AIBU to go off sick over complaint about me at work

[SadlyNotATroll]

have kept some details deliberately vague but will try to give as much detail as I can. I work in the public sector dealing with members of the public, making decisions that affect their lives. We recently recruited and I chaired the recruitment panel. Due to legal issues affecting our department we were no longer able to recruit and withdrew the vacancy. I was tasked with communicating this decision to the unsuccessful applicants after they had interviewed, but was not able to offer any information as to why they were unsuccessful, despite them being told if they were unsuccessful that they would get feedback.

One of the candidates was very upset about this and emailed me several times asking for feedback. I explained I could no longer provide feedback but I couldn’t explain why. Upper management forbade me from providing any further context, e.g. that there was a legal issue affecting the vacancy. The candidate emailed me several times over the following days and I replied each time saying I was sorry but the decision was final.

They have now complained about me and I am being investigated. I am confident I have done nothing wrong but I am so anxious about the process. I’ve been told it could take up to 4 weeks. I’ve been invited to a formal interview next week and have asked a member of the union to come with me. I don’t know if it would look bad if I went off sick. I’m so anxious my brain keeps jumping to the worst conclusion. I just don’t know what to do.

I work in the public sector too and it's quite unreal what they will investigate formally when someone should just write back saying tough. I sympathise with you worrying about it but, in your case, it's really not a complaint against you personally but about a process you were told to follow. If you go off sick you will prolong the process and stress even more so I would personally try to resist doing this. I would recommend speaking to your manager and telling them how it is making you feel and that it is affecting your work. That way they can support you rather than pulling you up for underperforming. It would be worth asking to meet with your union rep ahead of the meeting to talk through the process. I cannot see that anybody would get sacked for this, even if they had done wrong, as it's just one of those things not some terrible misdeed. I do have some sympathy for the candidate as the job market is horrendous and people are being treated quite badly so they were probably under a lot of stress and it may have seemed as though something underhand was afoot.

Going sick is not a solution. Perhaps you will feel better if you put your side of it across to someone else in a confidential chat.

Edit- sorry didn't read the opening post thoroughly. It's already an investigation. Apologies, brain hadn't fired up. All the best OP. You only did what you were told to do. Try and take each day as it comes.

Maybe it's my upbringing, being gen X, personal pride, but no matter what has happened in my workplace I have gone in the next day with head held up high.

If you behave like this then it quashes rumours, you're seen as resilient and nothing to hide. It's too easy to hide away these days and go on the sick, which I did indeed feel like doing a a few times, but it doesn't solve anything. Im fact, it can exacerbate negative feelings as you dwell, which happened to my colleague.

You cannot go off sick - it would look awful (and you’re not sick).

You have proof you were following orders, sure you will already have taken photos. This all sounds like basic normal procedure, which looks daunting but it's just another complaint to follow up to tick off.

Back in the day it was a 'quick chat in my office' and we gave our answers, reply was thanks all fine. Just now it's all online and sent to different departments and seeing it written down seems more stressful.

Good luck, you will be fine, next week it will be something else. No need to go off sick for 'what if' or no one would work! Xx

Amen! Perhaps investigated just means they have to write to this lunatic. I have to “investigate” daft complaints all the time and have been at the other end of a many myself. Don’t go off sick but do formally raise how unsupported you have been because they bolloxed up vacancy numbers

You are right. You can only envision this if you worked in the public sector! And the amount of lunatics who think they are owed at job and go scorched earth if they don’t get it!

Honestly OP you need to get a grip. I am civil service and your organisation has handled this badly. Firstly that it was a hiring manager having to handle the comms, this is usually done by HR in central CS (I know you’re not central) and secondly for the decisions they’ve made. The complaint is with them and their policy, not you personally. You really need to not take this personally, it’s going to be easy to prove you were towing the corporate line.

Do you really think having done the right thing and following written instructions will prevent an employee taking the fall for those above who've fucked up?
You are patronising and in error about the @SadlyNotATroll needing to get a grip.

And it's toeing, not towing, the line.

Yes I do. She literally followed the established policy, there will be evidence, what has she done wrong unless her tone was inappropriate? She keeps saying those not in the public sector won’t understand, I am and I do, she’s over worrying, we get complaints all the freaking time, HR have to follow process.

Annoyingly I actually wrote toeing but then thought it must be like towing a vehicle, sue me.

Go back yo work you are either very young or have led a charmed life to react so extremely. You have done nothing wrong.