How do I raise concerns about an unfair internal promotion?

[southern82]

I work for my local town council, and recently a colleague whom I started with has been given a different job with a much higher pay grade.
He hasn't applied for the job, nor interviewed.
He told me they said to not tell anyone he's getting more money. He's also got no experience either in this role. He has gone to work in health and safety and has no clue what he's doing.
I was given serving the committee members tea and coffee and he was given a new job with more money.
This feels completely unfair, how do I broach the subject with management?

What makes you think anything in the world of work is "fair"?

That kind of thing stops in primary school.

Just to be clear - he’s given you all of this information in absolute confidence (you’re not assuming anything you know everything you have said to be true?) and you want to raise it with management?

I don't think there is a legal requirement for employers to advertise jobs.
What does the recruitment policy say for your employer though, have they gone against that?
I suspect expressing concerns to management won't get you anywhere, they obviously wanted to give him the job ( for whatever reason).

I wonder why he's been promoted to a job he won't be able to do properly?

I think in local government the job has to be advertised and the applicant shown to be the most suitable for the role.. I'd be asking questions definitely, start by asking where his job was advertised.

I hear you @southern82. I’ve looked into this a little bit recently, as something similar happened in the public body I work for. It’s not law that jobs must be advertised (public or private sectors), but public bodies almost always have internal governance, transparency and equality guidelines that mean that both internal and external roles are always advertised.

If this person has been promoted surely it is obvious that he is doing a new job? Is it obvious that he is now more senior? Do you have a “Respect at work” or equality ? Are you in a union? I think I’d try and raise it with someone not directly involved initially.

(In the case at my work, several people complained whilst I was on leave and the person had been demoted by the tine I got back, so I don’t know the details of how that happened).

Yes let's not challenge any poor practice because "life is unfair".
Do you just let bad things happen and not do anything to inprove the world?

It's been told to us by management that he's on secondment and they didn't mention that he's been regraded.
I only know because he told me, and they specifically said "don't tell anyone'
We both started on the same day 6 months ago, the job he is doing requires specialist knowledge as it's health and safety related. He has zero experience in this field. I was told he was doing this for 3 days a week, and it turns out it's now 5 days a week. And they have replaced him with two new starters.
I have a 6 month appraisal next week on which I was going to mention this.
I've been given more work to do for people several pay bands higher than myself and no mention of a regrade for myself.
Basically the health and safety manager got sacked because he hadn't been doing the job correctly and they've appointed my colleague as a Buildings Officer to inspect council owned buildings, he was doing admin beforehand.
If this is allowed to happen, why was he told not to tell anyone he's had a regrade? And why not advertise internally?

Talk to a union rep. Even if you are not in a union as someone doing health and safety without training will be of concern to them.
Jobs should be advertised to avoid a “jobs for the boys” culture.

I work in local government & second what @rose69says. Tell the union as they will definitely have questions about this from a h&s point of view as they will want to ensure their members are safe at work.

So he’s about to learn that being told not to tell anyone means exactly that as you’re about to throw him into the fire for telling you.

instead of worrying about his role discuss your own role at your 6 month review, mention the higher grade work and if you enjoy and that’s where you would like to see your role develop.

anything you bring up regarding the other person is unlikely to change and you’ll only mark yourself as one to watch.

I agree with this and it will look like jealousy if op uses her appraisal to focus on someone else's promotion ( and questions it). So I don't think that is the right approach.

I think the rules are different for a secondment as it's only temporary.

This sort of thing is rife in local government - but their crap managers will always find a way to justify it. Save yourself a world of pain and rise above it. If you complain they'll find a way to turn it back onto you - speaking from my husband's experience here!

My experience with council HR is that they’re such jobsworths that they will have followed the law very closely. You may not like it, but very much doubt there is anything illegal you can challenge. Maybe they spotted potential?

They’ve given a new admin bod the HS building inspector role? For the local authority?

Agree
Anything you say will back fire massively onto you
Employers dont suddenly do a 360 or like their judgement being questioned
Keep 🤐and work on your own career development

A secondment can be for years. i did ten years on secondment. so it’s not like temporary promotion.

the fact they have hired new starts to replace him proves that this is not just til christmas or something.

i too would be asking the union to anonymously investigate. meanwhile id be asking my line manager how i should progress my career. and referencing your colleague doing so well for himself and you want to do that too. i might even go as far as saying is there a post for me, as you hired two new guys and colleague got promoted so is the other guy to replace me if i get promoted?

have you been there over two years? you have more job security is you have. so you can say things in due course if you need to.

if not it’s easier to fire you and you need to be careful what you say or imply or they couod imagine some slight and put you out. maybe that’s why they hired the other guy…… oh no……

yeah you need to be careful while challenging this jobs for the boys shite.

We have only been there 6 months. They were new roles created. There seems to be a culture of most of the staff coming to work at my place because they know the HR manager. 4 roles have been filled because she suggested they apply. It's the strangest council I've ever worked at, and I've worked at 5 so I'm used to how they operate. But this one only has around 20 office staff.
He's not any had health and safety experience at all, he previously worked in a call centre. They've given him the Building Officer post on secondment with a view to taking him on permanently. He's currently on the new salary and doing admin work still, so that's unfair.
He had already told me he was going to leave because the admin job didn't pay enough, he also personally knew our office manager before he came.
I think I need to find another job, this doesn't sit right with me at all.
I applied for the health and safety admin role on more money and was turned down for the HR managers friend. Welcome to the wonderful world of the local town council. So underhand

He told me they said to not tell anyone he's getting more money

why would he say that?

I've no idea. He was telling me how they've put together an offer for him of more money, and they said not to tell anyone, but he told me

He’s likely full of shit.

This happens where I work all the time. If your face fits you get promoted.