Manager put me on performance management plan and I’m leaving

[Pinksparkles84]

I’ve worked with my company for 1 and a half years now. I initially did one type of job under a head of department (team A) and was headhunted by the manager of a team which is a sub division under the original team (team AB). I have studied for many years to get to where I am and am qualified in my area of law which I was doing under team A. The work on the new team is quite niche but a lot of the job is administrative. My appraisal was positive and I was given good feedback about my files.

I decided to tell my head of department that working in the team AB isn’t for me and I’d like to go back to team A). My job in team A was filled a few months back and it was assumed that I’d be working for team AB but doing a small amount of work for team A. Most of the work in team A was delegated elsewhere so that I could focus on team ABs workload. I didn’t really have a say in the matter as I was asked when someone left team AB. The manager and a few of the team work fully remotely and training has been primarily by the managers assistant emailing what is required. I have feedback to the managers assistant that I learn better being shown how to do things rather than read a long email that doesn’t make sense. I suggested we have regular zoom meetings and screen share. This has only happened once and was a good way of learning. The managers assistant continues to send long emails about what needs to be done. bearing in mind I’ve not done their type of work before.

when I started on team AB I was given 36 cases to deal with and then started getting an influx of about 100 emails a day. In addition I was regularly going out for meetings/networking etc so that reduced my time in the office. I wanted a bit of time to look at the details of the file and make notes on what needed doing. Due to having to get on with it I didn’t have time. Managers assistant is quite highly strung and sends daily emails to say that documents haven’t been saved correctly on the system. They are fully paperless in the team and I was trying to adjust my mindset as I previously had paper files.

anyways, I called a meeting with HR and head of department and felt a bit bad that manager of team AB was out of the loop. I wanted to discuss going back to team A and doing the work I was comfortable (and qualified) to do. At the meeting, the HR lady gave me a performance improvement plan and issues were raised that I’d never heard about before under team AB. Issues such as punctuality (I drop my DS to school on a Friday and usually come in at 9:30 and work half an hour later to make up for it - this was agreed with the manager of team A sometime ago). I also work earlier than my start time several times a week to deal with the workload.

manager of team A also criticised my attention to detail (I filled in a form which had an incorrect bank account number on because there were many bank accounts and I included the details of the one I thought it was). This was the first time I did this form.

I told the HR deptartment today that I got a new job and handed my notice in. Manager of team AB is now saying that I would have probably resolved the issues brought to her attention in the PIP but that it was too late anyways as I was now leaving. AIBU to go with the new job.

What she said.

She needs to work on her comms style 😆 🤣 😂. I imagine your comms style is rather spikey haha. If you treat your colleagues like this I'd be suprised if there were any left.

Tact 0 diplomacy 0 😆 🤣 😂

It's done. If a law firm puts you on a PIP they want you out. It's a mug's game trying to work out way. Law firm managers are also specialists in assertions of jam tomorrow. And trained in passive aggression. You've got a new job, so not being satisfied with just having wrinkled you out, Manager AB's instinct is to have you question your decision. Fuck em and good luck in your new job.

Ah sorry, I understand now. I think you've done the correct thing by moving on. Good luck in the new role 🙂

Yes so manager of team AB told me that she didn’t know anything about the meeting with hr and head of department. They showed me an email from manager of team AB to say what areas of concerns there were. I’ve learnt that you can’t take people on face value and that some people are two faced.

Yes, just move on, hopefully the new place will be a better fit

Yep I 100% knew they were responsible.... they were probably asked why you wanted to leave their team then suddenly it was all your fault so that it wasn't theirs...

Thanks all for the comments. I’ve asked the Manager of team AB if I can call her to discuss everything and she’s been ghosting me. I wanted to get some concrete examples so I could at least clear my name before I left and to leave with my head held high. It’s funny that they only brought my attention to issues when I called a meeting to discuss moving back to what I was doing. Now manage of team AB is refusing to speak to me and she’s now saying that I can be given examples at my exit interview. I’ve emailed and text her a few times to ask if we can arrange a phone call to go over the points and so that I can learn from it.

I don’t think the manager of Team AB was being sincere. Their assistant had obviously voiced concerns about you and they felt you weren’t right for the team.

A 9.30 start isn’t a performance issue, it’s a discussion and presumably you told them about it when you started in the team so if they weren’t happy with the arrangement they should have said.

Also, a single wrong bank account detail on your first go doing that task is also weak grounds. I’m not sure how those two things even got to a PIP stage.

Take the new job.

Cross post about the manager ghosting you. This makes sense. You’re just a problem now. Would they put you on garden leave?

I have never been on a PIP but I advise managers who put staff on them. You're best going now before you're pushed and when you have a job to go to. You don't have 2 years' service so you are in a precarious position.

You certainly could have fought the PIP but there's no point as you're leaving. Did you need a reference?

Oh yes that’s a good point. I may ask them about garden leave as it the relationship has certainly broken down. It’s such a shame as I think the manager of team A is easily swayed and takes what other people say to her as gospel.

Yes I thought that about the 2 years. It’s a shame I wasn’t there for longer as I definitely would have fought against it: the amount of times I’ve seen other people make errors that affect the business, but they were never put on a PIP.

