STUPIDLY UNREASONABLE MANAGER

[lifesabitchslways]

I’m looking for advice about a work situation as I’m due back in the office today.

My understanding is that working from home and flexibility are at the discretion of my line manager. My current manager only took over the role late last year, and her manager has a reputation for being very controlling. I previously had to raise concerns about his micromanagement.

The general rule he introduced is that everyone must work from the office two days a week, including part‑time staff.

One of my colleagues is part‑time and normally works in the office on Tuesdays. Last week she took half a day’s leave on her office day, worked the morning in the office, then left. She was then told she had to come back the next day to complete the remaining half‑day in the office, which seemed unusual.

Last week, my plan was to work from the office on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday morning I woke up with a stiff neck, logged in from home, and posted on Teams to say I was working remotely. Within minutes, my manager’s manager asked if I was coming in. I said no, I was working from home. He then emailed asking whether I had discussed not doing two office days with my line manager. I explained that I had only just realised Friday was a bank holiday, and that I could come in if needed. I also asked whether I could take the afternoon off using my flexi hours (I currently have over 14 hours). He replied that I should speak to my line manager this week, said my flex balance was “incorrect”, and refused the afternoon off. He also asked whether I would be working three office days the week after Easter, but I didn’t respond to that part.

My line manager was on annual leave all last week, so he was effectively in charge.

Today is Tuesday. My usual office days are Thursday and Friday, but I prefer not to go in on those days because of the nature of the work. Tuesdays are extremely busy and I also have a health‑related agreement not to attend the office on Tuesdays due to low immunity. I don’t want to go in three days this week, as he suggested, because I “missed” one day last week due to the bank holiday. I also don’t want to lose my flexi hours, as they were accumulated through work and I haven’t had the chance to reduce them.

To summarise:

• My line manager is back from leave today.
• The rule is two office days per week.
• I plan to do my usual two office days this week, not three.
• I don’t agree with being asked to “make up” a day because of a bank holiday.

I’m unsure how to handle this when I go in today. Any advice would be appreciated.

What do they expect if you book a week's holiday - that you have to go into the office four days the following week to make up the two days you missed?

A bank holiday is a bank holiday for crying out loud.

This manager is an arse.

Just to clarify for those saying I'm avoiding going in — my issue is not about which days I attend. I can go in any day of the week and happily tick my 2 days (although there is an agreement with managers to avoid Tuesdays for medical reasons as it is super busy on that day) . I actually have legitimate medical grounds to work fully from home which I haven't pushed because I've always just got on with it and done what's required.
My actual issue is simple: one office day was missed last week due to a bank holiday, and I'm now being told to do 3 days this week to make it up. That's the bit I'm questioning — not whether I should be doing my 2 days, which I always do.
As for those suggesting I'm taking the piss or that my manager is a pushover for accommodating me — I've let a lot slide over time and consistently done what's been asked. This isn't someone looking for an easy ride, it's someone pushing back on what feels like an unreasonable extension of a policy. Everyone in my workplace knows the senior manager in question has form for this kind of thing — I'm not an isolated case and I'm certainly not the problem.

I never understand why people suggest this as if it’s a good option to punish the company.

Depending on the organisation, many only have a certain number of paid sick days you can take before you drop to SSP, and most will also have a sickness policy - ours triggers after 10 days absence or 4 or more instances within a rolling 12 month period.

I am absolutely in the camp of sometimes you are well enough to work but are not up to being in the office, but that sort of flexibility tends to be granted to people who have a good attitude and are consistent and reliable - not those who every other week have a different excuse for not doing the expected days in the office.

If your senior manager tells you to do 3 days this week to make up the time then that’s what you need to do. Unless you have a written contract which says otherwise, but as you say it’s at the discretion of the manager.

So do as you’ve been asked, or don’t, but then expect that you may get a warning.

@lifesabitchslways the rule is 2 days a week minimum in the office. If you only work for two days , you spend 100% of your working hours in the office. That’s clear.

And you failed to do that last week.

You might think that your manager’s manager is nitpicking by insisting you make up the missed office day. I suspect he thinks he is being fair to all employees by holding them all to the same standards. Otherwise he might be accused of having inconsistent rules which is an absolute no-no.

if you believe your medical condition would allow you to not have to follow the policy, you need to formally apply for this, not just act as if.

Everything else is just noise.

As a manager who is held to account on whether everyone in my team is doing the mandated 2 days a week I found reading the OP extremely frustrating.

