Aibu to tell her that she needs to do a full shift.

[DawnFawn]

Hi,

Posting here for traffic to see I'd any managers/HR gurus knocking about.

I am a fairly new manager, I have been managing a department for about 2 months and all is running pretty well, however, I have an issue with a member off staff that I cant get my head around.

Let's call her Linda, she started under a previous manager who was a friend of hers. She doesn't drive and lives about 15 miles away with not great/not horrendous public transport links.

For about 18 months she got a lift to and from work with manager friend. But since manager friend left she was able to finish work earlier than the rest of the team, to get a lift home with another member of staff who finishes earlier. The stand in manager allowed this for an easy ride.

So......(thankyou if you are still reading)
In I come as a department manager, there is a festering resentment with team members that colleague is going home early, and it shouldn't be allowed. I totally agree but how do I stop this? She doesn't have any children, and doesn't require flexible working as such.

Would I be a bitch to say that she needs to be making her own way home? I'll allow a degree of flexibilty in the mornings, she can start 15 minutes later as this is when her lift arrives at the office, but she needs to finish with the rest of the team? Does she have any rights to say that she has been doing this for a while and should be allowed to continue?

I mean you could tell Janet and George to mind their own as Linda's business is hers not theirs. She's not getting paid for time she's not working and by the sounds of it she's not leaving you struggling for those last 45 mins so honestly I think you'd be best leaving the situation. Also if she's been off with mental health issues (obviously I don't know if this is the reason for her sickness) then you get on at her about this she might end up taking more time off sick due to stress which only leaves you in a worse position. Is this really the hill you want to die on?

I guess then you have to tell her that her flexible working arrangement needs to be reviewed. And then review it and decline it. Make sure you have manager/hr backing as it could give you a lot of aggro for a relatively small amount.

Re thr threat of her leaving, who cares. It sounds like she is crap. Managers have to get used to people leaving and to getting by when they are short-staffed. It's part of managing. Think of it as good experience.

I don’t really get the hostility towards Linda. She works slightly reduced hours and gets paid less for it, that is not that unusual!
Without knowing which field you work in, I would suggest re-jigging responsibilities. Part time workers like Linda cannot be expected to do a full time job. That’s where your problem lies.

Flexible working is a great idea as long as it’s available to all staff. It’s a perk that actual doesn’t cost the company anything ( since people have to pick up the crap whatever),
How can they finish early? Is there fecibilitly?
Can’t you make it so that everyone does contactual hours but only a core has to be covered and everyone can do an hour more or less as they want.

I can see where tea’s coming from. You don’t sound like you have a very clear business case for fusing this if it dies become a flexible working request. if you don’t know the team well, and Janet and George really do just want more time in the sun, I’d think carefully about whether this is the hill you want to die on.

It has potential to backfire on you spectacularly.

I do know the team well. I've moved up through the ranks.
It's the fact that I have a full time role there and missing out 5 hours of other work that I have to justify.. I know its selfish but I've got the department in a really good and efficient place recently and 5 hours could help me do more. It's great for the business and it looks good on me but I would never do anything to upset the staff on purpose if I could help it.
I dont mind Linda, when I wasnt in charge it didn't really bother me, but Janet and George are key, skilled members of staff, with Linda as their junior so to say. I cant afford for them to have grievances. They have do to end of shift tasks on their own which are considered mundane and boring but essential, they feel Linda is shirking the shit bits of the job.

I disparity of mumsnet sometimes. She has requested reduced hours with reduced pay. She’s been granted them. What on earth is your problem, other than the amazing stupidity of her colleagues?

Flexible working helps everybody, and especially women. You admit yourself you’re pleased to cut your wage bill as a manager. Well guess what? You don’t get to keep your bun AND your halfpenny.

I had this in a professional job twenty five years ago. Baby in nursery, husband away working at least Monday to Friday and I requested to reduce my hours from 37 to 35 so I could balance everything with job, nursery and rush hour traffic. Manager asked me in an accusing tone how did I get that? Durrr, because I asked. Nobody cut me any slack, I still did all the work but in less time . It worked for me and it worked for my employer. Still, I was regarded with suspicion.

I honestly thought things had got better in the meantime.I read utter rubbish like this and I wonder.

If you want to be a manager worthy of the name then manage with wisdom and integrity, and earn the respect and loyalty of your staff. Start with managing this awful attitude.

Part time hours for part time pay. Seems reasonable really.

