Am I going to fail probation

[Greenraintoday]

I'm getting worried, half way through probation, have had 3 unavoidable bouts of sickness ( all different cases and not disability related) been late in to work 4 times and have been reminded to answer emails that I forgot several times

In my defense I have had alot going.on in personal life and this has impacted me

AIBU to think I should be given another chance ?

You don’t think a ‘nice’ employer would consider the team as a whole & what’s going to work long term? What sign has the OP shown so far that she can be a reliable employee?

There are only two of us on my team who do 5 days a week - the rest are all parents & do 3 or 4 days. And it’s fine because it’s all been thought through & everyone, working their agreed hours, pulls their weight. In emergencies we’re willing to cover for each other because we know nobody takes the piss.

Being a mom is hard is not an excuse to show up when it works for them, not answer emails, and call in sick frequently.

There's kind and there's enabling an unreliable employee. No business is going to keep someone who's shown they can't fulfill the basic job responsibilities during their probationary period. That costs the business money they could be paying someone reliable.

Sorry but childcare is your responsibility. Any employer will take a dim view of someone who is not organised enough to sort out reliable childcare. You will not be the only employee with children. As for colds - unless it is a really nasty virus, you should be able to go into work, even if you don't feel 100%. If you were worried about spreading germs, you could wear a mask as in Covid times. Was your "flu" really flu or a bad cold? I think you should start looking for somewhere else to work as you will certainly not pass your probation. If you are able to secure other employment, please take all the excellent advice from people on this thread and smarten up your attitude as it is coming across as very flaky at the moment. However, we can all learn from our mistakes and I hope you are able to.

The vast majority of employees will have battled childcare and managed. It's an excuse and a poor one.

It's not about kindness or being human. Kindness and humanity is shown to those that deserve it. You have to earn respect. She has zero respect for her employer, her colleagues and the contract she has signed.

The most frustrating thing about this is her sense of entitlement will get her fired and then me and the other responsible, hard working tax payers will end up paying the benefits she ends up on through entirely her own fault.

And what about all the other mums in the workplace who do show up on time, don't take three lots of sick leave in as many months, and actually do the job they're being paid to do?

OP is taking the absolute piss. "Be kind" is such a load of bollocks, honestly.

This is absolutely how it should be. Flexibility, kindness and understanding when it's earned and needed.

The thing is, OP, it isn't even about the sickness or the lateness or the emails.

It's glaringly obvious from this post alone that you have an attitude problem.

I would be willing to accept that a new employee had been particularly unlucky with their sickness. That they might have had unavoidable issues with their childcare that might have made them late several times. And while I would be annoyed about the missed emails, I might be willing to at least extend the probation to give them another shot. I understand that life happens and sometimes gets in the way of people performing at their best.

But if you were giving off vibes that said you didn't think that any of these issues were a big deal, then I would want you out as soon as possible.

I'm a firm believer in workers having rights. But they also have responsibilities, and you don't seem to have any concept of that.

When I started a new job 4.5 years ago I made sure that my husband was lined up for school emergencies so I wasn't that person having to leave to pick up sick kicks early on in my role, I had my parents on stand stand-by too to help if needed and I have the teens a good talking to about how I needed to show up for this job etc. If I didn't have that then those first 3 months I would have had to leave early several times, takes days off for sick children and also had covid worked from home. I appreciate I'm lucky to have good back up. The amount of people I see come and go who think they are somehow doing the work place a favour is mind boggling! I've had so much flakiness in the first 3 months which I have also been guilty of overlooking but honestly in all cases it's been indicative of what we were getting into in the long run. If someone can't prioritise and get their shit together for probation then it doesn't look good.

And responses like these show exactly why we have a snowflake workforce. Do your ruddy job. Everyone has struggles but dont use them as an excuse to slack off

You literally have been given another chance, many times. The fact that you keep wasting those chances by messing up again, is entirely on you.

Occasionally sickness will be overlooked if you are doing a good job.

Sounds like this isn’t the job for you though. Start looking for something else before you are pushed.

I have a nice employer. Time one or two, yes they'd understand and try to help. Time three, four...plus three absences and basic not doing the work. No. Its not to do with nice.

Its not looking good. You sound unreliable.

People like the OP are why workers shouldn't have all the rights from Day 1 (in the new bill). AFAIK you can still be dismissed without reason (with notice) up until 2 years in a job.

If you were working for me, I'd probably give you another 3 months probation to see if your performance improved, but others may just let you go.

Being sick is understandable- stuff happens, but lateness, child care issues, and failing to respond to emails all point to a piss poor employee.

Not just for the company but for other colleagues who would inevitably have to pick up the slack, this risks them feeling put out and seeking new jobs, so losing valuable workforce. A shitty employee can cause all sorts of problems.

Good for them!

I’ve yet to have a sick day and I’m never late, but I have a lot of time for mums (and people in general) whose lives aren’t as easy as mine.

Why don't you offer her a job then? And she can turn up late, call in sick and not bother to answer her e-mails on your time and money instead.

Is it just mums you have time for or do others qualify for this as well? Or do you believe that only mums can have a difficult time with things in their lives? Where does this stop or is it fine for everyone to be late, take lots of sick days and not actually do their job?

It never ceases to amaze me when people try and justify sickness as no one cares and companies certainly dont they just have rules they have to abide by, they need people in work and if you wont do the job they will get rid of you and find someone else, unless you are brilliant at your job no i doubt they will keep you on

I’ve worked at a number of major banks and they have been very accommodating where people have had issues with child care and illness. A good employer doesn’t want you to come in when you can’t work, and a good manager understands that no one can foresee a child’s nose bleed, wetting themselves on route to nursery, or an epic meltdown just as you are heading to the car. Who knew charities were less forgiving than financial services…..well I guess I do now!

Well if I was her manager I wouldn’t sack her, I probably would reserve that right for people who seemed to lack empathy and took pleasure from someone having a harder time than them.

Then you wouldn't be a very good manager if you let your employees take the piss out of you.

I reserve my empathy for people who deserve it, not people who don't turn up to work on time and who don't bother to do their jobs even when they do show up.

For what it's worth my employer is very flexible and understanding as am I as a manager. We all have children in my team, we've all had crisis points from bereavement to long term illness etc. The difference is these people proved themselves in probation and continue to prove themselves to be worth the long term investment by working hard, offering to make time up, inbetweem crisis points are generally reliable and hardworking etc. General day to day, week on week flakiness is really tiresome and not something me or my employer put up with.

Setting aside concerns about her attendance, timekeeping and performance, would you not have concerns about the attitude of an employee who thought that all of these issues combined weren't a big deal?

I'm about as flexible and accommodating as managers come. I bend over backwards to support staff and to help them fit work in around their other commitments and obligations. But if I sniff a hint that someone is just taking the piss, then that changes everything because it isn't fair on others in the team to have staff who don't make an effort.

I’m guessing you are not a manager, and never have been one, as that’s not how any business runs, not one which will stay afloat anyway. You can’t fire people for lack of empathy ffs.

Exactly. In my previous life in management, I had to let people go for behaving the way OP describes - regular periods of sickness, turning up late and then zoning out and not doing their job properly when they were there. They were just taking the piss and it wasn't fair on my other staff who were having to work even harder to pick up the slack.

Support is reserved for people who are doing their best, turning up on time despite all the shit and who are genuinely struggling - not people who clearly can't be arsed.