Desk and office given away

[Proseccoprincess33]

I am due to return to work following maternity leave next month. I am anxious about going back but this has been further intensified by the fact my office has been given away during my time off. This has been my office for 5 years. Not only has it been given away permanently but I have not been allocated another office or even a desk. I only became aware of this because some colleagues alerted me to it and I then contacted my manager to discuss it.

She is off site and very hands off so we rarely see her if at all. In fact I have never met her. So had I not been given this heads up by my colleagues I would have been coming into work to see my office and desk occupied and no place for me to sit on my first day back.

I am part of a multidisciplinary team and I manage one of the departments. Therefore having my own desk and office is so important to supervise staff and the nature of our work is very sensitive so privacy is a vital. But at this stage I'd settle for a desk of my own.

I am having a meeting with my manager about this very soon and have found out she has invited 2 very senior managers along also which is intimidating and not helpful to the anxiety I am experiencing. I think she fears I will be very unhappy and so has her reinforcements ready to tell me tough sh1t.

Her solution so far has been that they'll slot me into a desk somewhere when other staff are off....ie hot desking.

AIBU that I am so upset about this and want to fight for a resolution? Any advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation would be much appreciated.

Thank you 😊

From a DSE regs perspective, tables like that are an absolute no-no for working for more than one hour at a computer. Read the law. You need tiltable keyboards, height-adjustable screens, either footrests or height-adjustable desks, and fully-adjustable chairs.

Sitting at a big table with a laptop is a hard no.

So how do you hotdesk with a trackball or a vertical keyboard or a specialist chair?

Hotdesking is inherently discriminatory against disabled people and the sooner employers stop this nonsense, the better.

Hotdesking is inherently discriminatory against disabled people

And it forces everyone to have to faff on adjusting their chair and monitor and go hunting for a footrest or else remove the footrest that they don't need at the start of each day.

You were off and they made changes

if they had contacted you to say we’re letting someone have your office while you were on maternity leave they would have been harassing you.

why didn’t you just go into work on your first day back and see what happened?

she’ll have called in back up as they’re terrified of saying the wrong thing and you claiming it’s because you had a baby.

maybe they plan on moving you next to the managers in that other office ?

will you still manage a team now your part time ?

id just go in and see how the day goes

if you feel unable to do your job you need to explain to them why and ultimately it’s their job as the bosses to manage that.

maybe they have decided your calls don’t need privacy as much as the new team.

Try and relax and enjoy being back how had the team managed while you were gone ?

It would usually just be the laptop. The purpose of desks like that are more touchdown desks. So if you’re in and out of meetings etc, it’s a spot for you to plug your laptop in and do a few emails in between meetings/workshops.

They can work well where you have teams that are out and about a lot (in my previous company our construction project team used them a lot on the day a week they were in the office for project meetings versus on sites supervising buildings). Plus it does sometimes encourage people to network/mingle a bit more - with no set desks, you never know who you might plonk yourself next to which can be good for cross team chats, work related or just building relationships.

@k1233 That was just an example image from google and I certainly wouldn’t be recommending chairs like that for anything more than a breakout area/lunch space!

Personally, I prefer working off just my laptop, but I know that isn’t the case for everyone. In terms of noise, not really any different than with usual desks and you can get ones with a central divider that acts as a bit of a muffler. As ever though, it comes down to the availability of meeting rooms so that when you do need a quieter space or somewhere for a confidential chat, you have somewhere to go. At all companies I’ve worked for over my 26 years of working, they’ve always been like gold dust!

Agreed - this type of set up is designed more for a touchdown point where people are going to be in front of their laptop for a minimal amount of time, but in and out of meetings etc. This gives them somewhere to log on if they need to check emails etc.

I mentioned it as OP said she is often in and out of rooms having confidential conversations rather than chained to her laptop dealing with emails etc.

Also, those chairs are horrendous. This was just an example image from google to illustrate the point.

This happened to me.
A new guy was employed and given my desk and a colleague phoned and told me.
I just told the colleague well I’m in on Monday I need my desk back.
On the Monday I had my desk but my space had been split in two in order to accommodate the new guy.
I was peeved but actually the new guy was probably the most down to earth thoroughly nice guy I’d ever worked with at the practice and he was the only one actually interested in the work so I was happy to have him next to me.

You never know OP you might be better off, I was
Essentially, however, your office can in no way demote you just because you’ve been off for a while.

Ask for your own space, remind them this is what you had before maternity leave and that shouldn’t change unless everyone else is hot-desking to.

I have, hence why I’ve asked the question. 4 people, 2 desks - the op cannot be the only one hot desking.

Op do you work permanently in the office or are you out seeing patients? What roles in you office do other staff do? Were you FT now going back PT?

I went PT last year and lost my classroom so now have “hot class” through 7 different rooms in a week. It’s not the best scenario but not much else can be done

No, I didn't expect to be contacted whilst on maternity. I contacted them to arrange my return and this was not mentioned. Only on a later zoom call with my colleagues was it then mentioned to me.

This manager never visits the office, she has been the manager for 5 years and I've never met her so she would not have been present for my return to help find a solution. The desks are all in separate rooms in a big old building. So I'd have been standing in a corridor with no where to sit, just hover in people's rooms.

The building the managers are in is for senior managers so definitely would not be moved there. The new team organise events to raise the profile of teams in the trust. They do not need privacy and do not need to be located where they are.

The team was v loosely managed by senior managers when I was off. But none of the statutory support functions were adhered to and it was a very stressful time for staff. But this isn't new, the manager in previous roles never had her mat leave covered either and the team were left without support. Which is not only unacceptable but dangerous.