In my place of work I really think they’ll just get rid of wfh because it’s astonishing to me how many people now simply can’t do 2 days when 6 years ago they were doing mon to Fri 9-5. I’m very cynical at this point as I’ve heard every excuse under the sun; not feeling great/cars broken down/dog walkers sick/office too busy/office too quiet/can only get in for 11 and need to leave at 3/traffic bad/weather bad/have a delivery etc etc etc. I’m so sick of having to constantly check, pull people up and listen to all the reasons why certain people are consistently failing to do their 2 days and yes it does feel like micromanaging a group of teenagers at times. There is other stuff I should and would far far rather be doing but if my teams aren’t doing their 2 days I have to explain myself so what else can I do? When you get your figures for office attendance through and you send around yet another reminder and then are bombarded with a whole set of different reasons and excuses about why 2 days is so terribly tricky you just feel like banging your head against the wall and screaming seriously everyone just do your 2 fucking days - I don’t care if your decorators coming or your Guinea pig is sick or heavy rain is forecast. Just turn up 2 days a week of your choosing, recognise you’re being paid to do a job and wfh 3 days a week is a non contractual benefit that could be removed at any point.

OP if it’s managers discretion and a senior manager has told you to do 3 days in the office next week I’d just do it if I were you.

I think I would be more concerned about the statement your flexi is “incorrect”! Presume you record on a timesheet? You need to get that acknowledged ASAP to ensure you don’t end up losing nearly two days pay.

Yes I agree with this. Is he saying you’ve fiddled your timesheet? I’d get that clarified straight away.

Get the policy clarified about how it works when a bank holiday falls. Ask for it to be communicated across the team.
Don’t over dwell over your line managers manager. They can put whatever they want on a team agenda. That is not micromanaging.

This was always going to happen in the end. We have a presenteeism culture in the UK going back to scrooge

If you have to be in the office on Fridays then it’s petty to force you to make it up.

If, as you have said, you can choose your office days then it’s fair to say you must make up the day. Otherwise every week there is a bank holiday everyone will only go in once that week and claimed the other day they were planning on going in is the bank holiday.

And it sounds like you know you should have gone in on Wednesday otherwise how is it relevant that you had a stiff neck and told your team you would be working remotely that day?

Isn't the 2 days in the office pro rata for part-timers? If not, they will work in the office a higher percentage of their working week than the full timers who do 40%.

Exactly this!

You need to spend a certain amount of hours in the office.
Yours equates to 2 days a week. I assume it’s 16 hours a week.

You did not do your 16 hours in the office and do therefore you need to make up for it.

If you don’t like doing Thursdays and Fridays then WFH on those days but know that you still need to do your contracted hours in the office.
If you don’t, you’ll need to make up for them the following week.

I can see this problem solving itself if they start kicking of they’ll just withdraw WFH

I think making an issue about this you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot

You called in to say you were working from home last minute because you had a stiff neck? Are you having us on 😅😅

My poor husband has a chronic illness and had a very unreasonable manager who would not even try to cater for him even though she had the power. He ended up losing his job even though the flexibility to WFH a little more would have kept him in work. Now he's been forced onto benefits.

Sorry, but you sound very much like the type of person that has caused the rules to tightened up 🤷‍♀️

I don’t understand the drama - sounds like your manager got annoyed that you have endless drawn out stories about why every day of the week is problematic and difficult - necks and immunity and whatever. So you faffed around last week and didn’t get your days in, they got annoyed and now you are making up the time as that’s what their policy is.

If it would help you, just ask for a copy of their policy and if it’s not there, clarify around bank holidays as it seems obvious to me that if the office is shut on one day, you can’t count that towards your two days? I don’t really understand the drama here to be honest.

If you instead want to to take it through occupational health and HR to get your specific requirement reduced; then do so and they won’t bother you again. You can’t say you have some sort of secret accommodation and expect your boss to do anything with that information.

I think when you said your neck was bad so you were working from home on Wednesday, but then suddenly was well enough to potentially go into the office in spite of the stiff neck when you realised Friday was bank holiday and you would maybe have to make the day up this week, that looked a bit suss and like you were trying to just do one office day last week

Ask for written clarification on office days and wfh days in future-whether they need making up the week after if don't meet wuota and just call in sick if you are too unwell to attend the office on an office day

WFH was a rarity before Covid. Now it's more general it needs to be in writing. At the moment your interpretation differs from management. Get it in writing then no one side can accuse the other of being awkward or unreasonable. If you don't, this will continue to be a problem for you and management.