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Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

Started by Bouwel, 10 August, 2009, 11:08:13 AM

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TordelBack

Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 April, 2018, 06:15:29 PM
Ta.  Do like a nice bourbon.  Something very comforting about them.

Nice palaces and all.

Feck 'em all Tjm, and rant away.  Employers!

Currently getting a pile of passive-aggressive grief because one of the supervisors I'm tasked with wrangling has turned out to be a bit of a waste of space, and I didn't pick up on it (most of the supervisory staff are a little less stellar than I might wish for, and the regular joes are so fresh out of college that degree conferrals are the main reason given for days off: but you get what you're given and do the best you can with them).

Unfortunately I formally stuck up for the bloke a month or two back after an issue arose with his team, partly out of a long-held belief that shit goes up and not down, and partly because he's a decent intelligent guy, and as a result I have the sinking suspicion that I'm going to get the boot at the end of my current contract, despite working my arse off to get it complete on time. 

Bearing in mind that I didn't hire or appoint the bugger, there's no personnel review process for contract staff, he's been off sick and/or on holidays for more than half the time I've had him, and my line manager only twigged the situation because of an incidental conversation with a previous employer, it seems a bit unfair to be getting the blame for not picking him out as a problem. Doubly unfortunate, as I've really enjoyed the job.

Tjm86

Quote from: TordelBack on 26 April, 2018, 06:59:52 PM

Nice palaces and all.


What is really depressing is how many heads that one is likely to go over.  Royal joke my friend, nice one.

I don't know what it is about British business and industry and their contempt for staff.  That plus seeing experience as a threat.  No wonder this country is going to hell in a hand basket. (and now we morph to the political thread).

I do remember years ago pointing out to my Corporal that shit does in fact flow uphill.  My reasoning being that a decent supervisor will be responsible for their staff.  That said, a decent boss is worth its weight in gold.  I've worked for some fantastic ones down through the years.  The most recent ones .... least said, soonest mended?

Bit bizarre mind if you are getting grief because of supporting a nipper that has played them a blinder.  If the lad (?) is a problem then that is surely on them, not on their contract staff who can only speak as they find.   I'd agree that it is unfair and unjust.  Maybe this explains the UK productivity problem?

TordelBack

#8057
Bah, today I did indeed get my marching orders for two months time. 

Rather inopportune timing as I'm currently trying to negotiate myself out of a court repossession order on my home, the success of which largely depends on demonstrating a consistent income to be shovelled down the bank's maw. 

I know I'm not the greatest at my job, but nor am I by any means the worst, and I'm feeling a bit aggrieved about it, since a simple reading of the situation is that the more serious problems derive from the fractious consortium setup that is over the job.  I've had a largely inexperienced and inconsistent crew to manage over a singularly shitty winter, and as far as I can tell (from the dribbles of budget info I get) am still on target to complete the current project, but I seem to have become a handy whipping boy in the (inevitable) fight between two partners in the consortium: initially I was guilty of just not driving the crew on fast enough, but when I pointed out in my defence that the crew had to be trained up more or less from scratch while on the job (not easy when there are 30+ of them), the failing changed to not having trained them properly.  Further arguing this point on my part just places me in direct conflict with HR, who did the hiring, and also determine the length of my contract, so for that fight there is no possible victory.

Been working for these lads more or less full-time for over four years now (initially self-employed, PAYE the last two), and it's just an endless series of short term (as in one-month long) contracts, so I suppose I need to accept they have no interest in retaining me beyond the immediately convenient.  A pity, since I have enjoyed both the people and the work.

Perhaps more problematic, the other consortium partner is *by far* the majority employer in my industry, and despite never having worked for them directly my name is even now being kicked back and forward in meetings as a grievance football so that nobody has to say anything unforgivable about each other. Not an auspicious boost for the already battered reputation.

Rant, vent, rant, vent.  Apologies, was either typing this over a beer, or silent fuming.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: TordelBack on 30 April, 2018, 10:44:01 PM
Bah, today I did indeed get my marching orders for two months time. 

Rather inopportune timing as I'm currently trying to negotiate myself out of a court repossession order on my home

FFS, Tords. Never rains but it pours. Reposessions or the threat of are so pointless for the average family. Don't give the lizards an inch.


sheridan

Quote from: TordelBack on 26 April, 2018, 06:59:52 PM...the regular joes are so fresh out of college that degree conferrals are the main reason given for days off...


Sorry to focus on just this bit, but what is a degree conferral?

