Changing job description. Advice please.

[timeistight]

Admin role in HE.

Four years ago my job description was changed without reference to me and no account was taken of the cognitive issues I have as a result of a long term health condition. I was advised to raise a grievance, but couldn’t do this because our procedure requires exhausting possibilities of local resolution first and neither my manager nor hers would talk to me about it. Eventually, I had a breakdown and requested a referral to OH, which my manager refused.

It then turned out that the changes should not have been made, so I lost those duties overnight and then my manager left. I had a quiet year.

My new manager is out of her depth and I have been pretty much forced to take on some of her responsibilities on an informal basis to keep our unit running. I have now been invited to a meeting to discuss changes to my job description again. I know it needs tidying up, but that can be done without a two hour meeting. I have asked for advance discovery so I can prepare, but have heard nothing. I am afraid they are going to try to move some of my manager’s responsibilities onto me formally, but she is two grades and £10K above me. Can they do this?

To put it into context, I am three years from retirement, DH is in poor health, my MIL has dementia and I am waiting for an appointment at the angina clinic and am far from well myself. The added stress of this is making me very unwell.

Are you in a union? It would be worth seeking advice from them if you are.

Would you agree to the additional duties if they were accompanied by an increase in grade? Or do you feel that the stress is not worth it? If the latter, i would write a timeline of events and the work related reasons that contributed to your breakdown. Confirm to them that you believe that similar is happening again and that you do not believe it is advisable for your health to take on additional duties.

Ask for the new role to be evaluated.

Well, that was interesting. The bottom line is that they need a person with specific expertise, but they do not have the money to employ that person and they are going to try and turn me into that person by stealth. I still didn't get anything in advance of the meeting and I made that point, but what it seems to boil down to is that they want to "future proof " my current job description, which I understand, but they have also created a role at a grade higher to me and want to put me on secondment into this role until my retirement date.

I have asked them to put everything in writing, which they have not done yet, but I do know that the job description for the secondment will include at least two items from my manager's job description at a grade higher than mine, including management of a team of clerical assistants, two of whom have long-term health conditions and one of whom is is not and has never performed in her role over 10 years. That looks like a poisoned chalice to me.

I think I might go and talk to the union when I get everything in writing. Thanks for your support.

Over two weeks after the meeting I have the proposed amendments to my existing job description, which are way too detailed, in some parts contradictory, relieve me of a project that I initiated some years ago and other ongoing duties but give me three items which come from my manager's current job description, the 'supervision' of the team of clerical assistants, attendance at some internal meetings and the preparation of some management reports. These put my job description out of synch with others on the same grade across the organisation.

No account is taken of my existing long term health condition, which has been declared.

I have heard absolutely nothing more about the proposed secondment. Frankly, they don't need to prepare a new job description at a higher grade if I accept the tabled amendments to my current job description.

I'm still in the middle of the diagnostic process for angina and suffering attacks at regular intervals of, on average, ten days. I am anxious about this and dread having an attack at work, which is quite possible. I am in no fit state to deal with this.

What do I do? Do I talk to the union?

Talk to the union. You should normally ask for enhanced pay for the higher graded duties, but if you do not want to do the new job, then it’s not worth the discussion. It clearly has not been evaluated accurately. You do have to agree to do it. They cannot make you.

Therefore, is your current job now redundant? Is redundancy worth going for? They can then appoint to the new job. Your existing job appears to have disappeared. I know what I would go for! (Not the new job!)