Boss says I have to work tonight or will face disciplinary.

[Partygal]

Some of my colleagues are on here so have name changed.

I work in a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job. Everyone has to take their turn at doing the shit shifts.

As I was off over Christmas last year, I willingly took my turn to work and did Christmas and Boxing Day. It suited me as I am going to a party tonight that I have been looking forward to a lot.

My colleague who was supposed to be working tonight sent me a text earlier today saying he can’t work tonight due to illness!!! (Yeah right!) He went on to say he was just giving me the heads up to block the manager’s number.

I thanked him and said no way was I working because I’ve done my time in work over Christmas.

Anyway my boss rang up as predicted - using someone else’s phone. She first asked why everyone seemed to have blocked her number, and asked if my colleague had already told me that he wasn’t going to work that night. I denied it.

She went on to say what I already knew that he won’t be at work tonight. I told her that I would not be covering. She says no one else she has managed to speak to, can get child care at such short notice and nor can she. According to her, “it has to be me.”

I still said no. She said she would try everyone else again, and threatened me with “consequences” if I turn my phone off. She has come back and has again said she can’t find anyone else to work. She says I will face a disciplinary if I don’t go in. I told her to go fuck herself. She has been texting repeatedly every since and has just told me that I will be fired for this.

Can she do this?

If my boss phoned me off a non work phone and had sent the messages she has sent, i would tell her to go fuck herself aswell!

But then im of the attitude outside of work hours she aint my boss

it was very stupid to swear at your boss.

you should have been very sympathetic to her predicament but simply unable to help due to currently being on the Isle of Skye or similar. willing but unable is a much better look than unwilling and belligerent.

how long have you been working there? if it's less than two years then they can get rid of you for no reason at all. otherwise then I suspect you are right that you can't be legally dismissed for refusing to be emergency on-call cover, but your boss can still make your life so miserable that you might as well be dismissed.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat In fairness to the OP the boss wasn't asking would she cover, she was demanding, bullying, threatening being manipulative prior been told go fuck off.

Completely unprofessional behaviour from everyone involved. And that includes you, OP. Still, at least you only swore at her verbally, so that makes it ok, eh?

I run my own business and have had experience of 24/7 365 work. In these circumstances I would cover the shift and then I look in to staff behaviour and moral with a veiw to kicking some arse the team sound toxic. As the manager she could likely be in the same boat as everyone else in some respects they may have childcare or lack of, dealing with illness, plans and topping it off dealing with thus shite.
So I would lap it up if I were her and deal with my dysfunctional staff later when I'd be a bit calmer!!!
One part of being a business owner/ manager I despise, thus time next year it will be someone else's responsibility and I can't wait!!!! 😁

I feel for the boss

Bahahahaha. The boss that calls their employee a "fucking cow". The boss who evidently so persistently harasses staff out of hours that they get their number blocked. The only thing I "feel for" a boss like that is contempt and scorn.

Some of my colleagues are on here so have name changed.

And they will all recognise you from the scenario and know that you told your boss to go fuck herself.

Not that the boss should have sworn at OP but to be honest they all sound like a bunch of teenagers, I really hope they aren't in a caring profession!

Why? Is it because you think that people that swear can't do their jobs properly? God forbid you meet a good friend of mine. She's a consultant and has the language of a docker. She's also bloody brilliant at her job and her patients love her.

Don't lie. Just keep saying "no" when things like this crop up. If they're persistant do what PP said and say "triple time and time off in lieu, in writing before i even begin to move".

The current situation isn't ideal but roll with it and see what happens.

The workplace sounds toxic though. Unless it's something wher people die if there is no cover, is there any legal requirement to give the manager your mobile number? Mine only have my work phone number. HR have my private number but they are not allowed to give it to anyone, I have a note on my file to say so, just to reiterate that point.

Is the rota in written form? if so make sure you have a printed copy. If it's on a website make a screenshot. Make sure it shows the week up to Christmas.

Your sick colleague... hmmmm. Well, people do get sick at NYE and usually I'd say don't go to work ill. But on shifts like this my tendency is to say drag yourself in and get sent home. Give work a heads up that you're ill to give them a chance to try to get cover, but actually turn up if you can.

I feel for the boss who is presumably going to have to do it herself because all her staff have stopped her in it; especially the bastard pulling a sickie

meh. Them's the breaks. The boss will learn to plan extra cover for next year.

As for the swearing - if it is current accepted practice for you all to swear at each other and it's nothing out of the ordinary (and your colleagues are prepared to back you up on this) then I can't see how it's a massive problem.

As an aside: picking on the only one without children is shit and probably not legal. Also in most places I've worked, and most places I know of, people with children get Christmas and those without get New Year. If that's an accepted practice that also strengthens your case.

But lying about where you are? meh - no need. Blocking numbers? no real need - you don't have to answer your phone (boss trying to disguise who she is, is an underhand move)

Look for a new job whichever way this turns out.

@DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn I presume OP has NC because she doesn't want her posting history available to any colleague who recognises her from the thread.

