Colleague "doesn't do paid childcare" how to deal with situation?

[Middlechild3]

New role, shift work, told it would be a 'fairly' stable pattern mostly a combination of 2/2/2 pattern per cycle, except when someone is on leave (and then less or no day shifts). Colleague has boasted about not having to pay for childcare ever despite both her and husband both working full time with shift work (different employers).This has been facilitated because she request shifts around her husbands roster unofficially and the person who does the roster gives them to her at the expense of her colleagues. This is going to mainly be me as we are opposing shifts. This means she will request say all late shifts meaning I would get stuck with all early shifts. This wasn't what I signed up to when I took the job but the emotional blackmail has started and I know she wants the arrangement she had with my predessor to continue. I really have no interest in her childcare woes and think she needs to get paid help in. She's been very lucky for so long but with new staff things will change and she must see this. How to deal with this diplomatically but firmly? to be clear this isn't an HR arrangement she has, she has just buttered up the man who does the roster over the years.

rtt

Nothing unreasonable at all about expecting the contracted hours you signed up for.

Do not entertain any conversation whatsoever with her.

You deal with your manager.
You expect what was agreed.

Let them explain anything else.
Then you involve HR for wasting your time signing you on false terms, if they do not intend to honour them.

She's a CF.
Stay far away from her.

It doesn't sound like that at all. OP applied for this job because the shift pattern suited her. She's now discovered that the shift pattern in her contract is unlikely to be respected. She is doing what any of us would do, and fighting for what's in her contact.

I don’t know why people are saying you are being unreasonable about this, your colleague is taking the piss. If the business wanted a permanent last shifter and permanently morning shifter they would have advertised this roster.

Or maybe she just liked the early shifts. Many people do.
Do you actually want to be doing different shifts or do you just not like seeing someone getting the shifts they want?

Haha!

Wait, you were joking, right? Or you just misread? 😊

Congratulations on the ‘most patronising comment’ award.

The irony 😆

rtt

There’s a few of these on every thread…

Nowhere have I said in my post for OP to ask for her colleague’s permission? I’ve advised her to explain clearly that she fully intends to work to the shift pattern as defined by her contract and get the colleague to understand her position and agree to that. If that agreement isn’t forthcoming, she should then escalate to her manager to arbitrate the issue.

Based on my experience, I wouldn’t raise with my manager until I’d attempted to sort the issue myself. Most managers I’ve ever met / worked with wouldn’t appreciate being pulled in to mediate an issue without there being any prior attempt between the involved parties to resolve it first. Especially something that could reasonably be expected to be resolved between individuals with a simple, clear conversation.

And @PhaedraTwo there absolutely should not be any involvement of HR at this stage. That’s a complete overreaction. HR is not there to get involved with every workplace issue/dispute. If they are pulled in to this situation all they will do is bat it straight to the manager to deal with, especially as this is ultimately an operational matter relating to resource planning / management.

I wouldn’t encourage anyone who’s so recently joined a new company to go running off to HR at the first opportunity. Like it or not, fair or not, that’s precisely how people get labelled as difficult to work with, a reputation that can prove career limiting if you can’t shift it or could even result in failure probation and being let go. Not an outcome anyone wants I’m sure, least of all the OP.

I did. Your focus is on this other person not getting what she wants rather than on what you actually want.
It very much comes across like you just want to make your colleagues life difficult.

Then you need to re-read tt

You have an awful attitude. If this is how you act at work I doubt they will keep you around much longer. Do you often have problems with work?

This is exactly the vibe I am getting too.

Is it possible that she actually has an arrangement (flexible working request) to only work certain shifts? Sounds like your predecessor didn’t like her so could just be stirring.

Yeah. I was thinking that. Wouldnt all earlies be healthy?

Obviously, if the schedule doesn’t work for OP she should contest that with her manager to make sure her needs are met. Not sure why you would need to come here to work that out.

But it actually does sound like her colleague’s schedule working for not having to pay childcare is an issue for OP here as well.

Fascinating, do you find that you often struggle to accurately read people’s intentions?

OP should talk to her manager about the shift schedule she signed up for, but not moan about the rota for the other colleague

She’s explained why she prefers the other pattern. But regardless, it was what she was hired to do. If they wanted to hire somebody to take the morning shift patterns, then they could’ve done that.

How come? She’s explained in detail why she prefers the shift pattern she was hired to do?

it would be unwise to complain about a specific colleague. If you aren’t happy with your shifts, keep the focus on your own schedule. Let your manager figure out any other implications.

we don’t need to know what type of work you do. In some jobs, employees truly are interchangeable. In others, management will value experience or particular skills and make all sorts of concessions to keep an employee on staff.

If you have the later type of job and you push back specifically against this colleague, it may not go well for you.

Or you could RTFT. Your choice.

True.