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?!

Why would they have any loyalty?

Sounds like they’re crap at their job anyway, so them being there wouldn’t lighten the workload much.

Agree with PP your anger is misplaced.

Exactly, stick to your role, don’t go above and beyond, it’s not your problem to solve.

Do you have actual proof they 'definitely aren’t' ill??

You’re not unreasonable to be pissed off. It’s a bit shite to just walk off the job.

however, when you are assigned 3 times the work you have the capacity for you document it, and raise it to your boss “there is 3 times the work I can manage what should I prioritise?” “In my 40 hours this week what’s most important? I was only just managing my own case load before I don’t have the capacity to do two others work.” If no balls are ever dropped how will management know they need to figure out more staff?

Just do your job to the best of your ability. If anyone tells you off for not doing enough tell them you are doing your best and they need to hire someone else. Stop getting worked up. I'm struggling to understand either it is possible to do the work of 3 people, in which case do that. Don't be sloppy. Do your job properly. Otherwise it's not possible and things will fall apart. It's not your fault. Try and remain calm.

Oh god a workplace martyr.
OP you do your job only. You can experience whatever feeling you so desire about your colleague walking off but it’s not their fault you choose to accept an extended workload. You work to rule and make management fix the
problem. Public sector or not you’re only human as is your colleague who probably doesn’t see the point of turning up for a job they’re not keen on when they aren’t going to be kept on, particularly when you’re quite clear bodies are needed to do the additional work and hiring takes an age due to panels.

thinking how they must feel when there’s already a staff shortage to be told they won’t be kept on, it must hurt. Fair play to them for never t putting up with your bosses shit. Daft of you to carry the workload because of their poor hiring and firing decisions.

"You’re not unreasonable to be pissed off. It’s a bit shite to just walk off the job."

Is it really? When you've been told your contract's finished?
Going in every day knowing they don't want you?

Agreed. (Reluctantly)

The public sector makes me so mad.

Of course they are "only thinking of themselves". Do you expect someone who has absolutely no future with an organisation to be invested in it for the time they have remaining? If there is a contractual loophole that allows for this employee to go off sick for the remainder of their time, and if their contribution to the organisation isn't being valued, can you blame them? It's in this colleague's interest to use their time to find a new job, not worry about how you or the rest of the team are going to cope in their absence. It may well be that this colleague wasn't ever suited for the role, but it's pretty obvious that they now know they don't own the organisation anything and so aren't giving their full energy to it. That's pretty much what any of us would do in a similar situation. Blame whoever hired them and whoever is managing them.

Don’t sign up to a fixed term contract if you can’t handle it ending.

There is literally only so much one person is capable of. If two patients need care at the same time and there's only one of you - what do you do? Rip yourself in half and send your body in two different directions simultaneously?

When you're unemployed you take what you can get and are expected to do so. There's not an option to turn things down because they're not permanent.

You do your normal work and if that fills your 9-5 hours you do no more. Your job is done you cannot be made to do someone else job as well at the cost of not getting your own tasks completed and you do not have to do extra hours to cover for two others empty post. That’s not your problem. Remember this. If you died tomorrow they would replace you and forget you in Jo time. Put in writing to hr and your boss that die to your own workload you cannot possibly be expected to do the work of three jobs and are not in a position to extra hours to do so. Tell them you arenpeioritising your own contracted job and will assist with extra work when and if you have spare time available within your normal working hours. Unless you stand up for your self they will walk all over you and before you k ow it they will say x seems to be managing to cover both posts so we won’t replace y the person who has left and you will be left doing double the workload for Jo extra money and twice as much stress

Well yeah? I might be biased as if I just walk off my job it’s major safety issue. Even if it’s not that sort of job surely you have to realise that you’ve made your coworkers life harder as the work will still have to get done? Like it’s not your coworkers fault that mgmt have decided or not decided to extend your contract.

Sounds like the person who left has a lot more sense than the doormats left behind.

So absolutely no responsibility to be expected from this employee then ? They were taken on, on a fixed term contract, with no guarantees about renewal and a definite end date - they knew they had ‘no future’ with the organisation from the start. It isn’t a question of them not being valued, it’s that the work they were contracted for has come to an end, and quite frankly if this is their attitude then it’s not hard to see why they’re not being kept on.

I mean… so far all they’ve done is call in sick for a day. She may well be back today and work out the rest of her contract.
However the OP said that she makes lots of mistakes and is rarely at her desk, and that she probably would have got sacked at some point. So I’m struggling to see how her leaving now would create such a huge problem for the remaining colleagues, as she was useless anyway. Maybe they’ll be better off without her!
She would also have been leaving in 6 weeks (without being replaced) regardless.

They’ve been going in every day knowing from the start that they won’t be wanted after the end date - that’s the nature of a fixed term contract. And they’re only asking to stay because the job they had lined up has fallen through. So not much loyalty there and I’d hope they won’t be asking for a reference.

You can be annoyed but the person you should aim your venom at is your boss. He could fill the role with a temp or folks but nope he's dumped it all on you, classic.

The issue is not your colleague.

Your colleague is a temp and has little reason to show any loyalty to the company after they rejected their application to stay long term. Their focus is now on finding their next job.

The issue is your workload and your employer expecting you to do the work of several people.

You need to raise that with your employer and only stick to what you can realistically do in your own hours from now on.

This!

Talk to your boss. You need
to get a temp in

Then your boss needs to pick up the extra work. You can only do what you can do within your contracted hours and then you go home

Yes and now the contract has ended so colleague has gone just like if they secured another role - boss should have had a replacement ready!

Sounds like they're handing it fine. You're the one complaining.