Would you start job after complaint?

[ThrowingT]

Wondering if anyone has been in a similar position before.

I secured a job with a public organisation (think NHS, council, DWP, HMRC etc). Due to start soon.

However simultaneously I had recourse to complain about their services as an end user (eg think poor NHS care or lack of homeless support from council etc). The complaint was relatively big in that it went to the ombudsman and I won.

Would this make you hesitant to work for the same company? I assume the citizen records and employee records are totally separate but can’t help but feel someone may recognise my name and roll their eyes. I’m coming in at a senior position too so wouldn’t want to be judged on being a pain.

Tricky one. Would your new role involve making changes that would address the issues which you complained about? Lived experience of how things are currently going wrong could be an advantage in some roles, but it could be awkward if your complaint was quite high profile. Especially if the organisation didn't acknowledge any fault and you had to go as far as the ombudsman to get it resolved.

Do you want the job?

Yes take the job! If the ombudsman upheld your complaint then something went very wrong, I honestly doubt anyone would notice unless they were directly involved.

I don’t want the job to be honest but desperate times.

I would leave at the first opportunity but I need the income at the moment.

I’m coming from another public sector organisation so I have a lot of transferable skills for this public sector employer, which I assume is how I was offered the job there so quickly. But I have applied and interviewed for private sector roles although nothing has landed as yet. Been searching for about a month.

For what it’s worth, the team I would work in at this company would theoretically be totally separate to the team I complained about. Just say I would be a software engineer in the digital department whereas my complaint was about their front line/operational services/customer service

Yep, sufficiently bad and they were a pain to deal with the entire way! Hence why I’m a bit sceptical about taking the job. A recruiter put my name forward and it pays more than my current role.

If you need the money, then take the job. It's a no-brainer.

And if your team would have had nothing to do with the complaint, I don't think you have anything to worry about. At the end of the day, it sounds like the ombudsman found in your favour in any case, so there is nothing for you to be embarrassed about, even if they do make the connection.

@MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack I guess part of my apprehension is that having been through that experience, I do feel they might be a shit employer too. Hence why they wouldn’t be my preferred employer. But yes, I definitely need the money/job. My current working environment is poor and this job generally has better benefits. It almost feels like jumping from the frying pan into the fire

My advice is take the job and never mention about the complaint.

Don't assume 2 + 2 = 4 and everyone knows about the complaint and remembers your name. If they do remember it’s their fuck up they remember not the name of the person who made the complaint.

Keep looking for the job you want.

I would take the job.

You have insight into where they've gone wrong in the past and may be able to suggest improvements to processes.

Thanks everyone. Would it change your opinion if the ombudsman complaint was still in situ ie you’re awaiting the agreed resolution to be actioned?

I sued the NHS trust I now work for, for negligence

No one has ever mentioned it, I don’t know if anyone is even aware (different department)

The case was closed and settled around a year before I started

@AndSoFinally thanks for sharing, that sounds tough. Glad it worked out.

So update to this, I ended up starting work with the public sector employer. My complaint is still ongoing ie there’s been correspondence since being employed at the employer to sort out payment after regulatory intervention but my employer (as a service provider/me as a citizen) are being horrendously shit with that. I’m finding it all awkward to navigate. The errors are continuous and frustrating and they’re clearly taking the P.

I haven’t been treated any differently as an employee as yet - as I am not sure my management are aware of my complaint. ironically I work at a senior level in the complaints performance team so my management are well aware of how poor the citizen operational services are - as they deal with the (anonymous) data and feed upwards.

but I can’t help but feel it’s all awkward to navigate so I’m already looking for an exit plan.

If you want the job, you should take it. This would be no reason not to do so.

All of the organisations you mention have thousands of staff. The NHS has a million. The likelihood that someone who deals with complaints would memorise your name and connect the complaint to their distant colleague is virtually nil.

The only person that would know your address as a staff member would be an HR worker who just types it into a system.

Regardless of that they're a public body, you complained and you won. They can't withdraw the job offer or treat you unfavourably as a staff member based on that. Even if they did put two and two together.

See prev post - have already started.

I hope so, but the staff I have been dealing with have been seriously shit. Like extreme end of incompetence where I am put off the company by what has occurred. Plus like I said in my last post, I work with complaints in the sense of analysing performance and highlighting issues. I don’t work on complaints myself but more so monitor trends, so the irony of it all isn’t lost on me

DH (successfully) sued the law firm for negligence I subsequently went to work for about 6 years before I did.

No-one mentioned it. But it turned out that they were utterly incompetent through and through and basically I should have taken the hint.

Ahh, this is where my head is at. My direct team seem ok but I do feel the writing is on the wall in terms of incompetence…

My situation was probably a little different- we had under 50 employees!

But.... I reckon your gut is telling you alot!

I guess it's an indication that it might be a shit workplace. If you can witness the things you complained about going on from the inside.