Issues with employee, should I say something?

[Mirr0rmirr0r]

Worked with my company for years, usually pretty happy there. Person that I line manage been there a few years. Nice enough person but there's been issues before.

It's a busy company but quite relaxed in outlook with a "no blame" culture, which is either good or frustrating depending on what's happening. I have suffered from anxiety in some other jobs but am usually ok here because I know I won't get torn a new one if something has gone wrong etc. Luckily I know the ropes well and don't often forget stuff or mess up.

Anyway it's gone from busy but manageable to usually always super busy with me often hitting a wall and having little time to think before getting things done, juggling lots of stuff at once. Changes have been made recently to accommodate things and try to smooth it over but I'm not sure that it's working. I've been doing as best as I can however my assistant frequently forgets to do things, or makes mistakes and I'm constantly picking up after them, usually when they're on holiday or off sick and I have a team member telling me that X urgent thing was supposed to be done a month ago and my assistant hasn't done it. There's even been occasions when they've told me it's been done and then later on I find out it's not and have to rectify it. I'm about at the end of my tether because there's only so many times you can say please do X today or ask if they've finished this thing and been told yes, when you later find out it's sitting untouched. And this isn't just a recent thing.

Anyway that's bad enough and I am already going to speak to my own boss (who is pretty high up) about things to discuss a way forward but then another team member phoned me to discuss the issues as it's not just me who it's affecting and told me something very concerning. Basically that someone else (wouldn't tell me who) had spoken to them and mentioned that my assistant had, at one point, apparently been doing work for someone else when they were supposed to be working for us. During company hours in other words, which I believe is fraudulent. We were all wfh at this point. Not sure how the person knew about this supposed other job but I was told it is someone that my assistant is quite friendly with so perhaps they were seen somewhere, not sure. This seemingly coincided with a period where they had left lots of work undone for months, and I'd only found out about it after a long period had passed. When gently questioned they'd said that there had been some kind of "issues" at home etc, but unspecified (couldn't really say what exactly had caused it) that had meant that they'd dropped the ball and forgotten to do all this work. And now I'm being told that they were moonlighting at work.

I have no proof of this of course and it's very much a he said she said situation. But should I mention this rumour to my boss when I voice my other concerns? I'm not sure what, if anything I should say given that it's just something another staff member told me but it would certainly explain a lot! And also what if something was to come to light later on and I'd said nothing?

Thanks for any advice.

l don't think it would be fraudulent but definitely breach of contract. You usually need to tell your employer if you are going to take on another job which could potentially affect your first job.

I would mention it but reiterate that it is a rumour as it could be untrue and cause a lot if problems for your assistant

Absolutely say something, but don't go on (or repeat) hearsay. When you're giving feedback you want it to be concise, clear, and difficult to dismiss out of hand - getting into a conversation based on something that may be a complete load of bollocks will get you nowhere. Think about what you've observed directly, what you can own (I've seen, I've experienced), and steer clear of motives and assumptions.

Use the SAID model if it helps.

Situation - be specific about examples - what was the context, what was happening, when was this?

Actions - what did they do (or not do). Stick to 'you said', 'you did', 'you didn't' - steer well clear of analysing their motives or assuming you know what was behind their actions.

Impact - what was the impact of their actions (or lack of action)? This might be impacts for you, for colleagues, for service users, or for deadlines/budgets.

Discuss/Do - if you know what needs to happen then you can explain this e.g. I need this work done on time, I need you to talk to me about this, I need you to keep the team updated about this. Otherwise, you outline the situation, actions and impact, and ask them to discuss it with you.

Keep an open mind, sit on any assumptions that pop into your head, be ready to listen twice as much as you talk, but don't be afraid to be clear and firm about what needs to happen differently.

Thanks both, I was nervous as I hate confrontation but mentioned it in my meeting and we're going to have another discussion re the issues soon so will see what happens. I did just phrase it as this is what I've been told so it might not be true but there's been lots of issues so... I've never heard of that SAID model before, that's helpful thanks.

Are you dealing with this or just referring up to your boss? You don't say anywhere that you are actually actively managing this person - apart from constantly discovering things which haven't been done. What are the implications of them not doing their job properly - have you had formal meetings with them, are they on a performance improvement plan, have they had any formal warnings? If I was your boss and you came to me with this scenario, I would expect you to have done all of the above before referring upwards.

I’m not sure how you would deal with this but in one of my old jobs, a colleague had called in sick and was doing shifts in a 2nd job. She got found out and was sacked.