Is this normal for the public sector? Feels a touch illegal

[Nightingaleuk122]

I am four months into a new director position within a UK FE institution, after ten years in the private sector. I am gobsmacked by the chaos, lack of focus on the most basic areas of business and treatment of staff, including me, which includes:

I have an autistic daughter and, as agreed with HR, it was written into my contract that my on site hours are 8.30 until 4 with remaining hours completed at home. Since starting this has been entirely ignored, no accommodations have been made and I have to stay late approx 3 times per week.

I have been included within the duty manager rota, that includes regularly staying until 9pm. Responsibilities include suspending students for poor behaviour (including violence), fire drills and lock down procedures for if there is a threat to student welfare (not unlikely given the location). For this I have received 45 minutes of training on lockdown only, with the words 'just use your common sense' used. I feel utterly unprepared for if the situation occurs.

Last week duty managers were called upon to go to the car park to deal with gangs. I am a petite woman with zero experience in this situation. I feel like they are putting me at risk.

The workload is off the scale because it is not managed. Despite a busy week with a large project I needed to deliver, I was given a written report to prepare for Monday entitled 'ideas', which just seemed so utterly thoughtless and not strategic. I will now be spending my Sunday completing said report.

The structure seems chaotic. The CEO asked me to design a project plan which they then agreed to. I started to implement the project but was called out by the other members of the SLT team for not running the project past them first. I now have no idea who I'm supposed to check things with.

The organisation has a huge HR department, yet their focus appears to be small, inconsequential projects eg arranging menopause meet-ups, instead of fixing the fundamental issues like the above training issues or recruiting crucial staff members.

The problem is, I think I'm the only one who sees this as a problem. So the question is, is this normal? And if it isn't, what the hell do I do about it?

I left a job I loved for this.

Sounds like utter chaos to me...and that they are ignoring everything that was pre agreed. I don't suppose your old job is still open...?

No unfortunately not, they promoted members of my team into my place.

Christ, this is awful and so familiar to me having joined a public sector adjacent org recently.

I don't have the added layer of actual danger but the chaos, no actual chain of command and everyone wanting to see stuff that I had no idea was their beeswax etc. It's maddening. Big HR unit doing pointless shit. Ugh.

I cannot believe you were expected to deal with a gang issue in a carpark. Is the CEO from public sector? Do they see the chaos or are they driving it? If they're private sector and on a change mission it might be worth sticking around and taking part if you're arsed. If they think this is normal, start looking for something new..

It was a long shot.....really sorry you've got this situation OP. It sounds like a discussion is needed about your agreed contract.

Marking space to respond more comprehensively later.

If your conditions are written into your contract then surely they need to honor that? Tell them it’s affecting your daughter’s wellbeing, cite your contract and don’t stay in the office beyond the time that’s cited on your contract. And as to dealing with gangs in the car park - Was that part of the job listed in the job description or on your contract? Please don’t put yourself at risk OP. If it’s that much of a problem then they need to invest in security. What kind of gangs are we talking about exactly? Could be a police matter? It sounds like an employer that if you give an inch, they will take a mile. The more you give, the more they will expect, and on and on it goes. Don’t be a mug. Put your foot down.

I work in an FE college. This all sounds exactly like my job. FE has been underfunded for years and this is the result, despite being an absolutely essential service in communities across the UK.

Yeah pretty normal. The FE sector is the Wild West and the structures that once supported it internally have been gutted by the CEO leaders who have removed things like the onsite social worker, the security staff and the leaders of key teams.

Push back on your hours to and conditions to HR but it will take an age to sort. This shit is standard. The only thing the CEO will care about is admissions - (late or in a gang or regularly attending or even able to be housed in a classroom - who cares), publicity and cost cutting.

There are swathes of middle managers and managers who find this then just college hop.

Yes, CEO is from public sector, they are new to this level. I can't see it changing. I will look for something else but it's going to take time to find another of this level. Im angry because the job was thoroughly misrepresented and my contracted terms have been entirely ignored.

I worked at a college for a couple of years. The chaotic environment made me leave. It's was depressing and so mismanaged. I don't really understand how it functioned day to day but seemed to. I had to go for my own sanity

OP I would request a meeting with your manager and remind them of your agreed hours and that from now on you will only do the hours listed in your contract.

Also, refuse to put your security at risk and call the police if there are any signs of gang activities on site. No job is worth putting your life at risk like that.

I think they are trying it on by pushing your boundaries to see how much you will put up with...sounds like terrible management and you need to put your foot down early.

It is not your problem if they are short staffed or underfunded.

