1st day back - am I being sidelined already?! What to do!

[bohemianbint]

Ok, so here's the thing, went back to work after a year on Mat leave. A bloke has been taken on as a Manual Writer whilst I and the other Manual Writer were both on leave at the same time. (Other writer is boss's daughter.) Bloke is being kept on as I guess there is enough work to go round.

So imagine my dismay when bloke said: "Be grateful you're just a copywriter and not a manual writer!"

Erm...He's been there almost a year and I must have been discussed so why is he under the impression that he is in soem way my superior?

I'll tell you why. Because when I asked Boss today what he wanted me to crack on with, he said "Ask Bloke, you're working for him!"

Now, am I being oversensitive? Or sidelined?

If sidelined, how do I get this sorted? Anyone else had this happen?

oh, what a shit your boss is.

surely you needed to be told of this - and they certainly cant demote you - but if they have re structured you needed to be told before.

get a meeting with your boss asap.

haha...yes, you're right, in general he is... But I can never judge if I'm being to critical of his twattish ways or not.

I signed a bloody contract saying I woudl return 2 days a week but all duties remain the same. I'm wondering if he's going to be assigning me any projects (which is how I make my money!) or if he's teaching me a lesson for having a year off.

I could informally have a chat with his daighter who I get on well with and see if she knows what's been going on, I suppose...

Statutory rights say they should have written to you to advise you of any changes in management structure, prior to your return.

Contact ACAS or the CAB. You may have a case for Sex Descrimination.

Meant to say as well, on the occasions I have pulled him up re stupid comments (like when I was off ill whilst pregnant and he said if it happened again I wouldn't get SSP) he makes out like its all in my head and butter wouldn't melt.

I presume he might have meant that I'm working with him for the day to help him tie up a project he's finishing, as opposed to in general...but I have been made to feel a bit inferior...

erm - are you in a union. If not - can you join one? Sounds like a twunt tbh

Hope you can sort it out

nope, no union, and no HR dept as is very small family run company.

Cheers for advice though everyone.

I felt I had been sidelined when I went back to work. New people had arrived and didn't seem to realise that they worked for me rather than vice versa. Two weeks in and I was on the phone to headhunters...

I thought about going to my boss to explain how I felt but in the end I just kept my head down. The right decision as it turns out - he was going through a lot of stress and didn't really have time to help me back into the company. He had come to rely on the people who were there while I was away and I had to worm my way back in.

Now, four months later things are fine. I would just give yourelf a bit of time before you decide definitively that things have changed for the worse. A year is a long time to be away. I think I was a little naive to think nothing would have changed when I went back.

It does sound like your situation is a bit off, given what your boss said, but don't rush in when you're feeling off-balance already. Just counselling a little caution.

But sympathies also. It's hard.

In a rush sorry
Reflect on it for a day or two to make sure you are not being oversensitive, and see how things are.
If you're not being oversensitive and you are still feeling this way ask for meeting with boss to clarify your role and get things straight so that everyone is clear on your status, who reports to who etc.

See if that works, if not, or if it gets worse, post back and I will post about what to do next

hope that helps, in a rush as I said

Thank you. I will have informal chat with boss's daughter just to see if I can pick anything up, and will see what happens next week. If he's not going to assign me a project it's going to mean I'll be skint, and I'd prob be better off elsewhere as my basic salary is peanuts, and I'm only part time now as it is.

Will keep you posted and be back for more advice if it's all gone wrong!

Just a thought-could be new bloke is trying to unnerve you/ protect his own position perhaps?