Sudden concerns about my husbands work from boss

[Flocke]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on this situation.

My husband has been in his job for 2.5 years. Passed probation with flying colours. Had a couple of bog standard appraisals where boss was happy other than a few minor areas to improve on. But overall all was very good and boss said very happy. The last appraisal was in January.
Then since March time the boss has started mentioning many issues and areas she doesn't feel he's doing well at. He has had a few instances where he's been taken into meetings to dicuss his work and mistakes he's making. (They are all minor mistakes but i also appreciate a mistake is a mistake)
Then he recently was given a letter of concern. And since then he's been told he can't be trusted and been questioned why he doesn't know certain things. None of these things are things he's been required to know in the past as they're not officially part of his job. The boss has been making comments like "why don't you know this after 2.5 years" etc. And in every instance the boss is making notes rather than just having a verbal meeting.
He's said he's more than happy to learn these things and try and improve but it's starting to seem like he can't win. He's told to take more initiative and he does. But then gets told the initiative was wrong or he said the wrong thing.
He's baffled as to why all these issues are arising now when for over 2 years the boss was apparently very pleased with him. And he doesn't feel like he's changed anything in the way he's working and he was very happy there before all this.
He feels like he's being targeted and isn't sure what to do to try and fix it. He is now looking for another job but does anyone have any advice about what to do in the meantime?
Should he also start keeping a log of things that are said? He's tried asking for a meeting to discuss how he can improve but he's just told all his mistakes again and that he just "needs to do better".

Maybe they want to manage him out maybe they expect more initiative. I don't know what level he is working at but at that length of service, I would be expecting him to be learning himself ( or searching for appropriate learning opportunities) how to do the work rather than expecting to be taught. It does sound like the job is not for him.

Your husband should put training sessions in with other team members, and if this woman finds out about it, say no unless you put in writing the training is not required and should be stopped you will keep going. Then print that email, and keep a copy at home incase they say later on "He has no initiative".
Why don't they just have a list of discounts then whoever on the phone it would be clear who has and hasn't got one? Why is this discount process so complicated? Could he bring his initiative and create a list "for everyone to use"?

Also - I wonder if the new team member is really good but alot cheaper, so they are shaking up the team to bring the cost down.

Keeping in mind you’re getting a very colored view of this.

but yes. He needs to have the job description he was hired for, do a search for any updates he was provided. Document all boss talks. And contact a lawyer about building a wrongful dismissal case - they can tell you better what to save/do when to contact HR.

HR is there to protect the company. If he is being targeted they will just get the supervisor to do a better job of it.

This!!

I’m a branch secretary for a large union. If your husband really feels he is being singled out and is already part of a union, tell him to contact them now for support.

If a manger has concerns about an employee they should be communicating them clearly and setting out a clear plan for improvement. They should also take into consideration whether there are any health issues that may require a reasonable adjustment to be put into place, or whether the member of staff is stressed and this is impacting their ability to do their job. If this isn’t happening I would send an email to the boss asking her to clearly outline the issues she has identified and how she proposes he makes improvements. Make it clear that he wants to improve and would like support and direction to be able to do this.

It sounds like quite a small company and in my experience they can be pretty lax about having any set or written procedures in place for dealing with thing like capability/performance issues, but as a minimum I would expect that if meetings are being held to discuss his performance then he should be able to have a union rep or colleague present. This would help to prevent any potential gaslighting that may be going on. I would also expect that the manager should put any concerns discussed in the meeting in writing, so your husband can refer back to this, and log the changes he is making to address the concerns.

If any new work practices or procedures are conveyed to your husband verbally, I’d tell him to follow up with an email. It can be laborious and irritating, but having an audit trail is so handy if things don’t improve and a grievance needs to be submitted. Just something along the lines of ‘ just to confirm that when we spoke earlier it was agreed we would do things x way. In light of recent events I just want to make sure my understanding of the new procedure/practice is correct. No need to respond to this email, if it is and we’re on the same page.’

If any training needs have been identified, make sure he follows up on this and requests it in writing, but if things don’t improve in a few weeks and he has sufficient evidence to support his claim, I would encourage him to submit an informal grievance on the grounds that she is managing the situation poorly, and is failing to set realistic expectations or communicate clear instructions and provide support and direction.

It sounds like a possible mix of losing patience with errors if he is the only one making them, and boss wanting him out, either because they need to reduce numbers or because she really is just bored of the errors.

But he should be given the opportunity to have a meeting to discuss how they can help him improve, ie more training etc.

But as they aren't offering this it seems they just want to make him uncomfortable as poss to force him to leave.

