Failed probation now dismissed but should I resign?

[Gonnagetgoing]

If anyone has seen my previous posts on this - I'm working as a 1 year PA within a charity/academia and have failed my probation period. I received a letter today saying I'll be dismissed but they can have further meetings with Head of People etc.

I've found since working there that I've had very little support from other PAs and also it's taken ages for me to be given work.

I've worked for 6 and 5 years respectively in previous permanent jobs and for the past few years have worked for 18 months and shorter contracts in various private companies and government departments.

So my question is, should I just resign now rather than be dismissed? My resignation notice period is 2 weeks. I don't want to face yet more meetings, should I do this though?

I will hold my hands up and say I'm not interested at all in the area in which they work - it's just not me. But I don't think you have to be interested in the work where you work, if you're a PA/admin.

I'm just venting/typing this out too, to get this off my chest. I stupidly thought maybe I'd be kept on but it's just stringing things out.

[quote Gonnagetgoing]**@Butteryflakycrust83* and @SilverMakeUpBag* - funny you should say this.

I messaged an ex-colleague at lunch today, she left recently but had been there about 2 years I think.

The ex-colleague asked for a brief rundown of what happened so I told her - and guess what she said? Her: "J our EA boss (head of EAs/PAs) isn't very nice and is very picky, she's been known for doing this before, picking on people." me: "Are you sure?" Her: "Yes, she tried to do similar to me which is partly why I looked for another job and left".

She got a good perm job in academia too.

I think it's partly my face didn't fit and Ms Bitch is being nasty but nothing I can do about that!

Thanks to all re good luck and for all the reassurances that it's happened to them before. It's amazing - we just don't speak about this - if your face doesn't fit - tend to try to brush it under the carpet!

I'm seeing a friend for coffee and a walk after work so that will be nice.[/quote]
From a fellow PA - sounds like you have fallen victim to an absolute power hungry arsehole.

Enjoy your coffee and remember, this person will mean nothing to you in the grand scheme of things!

I feel and share your pain Gonnagetgoing I have been thrown under the bus by my boss multiple times since I started for things that aren't even my role .Today I panicked and apologised for an error/oversight that wasn't even my fault because I was trying to head off being hung out to dry by my boss. Academia can be a brilliant place to work but it can also be very harsh, as support staff you are the bottom of the pile and yet where would academia be without support staff..?

If you resign from a job you can’t claim any benefits for 13 weeks or something?

So if you get another job or live off savings for 13 weeks that would be fine. If not you can’t afford to resign.

@Butteryflakycrust83 - yes I think she is a power hungry arsehole boss! She had a baby and returned when baby was a year old but I think she definitely has power hungry aspirations but sadly is not really a people person and not even a good manager! She seems to think from her letters that if she rinses and repeats re what I haven’t done then that’s good enough!

I did make the mistake of mentioning my previous good legal sec background and she told me she’d worked as a legal sec too. However the person I spoke to today said she’d spoken to her (bitch boss EA) about work and she’d said she’d hated working with solicitors and didn’t get on with them! Well based on her attitude I’ve seen she’d certainly rub them up the wrong way!

I had a lovely coffee and didn’t really speak about work!

@Elieza

If you resign from a job you can’t claim any benefits for 13 weeks or something?

So if you get another job or live off savings for 13 weeks that would be fine. If not you can’t afford to resign.

@Elieza - hopefully I’ll resign and be able to get a new job quickly. I had a chat re perm positions with an agency just before I finished work today so that’s good. I do have a cushion of savings and I also have 2 bedrooms I can rent out so I’m actually going to put one on a site now just in case but have it rented out for during work week.

I've never encountered someone being dismissed solely as a result of not passing their probation. I've known people who have needed to have their probation extended while they took on additional training or mastered particular skills.

Although you are correct that there isn't really any comeback on your part, it's possible that the situation is being prolonged because failing your probation has highlighted failures within your line management.

The company has invested time and money to recruit and train someone, and at the end of that process, they're left with a vacancy. So did they fail to weed out an unsuitable candidate at interview, were the probation outcomes clear and achievable, was adequate training in place?

If someone under my line management failed to pass probation, I would expect to be hauled over the coals for it.

@WhoWants2Know

I've never encountered someone being dismissed solely as a result of not passing their probation. I've known people who have needed to have their probation extended while they took on additional training or mastered particular skills.

Although you are correct that there isn't really any comeback on your part, it's possible that the situation is being prolonged because failing your probation has highlighted failures within your line management.

The company has invested time and money to recruit and train someone, and at the end of that process, they're left with a vacancy. So did they fail to weed out an unsuitable candidate at interview, were the probation outcomes clear and achievable, was adequate training in place?

If someone under my line management failed to pass probation, I would expect to be hauled over the coals for it.

@WhoWants2Know - interesting you should say this.

