Miffed - and unsure what to do

[ladybuggy]

I work for the NHS as a senior clinician, managing my own caseload. I work part time (2.5 days) as I have two small children and on the days I work, I'm responsible for drop off and pick up at two locations (one at nursery, one at school link club).

My core hours are 8.30 to 4.30. Inevitably I'm sometimes ten minutes late (nursery/link both open at 8am so the time frame to arrive at work is short - usually manage it but occasionally it's 8.40 if the motorway is busy). My husband is sometimes at home in the mornings, in which case I'm at work by about 8.20.

I'm supposed to have half an hour for my lunch but I usually don't take it. My post is a job-share and since my colleague left, they haven't replaced her (shortage of funds) so I have to pick up her extra work and there isn't usually time. I sometimes (though not often) take work home and I'll come in on my day off if it's an important meeting. I have taken one sick day in the last two years.

My manager (and his manager) are perfectly happy and not clock-watching types at all. By the time you get to this sort of senior level, people really aren't picking holes if it's ten minutes here and ten minutes there and the general perception is that provided your work is done, they are happy to be flexible on start/leave times. I'm a hard worker.

However, a colleague has just told me that one of our 'assistants' (she assists another clinican, not me) has been keeping track of everyone's arrival and departure time and has e-mailed the boss telling him that people aren't 'doing their hours'. This girl is (by far) the most junior member of our team, never worked in the NHS before and though in her thirties, has no children or other responsibilites and arrives at work super early every day (which is presumably how she knows what time people arrive). Obviously this has come to me second hand but I've no reason to doubt the truth of the information. The colleage who told me saw the e-mail and 'everyone's' name was apparently on it.

I do have two colleagues who's time keeping and attendance is very dubious. They take annual leave with no notice, don't always keep a record of it, don't clear it beforehand and arrive at about 9.15, finishing around 4pm (should be 8.30 - 4.30). I get annoyed about the annual leave thing but have no problem with the hours business - their work is done and mine isn't (I'm carrying a double caseload) and that's the way it goes. I ought to add that one of them (the worst offender) is actually the manager himself.

I suspect that their timekeeping was one of the thing tht motivated this assistant to start keeping tabs on people, however, she is clearly scrutinising everyone. We have a system of TOIL (time off in lieu) so it's possible she is writing people's name down as 'left early' when in fact they are recouping time owed.

She has sent several inappropriate e-mails which have really got people's backs up (for example, reminding senior clinicians of the need to keep doors locked due to confidential records being on the premises, e-mailing the team secretary asking her to keep tighter control of the collection of tea money, which is not her role).

I am deeply unhappy at people making records about me and reporting my activites to the manager. It seems very underhanded and surely keeping notes on people has to be justified. I realise I'm not goign to be in trouble over my hours - it's the principle of it that irks me.

Any thoughts?

Sounds like standard office gossip to me regarding the time-keeping email. You've not actually seen any hard evidence it's even happening so I'd keep well out of it.

If you receive a dubious email about something that is not to do with your or her role either ignore it or send a short, polite reply saying something along the lines of you'd prefer not to be included in emails of this type in future because you're not into office politics and you don't really have the time.

Some of the things you say about her being junior and sending emails about locking data away - is there an issue with data security? Is she the colleague who's spotted a problem and instead of going through some complicated hierarchy has been proactive in tackling the issue? If the language used is what's irritated people I'd have a quiet word with her myself because the written word can be easily misinterpreted. If it's that she's more junior and should be respecting the heirarchy then I'm afraid you may have to just suck it up. The NHS like other public sector bodies is adopting practices common to private sector that save time and this sort of thing is becoming more the norm.

The problem she spotted was that our team secretary went upstairs to make herself a cup of tea. The kitchen is right at the the top of the stairs so you can see/hear anyone come into the building (it's a converted semi detached house). The secretary didn't lock the admin office door, she wedged it open so she's be able to get back in with her cup of tea. If you close it, you have to use both hands to enter a code and open a lock when you come back. It remains locked at all times but the secretary always does this and keeps an eye on the front door. It hardly warranted an email to everyone on the team.

If she is keeping notes about me, I want to know. I don't think that 'keeping well out of it' is an option really.

I'm thinking about how the written word can be miscontrued. You're right - text messages are the worst - but it's her spoken word too now I come to think of it. She speaks to everyone as though they are stupid - my manager's manager commented on this last week.

I think what irks is that she has come onto the team from working in a very different environment (associated with the armed forces - though not workign for them) and she is now working with people who have 12, 15, 20 years of experience in specialised professions where data protection, accountability etc are standard practice. Whether she is junior or not, we don't need telling how to do our jobs. I have been in the health service for 17 years, I don't need telling that the doors are locked for a reason!

You seem to be taking this very personally tbh.

Sounds like none of this is aimed at you and she is generally perceived to be acting inappropriately.