I feel for the boss who is presumably going to have to do it herself because all her staff have stopped her in it; especially the bastard pulling a sickie

The staff have not dropped her in it. She hadn't managed her staff properly, hasnt prepared herself for emergency back up. The staff member who phoned in is only to blame if he isnt genuinely sick, which is doubtful but weve no way of knowing that - managers need to be able to manage staff and have back up plans to cover sickness, especially on a shift landing on NYE where it's obviously extremely unlikely to get someone to give up their plans to help her out. As the boss she is paid more to deal with these issues and she is also one of the staff members who is refusing to go in.

You were fine up to the point you swore at her.

You worked Christmas day, you were off. She has been threatening and bullying you in your own time- you're entitled to have a life outside of work ffs- she deserved to be told to go fuck herself, as you weren't in the workplace but she was causing you undue stress. I actually think she's on thin ice harassing you during time off.

Not read the whole thread but I just LOLd at you saying to her to go fuck herself - quite right... shes a manager... she can work it if nobody else... she should go home the now then go back in. People in senior positions should be prepared to pull their weight. You done your bit at xmas!

Baolfan, I really don't care about swearing (although some people might if it's a caring profession), it's more the childish tit for tat - she swore first so I swore back - attitude.

EmeraldShamrock if she's so worried about her bills then swearing at the boss really doesn't help. Being polite and looking for a new job in the new would have been better if she's that worried.

This all sounds very unprofessional. I would be putting in a formal grievance asap, raising the following issues:

-You have fulfilled your contracted and rota'd hours over the festive period
-Why did your boss call you from someone else's 'phone?

• Is it appropriate to use expletives in a text to work colleagues?

-What would the consequences be of turning off a personal phone during non-working hours?

• What policy outlines the disciplinary procedure for not going in at very short notice on a non-working day? In addition, what policy indicates that an employee can be fired for doing this?

Take this to your company as soon as you can, rather than wait for the "consequences" that you have been threatened with. A decent manager should be aware that both illness and "illness" are a possibility at this time of year, and put a couple of extra people on the rota, or be in contact with a reliable agency.

Swearing at each other is ridiculous and completely unprofessional, you totally had the upper hand until this point as you had worked Christmas Day and Boxing Day....I find it very hard to believe that a Union rep would advise you to lie.
This thread will be very identifying....I would ask for it to be removed by MNHQ

I think the only valid response to someone calling you a fucking cow is Moo!

If you are not working, then you could be drinking, good excuse why you can't work and for the misuse of language (for which you are sorry, of course), should anyone ask?

I manage a care home. Staff do this to me all the time-notably Christmas Day, New Years Eve and most Saturday nights. If there is no one available to do it I try to get agency at huge cost. And if I can't get any agency then I have to do it. That's the job unfortunately. It's why I get paid more than the care staff-the ultimate responsibility lies with me.

She can't ask you to do something she isn't willing to do herself and she can't make you come to work at short notice. She can ask-and I would be asking nicely-not as she seems to have asked you-but it's not on to harass staff once they've said they can't do it. That beers into bullying in my book.

It's not your responsibility-it's hers as it's her job to make sure your service (or whatever it is) is adequately staffed.
In desperate times I've had people come in to cover an hour or two then go and the next person come and do the same-so everyone pitches in but gets time at home too-and I've paid them a huge incentive to do so.

As a manager it's bloody annoying but she needs to deal with the person that called in sick (if it's a pattern of behaviour) not berate everyone else. (Though I can see her side which is that she also wants to have some family time and it can be heartbreaking when you have to cancel that for the nine millionth time.

She shouldn't have sworn but neither should you. Someone else goes low, you should go high in that sort of-or any actually-situation.

Its amazing what companies expect these days, are you working in a saving lives job?

I would have lied and said I was abroad or had norovirus or at the other end of the country to where you were. Why doesnt she cover the shift anyway? Shame you answered.

Your manager was bullying and threatening you, perhaps she should be more concerned that she isn't disciplined for her behaviour. Threatening action and swearingbat staff who sayvthey cannot cover an extra shift is not on yet so many rubbish managers see it as power
Yes your boss may need to suck it up and do the shift but that's part of their remit not yours. See hr on return to work, be honest and say you felt threatened and that this has stressed you out since.

I would have said that I was drunk.

I’ve been called into work before at very short notice (which is allowed due to what I do). Mostly I’ve just sucked it up but there has been an occasion when I’d unfortunately started drinking early in the day so couldn’t possibly go in.

Just to add I think the employee who threw a sicky and the manager struggling or not getting cover is one thing. It is another however to ring around each other block her number and make an already tricky job 10 times harder. As a manager dealing with covering shifts due to illness is part of the deal yes but what she faced was planned and deliberate and she knew this. That's what makes this stink.
The chance was she was probably always going to struggle getting someone to do it but it was made purposefully more difficult.
I hope she does something about the fact that all staff involved deliberately made a hard job harder. What a huge kick in the nuts for her.