Meetings scheduled for you on electronic calendars

[roisin]

OK. Someone schedules a meeting/training which is beyond your contracted hours, but you are required (contractually) to attend.

Is it reasonable that they 'notify' you of this, simply by putting it onto a shared electronic calendar that you have access to? But they don't inform you (by email) of the dates, but simply wait for you to notice that it's on there.

This entails staying behind 2.5 hrs beyond normal working hours.

Unreasonable in my opinion, and I'd simply tell them I cant do it.

That's just unprofessional of them not to mention a bit thick as you may not notice.

Possibly cowardly too.

Is this a colleague, boss or someone who reports to you and does it happen regularly.

Move the meeting? I used to go berserk if people put things in my diary without checking with me. Particularly if they know I'm offsite without access to the flipping thing.

Nothing like having a senior director, project manager from another office and an interviewee arrive all at once on your first day back in the office because numpty office chump is incapable of sending an email/picking up the phone...

Thank you all: that's what I think.
Apparently in our new digital/paperless era, I am wrong!
If it's entered on the shared company calendar I should be aware of it, and it's my responsibility to check regularly in case things have been scheduled without informing us.

I think it's bonkers.
It's possible to schedule a meeting (even if attendance is obligatory), but set it up so that staff are sent an email about the meeting and when they accept the meeting then it's automatically entered to their own personal calendar. That's what they should have done.

Yes, you should have been sent a meeting invitation so that you could add the meeting to your own calendar - bad form not to do this in my view. Have you been told previously that it's your responsibility to check the shared calendar?

Agreed, our practice is to send an invitation so you know who had accepted, declined etc.

So they can enter it on the shared calendar but not send you an invite? Durr... They obviously don't understand how to manage electronic calendars.

I would make a note to check it every few days [pain in the ar5e emoticon] but not be available if it was outside my contracted hours/wasn't willing to give them 'my time'. Just tell them you aren't available. It's none of their business why if they're not paying you. This is probably career suicide though as so many people seem to go over and above the call of duty these days...

I suggest organising a team meeting to agree a protocol for the future. You can't possibly check every date in your calendar on the off chance something has been scheduled for you. And how can you organise your time, business or private, if other people don't let you know what they are planning.

Bizarr.

Bizarre.

Meetings beyond working hours may occasionally be unavoidable (e.g. whole day events when you finish at 3), but should certainly be discussed with you and agreed whether you will leave at 3 or whether it is imperative you be there and therefore what solutions there might be. But that should be a real rare event.

Putting stuff on shared calendar not invidividuals' is just hopeless admin. And stupid because people won't turn up.

I think it's fine to schedule a meeting using electronic diaries, but verging on incompetent not to send meeting invites!