Colleague has called in sick when they definitely aren’t!

[peedoffandtired]

My colleague has been on a fixed term contract with a plan to go into another job at the end of it. They’re not exactly the best employee at the best of times.

They got rejected from that position and asked our boss yesterday if they could stay. The boss said no.

So they just walked out. They’re not in today and to be honest I’d be surprised if we see them again. I’ve already picked up the work of one colleague who has left. Now I’m picking up this work too. AIBU to be totally peed off and fed up?!

The work needs to be done but you are only one person. Do one person's workload and no more. The backlog and missed targets that ensue are your boss's problem, not yours. Any issues, just repeat as necessary "I am one person. I am not available on a three for the price of one special offer"

This exactly. Yes I have worked in healthcare both as a clinician and a manager and if you are already working a full day then how can you take on extra? You ask your manager to prioritise and something gets postponed.

FFS this. Over and over again I read on here "I have to pick up extra" Why?????

Then they need to escalate to their manager or director, it's not up to you to resolve the issue and if the person didn't pull their weight then they won't be missed. It was your boss responsibility to manage underperformed staff.

Unless you are working in a nursing home and people will die or get injured in the time between you stopping doing the third person's work and your boss getting an agency staff member in, then I'd be flat out refusing to take on the third person's work.

Why are you doing extra work? Just do your own work in your normal hours and nothing more.

Why did you say they called in sick then said they just walked out? What actually happened? It isn’t their fault anyway, it’s managers job to resolve workload issues.

All of these things mean periods of time where the job doesn’t get done AT ALL. So it’s not that important is it? If you can jettison in some inexperienced agency labour to pick it up.

just work at your usual pace and leave at the usual time. Strongly suspect that’s what OPs doing as I can’t say my experience of nhs admin involves teams working all
hours

What does your union rep say?

If you continue to mop up like this, nothing will change will it. If it’s so imperative that the work is done, and you just do your hours, then management will have to step in. Or it will transpire it isn’t as important as you think.

Well then they need to employ enough people to get it done then. If there is more work than people available to do it, then they will have to employ more people. This is not your responsibility and not your problem to fix. Do your own job to the full, and leave everything else. One person can only do so much.

Extreme Martyrdom?

I’m so sorry you’re being left to deal with all the shite. This is a company problem not an employee problem! Your anger should be directed at the people who a) took on/ kept this person on when they’re useless and b) who didn’t replace the other person who left! The employee has been told their contract isn’t being renewed so they have absolutely no loyalty to the company which are letting them go and have probably got something else lined up.

Yup.

Of course they are thinking of themselves! They need to find a new job, in these circumstances it’s acceptable to be selfish.

YANBU

but it sounds like the problem was there anyway, you had a useless colleague, your boss need to replace them fast. Lucky escape you are not stuck with the lazy one long term, but a replacement is urgently needed anyway

So? Who's paid more - you or your manager?

Whose ultimate responsibility is it to ensure that the work gets done?

You need to stick to your hours. Make sure you take your unpaid lunch and leave on time. Don’t pick up extra or it will just get worse. When you know deadlines can’t be met email your manager and say I have x and y that needs completing by end of day/week/whenever however I only have enough working hours to complete x or y please advise which is the priority.

keep batting it back to them. Every time you get “both need completing” you need to respond with “I appreciate that both tasks are necessary however I will only be able to complete x on time within my normal working hours”.

jobs panels need to see that there is a NEED for more staff and all the time other staff are taking it on until someone is recruited they don’t see there is a need as the work is being completed.

I don't think the OP should be saying "I have x and y that needs completing...etc", because that phraseology implies that the OP is accepting that she is responsible for it all. She's not. She's only responsible for what she can accomplish, which is not the work of three people!

Perhaps "Both x and y need to be done and there is not enough time available, so please let me know which one you want me to do".

It’s so easy on these threads to spot the people who don’t work in healthcare. It’s pretty much impossible to just say “no I’m not doing it”. If patients need care, they need care. It’s not like closing the local corner shop early because staff have gone off sick.

You can’t physically do the work of three full time people, so just do what you can get done in your normal working hours, then stop and go home.

Go off sick yourself

Plenty of skivers in healthcare who frankly don’t give a shit whether people get care or not. Of course if they themselves didn’t get 6 months full pay sick pay they may change their tune

its only a job. You do realise that if you dropped dead tomorrow no one at your work would give a shit?

Utter nonsense. I have been a manger in public services no you cannot expect staff to carry the workload of several people. It’s poor management, plain and simple. And if some work doesn’t get done, it doesn’t get done. Even if that is high risk work too.

You do what you can within your work hours. If you are being asked to do more then request your boss prioritises the tasks which can realistically be covered by you within the hours you have. Ensure there is a paper trail of everything. If you have a meeting to discuss it ask them to summarise in an email. Keep them up to date on progress but don’t work overtime to cover other people.

At 56 I have been there and done that. It’s your manager’s job to manage the resource within their team. In the past 12 months I have had half my team made redundant (with no notice; US and other countries with few employee rights). It’s been my job to manage that without over burdening my remaining team.

Push back op!

It is on your boss, you were already 1 down in the team, he/she asked to stay on, your boss should have extended the contracted until person one returns, having someone to help even if they aren't the best is better than having no one at all