I don't feel this has been caused by underfunding. I thinks it's improper use of spend and wrong focus.

It sounds horrendous but not unlike my previous experience of public sector.

That said, you are in a director position, you are part of leadership - you need to lead on these things and challenge them if you think change needs effected.

I never knew anyone who went from the private sector to the public who did not regret it.

If it's any consolation, things in the charity sector can be even worse. Experto crede.

Welcome to the public sector! I’m not in FE but all of what you describe does not sound in the least surprising. Stand your ground regarding your hours and go through your contract with a fine tooth comb regarding your role and the expectations. Have you got a staff association/Union? Do any of your colleagues have the same experiences-if so, you could look to each other for support and advice and use your collective brains and efforts to stand up for your rights.
In my experience, the more you let them away with things, the more you will be taken advantage of. With regard to lack of training for specific situations, trust me, when/if something goes horribly wrong, you can guarantee no one will have your back and you will be hung out to dry. Sorry for being brutal but I have seen it before.

Ha ha, welcome to the public sector! I’m on a strategic on-call rota for the NHS and had 1 hour of training that didn’t cover what I’d actually need to do if an issue arose. I dread the phone ringing every night I’m on call - ambulances backed up outside A&E? Ok, what would you like me to do- a policy manager in an ICB- to do about that?

I mean your a director can’t you help to influence the change needed?

Im in HE, having come from civil service, and frankly it makes Whitehall look like the most efficient model and I can’t understand how my employer hasn’t gone bankrupt. The issues are different to the ones you describe, but there are similarities- namely the total lack of leadership, sloping shoulders meaning no one will take responsibility for a decision yet simultaneously everyone seems to think they have a right to comment on everyone else’s work (and not politely). Though no one would dare question me if I left early to get my kids, and that flexibility means I can’t leave.

From a family member's experiences yup, this sounds like typical FE! But grow a pair - no way in hell would I accept regularly being rota'd outside my contract hours if it didnt suit - push back! Putting me at risk? Think again. Just have the fight; you're a director, direct.

@Nightingaleuk122Yes, I agree. Terrible mismanagement at my workplace too, constant churn of SLT all with new ideas that never come to fruition. But we are also chronically understaffed which makes achieving even the most basic requirements of any role very difficult.

If the CEO is also new to public sector she might be feeling rather similar and if she's new to grade maybe a bit our of her depth. Wonder if you can try getting her onside a bit? Maybe try to have a discussion along the lines of "crikey is this what you were expecting? Chaos, isn't it? Not how we would have done things in our old jobs. Shall we whip them into shape a bit? [...make plan for getting shit together to the extent possible...] "

She will probably be glad of an ally who gets her and you might find strength in numbers together to make progress. I would start with addressing SLT decision making, emergency preparedness training, and take it from there....

I used to work on a school.

yes completely normal. Some are better than others.

I think its normal for a shit organization. Can be public or private sector. Ive worked in many over the years and the crapness isnt limited to one sector, although I do think having to make a profit and beat the competition in some private sector employers means crapness isnt tolerated, or if it is the organization doesn't survive.

Where's the money coming from and is it guaranteed regardless of performance is what id ask myself before determining whether an organization has an incentive to get things right.

When you do find another job OP, make sure you let them know why you aren’t staying. They need to realise that if they treat their staff this way, then it’s going to affect staff retention.

I have previously worked in the educational sector as a senior non-teacher having worked elsewhere first.

Your situation sounds intolerable but some of the fundamentals don’t surprise me. Teachers work incredibly hard but also (in my experience, I’m sure NASALT) can do so inefficiently, often with few boundaries and the sense that if you have some, it’s akin to not being good at your job - indeed that if you have them, you shouldn’t be working within a school because that it what a school requires. To an outsider, it’s clear that there are obviously areas (safeguarding for example) where this is true but in most cases it is not, and this is a large part of why teachers burn out.

Schools can be poor at lines of management / communication, with a resistance to proper line management feedback and an expectation that the SLT be looped into everything.

I think as a first step I would look at all your schools policies and try to understand as much as you can about how the structure here (and I obviously use the term loosely!) works. When an idea comes to pass, does it tend to get rubber stamped at the SLT meeting? Do non-SLT members come in to present ideas? Do they do it by email or sharing a Google doc instead? I would use the fuss over this initiative to have a meeting with the CEO about how things tend to be done here and whether that should change. Are you senior enough (you’re a director, so surely) to start changing the structure?

And also - it goes without saying that you need a new job ASAP. But jobs can be hard to come by in this environment so attack this from both ends.