To deliberately inconvenience my colleagues?

[MistletoeMoments]

I spent a big chunk of last year covering a colleagues sick leave. I was going to be the least inconvenienced by it, so agreed to do it. It was supposed to only be for a couple of weeks, but he ended up being off for 7 months!

I was exhausted by the end of it, as I was juggling my own work, and it also involved a change in hours (earlier start).

Anyway, he came back and things went back to normal.

He's now scheduled to be off for a long weekend tomorrow, and I'm 99% certain nobody has arranged cover for it. I suspect it's just assumed I'll be doing it.

WIBU to just go in at my normal time tomorrow ready for my working day? It means my nightshift colleague will need to stay behind for 1hr until I come in. He'll get paid for it, but I feel a bit bad because I used to work nights too and I know how tired he will be!

We have some gaps or errors in our scheduling sometimes as well, since the schedule is made outside of our office.

I understand it it not your responsibility to cover the extra hour, but out of kindness I would probably text the previous shift worker to warn her that there was a gap and you have not been asked to come early. Then stick to your guns.

This is not a moral dilemma. You are not their manager and it's not your responsibility to rescue your colleagues from their own incompetence. If they are not able to fulfill their own work responsibilities without you jumping in to micromanage them, then you need to just step back and let them fail.

You would be weird to go in and cover for a colleague when nobody’s asked or implied you should. Just your contracted hours and anything else is not your problem.

check out Toodaloo on youtube. So many videos that will hit home on just this scenario

I don't understand the moral dilemma.

Why do you feel like your colleague being inconvenienced is your fault and why would it be better for you to be inconvenienced?

Not stepping in to make ot your problem isn't a moral dilemma.

Go in at your normal time. If you were needed to cover you should have been asked. Were you remunerated for your seven months of cover?

A few years back, I voluntarily covered a more senior colleague's absence. I covered the vast majority of the role, as well as my own for the best part of a year. The absent colleague eventually resigned and the post was advertised. I didn't get a silver sixpence for my extra work, not even a word of thanks.

My team manager, just for context, dislikes me because I am far more qualified than she is, and because she can't bear to be questioned on her decisions, mostly because she is unable to justify them. We are in professional roles and should be able to challenge things. The organisation is toxic.

I thought that having covered the role and developed a relationship with stakeholders over the best part of a year would have stood me in good stead. There were 3 applicants for the role, me (by far the best educationally qualified and experienced but old) and with current relevant experience, someone my age who had experience of acting up at the grade (also old), and a woman half my age who had acted up to my grade for a few months.

Guess who got the job...

OP said everyone is responsible for arranging their own cover. But hasn't said why they think Staff Member on leave hasn't done this.

If they haven't, then it is Staff Member on leave who has caused the inconvenience.

And some responsibility would lie with Staff Member on leave's Line Manager who approved leave without ensuring cover was in place.

However Staff Member on leave and their Manager may have sorted all of this out and OP may be making a "moral dilemma" out of nothing.

Well, the aggro started while I was still in the car park.

"Where have you been?? You were supposed to be in at X time. What happened?"

A bit of back of forth but it was revealed that yes, the assumption now is that I would be covering for this colleague every time he is absent.

I've said that won't be happening and that they need to find alternative arrangements. Grumbles, but they're going to come up with a new system.

Thankfully the colleague who had to stay back was fine, and his wife is actually off work right now so she had planned to do the school run and he can go straight to his bed.

@MistletoeMoments hope you managed to point out that no, X time is not your start time while defending yourself. Cheeky lot.

Good for you.

Now that you have stopped compensating for management's lack of forward planning, they might start addressing it.

What possible reason did they give for saying you were meant to be in early? No one asked you, no one told you, no one altered your shift for the day. What was their defence for not even asking? And why did they actually think that you would do this when it isn’t your job?

You’ve got really shitty managers and I’d be considering actually putting in a formal complaint about being reprimanded in the car park before you had even started your shift over something that has absolutely nothing to do with you.

It was assumed that because I covered my colleagues period of absence last year, that I would continue to do the same for all other absences going forward. I said no, that is absolutely not the case.

Did anyone even mention that this person was absent directly to you. Even if expected it should have been directly told to you. Terrible management behaviour.

I would alert your colleague that there might not be cover.

Yes, we're a small team so everyone knows when someone is planning to take a holiday. My colleague was speaking to me about his plans for his long weekend, etc.

That is still very different to asking you to cover though. I'm glad you decided to go in at your normal time and ensure this is sorted properly in future.

Well done on standing your ground OP.

Just bumping this as it’s a bloody good question.

Please tell us you were paid extra for covering your absent colleague for 7 months.

No, I wasn't! It wasn't an issue at first, but as the months started ticking by, I raised it with my manager and requested an additional payment. He said he would look into it. Heard nothing for weeks before I arranged a meeting with my HR Manager who told me I "wasn't entitled to any additional payments".

I was offered TOIL for any extra hours worked.

Did you keep track of the additional hours and actually take the TOIL?

I kept track of most of the hours. Some of them I used for flexible working e.g. taking an early finish on a Friday.

I've added them to my standard entitlement and have a lovely 10 weeks to take off this year

So I have received a form of compensation for my efforts, but tbh I'd rather have had the payment. It's hard enough for me to take time off because nobody picks up the slack while I'm off (ironically enough).

“nobody picks up the slack while I'm off (ironically enough).”

What.The.Fuck.

What I don’t understand is why the night workers can’t just work what they are paid and contracted for even if you don’t turn up early. Surely if everyone keeps papering over the cracks, management don’t have to mend them.

I hope you have the comments that they made about you only needing to work your hours and you are not the de facto cover for this other colleague when they are off sick/out/whatever. If you do, I'd be writing a strongly worded message to HR, management and anyone else (if you have a union get on to them straightaway) stating that this was where you left the situation when it happened before and it is up to MANAGEMENT to replace the worker or find a workable alternative but you are not it!!!
Make it very clear that you were accosted on your way into work (you hadn't even begun your day and you were being blamed for not showing up to cover someone who you had previously been advised that you are not expected to cover)
Going forwards this is not acceptable and management need to put in place a permanent resolution.

This isn't a moral dilemma at all. Far from it. There are no moral issues in the mix here.

Given that even HR told you or wasn't your responsibility, I'm truly perplexed that this is an issue.

You seem like a massive overthinker.