I have had numerous colleagues make the same errors over and over regardless of training etc and it does get tiresome

It sounds like this is a sales job in FMCG. I reckon a new person started and they’ve realised that the new person takes way more initiative and is a fast learner and his flaws is becoming more obvious. Maybe they tolerated it until they had a new starter and thought that they could find a more suitable person who’s more willing to learn new stuff at pace.
I would get your husband to document all conversations and to take proactive steps to address each concern. After 2 years they’ll have to put him on a PIP and clearly document what actions need to be taken. If at the end of x weeks he doesn’t meet expectations they can legally let him go but they need evidence that they have trained him and been clear on expectations and he hasn’t met the right standard to do so or they open themselves up to risk.

This all sounds a bit dodge. As he has worked for them for over 2 years he is able to take them to a tribunal for unfair dismissal, So they would need to be very careful. I would make notes of everything, if they are just saying hes crap but doing nothihg then they need to performance manage him. If the unreasonable behaviour continues he should raise a grievance and it'll then be investigated and he coulf put in a subject access request as well because he might find something you never know. Also please check out ACAS for employment advice.

Seems like the manager hasn't a clue and keeps coping and changing and giving mixed messages. Looks like they are trying to piss him off so he will leave. Maybe his face doesn't fit anymore. All a bit strange, but definitely keep notes of the conversations and all tha mixed messages. Good luck to him.

Ignore the constructive dismissal advice as it is very hard to prove. Is the company struggling financially and they are trying to reduce the headcount?
contact ACAS for advice. Also check on your home or car insurance if you ticked legal cover as you can ask them anything it’s well worth it At renewal time. If he has an employee assistance scheme they often have advice which is confidential as it is outsourced so won’t get back to manager.

does the company have proper policies in place for managing performance?

I would be on the lookout for another job as well as this won’t end well.

Hi OP, I've done lots of performance management over the years but never with a view to dismiss, always to improve. I think it's wise if your husband keeps a log of every incident, verbal, written, witnesses, content etc just in case as it does sound a bit like bullying.

For every conversation he should follow up with an email to "confirm the discussion" and/or to "check my understanding". He could in effect write his own performance plan although his boss should be doing this with him... Using your supermarket analogy he could say to the boss you've said I need to know about Morrisons now so to achieve this I will shadow Bob for a day and have a briefing with Morrisons. He could also suggest that the lead for each supermarket write a crib sheet as to how each work.

It's tricky when there are minor issues with performance because you don't want to bring them up all the time, many you just live with as a manager if the rest of the work is to standard or above. Minor issues I probably wouldn't discuss at appraisal but might bring up in passing if context allows or in our monthly 1 to 1 meetings. "It'd be useful if you could start to have the same knowledge on Morrisons as you do on Sainsbury's".

The issue is when there become more minor issues than just the one or two you've lived with.

Constructive dismissal is something to keep in mind. But he'll need evidence including the bullying and lack of support/moving the goal posts.

Is his HR any good? In his shoes I'd approach it as "this is what's happening but I don't understand why and when I ask I'm not getting a clear answer, can you help facilitate a conversation please?" Rather than my manager is being an arse. Because HR might already know the manager's side of things, but not your husband's experience.

Good luck to him.

He needs to put in writing his side of this story because this example is ridiculous. They are targeting him for sure

I’m just going to add something else here. This happened to my husband and he got a letter and a warning. I couldn’t understand it. Then he got taken very Ill and got a nasty diagnosis. I spoke to his boss about something else whilst he was in hospital and the boss said he wished he’d called me. My husband had been forgetting things and acting oddly at work, he’d had chats with hr and he just hadn’t told me any of that.
so, I’m sure it’s not but does he seem ‘normal’ to you? Any niggling symptoms that you’re putting down to him being stressed or tired?
im not trying to scare you, just to consider it from another angle.
all the best

I agree. Mumsnet is full of people who will say it’s your husband’s fault for not miraculously knowing things he doesn’t and hasn’t been expected to know. Ignore them.

He’s being managed out, he should contact ACAS, follow up all meetings with an email on what was discussed and keep a record, take witnesses into meetings where possible.

Is he part of a union? If he's in a position to going a union he should consider it, whilst also looking for other work. I wonder if she needs to make redundancies and this is a way of getting out of paying.

There’s absolutely nothing to stop employers asking “why don’t you know this”. That wouldn’t be enough for constructive dismissal, which can be a struggle to prove. Generally tribunals don’t tend to interfere with employer’s judgments on performance as long as they have followed the right process (provided it’s not obviously a pretence egg to cover discrimination).

it does sound though that they are trying to manage him out. As unfair as it may be, the best thing in these circumstances is usually to get a new job.

I agree with others - he is being managed out. It is difficult to sack people once they have been there over two years so this sort of thing is common. Companies nitpick and gaslight to create a paper trail so that it looks like the employee is poor. If he was getting good reviews before I would expect the financial performance of the company has worsened and they have realised they need to drop a staff member and have decided to target him. The best thing he can do is to stick it out long enough to find another job and then move on.

It's shitty. I wish companies could be honest about this sort of thing rather than making the employee doubt themselves and feel shit, but they are covering their arses.