To be frustrated with HR?

[Cantheowneroftheredcorsapleasemovetheircar]

I am slowly losing the will to live with HR and need some outside perspective, preferably from anyone who actually works in HR because I genuinely don't understand how something this simple can take this long.

For context, I already work for the council and have been offered a new job within the same council, moving from one department to another. So this isn't an external employer who has never heard of me before.

I was offered the new job on Monday 7th September. Obviously delighted. Immediately mentally left my current job and started counting down the days excitedly.

Then... crickets.

I chased HR on Thursday 16th September. They confirmed they had received everything from the hiring manager, but it hadn't actually been looked at yet.

As a result of me chasing, they sent me the onboarding paperwork last thing on Thursday 17th.

I filled absolutely everything in on Friday 18th and returned it. The DBS was something I had to arrange myself, which I did and paid for, and it came back clear same day and been sent to them. I also emailed same day to confirm everything had been completed and ask whether they needed anything else from me. All done by lunchtime on the Friday.

Crickets.

I emailed again Monday morning (21st) asking them to confirm they had everything and, importantly, whether the reference request had now been sent to my current manager.

Crickets.

I chased again late Tuesday afternoon, specifically asking for an update and confirming again that my manager hadn't received anything as far as I knew.

Crickets.

This morning (Thursday) I emailed my current manager directly to ask whether she'd received the reference request.

She confirmed she hasn't received anything.

So I emailed HR again this morning, politely asking whether the reference request was likely to be sent today.

And...

Crickets.

The particularly annoying part is that the hiring manager has specifically advised me not to hand in my notice until HR have confirmed my start date.

So I'm sitting here with a job offer, a clear DBS, all my paperwork completed, and a hiring manager waiting for me...

...and I can't even hand in my notice because HR haven't finished whatever mysterious ritual they're performing behind the scenes.

At this point I am genuinely starting to wonder whether I have somehow fallen into an administrative black hole.

I completely understand that HR departments are busy. I'm not expecting someone to sit there refreshing their inbox waiting for my emails. But we're talking about nearly three weeks since I was offered the job, and the only single bit of movement seems to have happened only because I've chased them.

I'm now getting worried that this is going to affect my start date, despite having done everything I've been asked to do promptly.

And I WANT TO START NOW. 😂

I'm mentally finished with my current job, I've got the new job, I've done the paperwork, my DBS is clear, I've got the new-work-life organised in my head...

I just need HR to send one bloody reference request.

Anyone who works in HR: is this normal? Is there some completely reasonable explanation for why this is taking so long, particularly when it's an internal council move, or have I just encountered an HR department where emails go to die?

Because I am approximately three more unanswered emails away from becoming the sort of person who sends a carrier pigeon.

I'm wondering did whoever offered you the position have the authority to do so and there's some internal wrangling going on.

Is it possible that the job is being withdrawn?

Or, someone whose signature is required to give the green light, may be on leave but they haven’t communicated this?

I was detecting some sarcasm, but maybe just me 😁

I agree the hiring manager should be chasing this up.

Wow OP, slow yourself down!!

I run several teams in HR including recruitment and kindly, they would all be fuming with you. You seem to be under the impression that you are the only person they are currently dealing with. You need to get some perspective.

Do you realise that since you returned the paperwork, last Friday lunchtime, you have sent 4 separate chaser emails in the space of 5 working days?!! I mean this kindly but that is insane behaviour and you are marking yourself out as a pain. I totally understand that you want to leave and get started but please consider the other person's own workload, your hiring managers workload and that due process takes time.

The person you are dealing with may have had a day of annual leave, not work full time, had a day or 4 of training to do - there are not sat at the end of their laptop desperately waiting to your name to pop up in their email account.

Calling due process a "mysterious ritual" is disrespectful and you are being entitled and needy. There could be any number of reasons why this is "slow" hiring manager issues, paperwork issues - we need a solid audit trail to evidence decision making the same as everyone else espe.ciaoly when spending the public purse. The job might no longer exist given where council budgets currently are and they are negotiating in the background....

Alternatively, the person you are dealing with might just not be very good or brand new and n training. You should give people the basic respect of assuming positive intent, they are out to sabotage you.

Chasing them on Monday after returning the paperwork Friday afternoon was so incredibly rude. Do not send any more emails or go and visit them in person as someone else has suggested!! Let them work through it and when they next email you - which they will - apologise for the excessive chasing for the sake of your current and future relationship with the HR team. You will need them in your corner one day.

Also, for the record, your notice period means jack. If the new manager wants you quickly they can and will waive it so for your own sanity stop working on fictional start dates in your head until you have all the information.

Your next step, again kindly, is to sit on your hands. Do not send another email.