But thanks for your input.

Sorry should have explained that the 4th member is on mat leave but due back very soon. But I will have a desk arranged for her return so she doesn't go through this.

No I was part time before I went off. The amount of hours I work should not dictate whether I have a desk or not when I am in. I have no issue sharing a desk of someone of they arr always off the days I'm in but I object to hopping around and not knowing if somewhere will be free on any given day.

I'm sorry you have found yourself in a less than favourable situation too. It's not easy.

@Prunesqualler good for you. I'm glad it worked out well. I did approach it with my manager like, well you will need to make provisions to move these staff as I will be back and she simply said 'there are no plans to move these staff'.

I will remind them I just want what I had before I went off, a desk. I don't want to be treated differently, jist like everyone else. Thanks for your input 😊

Thanks for this. I have considered this. But the non cover of mat leave is not new. It's happened a few times before over the years. And means stat support functions have not been adhered to. This is the first it has happened to me and I did manage to get another manager to try and link in with the team to offer support in my absence but that is less than ideal.

I will ask for agenda and contact union. Thank you 😊

Thank you for this. I will definitely contact the union. 😊

Not covering your MAT leave and removing your office is a definitely indicator that they are reducing numbers in this area I would say. Def take a Union rep as this could be a precursor to redundancy talks.

No worries. There were two offices. Both had two desks. The job share is a new thing but I was part time before I went off. It's just the other part of me was not in post yet. So one office housed the other team members and the plan was for the job share to move into the office with me. The office that's now gone. So currently job share and one member of team are in the other office and the other team member is on mat leave and hopefully we will have some resolution before her return which is very soon.

Thank you. I appreciate this and will Def contact union. I have a permanent contract with the trust so would not be made jobless but it is definitely worth considering how they are moving forward with the team and the changes that may be planned.

Awww @Christmasnutcracker that is so awful. I am so so sorry to hear that. That must have been so so difficult. I too would have been so embarrassed going in and realising my desk had been given away so I am glad my colleagues told me. They were embarrassed about it too, I could tell. It really leaves you feeling under valued as a staff member and person.

I hope your move has proved to be a positive one ❤️

@AutumnLeavesOften that is just awful. I'm so sorry you went through this but so glad you got some justice from it all ❤️

That's a good idea. Thank you 😊

To those who can't get their head around OP's requirements for her clinical and managerial role - don't be suprised in the future, when you, your family, or friends, find there is no palliative care for you/them. Support for the dying, their family, the staff who support them, and the students being trained to join these teams in the future, don't matter it seems. It is essential you have a union representative OP. Also, WFH isn't possible, when you have student with you all day - they can't come home with you. My blood is boiling.

And ACAS

May I summarise:

You are about to return from mat leave

You were p/t before mat leave (3 days) and now a formal job share partner has been appointed (2 days)

You work in a team, comprising 4 full-time equivalent posts and 5 people.

It's an NHS Trust and your team is responsible for patients receiving a particular type of care (not sure if any of you are patient facing or how much team members are at their desks)

You manage the other team members.

Your role was not covered when you were on maternity.

The four/five staff have previously been split between two offices and now have only one.

Things I am not clear about:

How many of you also work hybrid?

Whether there is bookable space?

If you all deal with patients why you need to work confidentially and why there isn't a culture of respecting confidentiality?

You talk of managing the team, are you on a higher grade and who managed them when you were away?

On the basis of the information I think has been provided, there is no obligation to provide you with a dedicated desk, office, etc, unless it is written into your contract. Your colleagues have also moved office and are participating in this arrangement so it is not discriminatory - when you are all back and there are 2 desks between 4/5 you will all be hot decking.

You are not returning on different terms and conditions therefore there is no sex discrimination.

More broadly:
If your work could be covered without replacing you when you were on mat leave it is an indication your unit/service is overstaffed. Rather shocking if all we hear about lack of resources and workloads in the NHS is true. If this is so, then it is reasonable there should be a business case to review the service.

Overall @Proseccoprincess33 you sound entitled and inflexible and possibly difficult to manage. I think you should go with the flow, be collaborative, and be mindful that at work it is not your desk or your office, it is the organisation's and they can allocate as they see fit.

If there is a business case in the offing, and it sounds as though there should be, you are doing yourself no favours. A business case is likely to be implemented in accordance with a management of change procedure and any risks will be dotted off.

I presume you are a nurse? If so, there will always be work for you and always an income so it is difficult to entirely see why there would be a problem if there had to be a redeployment.

If there is redeployment the management of change procedure may indicate selection criteria: attendance, performance, appraisal record, etc. Only you know those details.

I'd be open minded and exercise some flexibility if I were you.

I would support you over the meeting however but would like to know who requested it. If it is a formal meeting you should have been given the reason for it and given the opportunity to be accompanied. It is more likely to be informal as were it formal, HR should have advised. It sounds as though your manager feels they need support at the meeting and there could be a myriad reasons why.

Reading between the lines I suspect you may not be the easiest employee to manage. It sounds like your manager has not sought advice from HR but then again NHS HR is a unique beast.

Senior HR by the way.

Hi OP. This exact thing happend to me, so I know exactly how you feel. On the face of it I felt like it wasn't a 'big deal' and I felt awkward making a fuss, but it's what it represents. Zero respect or consideration. Especially when you're the only person expected to adapt.

Sadly in the end I moved to a similar job in another area and the difference has been night and day. It just reflects what your team and manager think of you imo. Hope you have better luck resolving it than me!

How stupid she will look when you explain that privacy is vital.