The organisation has taken a very hands off approach to my training so I’ve had to learn it all myself. Which isn’t hard but there have been new processes to learn.

See that’s the thing. My line manager (head of EAs/PAs and an EA herself) I know she thinks she’s great at her role. But interestingly enough I emailed a friend and my DM the letters she sent me (DM has had her own business) and DM and friend both said they’re very overwritten which they are. They go over the same old issues and there’s very little taking on board that I’ve improved. In fact up until December last year I thought I’d done ok as though I wasn’t working for 2 people as bosses I’d been assigned someone else and this appeared to be going well. Yet no one told me this (not going well) I just had casual 1:1s with this EA which is part of her role. I think she may get questions asked re my failing my probation and as you said this is probably why she’s doing everything by the book and trying to get me to resign and not be dismissed as she may think I’ll have a case as to her not doing her job. But this is a 1 year contract, I can get other work and honestly I can’t deal with this shit right now.

Thanks for giving another perspective on this though. I know I’m a good worker and have worked very well in the past it’s just I’m not a good fit here but I do think as you say my EA boss has a lot to answer for. I’m thinking she’ll just hope by my resigning this mitigates her part in my leaving and not passing probation. Can’t help but feeling a bit angry towards her.

@Elieza

If you resign from a job you can’t claim any benefits for 13 weeks or something?

So if you get another job or live off savings for 13 weeks that would be fine. If not you can’t afford to resign.

I resigned from a job recently and have managed to claim contributions based JSA without any problems. It's not much but better than nothing.

When does your leave year finish?

You mentioned you had a decent chunk of AL left- if your leave year finishes at the end of this month just check they don’t have any limits on how much you can carry over into April.

@TerribleCustomerCervix

When does your leave year finish?

You mentioned you had a decent chunk of AL left- if your leave year finishes at the end of this month just check they don’t have any limits on how much you can carry over into April.

@TerribleCustomerCervix - my leave year starts from January so ends at end of the year.

I've got a question to ask people. I want to resign so I get hopefully full month pay plus 2 weeks notice pay plus any holiday pay I'm owed and reference. So I'm holding fire on resigning just yet.

But the EA boss is being a real bitch. She wanted to have a 1:1 with me (we've been having progress 1:1s) and I messaged her to say that as I'd received her letter (dismissal) I didn't think it was worth my having a 1:1 with her so wouldn't be having one.

Now she's pouncing on every little thing I'm doing, told me I'd done something wrong twice today when I hadn't done anything wrong at all, it was her mistake twice! I can feel the hatred towards me (it's mutual by the way) dripping off her. I think she wants this 1:1 so she can put the boot into me. So, any ideas where I can politely deflect her nastiness until I resign? I will be resigning very soon.

@ProfYaffle - really - discrimination nothing I could do but wrongful dismissal - surely I'd have to be there 2 years?

@maddy68 - as it will have only been an 8 month contract I'm quite happy for it to be a generic reference.

I think resigning is the way to go. I've already heard from 2 agencies re 3 possible perm jobs and another agency re 2 ongoing temp contracts somewhere I worked before. Feeling positive already!

Thanks so much everyone for all your help and advice, really appreciated!

Wrongful dismissal has a specific meaning, relates to things like not paying the right notice or holiday. It's different to Unfair which is what you would need the qualifying service for.

www.acas.org.uk/dismissals/unfair-dismissal#:~:text=A%20'wrongful%20dismissal'%20is%20when,period%20they're%20entitled%20to

@ProfYaffle - I didn't know re wrongful dismissal so thanks for sharing that.

I do think my boss (EA) and the HR are worried I might claim for being dismissed - if I take this further and let the further meeting take place. However I do not want to be dismissed and would prefer to resign. Still, there's no way I'm going to make it easy for Ms Bitch, let her sweat a bit.

@Elieza

If you resign from a job you can’t claim any benefits for 13 weeks or something?

So if you get another job or live off savings for 13 weeks that would be fine. If not you can’t afford to resign.

That's old JSA.....

Equally when I was between jobs I was allowed Universal Credit.
(I wasn't a claimant who wouldn't apply for job if you know what I mean)

I left a telesales job at 6 months when the owner said don't bother working all of your notice, go sooner, when I had a new job lined up with the NHS - the telesales employer reported last earnings 5 days late even to HRMC and it honestly opened back up a Universal Credit claim without me doing anything.

I said to the Job Centre wouldn't I be treated as someone who voluntarily left work early and get sanctioned but I just got snigged at.

Could not work out if my Job Centre was corrupt or whether it is different if you are single but I certainly never been asked to pay back UC I got 6 days once after payday. My family were in stiches over the conversation on 1st October when I tried explaining to the call centre agent I had already been paid...and didn't need UC for all the rubbish about real time reporting.

My Jobcentre supported with two further payments of singletons Universal Credit until I got on my feet.