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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

In trouble at work

273 replies

Dottiemay · 01/02/2025 18:15

There's been Teams interviews for a junior role at work. The interviews include an on the day task for the first half an hour of the interview. I'm not on the panel but my manager asked me to join the call at the start of the interview alone to introduce the task and say the panel will join the call in half an hour and will ask you to introduce the task. All fine. I did six interviews this week and I was on the call for max two minutes to introduce the task then left. The last interviewee had been scheduled at school pick up time. I'd asked around to see if someone could pick up my kid from school but couldn't. So I asked the school - where I've been a governor for many years - if I could come early to use the meeting room to jump on this call for a couple of minutes. That way I'd be at the school for pick up. The head said yes, no issues. When I got to the school, the head was away at a meeting and hadn't told the deputy, and the meeting room was being used for a safeguarding meeting. They offered me the school reception area but it was full of parents wanting to speak to staff. As I didnt have time to drive back home, I jumped in the car and blurred the background. Introduced the task and then left - took a minute or two. The candidate then sent my manager a screenshot of me on the call clearly in the car. My manager has now raised it with me and said we'll have to chat on Monday about it. I'm shitting myself. They know I'm a single parent. I start work at 7.00 and work through my lunch break to get an earlier finish so I don't think I've done anything wrong and who cares if the background was a car. But I feel like I'm in a lot of trouble. Do you think I've done something terrible?

OP posts:
Original poster
Dottiemay · 01/02/2025 18:38

MumChp · 01/02/2025 18:34

As a candidate I would think that the company took the piss if they conducted an online interview in a car without an explanation. The candidate isn't wrong here.

Show quote history

I get this but I wasn't interviewing. I was jumping on a call to say this is the task, you have thirty mins to complete and the panel will be along where you'll have to present. It took a less than two minutes

OP posts:
Original poster
Dottiemay · 01/02/2025 18:39

Jellycatspyjamas · 01/02/2025 18:37

It wouldn’t be an issue in my workplace, your background was blurred, you were in a private space and presumably gave this candidate the same instructions as the other. I’m assuming your child wasn’t in the car with you, if they were that would be different.

No, child wasn't in the car

OP posts:
Wheelz46 · 01/02/2025 18:39

Is it because you logged on outside of your home?

It's in our working from home policy that we are only permitted to access our systems within our home environment. We are not allowed to log on at a friend or families house and cannot log on in cafes.

As you required teams, I assume you will need some kind of internet service, we are not permitted to log on to roaming WiFi, does your company have this policy?

backawayfatty1 · 01/02/2025 18:39

Candidate is a twat!

MumChp · 01/02/2025 18:40

Dottiemay · 01/02/2025 18:38

I get this but I wasn't interviewing. I was jumping on a call to say this is the task, you have thirty mins to complete and the panel will be along where you'll have to present. It took a less than two minutes

Show quote history

I would still consider it disrespectful.

Curtainqueen · 01/02/2025 18:40

Why the hell were they sending your manager screen shots FFS?

Poppyseeds79 · 01/02/2025 18:42

I'd be more annoyed they'd took a screen shot of you. I mean who even does that? I'd imagine they didn't raise them having an issue with you being sat in your car?

People are weird though. I interviewed some truly bonkers people in my time 😅

poetryandwine · 01/02/2025 18:45

I think the whole episode reflects badly on the candidate, assuming they could see that you were in a confidential space. Nothing else is relevant for them.

Hazel665 · 01/02/2025 18:45

Candidate is very unpleasant. Are they friends with the boss or something? Why on earth start an interaction with a company in this manner - presumably they don't know whether or not you have any influence on the outcome,but let's say you do, why on earth would you hire this jobsworth?!

oakleaffy · 01/02/2025 18:45

TheBoysAndTheBallet · 01/02/2025 18:24

Well I hope that candidate isn't going to get the job!

Yes, what a horrid person to dob you in.
I really hope they don't make the final cut.

Itiswhysofew · 01/02/2025 18:45

What fucking a snitch!

If I was your boss, I'd actually be pleased that you'd arranged to do the call in a room at the school, maintaining your professionalism. The fact that it didn't work out is unfortunate, but not the end of the world.

sunshineandshowers40 · 01/02/2025 18:45

Why are they sending your manager a screen shot? That is a little odd. Do you think they will be offered the job?

I don't think taking the call in the car would look professional so not sure it is what i would have done.

Nacknick · 01/02/2025 18:46

Agree that this doesn’t paint the candidate in a good light. A big assumption on their part as it may well have been agreed with your management for all they knew?

