Capability review - WWYD?

[36andAnxious]

I have worked for a charity for the last 5.5 yrs and I am now likely to be put on a 'capability review' which could result in my dismissal if I don't hit the targets specified. A decision about this is being made shortly, but I fear it is probably a foregone conclusion.

A little more background: the quality of my work has always been good but I have always struggled with productivity and haven't hit the targets required for the job. Up until now my quality has kept me out of formal measures but my manager has told me that his boss will not accept this argument any more. I have had various informal plans/support/coaching over the years but have continued to struggle, and I know this is mostly my fault as I am very conscientous/fussy and find it hard to speed things up and change the way I do things.

I am currently the main breadwinner, DH currently works p/t and term-time only but would probably be straightforward for him to go f/t again. He earns less than me, though, so we would really struggle to survive on just his salary.

So, to cut a long story short, I know I have had a lot of luck over the years to get this far and I cannot really contest being put into this process. (I have had some advice from the union too). The way I see it, I have 2 options, just wondered what you would do.

1. Get put on capability review, work incredibly hard and try to keep my job. Realistically, if I find I am still not managing during the review I will have to resign to avoid dismissal - this worries me because I am aware that future employers may ask whether I was under any sort of disciplinary or performance review when I resigned. I know that the review would be removed from my HR file after 12 months if I successfully complete it and stay out of trouble, but unsure if this would still be the case if I was to resign.

2. Ask now if I can offer my resignation and go in 3 months' time. The purpose of this would be to avoid the massive stress of going on a review (even informal measures have freaked me out and caused me to struggle more in the past), and also to give us time to sort out DH's new hours and our finances. My employer is generally reasonable, but obviously I don't know if they would go for this until I ask. I don't really want to leave, but there's a part of me that just wants to retreat from the world for a while wonders whether I should stay at home for a bit whilst DS starts school in Sept and look for p/t work closer to home (I currently work shifts and have a commute which is ok but does take 2.5 hrs total each day and costs £100 p.c.m.)

Apologies for long post, and thank you for reading if you got this far. If anyone recognises where I work, please don't 'out' me. I am feeling really down on myself about this at the moment, but am trying to be constructive. Thanks in advance.

It may be best to resign as it gives you some control in the situation. Sounds like you need a change, actually Far better to say to a new employer "i need new pastures ect " and present to situation in a positive light

Would another option be doing some of the work in your own time to keep on top of it. Obviously not for the long term but you could do this while job hunting. This would mean no capability and no unemployment.

So you are saying you cannot do tge job full stop, regardless of training /help etc? Is helping you to achieve something we can help with?

Thank you for responses. I am not asking for anyone to help me achieve anything, just wondered what others might do in my situation.

In your shoes, if I thought that I could make the capability review work, I would go that route, without a shadow of a doubt.

If however I felt it was likely to fail for any reason (even if that reason is that you don't really want to, which I think is OK to admit) then I would probably resign.