I would just ignore.

I guess our manager is quite weak. He ought to tell her it's innappropriate but doesn't, so she gets away with it. I take it persoanlly when somebody watches what tme I arrive/depart and writes it down to report to my manager.

Has anyone ever spoken to this woman about the emailing and inappropriate tone/language? It may be that she crossed a line once but no one said anything and next time she didn't even notice and then it spirals to a bigger problem.

If she has been collecting information and then sending it on to someone then surely it will be dealt with? If an email like that landed on my desk I would be speaking to the sender (and her line manager) and asking how it impacts on her (is it making her job difficult? Affecting patients who have complained to her?) and if she's just being a busy-body I'd tell her to concentrate on her job and speak to her manager about any concerns. My personal attitude if someone was behaving like this is either to ignore it and not make it important, or speak to her line manager if it really bothered me.

The email to everyone about one person is bad form and I'd reply as per above. That said, the current situation with a door that you can't get a drink in and out of is silly and needs fixing (maybe lock front door for that 5 mins? Put a shelf by the door to put a drink on?). I have always worked with confidential data too and that door situation would not be acceptable and I'd feel compelled to do something about it but I agree an en mass email is not the answer.

So it seems there are issues with some people's time-keeping and with the door security but that the real problem for you is the way this woman chooses to deal with things? What sort of resolution are you looking for?

X-posted. Yes her manager needs to grow a pair I'm afraid!

Re the watching and collecting time keeping info you haven't actually seen this or had any consequences so I really would ignore. Mainly because it just seems a bit sad. Does she not have anything interesting in her life? IME most people who behave like this are likely to be bored/lonely/attention-seeking or all of those!

she's fed up because she's over-qualified for her job, I think. She has a degree in a related area but didn't get onto a Phd course and finds herself working for a comparatively low salary. She seems to think she's a very competent worker in a sea of incompetence but she doesn't seem to understand what other people's job roles are.

We work in a complex area which requires the sort of clinical skill they can't teach you on degree course - the sort that comes with experience. We don't always do things 'by the book' because the nature of our patients means that 'by the book' wouldn't always work. Unfortunately, she and her senior colleague don't have any experience, so 'by the book' is all they can do and they judge anyone else who deviates from this. They constantly complain (loudly!) that we are 'not strictly following guidelines'. It's sad really - I remember being inexperienced myself and I didn't always appreciate the subtleties but I certainly didn't e-mail very senior colleagues over bread and butter stuff, nor did I speak to them as though they were stupid.

She recently gave a talk about her own 'job role' placing great emphasis on her degree training and how that made her one of the only people on the team who 'had guidelines to follow'. This is nonesense. We are all professionally qualified and following our professional guidelines. She told us how many associations she is a member of - we are all members of several associations ourselves but have never thought it necessary to draw attention to them.

Our manager will never grow a pair. It's frustrating - though he has many positive attributes.

Ok so she's going the wrong about expressing some of her concerns - but why should some one who is paid to work 8.30-4.30 be working 9.15 to 4.00pm and it 'not bother you' - - confidential records to be locked means just that, not left for 5 minutes or so in order to get a cup of tea - agree with a shelf by the door - it's not hard just inconvenient
are some of you worried that what you have all accepted as ok over a long period of time - you say 12+ years experience etc is not actually ok and here is someone who has the guts to bring this to the attention of senior management

I would keep a note of the exact hours that you work, that way if she ever does come knocking at your door you can prove exactly what you are doing. She sounds like a pill though.

Totally disagree with your viewpoint, molly. Clockwatching belongs in the dark ages - if you do the job you are paid to do, and you do it competently, then it doesn't matter if it takes you 10 hours or 2; turning up on time for the sake of it or to 'look busy' is frankly silly unless you need to be there in case something crops up.

Ah Squiffy you put that well. Frankly I'm astonished that people clock watch. Sometimes my work is finished at 4.15pm, which is too late to start anything new so I tend to wash my cup and go home. By the same token, sometimes it's 4.45pm.

It all works out in the end. Very petty-minded to think otherwise.

To me it sounds as if this junior member of the team is quite new and feels that she somehow has to prove herself (all the talk about her qualifications and associations she's a member of).
I know it doesn't help in the short term (I hope you find a good solution to the reporting everyone's time keeping), but in my experience, this kind of thing needs time to solve the problem properly.
I have a colleague who is the youngest and newest in the team who used to be very problematic: treating everyone as if they were HIS subordinates, arguing and arguing about everything because he had to show that he knew better (when to anyone who had been in the job a bit longer, it was like someone arguing that your ear was in the middle of your face and you had a nose on each side of your head). It really got our backs up.
Now, a few years down the track, the guy has completed much more training, has a good amount of experience and - surprise surprise - is no longer combative or trying to put other people down. He's even sometimes quite a pleasant colleague :)