To hand in my notice after this treatment from new boss?

[flowerlessorchid]

To set the scene (this is going to be long sorry!)- I've been at my current employer for 18 months, single parent working full time with a contract that states I work 9:30am-5pm with a half hour lunch, which fits in with my commute time (approx 40 mins each way) and after school club. Small public sector employer and I work in a safety role so as you can imagine I've been rushed off my feet since March.

Employer decided to review staffing during Covid, and offered voluntary redundancy, which my boss (who was the only other safety professional in the company) took. So now I'm working alone. An already high workload has now exploded as the work is still there, and I've been working much longer hours to keep up.

The working week just past has been a particularly bad one. DC now at school so I've been having to factor in the school run to my day. Daily meetings I have to attend (with the senior exec who need my guidance) are being put in before my contracted hours start, which is difficult but manageable when I'm WFH. My new temporary boss knows this and agreed I would come into the office Mondays & Thursdays and WFH the rest of the time. WFH without the commute is the only reason I've been able to put in the hours I am at the moment.

New boss is the Finance director, who I have been getting along with until now. He is a very old school, older man who has never married and has no kids (this is relevant). He has been supportive but doesn't understand my job and can't really direct me. On Wednesday he pulls me into a piece of work that is extremely high level strategic policy on Covid-19 (I'm an officer level so not even management and also paid as such). This piece of work should have been done months ago but hasn't as it doesn't fall into anyone's remit, now its suddenly become urgent.

So I spent hours and hours on this piece of work on top of my usual workload, trying to work out what was actually needed, sending drafts to my boss for his comments and involving others where I could. Everyone is insanely busy right now so that took time too. It gets to Friday when the document has to be sent externally and in the afternoon when I thought it would be ready to go suddenly the senior exec aren't happy with it. Boss and me are called into a meeting 4-5pm with the senior exec who rips the document apart.

But what was the final straw for me was after this meeting when my boss turns on me. He told me I was leading on this work so why don't I have all the answers. He demanded to know when I was going to be back in the office full time. I said I could start coming back in full time if required to which he only said 'well today would have been a good day to come in'. I pointed out that it was his suggestion I come in on the days I have. (And to be honest me not being on site would have made no difference to the outcome of this document, if anything I have less time to concentrate on site as people are always coming to my office for things).

So it's 5pm and I'm still working on this document, he has 'helpfully' highlighted the sections that need changing. I make changes, send it back to him. He thinks more changes are needed. It's now 5:30pm and I said to him I have to go and get my DC from after school club. He kicked off again, complaining that he wanted to leave the office early today as he has a dinner night, and said to me 'can't someone else go get your children?'. I had to point out to him that I'm a single parent (he knows this) and school are only permitting parents to collect at the moment as we are in the middle of a pandemic. He was very cross, told me to go do the school run and we would catch up again at 6pm when I'm back home. So I picked up the kids, got home, spent another 20 minutes or so making the final changes, rang him at about 6:15pm, document signed off and sent. Job done.

I'm exhausted and frazzled as it is, was almost in tears (unusual for me) and have spent most of the weekend worried about what next week brings. With the meetings being put in my diary before my usual hours which I have to attend as I'm the only person who can advise the senior exec, and now being told I have to come on site every day I'm going to have to reduce my working hours to my normal level to factor in my commute, or work evenings once I get home.

I've already spoken to a couple of colleagues about what happened and how I now want to hand in my notice as this isn't sustainable, to be told I can't as there is no-one else to do my job, and apparently my hard work is appreciated. We have no union, HR are nice but ineffective, and if I hand my notice in anyway I can't guarantee I will find another job that will give me the flexibility I need r.e. the school run. I've been told by HR to expect a new job description and a permanent boss but they need to hire first.

I don't know what to do but I'm dreading work tomorrow and the demands starting again. Do I just throw in the towel and hand my notice in?

Seems to me that you are doing the work of several people, with the same amount of time, but it could be that this specific piece of work about Covid 19 was perhaps more time sensitive than any other documents that could be done within work hours?

Your boss may have whined, but seems that you pulled it out of the bag and am sure for this, he is grateful, but on the back of this have a discussion with him about any future deadlines so you are able to plan?

My new permanent boss could be months away (they havn't advertised yet and not likely to yet as they are still reviewing staff and making redundancies).

I know, but will it help to know there's an end in sight? I find it much easier to cope with rubbish situations when I know they won't last forever - could it help you to focus on that?

@TooManyDogsandChildren

Time for you to put your foot down I think. You clearly have a specialism that non-one else currently does so that makes you valuable. You are also a single parent with an essential role outside work. You also have a right to a life!

I'd suggest you sit down and think about what hours of work and what mix of in the office and WFH suits you and tell them this is what you are prepared to do. No-one should be putting appointments in your diary outside your contracted hours, however senior they are. Can others see your diary? Make sure any time out of your contracted hours is blocked out.

