have a formal meeting where I've been told I may be dismissed

[Mumof4worried]

Been working for a company for 10 years (London city company). 8 years of exellent performabce. Then I've been part time for the last three years and stopped doing stupid amounts of unpaid overtime, working weekends unpaid and have to leave at certain times with childcare.

Since becoming part time my perceived performance has gone down, now I'm in needs improvement. I don't agree as there are plenty of people that aren't great who got a good performance but that's more due to brown nosing, giving up evenings and weekends, getting pissed with their boss and taking credit for other peoples work.

I was signed off work with metal health problems twice this year ( although the note was vague) work have sent me to an occupational health person who was nice but basically told me the work lifestyle isn't suiting me and its very common for people from my company to get mh health problems and I would be best to leave.

Now I've got this meeting coming up. Am I right in thinking they are pretty much going to sack me there and then?

Have you been put on a programme for the 'needs to improve'?

Second the above question: have you had clear objectives within your needs improvement plan which are both realistic and achievable? And have you missed these targets?
Also have you had a written statement from the OH saying you should just basically leave?

The needs improvement rating I only got a month ago so no plan has been made. I have had no previous warnings. My last was just an average rating.

The oh guy was just looking for adjustments work could make for me, as my life style clashes with the company now there isn't much they can do. Everything he said was off the record. He was nice though but basically as no real help for me.

Unfortunately comparing your performance to other people's isn't going to be productive. Your perception of why they are getting good reviews obviously doesn't accord with management's view and you will be on a hiding to noting to bring that up (although I appreciate you haven't said you would actually say anything). You need to focus only on your own performance.

Are work aware of why you were signed off? Are your MH problems related to your work or to something else?

Do YOU think your performance has been poorer since going part-time? is this all related to not working overtime and evenings? Is that a choice you have made or you are simply not able to do these extra hours any more? I am guessing from your name that you have been a working mother for quite a number of years so am wondering if something else has happened to affect your performance, apart from being part-time?

There should be a clear plan to assist you re the rating.

Does the meeting invite say 'dismiss'? Dismissal should only happen at the end of a process which should be clear to you/involve you. Dismissal without much warning should only be gross misconduct as far as I know if you have more than 2 years service, which you do.

Not that you should have to move on, but if it affecting your health is it worth thinking about getting a new role elsewhere? I think (sadly) there is something to be said about moving after mat leaves - assuming you have had them here - you can start part-time and not have the ghost of the full time pre-kids you around.

Sorry to hear you are going through this.

There's very little you can do to keep your job. If they want rid they will do it, unfortunately. But, you can make it harder for them. Keep all documentation, and get union representation. If you can prove that your performance has remained solid but they are forcing you out due to your need to work part time (if this was previously approved) you can help your case. Good luck, it's really dispiriting.

Hi OP - I worked for several years in HR at a City firm.

As other have suggested, your manager should give you a detailed Perfomance Improvement Plan. This may come with a formal warning that, if you do not meet the terms of the plan, you will be dismissed.

If you want to stay in your role, my advice would be:

• make sure the goals in the plan are achievable and specific
• vague goals like "provide good client service" are useless, as it's difficult for you to prove that you have met the goal
• if something is stopping you meeting the goals, tell them what that is, and keep going until you are looking at a set of goals you can actually deliver and EVIDENCE that you have delivered
• if you can prove that you delivered on the goals, it is difficult for the employer to justify a dismissal for poor performance

Having said all that, if you think you may want to move on from this job, then it may be worth being honest at the meeting. You could say something along the lines of "It's clear that things are not working out for me in my current role, and this is unlikely to change in the future. I'd like to use the next few weeks to find a new job. During this time, I will of course continue to perform my role here to the best of my ability." This buys you some time to look elsewhere (I appreciate part-time roles are hard to come by).

From the employers point of view, this has huge advantages - it saves them from a lengthy performance management process which eats up a lot of management and HR time. It also greatly reduces risk for them if you leave voluntarily rather than being dismissed. You could sound out your HR rep on this if you are uncomfortable talking to your manager - they may well persuade your manager to accept this option - allowing you some time to find an external role - rather than formal performance management.

I hope things work out for you...please update us after the meeting.