Work appraisal

[Pinkgin123]

Just for context I’ve had issues with my line manager in the past but I thought we was passed that ..

I had my appraisal and she said that I was doing brilliantly and had made big improvements since last year the only thing she could pull me up on was the fact that when we do project work Im not getting big numbers.. I explained that I had already raised the issue before that the areas I work in don’t allow me to get big numbers and I would like to be moved.. she agreed that she would move me into other areas ..

she asked if there was anything else I wasn’t comfortable with or found challenging and gave me an example.. I did say that my job changes weekly and there’s always new rules and where I’m WFH it can be hard to keep on top of things and sometimes I do question if I’m doing the right thing.. she then said that it is natural and even as a manager she feels the same ..

the following day she asked me to fill out the appraisal paperwork but right down that I have not met my objectives for the year and she is going to give a low score .. I explained I didn’t understand as my appraisal was very positive and she put pressure on me to do it as other managers wanted it done..

VERY STUPIDLY I did it but it kept playing on my mind so I questioned it again and said how unhappy I was and she basically said that I shouldn’t of signed anything if I wasn’t happy and it shouldn’t be taken in a negative way .. the reasons she thinks I’m underachieving is because of the project work thing and the fact that I am not confident in decision making ?

i told her that I don’t think it’s fair to be marked down due to one thing (project work) especially when I had asked to be moved before and it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth to say I’m not confident in decision making as I was the one who brought that up and she said it was natural to feel like this?

she has now more or less threatened me with formal action and said that she will not be discussing it any further via email..

I got onto my union and they said wait for the reps advice before responding anymore but I have waited over a week and nothing??

I know some people will think it’s just an appraisal but I don’t want it on my record and it seems like my line manager has got it in for me again?

AIBU? Is this normal ?? Any advice ??

I'm not sure I understand.

You wrote up your appraisal negatively and now you've changed your mind? What did her write up say? What is the consequence of the score you gave yourself? What score did she give you?

she has now more or less threatened me with formal action

What did she actually say? It's really easy to misunderstand emails which is probably why she didn't want to continue discussing this that way.

She has done a write up saying that I have not achieved my goals for the previous year and needs improvement.. there is also boxes where she gives scores and/ or ticks excellent good average poor and in general she has marked me quite low in all of them ..

she has now said that she wants to book another video meeting and if this continues she’s happy to go through HR which may result in me being micro managed

Sorry for the confusion , after she has wrote her bit I have to answer a few questions and sign off the appraisal forms which then completes the process .. I signed off because she put pressure on me but wasn’t happy with what she was saying about me .. hope that makes more sense

HAVE you met all of your goals for the previous year, objectively?

Tbf, the whole episode doesn't show great confidence in your decision-making - if you didn't agree with the paperwork and you decided to sign it off anyway. Her saying something empathetic/reassuring about you questioning yourself isn't the same as saying it's fine. She presumably wouldn't volunteer that info in her own appraisal if she didn't want to be marked down. She might question herself but then make a firm decision and then it's not a problem, whereas you raised it as something you were uncomfortable with. If that's not true, why raise it? You could have said there wasn't anything if that was the truth. It's an appraisal, not a friendly chat and she's using criteria to assess where you're at. If you crumble and give answers and sign things off because you feel under pressure to do so, then perhaps that's something else to work on for next time.

Did you meet your objectives for the year? Presumably these came from a previous review? You signed it but was there any space to comment that you disagreed that the paperwork reflected your discussion? It seems a bit late to question it now but you could raise a grievance.

And you could have improved in other areas but still not meet objectives yet.

I wouldn't chase this but I'd never say anything to her again about struggling.

I think once you signed the paperwork the only thing you can now do is write something to be added to your file if you want to. I have done this (before signing) when what was written was so far fro my view of things I was damned if it was staying on there without a fight!

PS and having been through a grievance you don't have a leg to stand on so please don't waste your time or energy.

You agree you didn't hit the project requirements and then you raised the other issues and then you signed that you agreed them.