me down as 11.15 start instead of 11, and said hourly wages are paid in quarters. I said fine then, i'll be taking an extra 13 minutes on my break, which i did, and I was a hero among the miserable minimum wage agency staff for one glorious day. Jobsworth never spoke to me again, which was a shame because before that he had been a friendly dude.

Fundays12 · 22/05/2019 14:35

Well done to your colleague the manager can’t have it both ways. They either offer flexibility and get some back from staff or they don’t offer it and don’t get it back.

AnneLovesGilbert · 22/05/2019 14:35

Good for your colleague!

NeatFreakMama · 22/05/2019 14:35

Your colleague was completely unprofessional for leaving the meeting that way and she's only limiting her own career doing it. It's the old 'would you rather be right or happy'? She right to be annoyed and should have addressed it in a manor fit for work.

Intothe · 22/05/2019 14:36

I'd have done what she did, but stood up and said something like:

I'm leaving now as per my contracted hours, and while I appreciate the flexibility afforded me to leave a half hour early for a medical appointment - since my pay was reduced by a half hour, I'm not willing to work an extra half hour unpaid. When there's no additional payment for overtime worked, it's unfair for pay to be docked for flexibility to attend medical appointments.

Realitychecktoaisle3 · 22/05/2019 14:37

Drip feed!

You get paid for doing overtime?? How often? If you receive overtime a lot, I can understand why he deducted money.

HelloBrass · 22/05/2019 14:37

OP, so did you all get additional pay for staying to the end of the meeting?

cstaff · 22/05/2019 14:38

@nearlythere1 - I love it. Brilliantly done - he obviously had no comeback to that Grin

Cariadne · 22/05/2019 14:38

would you rather be right or happy'?

Do you think it’s likely to make her happy if she stays beyond her contracted hours to help out a manager who docked half an hours pay when she had to leave early? Who is made happy by working for free for a jobsworth who doesn’t appreciate you?

amusedbush · 22/05/2019 14:38

@PolarBearBubbles

Are you okay? Grin

My manager did something similar to me when everyone else in the office is allowed some flexibility (within reason). I said nothing at the time but the next Monday I strolled in at 8:57am with a takeaway coffee in my hand.

My colleague told me that the manager had been looking for me and asking people if they'd heard from me as I normally get in and start work at 8:30. Her eye was practically twitching she was so pissed off but she couldn't say anything though as we don't start until 9.

She took the hint anyway, as she hasn't been an arsehole about it since!

Intothe · 22/05/2019 14:39

Oh, missed the bit that overtime is paid. In that case, she was being silly as she'd have made up the half hour she'd been previously docked!