AIBU to expect to be asked about shift swaps?

[SeizureSalad]

It's a work related AIBU but I'm putting it here for more relevant replies and maybe less vipers?

AIBU to expect my team to check in with me before they swap shifts?

Trying to keep it succinct, I manage a team of 4 and our business opens weekend mornings, so one of them is rostered to work the morning each week. 3 of them are full time contracted employees and get half a day off in the week (generally of their choice) for each weekend day worked, the other is part-time and weekends are paid in addition to usual hours. They work on average one weekend day a month each.

Last weekend the person rostered for Saturday morning happened to speak to the part-timer on Friday afternoon, said they weren't feeling well, so part-timer offered to work Saturday instead, which they did. I came in to retrospective advice of this yesterday.

I thanked them for covering the shift, but asked if next time they could just run it by me first. I could have covered the shift myself (I work weekends anyway so just a case of juggling hours about). One of the full-timers owes some hours and might have been happy for the chance to work them back. And it's just a courtesy to let your line manager know, isn't it, especially when you're expecting to be paid for the extra hours worked? For context we're currently fully staffed so I have had a decree from above not to roster any additional hours over and above contracts.

The part-timer has lost their MIND about it, I'm being unreasonable, they've never heard anything like it, why should they have told me, they were just helping the company out, everyone would agree with them, they'll never work another minute over their hours, even when we're in the shit.... I could go on. This was all basically yelled at me across the office this morning, and then continued when I moved the conversation to a private room.

They're so ADAMANT that I'm being wildly unreasonable to suggest I'm kept informed as the team manager that I'm starting to doubt myself... Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

If they actually yelled at you - then damn right I’d be disciplining that behaviour pronto.

You are not being unreasonable OP, you sound a balanced sensible and appropriate manager.
How long has this person been with the company? Have they got something going on in their life that is triggering an overreaction? Are they trying to to stay away from home (eg weekend morning suited them). I'm not saying any of this is your responsibility, what I am saying is to receive a reaction like that there is something in the background. Could you turn the situation around by addressing this with them?

It was perhaps more 'loudly speaking over me' than 'yelling'. I certainly didn't manage to get a word in until I'd moved it to the boardroom (and even then my words were plainly not listened to).

Well that is insubordination and unacceptable for starters. This is nor how you behave in a work environment

It's not for an employee to decide they'll work overtime to cover a colleague.

If it had been a straight swap - you work Saturday and I'll work Friday for example - it would still need to be run past the manager as a courtesy.

Not unreasonable at all, especially when it means a member of staff is going over their contractual hours. Unauthorised overtime might not get paid.

We've always operated a "shift swap" form that requires signing off by management, bigger team but there is a requirement to have specifically qualified person working at all times and this responsibility is recorded. Hours not an issue as salaried positions but occasionally people need to swap their day off without taking annual leave. Mostly they request the swap and let managers ask relevant people though - male dominated industry unsurprisingly.

Not unreasonable at all. They were cheeky and unprofessional. I don't suppose you will get through to them though.

@Tortephant They've been here decades, as have I, although only managing this team since last year. I really don't think it's anything at home; unfortunately this isn't a new kind of attitude to any perceived slight but very difficult to clamp down on now after 20+ years of it being ignored / tolerated.

I’d be willing to bet there is far more to this than meets the eye? Maybe one of the ‘vipers’ will agree with me 🤦‍♀️

Yanbu at all. IIWM theyd be getting a letter of concern (informal warning) that their attitude and outburst wasnt acceptable and future similar incidents may be a disciplinary matter.

Not unreasonable at all OP and in previous places I’ve worked any overtime or additional hours would not be paid unless authorised by the manager - maybe need to say that going forward unless you’ve ok’d a change in shift/hours then you can’t guarantee they’ll be paid.
It’s hard because maybe they did think they were doing the right thing so as not to put anybody out or cause any hassle but as manager that’s your decision.

What was the process for finding cover before you became their boss?

You do need to clamp down on this though as they seem to think that they run the place but they are not the manager and as such are not running the whole team and have to deal with the pressure and questioning from your superior with regards to hours worked etc.
I feel a more formal conversation needs to be had. I would initially enquire as to if there is anything going on for them and if everything is ok. If they confirm that everything is fine then you need to be very clear on your expectations. If they don't want to understand that then that is their choice but you are the manager and they need to respect that you are the person who makes those decisions. I'm sure they won't want to be the person getting phone calls from your superiors about extra hours etc and if they did I'm sure that they would just pass them onto you. Thus showing who needs to be informed and make the decisions.

Are they a man?

Not unreasonable at all.
In fact, if anything, I think you should have taken a harder line initially as their overtime will now give you a budgetary issue.

Do elaborate?

Well if you have had the decree from above that you cannot roster anything above contracted hours, then I assume this person isn’t going to get paid for that shift? The person who was off would need to do one of their shifts in return? I mean, there’s nothing you can do about ther as it’s out of your hands and of course you would have explained that to them if they’d let you know the plan in advance so “shrugs shoulders”.

Ii think it’s fine that they rearranged the cover themselves, but they should have kept you informed of the changes.

Not unreasonable given there is an issue of overtime payments in the mix.

I'd also be warning her about her tone.

Disagree. Employee just sounds like a common garden variety knobber. Workplaces are full of them as they've had soft touch managers who cba dealing with them, then they get affronted when New Manager arrives and doesnt put up with their shit.

Thank you all. That's all I needed really, a 3rd party voice or two to confirm that I'm the kind of micro-managing ogre I was made out to be this morning (at least not on this subject 😉).

The person who was ill should have informed you and let you sort it out and not sort cover themselves.

I think the person needing the cover should have been the one to inform you first.

You are def not being unreasonable. They were really cheeky. There was a cost to the business and you have to manage the staffing budget. Now below is an example of a control freak manager.
My DD ended up leaving a part time job due to sheer non flexibility. 2 students, same wage and same contracted hours. They asked once to swap their shifts and the Manager lost her shit. No cost to the business, just pure awkwardness.

you definitely need to inform the manager of any swaps in any place I have worked.