To refuse to stay late?

[Carlie97]

My core hours are 9am to 5pm. Other staff work til 6pm and most the same hours as me. My transport home leaves at 5.30pm and there isn't anything else til 9.00pm.

Those at work haven't forseen that one day this week there will be no one to stay until we close at 5.30pm and this happens regularly when other staff are on holiday or off sick. I've asked around the office and no one else will stay til 5.30pm even though they traipse in much later than their official start time. It's shit. AIBU to leave at 5pm anyway, tell the managers this and let them sort it? They don't give a shit and theres a rela hierarchy of 'theyre too important to deal with this stuff'. It's not my job either.

So who's team won't be there till 5.30? Your team or another line managers?

If it's your team, as the manager you cover and then make sure you're covered in future.

If it's another team leave at 5.

Another option, if you need to stay to 5.30 is they pay a cab for you to get home as you have a 3.5 hour wait for your usual mode of transport.

No, I'd leave at 5pm. You've already flagged the issue and your transport leaves at 5:30. Staffing and cover arrangements are management's responsibility, not yours.

But OP has drip-fed that she’s a manager…

It's another team. My team start when they should and leave when they should. I've made sure theres no messing about when it comes to working their hours so it doesnt impact other team members.

A cab would be around £80. They wouldn't pay that.

There isn't even a rota. Just some people work until later and when those people are all off it can be an issue. Some staff stroll in way past their official start time but still finish at the time they usually do as if they'd started on time. My team dont do that as they know the importance of starting on time. These are other people's team members who do this and it riles me as someone who starts on time and therefore finishes on time. It also makes it difficult to know of those people are staying later or not in advance because when asked they always 'dont know' and sometimes like now we need to know who can stay til the phones go off. Ive been meek a real team player in the past and stayed later when needed without being asked because im management and have to suck it up, but also just because I want to be a good team member, but it's someone else's turn now.

You need to tell the team who turn it is they can’t go home . If it’s their turn to stay late they don’t have an option.

It’s up to that team management not you.

@Carlie97 between 5 and 5.30 would you expect to have to deal with many clients/customers/ service users/colleagues?

What type of business is it? Does it have an official closing time?

It seems there is a lack of managing going on. There should be people there until 5:30m and it is the responsibility of the first line managers to ensure the hours are covered. If they can't get their staff to do it then they need to cover.

You are in management, so it is your responsibility, shared with the other managers. I agree this is a junior manager task.
You need to have a meeting with the other junior managers and come up with a rota on who is to stay till 5:30 and close down, between all the teams that work on site and this must be taken into account on a holiday calendar, plus a plan of what happens if person A is ill.

Or, if closing time is 5:30, then you should all stay till 5:30. I have never heard of anywhere where people leaves before closing time.... This is indeed very poor management/ supervision.

Barely any phone calls will be expected to be honest.

Yes. They just saunter in when they want. I can't tell you the number of times I've been sat there at 9.15am and said to the only other person in, "where is everyone?" and then there's been a full office by 9.40am. They use the term flexible working if challenged, but it's a bugger being the only one in from when we open and trying to juggle everything.

is there an answer phone?

Yes.

I’d just put the answer phone on and go. Management need a solution but you not being able to get transport home until 9pm is not it

If it is just to answer the phone, you can divert it to someone who is working from home.
They could just work from home that day or leave early enough, so they are at home and logged in to answer it. Teams phones can be diverted to mobiles. Landlines to teams.... I am not sure about that one, because we never had to do that one. But your IT team should know.
I think this needs to be nailed down. It is reflecting very negatively on the line managers team. Opening and closing a business are important actions that need a secure operation, not just a casual, well, whoever is in the office....

So for clarity, you and your team are there at ‘Opening Time’ and cover any initial rush. And another team is supposed to be there at the end of the day at ‘Closing Time’ to lock up etc?
In which case you bounce this to the other team’s junior manager and say they need to sort it. You sort out opening, THEY need to sort out closing.

@tiramisugelato beause she said its not her job. If it was she would have sorted it. Her managers cant expext her to stay till 9pm, because thete is nobody else to do it. She locked up and left s she could leave at her normal time and not have to stay till 9pm.

Yes this. Don’t take on the job of sorting this out, management will leave you to deal with it in the future. I would mention your transport leaves 5.30. Most work places would respect this surely.

So who manages that team and why aren’t they sorting it and why does everyone seem to think it has anything to do with you?

Maybe I missed something? I’m so confused!

I really don't understand why you've made it your problem by raising it again when it's clear from previous experience that noone is interested in fixing it.

Leave at 5pm. Ideally before you're last in the office.

If anyone says anything just be honest. You did your core hours, you flagged the 30 minute shortfall, which is outside of your contracted hours to find a solution to, and you fed your concerns up the chain.