AIBU to think this is massively unprofessional?

[DoubleStandardsISee]

I'm having a complete nightmare with my line manager. I've had enough now. My last appraisal 5 years ago mentioned that I needed to do an extra activity. I've been regularly asking for the resources needed for this for 5 years and been fobbed off. Then at the start of this year a new initiative for staff to do a new activity began. It wZ made clear in departmental meetings that everybody should participate. I have now sent 6 emails since February about this, I can't go ahead with this mandatory activity without my bosses say so. Been ignored repeatedly. Surely a head of department in a private educational institution should be treating underlings better than this? And to make matters worse, I'm about to not actually get a lovely new job because he's not responding to reference requests. Is there anything I can do?!

Escalate?

Firstly have the new employer send the reference request to your HR department, not the manager.

Forget everything else. It’s massively annoying but your priority is the new job and escape!

surely the reference request is the bigger issue here? can you escalate that? or get a different person to do the reference? or get them to call him?

Agree with this. It sounds highly dysfunctional and the new employer will suss this out quickly but get HR involved.

BTW I'm aghast that your last appraisal was five years ago? Is that right? That's astonishing....

I have copied HR into last 2 emails. I did get a response from them, they said they'd pop over and ask him to reply this week. No reply has come. I'm fuming. The employer is part of a bigger group and right now I'm annoyed enough to destroy my career and escalate to them!

Thank you, this is really good advice, I've fired off an email to the new employer with this info! Thanks!

Yep. Appalling. And years of what was awful bullying before that too. Tbh I figured he'd be so glad to see the back of me that the reference wouldn't be a problem. I've been there over 2 decades!

You should never give someone as a reference who has not already said they would give one.

Most employers dont want to give anything more that a yes she works here and start date.

But HR is the place to start if you have not/ are not willing/able to sit in front of your manager as they send out the reference.

Good luck on getting a new job.

I am surprised that a private educational institution which now has higher fees given VAT would want to have a disgruntled ex-employee. Think of the comments you could make once you have left, that are factual so not defamatory.

Hope HR can sort it out quickly.

@LlynTegid I just left one of those. In my experience, they are under a lot of pressure to operate as businesses, and they’re just not equipped to do so
@DoubleStandardsISee I would send an email to the trust (I’m assuming that’s the group structure) explaining the situation. Given the current situation they might be grateful to have feedback on inefficiencies in the school

Another excellent suggestion 🙏

You only get an appraisal every 5 years?

It's actually been more than 7 years 😲