Tjm86

Quote from: TordelBack on 30 April, 2018, 10:44:01 PM
Rant, vent, rant, vent.  Apologies, was either typing this over a beer, or silent fuming.

Having currently experienced very similar management behaviour I can fully sympathise so vent away.  This is the worst face of British business and industry for my money; lack of management skills and accountability.  It really does seem to be a cultural thing now.  No wonder we have a productivity problem in this country.

The idea of HR is something that personally disgusts me.  'Human Resources'?  It's as if people are on the same level as the office furniture although as someone once pointed out, some bosses value the furniture higher as they can at least sell it on.  Businesses forget that their employees are taking just as much of a risk on them as they are, if not more since employees may well need a reference to move on.  I know this is nowhere near universal but it's far too common.

Sorry that we can offer little more than a listening ear and moral support but a lot of folks pulling for you here.

TordelBack

#8061
Ah maudlin drunk posting, how I haven't missed you. An entirely sleepless night later and it seems very stupid to be trotting all this out here. But many thanks for the supportive comments all the same.

Quote from: sheridan on 01 May, 2018, 01:33:39 AM
Sorry to focus on just this bit, but what is a degree conferral?

College graduation ceremony (but most of these would be 1-year post-grad degrees, so I'm using the more general term!). No prob with people starting out with no experience, all have to do it, just highlighting the extreme freshness.

The Legendary Shark

Bloody Hell, Tordels, that's really upsetting. There used to be a useful site about dealing with mortgage problems at www.getoutofdebtfree.org which is still there but seems to have changed its character. It might be of some help, though.

The world is run by bastards but I sincerely hope you fight them off soon.

[move]~~~^~~~~~~~[/move]




Link Prime

Really shite to hear that Tordel.
Rootin' for you.

Mattofthespurs


von Boom

Very shitty news Tordel. Hope it works out for you.

paddykafka

Just to reflect what other posters have said, Tordel's. Hope things work out for ye. In relation to the work situation, it might not be a bad idea to contact Citizen's Information to see if they can offer you advice. It does seem that you are being unfairly scapegoated for a situation outside of your control. That said, you could write what I know about industrial relations legislation on the back of an envelope. But if your work reputation and future employment prospects are being damaged or undermined for reasons that you are not responsible for, then natural justice should surely apply here? (The threat of legal action of itself might go some way towards giving your soon-to-be-former employers pause for thought in how they have dealt with you).

The best of luck to you anyway.

Professor Bear

Sorry to hear about your trouble, TB, and hope it all works out for you.

But what I'm hearing is that the company took a contract and then assigned untrained staff, and if they persist in maligning yourself, they assigned untrained staff with someone the company didn't think was up to the job of training those staff?  Got to be some way of stirring shit with that info.
People on the ground usually have some dirt on how a company is mismanaged or bending rules, and if they're going to fuck you, it seems your best defence might be to fuck them harder - it certainly doesn't sound like they've done anything to engender your loyalty.  I imagine you've also got to be worried about the next reputation those bullshitters will destroy or contract they'll mess up, too.

TordelBack

Cheers gents, didn't really mean to descend into a poor-me fest, it's very small beer in the scheme of things, and I'm sure I'll be able wangle my way out of any serious consequences.  It's not worth arguing the toss, but I'll put my view of the situation to my employers anyway, and then I'll just move on.

I think my negative reaction is because I had pretty-much shelved my own small business in favour of a lower-but-more-reliable PAYE income, the better to convince my bank of my reliability in my endless attempts to get my house out of hock (I've cleared all my other debts, this is the last - and biggest - one).  Now I'll have neither, and I'm in court (again) in one month's time to demonstrate my reformed financial character to the judge's satisfaction!

But look, I went into the current project with eyes open as to my likely position as scapegoat between two companies, and with hindsight I should - as a result - have been far more of a hard-ass with the crew than I was: it was hard to judge how much abuse the combination of 6 months of shitty weather, a gaggle of unblooded college kids and a handful of weary underpaid embittered types could actually handle.  I suspect that no matter how hard I whipped them it wouldn't have been enough for TPTB, but perhaps physical evidence of infected welts might have saved me.  As it is, I still seem to be on track to complete the project on time, and with less people than projected, so it's difficult to get a handle on just what would have made everyone happy.

Anyway, it'll get sorted, and thanks all.

JayzusB.Christ

Aw crap, sorry to hear that. Hope things work out ok in the end.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"