A bit worrying how many people on Mumsnet, of all places, think that part time hours should be denied for no reason. Personally, I'm all for flexible working, be that part-time, compressed hours, flexitime or any other variation, as long as the business can support it.

I’m really struggling to understand.

She effectively works part time hours and gets paid less accordingly. It sounds like she’s had this agreed by past management.

Your comments about her ‘leaving early’ and ‘not working her hours’ are very misleading and not really reflective of the true situation,

If other staff members are pissed off about her ‘running out the door at 2pm’, remind them that she works different agreed hours to them.

*Despair

If you need someone for the full 8 hours, then that is what you should be aiming for.

That she only works for 7 hours makes it difficult, as she's already getting paid less. Could you offer her unworked hour a day to the rest of the team as extra paid work?

I'd also be concerned about her sick leave. This is time you ARE paying for that she's not working. Unless she has a long term sickness problem?

I think you are going to end up going down the formal dismissal process. The likelihood is that she will leave fairly quickly once this starts.

Janet and George are key, skilled members of staff, with Linda as their junior so to say. I cant afford for them to have grievances

Sounds more like you’re afraid to stand up to this pair and want to throw Linda under the bus to appease them and their hard-of-thinking brains

I do hope Linda knows her rights!

Erm, she is not actually getting paid for those hours, so what's the problem? I don't really see why the others are upset, as they are being paid when she is not.(some if them would probably jump at OT)

Work place flexibilty can be important to men, women, young, old, people with children, people with children.

A few points:
-her husband's salary is not relevant
-the weather is not relevant
-if she has kids or not is not relevant

I would also advise addressing any issues with absence as a separate issue.

wait what? The colleagues don't care that the reason Linda does less work is that Linda is contracted and paid to do less work?

Its them you need to be talking to, not Linda FFS.

That's one MASSIVE drip feed from the OP.

If Linda is junior to the other two, could you not get Linda to do the 'shit jobs' that the others are doing once she's gone home during her actual hours that she's there?

So she isnt leaving early and starting late then at all? Your earlier posts have been really misleading. All she is doing is working part time as agreed with a previous manager. Too bad her colleagues don't like it, its nothing to do with them.
You really don't come across well here Op.

Ok just seen her update. So she’s not getting the issue if she’s not getting paid for the hours she’s not doing.

If it’s a man power issue could you not just offer over time or something

The other option would be to speak to the other two and ask them if they want to reduce their hours/go part time at all? If either of them do then you could potentially take on a 4th part time person to cover the work.

I have a feeling though that they'd both decline the chance to drop their hours and probably like moaning for moanings sake. Like someone else mentioned upthread, it does sound a little like that scapegoat Linda.

@M3lon

Linda is not contracted to do less work. Linda is contracted to do 40 hours. The fact that she doesn't get paid for it is irrelevant. I have a role that needs filling for 40 hours. I have a person who only does 35 for no other reason than to get a lift home.

@CaravanHero
I'm not bloody throwing anyone under the bus, if she can get home reasonably and its not an issue, I want her to do 40 hours. If she struggles then with transport I will make allowances. I am not scared of Janet and George at all but I do want to find a solution that benefits everyone.

Like they scapegoat Linda, that was meant to say!

Have the other 2 members of staff requested to do less hours? If not you have no issue.
If you need her you can ask Linda if she'd like the extra hours, she may well do.
If the business requires someone to do more hours then hr can help you sort that but if not don't force it out of a principal that makes no sense.

In my team, it would go down very badly. Some roles cannot be done in 6.25 hours instead of 7 ffs, some businesses cannot just allow some people to work slightly reduced hours, what stops the others working reduced hours? Plenty of people would take a tiny paycut to go home half an hour early... It's a messy situation and you do need to deal with it.

If she struggles then with transport I will make allowances

But you already know she struggles?

I don’t really get the hostility towards Linda. She works slightly reduced hours and gets paid less for it, that is not that unusual!

I was thinking this. I have colleagues who leave earlier than me and it does make me feel a bit glum sometimes watching them leave but I'm not going to kick off about it.

Can you be more creative about how/when the boring tasks get done? My inclination would be more towards creative solutions than stamping authority and ending up in a bigger mess.

@Floofboopsnootandbork

Is an hour on two bus's considered struggling though?

Like I said before people started jumping on my self esteem, I am not scapegoating anyone, I dont want anyone to quit, I want everyone to be happy, and I want to do it legally and fairly. I was just asking for advice that's all.