Calling out new boss

[Lookonbright]

Hi I started a new job last week. I know the director of the company and he brought me in as he knows my worth.

I have gone in as middle management and noticed on Friday my new boss was breaking some fundamental rules in the field we work.

What do I do? Don’t feel it will go down well if I mention anything to my new boss, as they will feel undermined. Serious not to be ignored. I suppose I have no choice but to mention to the Director. Will I be seen as disruptive?

It never goes well in this scenario. Please advise 🙏

Depends on how serious the transgression is. Your post is too vague.

You raise it. Is there a whistleblowing policy?

Do you have evidence?

could there be an alternative explanation eg they have a temporary workaround due to issues you’re unaware of?

is it something you have no choice but to report, or could you ask your boss how this process should be conducted to see if they give you any clarity on their stance?

Surely you raise it with your boss first instead of going over their head to the Director?

Difficult to say without specifics, but I think I'd start with asking to speak with new boss and then basically saying, 'Dave, this is awkward, but can we have a conversation about you okaying x,y,z? These are pretty fundamental rules we have to keep, and I wondered what the reason was. I'm uncomfortable about pretending I don't know about it'.

Going immediately over his head will not go down well. At least speak to him first. If you get nowhere you can at least then say, 'Ok, well, I'm going to have to raise this with Simon and check that he's happy with it. I'm still not ok with it'.

You've then given a heads up that you intend to take it further. Better than going behind his back.

Also you never know how complicit the director is so you’re best finding the right reporting procedure before going straight to them

If its finance then you should have a whistleblowing policy. Follow that.

You need to mention it to your boss first.

my boss will not take it well, 100 percent, it will show him how I have seen him to be incompetent in his roll. It’s a fundamental mistake. It’s actually sending personal information to all staff members mobiles about a protected third party. Seriously do not want to be put in this position in my first week. I wanted to keep my head down and do a good job 😞

Surely its just a question?

John where I used to work we never did that because we were told it's illegal. What's company policy here?

Well if it was sent to all staff mobiles, then maybe someone else might report it and you don’t need to be the whistleblower. Would the director have received it?

plus in the kindest way possible, how serious is this? I work with the public and if someone did this, they would be investigated but likely wouldn’t be sacked. It’s not the most serious transgression when put into perspective

What sort of rules? Are they referenced anywhere in official documentation?

Thank you for your responses.

Not Wanting to get anyone in trouble, just wanting to follow company policies in order to protect myself, other staff and clients.

' your boss ' i.e. the owner of the company ? if it's a private company.
or do you mean your immediate manager ?

big difference.

You need to establish if this is normal practice in which case you need to tell your boss you're not prepared to accept it and go over his head or is it an error that occurred so you need to have a discussion about dealing with the consequences and putting procedures in place to ensure it isn't repeated.
Either way you can't ignore it or you will be complicit in the wrongdoing.

The manager is, as I call my boss

Report it. If he sent it to everyone it’s not something he can pin on you.

Thats how I feel. Definitely will not be able to speak with my boss (The Manager) as he will not take it well. He will feel undermined 💯 and this will not bode well for me.

I will report it. Definitely does not sit well with me to ignore bad work practice. The Manager is new to the role so maybe a learning curve at the very least.

This all seems unnecessarily dramatic.

Can you not simply ask your boss to help you understand the company's policy with regard to GDPR, and query the position with regard to sending personal data to staff mobile phones?

You don't have to make a big song and dance of it. Your manager may have an explanation as to why he considers circulating the data to be in line with policy - if this is the case, you can check the policy to see if you agree. He might realise as a result of your question that he has breached policy - if this is the case, you can watch what he does to deal with the issue. Or he might say that he doesn't give a stuff about GDPR, in which case you'll definitely need to blow the whistle.

Right now, you seem to be making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill.

@Lookonbright this is where your upwards management and influencing and persuading skills are needed. As @MrsBennetsPoorNerves suggests a low key what is the policy approach is where to start.

Surely you can approach it from a position that you're not sure if he's aware or not (erring on the side of caution here) but that doing what he did on X date by sending to all work mobiles rather than either a restricted list or the contents of the message could be interpreted very seriously if it was to be reported outside of the company to the Data Protection Commissioner. You don't believe that anyone has reported it but everyone makes mistakes and you want all staff from the newest entrants to the people who set up the company to be fully up to speed on the processes and procedures.

After all, this manager brought you in for a reason. Tough shit if they think their nose has been put out of joint due to their error. They should own it and say "Look, even I get it wrong sometimes".

So long as there is no financial impact from what he did that is...

Started the job last week. Met Manager twice, have not formed any professional relationship as yet. Small team which are very close.

I will bring it up, but I feel it will not be a welcome conversation.

Not looking for any drama in the workplace but cannot ignore this fundamental error, especially in the field I work.

Please don’t belittle my feelings by saying statements like “mountain out of molehill” and “unnecessarily dramatic”.

Workplaces can be difficult at the best of times! Of course there will be repercussions.

The Manager has not had anything to do with me being hired. I was brought over from another location, being told “I get things done properly”. Like that’s not going to get anyone’s back up, already.