Work colleague thinks it’s ok to steal my job because I’m “just” bank!

[fib88]

I work in a hospital and been in my job 2.5 years - I am on a zero hours contract (bank staff) and as such considered a temporary worker (so basically have no employee rights). The hospital are making 500 redundancies and looking at which staff to get rid of with bank employees being first in the firing line.

A permanent staff member, being a woman that I work closely with, who sits next to me (and I considered a close friend) has gone behind my back and offered to do my job resulting in her being allowed to do part of my role at weekends and is being paid overtime for this. She has made my position even more vulnerable now. To say I’m devastated at her betrayal would be an understatement. Because of her actions I’m literally hanging on to my job by a thread. She is very close with our manager (go back years) and this is how she has managed to talk her away into being allowed to do this. She is lazy, constantly being complained about my other members of our team for passing her work to others, including me. She talks all day and doesn’t pull her weight. She has had at least 10 weeks of faux sickness over the two years I have known her whilst I’ve had four days in total (Covid) and work very hard with hardly any holidays off over that 2 years.

I don’t know how to handle this, she knows I’m unhappy and has said such to other employees and passes it off as “it is what it is and she need to get over it”! if I complain to our manager, he will take her side as they have a long history together. She is going on holiday and keeps complaining she needs the money badly as she in debt.

The fact that a so called friend would betray me, who incidentally I’ve stuck up for repeatedly has gutted me, my question is how do I behave going forward - if I kick off they’ll get rid of me anyway for being a troublemaker. I just don’t know how to behave and what is my best course of action?.

Needless to say she is not my friend anymore, but I still have to keep up the pretence/professional front in the office. I haven’t been able to sleep for days over this. Maybe I’m just got to accept what she’s doing is acceptable in the workplace. I feel very disillusioned with people right now.

Bank staff, even if you have worked there for 2 years, are bank - as in not permanent. You can't be angry she is working your job, because it's not yours.
She's not done anything wrong for working extra. You should not be doing her work for her though.

Sounds like your garden variety toxic NHS environment. Glad to see it’s the same everywhere. You’ve read her return to works then to say her sickness is all fake? Be careful what you say at work about others sickness.

Bank positions are tenuous definitely right now. I’d try and find a permanent role before they start cutting more. Good luck.

All Bank staff are going through the NHS trust they’ve been told to cut costs, I wish they cut cost through Band 8. That’s how the system is on It’s arse, they in mind that my DM works for the NHS.
Also they want to start charging people that come over for medical reasons, I’ve got a friend that is a midwife and she says 3 out of 10 ladies just come over to give birth and then fly out 😤

There's alot of people who make these sort of places work & yes if you have the right support they will see the issue, how to effects everybody & a way to resolve it.

Of course some people are shit at their jobs & maybe they will not care about these 2 in particular but you won't know until you reach out & ask for help going forward

Your dept sounds a bit shit then. And they probably bitch about you all.

Agree. She is a work acquaintance not a friend ! She doesn’t actually sound very likeable. If this woman is going to be paid overtime,surely you could have permanent contact.
what is the job role?

This

She sounds dreadful; unfortunately to a degree you only have yourself to blame for covering for her. No good deed goes unpunished etc.

BUT you're bank, which is nothing more than a glorified temporary arrangement. If you haven't already, read your employment t&C's and consult your union if you have one.

The reality is that bank employees are always going to be vulnerable to being let go, why not seek a permanent position?

She's not too dim and shortsighted to be in permanent employment, though! OP is in a far more vulnerable position, through her own choices.

Report her sick leave taken on lies. Do this anon. It will be investigated. Cut her out of your life and look for other work. I hope you’ll find the hours you need.

This is terrible. And she could have you all for bullying. Be careful.

It’s just so frustrating. This woman, in your own words, is tardy, lazy, puts work back, passes work on to others, doesn’t finish work she’s given, calls in sick for weeks on end when there is nothing wrong, talks too much. The team have complained about her but nothing is done. Management have a meeting to say she’s so crap she’s first out the door. Not only does that not happen but she’s given overtime! It’s shocking.

Then you hear all the stories of the NHS being overwhelmed, no money for medicines that patients need. Patients left in corridors for hours, waiting hours for an ambulance, operations being cancelled. We are told that the NHS don’t have enough money to pay for all this. But then you hear how the place is full of lazy piss takers and nothing gets done about it?

I know it’s not your fault (unless you’re in charge of the NHS🤣) but every time you have stepped in helping this woman you are just making things worse. She shouldn’t be getting paid a full time wage to do half the work. You shouldn’t be getting paid to do her work for her. It feels like it’s ripping off the tax payer.

In my place if we are lazy, late or always on the sick we get professionally managed out. Why is the NHS so different?

It will not be investigated, unless OP has irrefutable proof. Plus it'll mark the OP as a troublemaker.

As a senior NHS manager I can tell you there's nothing anyone can do for OP. With the savings we are having to make, if a permanent employee steps up and saves us money on bank, that's a win. Plus I bet OP has form as a meddler and stirrer.

I don’t know the ins and outs legislation-wise, but surely even if the OP remained as Bank staff, it wouldn’t guarantee any work, so I can’t see what she had to gain from pursuing a case. The whole point of zero hours and being ‘bank’ or ‘supply’ is that you’re not guaranteed anything, but the flip side is you have no commitment. So the OP could turn around and say sorry, not coming in next week as I fancy a holiday.

sounds like these sort of jobs are on the way out anyway which is probably a good thing overall. I do know some people actually want zero hours because they don’t want the responsibility and commitment of permanent work. But there are more downsides than upsides to it as the OP has discovered

This.

I said report anon. Definitely it will be checked out.

No. It won't.

Anon means "soon". Did you mean anonymously? They mean different things?

Anon is short for anonymous. I’ve heard it mean soon?

It means soon. Anon. can be short for Anonymous.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-samsung-rvo1&source=android-browser&q=anon#ebo=0

It’s short for anonymous. I checked and yes it can mean soon but it also means unknown. So I learnt something and you too.

Why not just write Report it anonymously then? 😒