SpringBunnyHopHop · 01/02/2025 18:47

The candidate sounds like a snitch. Not a great look.

sugarspiceandeverythingnice12 · 01/02/2025 18:49

The candidate then sent my manager a screenshot of me on the call clearly in the car. My manager has now raised it with me and said we'll have to chat on Monday about it

Perhaps your Manager wants to discuss what a nasty sneaky person the candidate is?

ViolinsPlayGentlyOn · 01/02/2025 18:50

MumChp · 01/02/2025 18:40

I would still consider it disrespectful.

Show quote history

Why is it disrespectful to introduce a task for 2 minutes in a private space where OP can’t be overheard?

Some people have very strange ideas about what they consider respectful.

MyProudHare · 01/02/2025 18:51

OP, explain it to your manager as you have explained it to us. You were trying your best to make it work.

Maybe also tell them you're very upset at having an unauthorised screenshot taken of you and sent around like that, you didn't give your permission to have your personal data used in that way, and you hope this person isn't going to be offered the job as they clearly have no concept of appropriate boundaries.

September1013 · 01/02/2025 18:52

I work from home sometimes and do the school run but if I’m allocated a task at a specific time eg attending a meeting then I wouldn’t be able to leave it for the school run.

I think your mistake was not talking to your boss in advance. If you’d said there was going to be a clash they could have arranged an alternative person to do it.

FTHC · 01/02/2025 18:53

Well I wouldn't want to work with someone like that, imagine what else they'd go running to the boss about.
"Sir DottieMay left 2 minutes early today"

Ignoring you've probably worked 15x that extra over a week.

ToKittyornottoKitty · 01/02/2025 18:53

It’s weird that the candidate took a screen shot of it and sent it to your boss. But really I think it’s poor planning to arrange to do it in a school, it’s obvious there could have been many disturbances and ways that could have gone wrong. And it’s not entirely appropriate if the school to let a parent use their premises for personal work either. Next time arrange something else or tell work you can’t do it.

Truetoself · 01/02/2025 18:54

If you blurred your background, how was the candidate able to know you were in the car?

And what balls they have to report this!

Moonnstars · 01/02/2025 18:54

I don't know why so many people are blaming the candidate. You don't know how it was raised. Maybe they didn't feel their interview had gone well, so maybe tried to say it's because the instructions for the task were unclear due to it being in the car?
Maybe they asked a question about flexible working and pointed out that the person introducing the task was in the car, so would they also be allowed flexibility to work anywhere?
Maybe they were asked for feedback on the company or asked a question about the company values and they brought up the car situation?

Realistically all of those saying the candidate is a snitch would also be making some comment if they had an interview with someone introducing it from a car without explanation (unless you did this OP and perhaps apologised for being unprofessional, but I assume not hence trying to blur the background)

21ZIGGY · 01/02/2025 18:54

That candidate is a dick. I wouldnt be giving them the job. How did it affect them at all?

Tvp123 · 01/02/2025 18:55

What an absolute twat the candidate is.

Icecreamandcoffee · 01/02/2025 18:55

It's one of those live and learn things. Whilst not "gross misconduct firing/ written up offense" it's probably a please don't do it again offense.

Whilst they know you do the school run for your day to day job, interviews are one of those occasions where you really needed to be present in a more formal setting than a car. Was there a lot of background noise? Glitches? Broken up sound? Background interference -sometimes the blur background still shows movement and some of what's going on? There are some proper loud fuckers on our school run -horns blaring, engines running, door slamming, barking laughter, dogs barking at one another, even general movement can be noisy and perhaps the noise translated in the call. I only know sometimes the background noise interferes with video calls as I was on one with my mum on the school run and she couldn't hear me due to all the car doors slamming and general noise of the school run.

Perhaps the candidate felt that the car setting was disruptive or has put them at a disadvantage which is why they have raised it. It may have put the company in a bit of a back foot situation as the candidate may argue that their interview was disrupted/ task not explained properly/ unfair interview practice as part of it was in a car if they don't get it and really wanted the job.

Personally I would have let my boss know that I would struggle with the time of the last interview as you are doing the school run and can't get childcare that day so could the interview be rescheduled for an earlier/ later time or someone else do the quick intro for that last one.

In regards to the school, I wouldn't have trusted they would let me use the meeting room as so many things happen in the school day and a safeguarding meeting or indeed any important school related meeting will always trump a parent borrowing a meeting room. Rather I would have sorted it with my work rather than rely on the school to find me a meeting room.