I have been looking into my rights and it looks as though I can dispute the PIP. I just want it cleared before I go as I feel that it was unfair on me as there are no concrete examples. My friends have said that she probably over exaggerated and made it up as there is no clear evidence. There have seen several times in the team where I’ve been asked to chase correspondence up and when I’ve looked at the previously sent letters they were sent to the wrong company or an old address that is no longer valid; I raised these things with the team and I suspect they didn’t like that I had pointed these things out.

Also I am thinking of raising a grievance so that I can refute the claims as I really don’t know what manager of team AB is talking about. Very odd!

Performance management plans are a way to get you out of the role usually - so yes, I think they were trying to manage you out, regardless of what they say now.

You absolutely did the right thing. Employees you want to keep you don't put on performance management plans

You could but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle and stress. You can make your points in your exit interview if you like but I doubt it will achieve anything. I presume the PIP will be dropped now anyway as you're leaving?

Those are GDPR issues that you raised and they're viewed dimly where I work, so you may well have had your card marked, unfair as it is, for raising them.

I think you're better off out of it. Your face probably just doesn't fit, and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your performance, just means it's not a good fit for you.

I honestly wouldn't advise it. They'd probably just sit on it until you've left. In my organisation, if you raise a grievance before you leave it will be heard but perhaps after you've left. You don't want that hanging over you in the new job. Honestly, in a few weeks, it will be "pinksparkles who"! We are really all just a number! Good luck with the new job.

It's okay to let it go and look to the future. You are good enough. You have nothing to prove to your old employer. Stop torturing yourself 🤗

Agree definitely move on, don't look back, don't waste more energy on it. I wouldn't even give the exit interview much credence - shoddy manager went straight to PIP and doesn't want to go over their concerns face to face ---> not a good position for you. Agree with others, sometimes you get a bad fit, and exiting is the best strategy.

It was just because they were questioned on why you wanted to leave.... you became the problem.... so that they didn't have to. Just leave OP, It will be hard to leave but your worth more. They arnt and this will happen again for them. It won't be easy but you can do this.

They were actively managing you out. You made the right decision. Well done and good luck for your new job.

😂 . Exactly what I thought , I mean they have already resigned and accepted a new job.

Saying this kindly... but you sound early career or after career break and lacking confidenc. These things happen, especially in law firms (i have 4 friends in law and all have moaned about this!). Honestly, don't raise a grievance. It will cause you more upset than them, people change firms and your paths could cross again. Just move on gracefully, live and learn. You'll gradually grow in confidence. Don't let it upset you. With your 100 emails a day, this will happen in future firms too. Get a hold on how you manage these at the start. Generally, forget others' mistakes. They make them because they're also overloaded and their embarrassment can mean they take it out on you. If you're overloaded, raise early. Take note of what those with similar workloads do to be efficient. Efficiency makes life a lot easier. Log timings for timesheets. Have template emails, cut waffle on emails, times you read and reply to emails, make working hours clear e.g. footer on email stating your working hours on a Friday. That sort of thing. It gets easier. Moving about until you find your firm is pretty normal I think. Just get thick-skinned and care less.

I once had my probationary period extended because I took my lunch breaks🤷‍♀️ That was despite them gushing about the quality of my work (and successfully covering a staff holiday for a week in quite a complicated role!). Basically management (and one of their cronies) didn't like me so I was out no matter how good I was at the job. It was a shame because my actual colleagues were lovely and we had a great time working together, I found a new job within the week and left, to say they were shocked is an understatement but you have to know your worth in the job market.
Stop over thinking and go and enjoy your new job!

This is so true. You sound very young and naive and I'm not saying that in a nasty way but to urge you to be a bit more cynical. Of course, the PIP was not going to resolve everything in a few months - you were far more likely to have been fired. You can't clear your name with the AB Manager or anybody else and any feedback they give you will be self serving. Trying to do any of this stuff just makes you look desperate. It sounded a dreadful environment in terms of training and managing. I have never heard of work being funneled through an assistant.

How many hours were you working weekly? My experience as a young lawyer in practice was late night and weekend work on a constant basis. Is that how others were getting through the work? What were they doing that you weren't?

I got fired once as a very young lawyer. There was a lot of very nasty feedback which seemed to make them feel better. I was shellshocked how fast it had come out of nowhere. (I didn't feel bad when the man who put the boot in so viciously had a heart attack and got fired.) I managed to get another job quickly so there was no gap on my cv. My immediate boss helped me which was really selfless of her. Strangely, at that point the firm tried to pretend that they hadn't actually fired me! I took the lessons I learned there and have been very successful subsequently. They are probably even more certain they didn't fire me nowadays.

Just remember that people in law firms are almost all looking after their own interests, not yours, and you are always replaceable. HR is not some bastion of fairness but always acts in the interests of the partners who are paying their wages. Don't share any confidences with new colleagues till you know them very well - 5 years plus say - and even then think twice. In public, express only the most profound admiration for your previous employer and how valuable you found the experience.

Good luck with your new job. Don't look back but take the lessons you learned

The point is, she was managed poorly, and mgmt handled it by belittling her with a performance mgmt plan. OP well done on getting another job and handing your notice in! Sounds like a demotivating place to work. Sounds like they regret the performance mgmt plan as a knee jerk response, too.