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.

Ha I worked in HR for a few years in a FE college and it sounds very familiar. Could be the same place or could just be a symptom of poor management in FE

From working part time in a school, no one will know or care what your contracted hours are and it will be up to you to assert them, e.g. write back to whoever does the rota and say 'Please remove me from this rota as per my contract my working hours end at 4pm'. And then just leave every day at 4pm regardless of what else is going on.

I don't think you can improve this by yourself.

Yes, do this.

And job hunt intensively!

While it has been underfunded, Op being tasked with writing a report called 'ideas' is not a result of underfunding, it's terrible management

Welcome to the public sector. Very under-funded and would totally fall apart without the goodwill of employees starting early, skipping lunch, working late etc for no remuneration.

It's not for the workshy despite what the gutter press tell everyone.

It sounds very typical of much of the local government/education sector to me.

My friend left a private sector role after 20+ years to go and take a senior position in a local authority

The stories she tells absolute waste and mismanagement and ineptitude is shocking

If the public knew how their taxes were being squandered at every level they'd be aghast

She does say, as others have that the whole lot is kept afloat by a dedicated group of staff who go way beyond their remit to keep it all going.

She also says they're in the minority!

Yes, it's normal for the public sector. I have worked in the NHS, LA, FE and HE over a thirty year career - it's poorly managed chaos a lot of the time and you will be asked to do a huge amount, especially at director level. Although as others have said, some places are better than others. The politics is huge - as you have found with your project plan, there will always be someone creating some noise because it makes them feel important.

That said, you can find niches that would work better for you. However it sounds like public sector isn't for you and that's ok! Don't drive yourself mad trying to improve things (safeguarding and professional ethics aside of course!)

Yes this is familiar.
Pushing of boundaries and ignoring accommodations to see what they can get away with.
Having you put yourself at risk of violence because you are dispensible.
Focusing on the rights and welfare of the daffodils in the next county instead of meaningful protection of staff.

So first of all to put a pin in it - your contracted hours are your contract and by then asking /telling /expecting you to stay is a breach of that.

I am slightly perplexed as to why you haven’t pushed back on this? Have you felt that by leaving at your contracted time your job will be at risk?

I think you should evidence any and all breaches of contract quietly to one side where you can access from a personal email and then politely tell whoever is responsible for rota that you need to be removed from rota as per contract and again ensure you keep evidence.

any pushback/threats etc - keep evidence
any attempt to end your contract eg not meeting probationary period - keep evidence
same with any stupid work issues like the CEO/SLT authorising /shutting down projects ideas etc that are making your job impossible

the reason for the above is when you double down on your contact and if they consequently make your position untenable for this you will have them by the balls for breach of contract. Chuck in the fact that the reason for the hours is your daughters autism and you will possibly also have a claim for sex discrimination as a working mum and a claim for disability discrimination by association.

evidence evidence evidence and stand up for yourself - but join a union first if you haven’t already and then raise the complaints with management in the right way

I worked in a marketing team in the public sector, my first task was to create a poster, showing our mission statement, to hang above the staff printer. It took 6 weeks and 3 reworks before it was agreed as the SLT couldn’t agree whether matchstick men or puffy men were better! I kid you not. OP, you are in for a bumpy ride I’m afraid.

So to be clear, you're a director? How high up the food chain is this in context?

Why haven't you pointed out your contractual terms? And had yourself removed from the rota to match it?

Why haven't you sat the CEO down to discuss the pushback about the project?

Why did you accept a project entitled "Ideas" rather than discuss terms of reference and so on before writing it?

You sound like you're being terribly passive in what sounds like a high level job and responsibilities. It's been four months, you've had time to thrash some of this out like setting up a meeting with HR to discuss their work if that's in your remit, or to ask for the training in dealing with a lockdown to be reviewed.

Agree totally with this

Thank you, the reason I haven't raised this is because many of the meetings outside of my contracted hours are cross organisational with numerous departments represented. I feel it would be impossible not to attend.

Regarding duty management shifts, there was never even a discussion. The rota was sent out, my name was on it. As every other person operating at my level was named, I felt that pushing back would damage thr potential of developing good working relationships with my peers - they would be taking on my allocated shifts.

FE/HE institutions can be brutal places.

I was sent to one last year on a temp contract (London) and it was very chaotic as well. The level of abuse directed at the staff was off the scale. One of my colleagues had a chair thrown at her by a young girl who was almost boasting that she had a 'personality disorder'. At least once a day we'd get someone flounce out saying, 'You'll be sorry if something happens to me.' A very high number of students now have or claim to have, 'alphabet diseases' as my ex-boss use to call them and behave in the most appalling manner. The BBC wrote a very good article on the mental health epidemic that is hitting Universities, where academics don't feel prepared to deal with it as they don't have mental health training; increased security is needed; budgets are being diverted from learning to support wellbeing & mental health services, counselling, etc...

I'm not sure what it happening with the younger generations. There is a great deal of rage and this is manifesting as mental health disorders and what feels like a tremendous sense of entitlement/verbal threats/aggression, etc.

This is just my own opinion. Personally, FE/HE is not an industry I'd want to willingly return to.

Good luck, OP.

It's actually not that high. In my previous organisation I was second in command, at this job I have three levels of management above me.

I requested a meeting with the CEO regarding the project, I have this on Wednesday.

I requested further clarification on the report. It's just a random list.

I have a feeling you've just summed up the public sector there.

after doing a couple of contract jobs, I realise I can't do a permanent job, no matter how attractive the pension is!

No experience but agree with this. Surely a Director’s role is to direct, or is it just a fancy title?

What was the point of getting your working hours written into your contract if you don't actually intend to enforce them?

Of course you push back. Nothing is going to change about those meetings/rota if you just keep showing up.

Yes, I agree with this too, and I am making numerous changes to my area that I think will make a tangible difference to how the organisation operates. What I struggle to do is manage change that is not within my remit, eg culture, leadership etc.

@Charlize43 Agree with eveything you have written. DH managed to get out last year taking severance as head of a University dept. So many experienced staff who could take their pension bailed when the deal was offered.

He refused to put his pronouns in his email, and that was just the tip of the iceberg regarding dei protocol. The students were much harder to teach, they seemed to be getting dimmer year on year. I have worked in the NHS, local government and HE. The absolute worse was local government, I have never met so many people who were so incapable.

I am trying to understand your seniority in the organization. Director in FE - is that around a £70k role? Was it ever reasonable to expect to be off site by 4pm every day? What sort of arrangements would need to be in place - the nature of the role (a college with students on site) does suggest more in person on hours work? However, your specific job description might influence this (are you director of finance therefore no interaction with teaching staff or students).

Do you have your reasonable adjustments in writing? It sounds like they might not be considered reasonable for the role - I.e of you can’t be on site for some of the duties of the post (if indeed they are duties of the post).

You seem surprised that an FEcollege would be chaotic - did you speak to anyone in a similar role before applying for the post? There are some attractive posts advertised on the public sector in my field. However, I am aware of the hours and working conditions and therefore would never apply.

As a "Director position" surely you should be stepping up and implementing order and structure etc? You sound like you're expecting everybody else to sort it. Take responsibility and ownership.

Our public services are abysmal as every issue is someone else's responsibility or a (god forbid) opportunity for lessons to be learnt.

Was in public sector all my working life. It’s utter shit. Managers manage no one. Everyone does what they like. Bullying is laughed at and swept under the carpet because no one’s got the bollocks to deal with the bully. Pointless tasks are commonplace. You’re more likely to be pulled up for being a decent worker because the manager will think you’re pulling a fast one rather than just being competent. Smoke is blown up the arses of the useless.