HR are lying? Aibu to be worried?

[ijustwanttodu]

So HR have fabricated an entire meeting. I had a meeting with them and they said we discussed this issue with you a year ago.

They claim I was taken into a small room and talked to by someone who has since left. 3 weeks into me starting there. I was taken aback and said what date was this and she got quite flustered and tried to change the subject and then gave me the vague answer of what month it occurred. And then she said all this bad stuff about me, how I kept coming into work late during that time.

I don’t know why she would do this.

Utter twaddle, most HR professionals are just that ... professional and look after staff with great diligence.

Email, copying your manager:

Dear HR,

Re: our meeting by TEAMs on XXth yyyyyber at 11:22

You raised the issue of blah blah, wereny I confirmed blah blah and have agreed the following ongoing actions to be discussed with my manager copied on this email.

You also raised the topic of a meeting that you allege took place in December 2023 with former colleague Jane Smith who is no longer with the business. You alledged the this was in relation to blah blah blah. I have no recollection of this meeting nor any recollection of the facts you alledge were discussed at the time. At no time during my probation or since, was I absent without permission, nor did I do blah blah blah.

I am concerned that the current discussions about blah blah are being influenced by some incorrect information.

I would appreciate if you could look into this in my behalf and correct any information that may have been recorded in error on my HR file.

I look forward to this issue being resolved.

Only do this if you know you did not do what is being alleged at the time.. ie if the allegation is around not doing your hours and you were nipping out to get the kids from school or working while also doing childcare.. but you thought you had covered for it and no one noticed.. if there is evidence of the allegation, this could get awkward... also if the current issue is serious, insist that they stick to the facts and the issue at hand and do not attend meetings alone, if it's a teams call, you can answer and say that you prefer to have someone else join the call.

If the current issues alone, is likely to result in dismissal, start looking for another job and ensure you leave with a good reference.

I wouldn't feel safe in your situation and I'd be looking to leave.

I have experienced the best and worst of HR. In all cases though they are there to protect the company.

All kind of irrelevant anyway under 2 years employment in the UK.

I would definitely be pushing back OP but I'd also be looking at other jobs as a back up plan.

It's either sinister or incompetent but I would not be risking my living, I'd be planning for the worst.

I’ve never been called in to HR if you’re specifically referring to a physical sit down documented meeting, or even a documented meeting on Teams.

What about an informal undocumented chat, or a meeting with your manager where someone from hr was present or a meeting your manager had with hr without you being there, someone, likely your manager or a colleague, has spoken to hr about an ongoing concern and that person, rightly or wrongly, told hr you had a meeting about this last year. This hasn't just come out of nowhere but somewhere it's all become a bit confusing about what did or didn't happen. There's no way your manager doesn't know what's going on and has probably been told not to intervene with you directly.

People are trying to help with literally no information to go on.

All we know is there was Teams call with HR your manager told you about in advance and they are alleging there was a meeting 12 months ago (which you dispute).

There’s no need to get snippy if people aren’t clear. You must see why it’s difficult to follow - people are trying to fill in the blanks to be able to be helpful. Nobody can advise you based on the information you’ve given.

But as a general rule: if HR are calling there is an issue. If they are relying on a first meeting having taken place to escalate any disciplinary or performance process to the next stage, there is an issue. You should be worried.

We don’t know how worried because you haven’t given details and we can’t advise on how to protect yourself for the same reason.

This could be anything from a minor issue such as repeated lateness your manager is exasperated with to something which could result in dismissal such as gross misconduct, allegations of inappropriate behaviour or ongoing underperformance. You don’t think details are important but we are limited in how much we can help without even a vague reference to why HR have engaged with you.

I didn't refer to it. It was a direct quote from you. So why don't you explain it?

I’m not being snippy, I’m simply correctly someone as I potentially made it sound as if there had been numerous HR meetings and saying “being called in to HR” makes it sound like documented meetings.

Just because you are choosing to reading in a snippy way that doesn’t make it true. I also have said numerous times I don’t want to discuss the issue that happened because it’s so identifying.

I also don’t need to be told to be worried, when it’s very obviously that I already am.

Show me the quote as I can’t see it.

You mean, like you don't recall the conversation with HR last year? Convenient. FYI at 23:58 you posted:
"I asked her outright if she had a memory of the meeting that HR are talking about (the one a year ago) and she said no.
But all evidence and my memory points to this meeting not existing, so she wouldn’t know about this one.
All the other times she’s been perfectly aware and told me."

If your memory is so poor that you cannot recall something you said in writing 12 hours ago, then what are the odds that you can recall something that happened a year ago?

But interestingly in going to find that statement of your I found another interesting statement from you (and you can go read your posts if you want to know when you said it):
"So surely they should have scheduled a time rather than randomly calling me? Makes me wonder if they did it to “catch me out”, by hoping I wasn’t there to answer and that would be another cross against my performance."
Another cross against your performance? ANOTHER?

Come on, you are now surely taking the piss one way or another. You are repeatedly being spoken to by HR for performance issues and you want to focus on calling them liars?

It is beginning to sound like there's an ongoing issue and you're trying to use their incompetence as your defence to muddy the waters and create more confusion. That won't resolve the issue and having no memory of a meeting or a discussion doesn't mean it didn't happen.

anticipating a negative reply here but are you in a union?

And instead of actually answering points raised by their own comments on here the OP is resorting to personal attacks, so it seems to confirm a pattern of behaviour.

HR would not have any record of your performance or lateness unless it was bought to their attention, these are simple conversations that managers discuss with staff directly or during performance reviews, HR only get involved when it continues, there's a formal complaint or the line manager needs advice.

No I’m not

Ok the meeting did happen and I’m lying.

And I guess that’s what I need to find out.

I regularly read threads on here and think I have read a different thread to other posters.

My understanding is that HR have fabricated a meeting. What the meeting was about doesn’t matter, it could have been discussing kittens and rainbows, the point of worry is that they are lying and they really should be trustworthy.

The OP is worried, reasonably enough pointed out she doesn’t want to give too many details but wants to talk about the issue. Perfectly understandable.

She’s told she’s rude, combative, no one can help without further info (even though they have!) and had her past posts searched.

I am definitely reading a different thread!

It did happen to me once OP, although it was a deputy head (I am a teacher) who claimed we’d had a fictitious meeting. All most odd!

join one, it won't help with this but it will in future.

I agree with this.

And OP your manager knows exactly what is happening.

She’s told she’s rude, combative, no one can help without further info (even though they have!) and had her past posts searched

I'm genuinely interested - how do you read a thread without reading the past posts? They are literally on the thread one is reading! You say you have just read the thread, so you have done exactly that. No "searching" is required.

Thank you, that is pretty much it.

I wish I could just wrote down exactly everything that happened but it’s too identifiable and I’ve said if people think they don’t want enough information then there’s no reason they have to comment. And I appreciate the advice that has been given.

My aibu was around the fabricated meeting as it feels like they could use this as a “this was your first warning” type thing.

I don’t know.. thankfully from the advice I’ve had I think I know how I want to take it forward. But it’s just going to become a classic MN pile on of people insisting I’m shit at my job and no wonder they are trying to sack me etc

Then you either ask your manager or hr and continue asking to see your employment file, if your manager has ever discussed this ongoing with you then you should have been given a copy of the meeting, performance review, action plan and had a follow up with your line manager. You have the right to ask to see any formal complaint, sorry but I suspect it's your manager.