Make sure that you work solidly in your contracted hours and more importantly (yes I mean that) that you are visible doing so. You shouldn't be working regularly in the evenings, some things may have to wait. Make sure you have it on record that "this week I am doing X and Y. Z is also important but as there is only one of me I will be dealing with that the following week." Don't allow yourself to be trampled on - if people think they can, they will.

Re the project last week, every job has some rushed things like this, that is just the nature of work and IMO is not of itself a good enough reason to leave a job. Crap and annoying and bit embarrassing, but as long as it is only occasional I'd suck it up. Are there any learnings you can put forward from this e.g. a protocol for identifying and allocating similar types of issues?

All our diaries are visible but putting timings of your work hours in is largely ignored and double booking of meetings is fairly common - this is a workplace culture thing. These particular early meetings have come from the top level and should be short term which is one saving grace.

The project from this week is outside of my remit and responsibility level, yet I was expected to do it, so I'm not sure a protocol works in this situation. In normal circumstances I manage my projects and workload pretty well although I'm very busy, but the extra work brought on by Covid-19 and the redundancies has changed things.

My working hours are 9:30am to 5pm with half hour for lunch (which I havn't been able to take for some time, I've been working through).

Boundaries keep being mentioned, and I agree I need to start setting some. And keeping a record of extra work/comments from the boss.

I fully expect my new job description to contain extra work with no extra pay.

Definitely time to change some things but don’t mKe a rash decision when you are upset.

You need to put your concerns in writing and send them to your current boss and HR, then ask for a meeting to address the situation,

State that you are doing what you can to help while they are recruiting a new person but state that:

• you don't have the expertise and knowledge that the person you left used to have so you cannot simply step in their shoes
• your workload is now unmanageable without you doing extra, unpaid hours which is not sustainable
• you are a single parent with childcare responsibilities which means that you need to have a fairly stable routine in term of your work hours.

Once you have done that, they will either address your concerns or ignore them and you can then decide whether you should leave or not. Speak to ACAS as well because if you are penalised because of your childcare issues, your employer might be flirting with discrimination...

In the meantime remind people of your working hours and ask that meetings should be scheduled within that window. I am also not quite clear as to why these meetings can't just be done virtually with Zoom...

I have found that unless you set your boundaries, employers will just try to push you to the limit...

Wow you sound like an extremely hard worker.

Firstly DO NOT RESIGN. The job market is tough out there and you have mouths to feed. This was THEIR cock up, not yours. If you don't have the resources or expertise in the team currently then they should outsource it. Thats their business, not yours.

Please don't resign. Instead I would request a meeting with your boss next week. Explain what you have explained here. Tell him you felt scapegoated and that the way you were treated was unfair.

Ask HR for advice on your hours if needed. Does your contract say about working extra hours?

I used to be an officer for our local gov. I was never treated like that even when times were extremely pressured. I also wouldn't have been happy about treated like you were.

You're an employee doing your best. That is all. Don't let them get you down when you've done nothing wrong.

Try and hang on until you've been there 2 years too. Isn't that when all the employment rights kick in?

How long have you already known your boss? Do you know him well enough to call him and say look, I work bloody hard, I'm glad you value my skills and knowledge, but are you fully aware I am a non management role and my salary is currently only xxx. I know you would feel taken for granted working so hard for that salary and I need to remind you that either my salary changes to reflect my input, or my input reflects my salary- you cant have it all ways.

Also my tip with these sort of oblivious men is not to mention your children. Don't apologise, don't explain. Instead of mentioning the school run, just say variations of

I have somewhere else I need to be/ that time doesn't work for me / I'm not available then, let's move it to x / as we have overrun I'm going to call this to a halt and we can pick this up tomorrow.

In short, be really firm with the dickheads. I speak from experience

PS and don't tell them 'I feel' bla bla bla.

Just tell them all those slightly aggressive cliches:

The bottom line is
The facts are
Cutting to the chase

I've been working much longer hours to keep up. This is where you went wrong to be honest.

Also, if you work in public services, why are you saying you have no trade union? You are entitled to join UNISON and will be covered by a local branch, even if it isn't based in your workplace.

I really wouldn't resign right now. If you are feeling shaky about it all maybe a week off to re calibrate and really think about how you can move forward whilst setting boundaries.

It really doesn't sound as though you are paid enough to be answering your phone outside of working hours etc. Good luck with it.

I don’t think you need to tell him that you’ve to collect your kids etc. You finished work at 5...go home. Don’t start asking at 5.30 to please let you go. I had this in a previous job, where I was told to be in for a meeting at 8. I replied “I start at 9”. He huffed and puffed but I stood firm, and got more respect for it.

Go back to the office for a while... 9-5 only, and don’t take on work above your grade.

Full time in the public sector is 37.5 hours but 9:30-5 with 30 minutes break only equates to 35 hours so it would appear that someone has messed that up somewhere along the lines (and they wouldn't be unreasonable to expect you to change your hours to work the full number you should be doing).

I would put it down to a bad day in the office, we all have them. I would not necessarily look to hand my notice in after one particularly bad day if you weren’t thinking of it before then. I also think it would be a little rash to resign tomorrowo without having something else to go to, the job market is very tough at the moment.

