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Working in HR - difficulty with manager

7 replies

Soulsearcher1 · 19/02/2025 21:45

Hello, I work in HR and have done for many years. I'm CIPD qualified to level 7.

I've been with my current company a few months. I'm finding a certain manager very hard to deal with. He's very much of the opinion that he always knows best, it's OK just to sack people if they have less than 2 years service as long as you give them notice, since they can't claim unfair dismissal anyway. It's clear that he views HR as a nuisance and is, in my opinion, rude, antagonist and hostile towards me. When i try to give him advice he usually objects and gets very irate wity me. I think my predecessor pretty much let him do what he wanted and he doesn't like the way I get involved. He doesn't tell me about employee issues until the 11th hour and he tells me he's decided on a course of action which i usually dusagree with and I'm forced to have to act very quickly, and drop other things to make sure everythjng is done properly, that we follow proper procedures and at times try to undo tte danage hes done by acting too hasty or even inappropriately. He's very melodramatic about things and jumps to conclusions, accusing his staff of serous acts of misconduct when in reality it isn't the case. I consider myself a caring person and believe we should treat employees fairly and with compassion whilst ensuring that anyone who breaks the rules and behaves in an unacceptable way is dealt with in a firm but fair way. We're a business at the end of the day and I understand you can't have people take the piss and im no pushover. I understand that sometimes we need to dismiss someone but regardless of the reason, I think people should be treated fairly and with consideration to their feelings and not take the decision to dismiss lightly.

This manager doesn't seem to share the same values as me and it's clear he doesn't value my opinion.

I'm wondering if anyone has experienced a similar issue and if so, how did you deal with it?

Thank you.

OP posts:
Donutofdoooooom · 19/02/2025 21:48

Is this manager more senior than you, who is their boss?

I always approach it with a risk based argument, you can usually always find plenty of case law evidence that backs up following correct procedure is in the company's best interest unless they want to pay out £££.

UnhappyAndYouKnowIt · 19/02/2025 22:02

Some organisations will do things like fire people before 2 years without following procedures. They can get away with it if there's such a ready supply of qualified recruits that it's easy to replace staff, but that's not the case in most settings.

Firing hastily has a cost to the company in lost hours, reduced productivity, and the cost of recruiting and training new staff. Not to mention the cost to the company's reputation if word gets around that they are a shit employer.

Does this manager have anyone senior who could implement a performance improvement plan?

Soulsearcher1 · 19/02/2025 22:12

Thank you both for your replies. I have spoken to this manager's boss about my concerns. He said he understood my concerns but I don't think he'll say anything as he doesn't want to rock the boat. The company has and still is going through real financial struggles and had a lot of changes over the past couple of years. I don't think anything will be done by any of the senior management.

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NigellaAwesome · 19/02/2025 23:09

There was one like that in my old place. Manager who knew better than HR, especially female HR or employment lawyers - he knew best and couldn't be told.

His latest escapade will have cost the organisation approximately £1.5m in legal fees and compensation by the time proceedings are finished. Of course he sailed into the sunset on early retirement, but his reputation is in tatters.

I'm not sure there is much you can do. He is creating a toxic environment for employees.

Soulsearcher1 · 19/02/2025 23:44

@NigellaAwesome oh my word what an absolute liability! . That just goes to show how dangerous this kind of attitude is. Unfortunately these assholes managers get away with it time and time again because their managers dont deal with them effectively or at all. I suspect this manager in my workplace has deeply misogynistic views and has very little respect for me. Unfortunately my own manager isn't very supportive and only cares about being on the right side of managers .so I don't have anyone to turn to.

OP posts:
landobroken · 19/02/2025 23:49

Hi OP, just thought I would mention a group on Facebook called HR Ninjas if you are not familiar with it already. HR professionals post their queries and fellow HR types will answer and advise - it's so helpful and I have learnt lots! They also have a HR Ninjas self help group for any of your own HR gripes like this - may be worth a look.

Soulsearcher1 · 20/02/2025 00:27

@landobroken I haven't heard of it. That sounds great, I'll check it out! Thank you.

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