In the office environment, I don’t think anybody sticks to 9-5 with half an hour for lunch, even if that is what the contract stays. There is usually a clause about having to work extra if required, well that is what my contracts have always said for the last 28 years anyway and I have had quite a few jobs. But of course totally unreasonable to expect you to not do the school pick up.

agree with the PP - I don;t understand the having no union thing - it's not for your work place to provide one - join one - and encourage others to do so - you don;t need permission

Perhaps they might be interested in paying you a bit more money as you have important skills?

Could you pay someone for some help with picking up the children on a couple of days per week for example?

double booking of meetings is fairly common - this is a workplace culture thing.

You will need to start pushing back on this, OP. Point out you can't be in two places at once. Cut back to what you can do in your contracted hours. And get all this on record with HR. If you just keep working silly hours to get more done, they won't intervene because you've made it your problem, not theirs.

Have you been to occ health as work is clearly causing stress.

Join a union. If you work in public sector unite or unison will happily have you and they can consult over phone

I am sure your issue here would come under unfair treatment if it is to continue. You're contracted certain hours and you have a family and so have rights there to.

Document, document, document and all the things that happen. I would say don't leave your job unless the treatment is affecting your happiness or other areas of life. Jobs are hard to come by and will get harder, you can create a HR claim / complaint / issue while employed and work through it. That happens all the time.

I'd get an email in there documenting that this work is above your defined level & previous experience/training, but that you are happy to contribute as it was requested from you. Such as the document getting ripped apart - that's not your fault...... don't take the blame.

look online for advice.

www.gingerbread.org.uk/information/working/your-rights-in-the-workplace/
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/leaving-a-job/dismissal/claiming-constructive-dismissal/#:~:text=Check%20for%20discrimination,particular%20race%2C%20ethnicity%20or%20country

As another poster said your boss is floundering and didn't know what he was doing. The immediate panic is over now so why not meet with him and reflect on how difficult the situation was for you.
Record everything you did as it's a very important competency example for you.
You can't expect him to understand or appreciate your life circumstances unless you tell him. You've dug him out of a hole,why would you resign.

Just a quick one in response to being public sector - I don't want to out myself as technically we are part of the sector but have no union representation on site, UNISON could advise from the local branch but they have no presence on site. Non management contracts are also 35 hours not 37+ so there's no mistake there.

I agree with many of the suggestions. You may want to consider setting a time limit - I will give this another 6 months putting in some boundaries then review. You will be over the 2 years of employment then and would have more rights.

@StatisticalSense

Full time in the public sector is 37.5 hours but 9:30-5 with 30 minutes break only equates to 35 hours so it would appear that someone has messed that up somewhere along the lines (and they wouldn't be unreasonable to expect you to change your hours to work the full number you should be doing).

The public sector isn't one amorphous blob you know. Hundreds of organisations are public sector and have their own working hours and grades. And they can all be different!

Sorry - I only got half way through. But with only reading this far, I know in your position I'd go to senior management - ask for a face to face meeting and very clearly, unemotionally explain that your boss has not been replaced. You can't should responsibility for either his unmet workload or for work at his seniority level. An example of this backfiring and looking bad on you was last week. this was work you did in addition to your job spec, which should have been done by a more senior employee than you months ago. You cannot pick up the slack at this level. The job you do works for you under the terms which you agreed to, enabling you to manage home commitments. If the landscape changes, you need either a substantial pay rise commensurate with the extra responsibility and unsociable hours, which would enable you to put longer childcare in place without losing money. But this is something you'd have to consider if it were offered. Stay pleasant but extremely honest, citing clear examples as you have here. You can work to rule (as per contract) until they sort it or ask you too to take redundancy.

I have been in a similar position, obliged to work over the w/e, & take my work phone everywhere with me, even on holiday, in order to keep up with the work load, & ensure I got my commission. I frequently missed my lunch break. & wasn't able to get coffee break etc.
I occasionally stayed in to work until 8 pm sometimes even 9pm ( to be able to work on my projects once the office closed. & went in on Saturday am. just to keep my head above water, as I was constantly being asked to do all sorts of other jobs, translation, auto cad, tweek their internet site... It seems the whole place relied on me to keep operating.. & getting behind with my own work load.
The boss would leave at 5 pm, leaving me to pull the heavy iron gates closed....
One day I went in & said. I was effectively working X hours more than my contract, & that I required reparation for all the overtime, & a pay rise (not quite double), or I was leaving. I didn't need to spell it out. I wasn't angry, I said I was disappointed in their lack of appreciation of the effort & my dedication. I also mentioned I had a list of all the other salaries, & their annual turn over. & knew they were not only perfectly able to remunerate me to my worth, but morally, unfair, paying people who did a lot lesss than me, as much or more.
She tried to say "she wasn't able ...." I said, I don't think you have quite understood, it's pay rise, or I am handing in my notice.

I don't have children, but obviously you are essential to the company, you hold the cards.