Work have pulled a fast one here.....

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Not a good update folks.....

The job I've been pinning my hopes on for the last few months is not going to happen now after all; the provision and contract have been rejected because they cannot see a way of making it work in the area (lots of poverty, disinterest in education, attendance issues and so on).... so they have pulled out altogether. Loads of apologies, etc..... but I am absolutely gutted nonetheless....

My boss has also now made a referral to Occupational Health, which I was expecting and which he should have done last year..... so I will expect an appointment to arrive in the next few weeks.

I am hoping to stay signed off until the end of the year, which will give me time to have a good look for something else but it looks like I will have to go back in some capacity because they can't sack me..... and if I give notice, I can't sign on either.

What a fecking nightmare.....

[IF]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

I am sorry P1

[cymruambyth]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

I'm so sorry P1. You teach in a specialised area, are there no other schools that you could adapt to work in? OT are usually very strong in LEAs, but I'm not sure if this will still be the case in your school.

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

I've applied for 2 more this evening..... life goes on. This is just something I'll need to take one day at a time but my boss will not get my resignation before I'm ready to give it...... so it's gonna be a battle until then, it seems.

It's not a life or death situation compared to what others are going through.... I'll just have to find another way through it.

[tastyjane]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Oh no... been off line due to a family wedding.... you are absolutely right, the balls in your court re going back to work, I don't think it would be a bad thing to have an occupational health review, in my experience they are very useful and most employers tend to take things much more seriously when they are involved.

If the conditions of your current job improved is it something you love doing? I just wonder if you take the right amount of time to get yourself back up to full strength and then with the help of occupational health return to work in the New Year with new working conditions if you could get back to doing what you obviously are so good at. It sounds like you find the role fulfilling just that the current management are rubbish?

Jane x

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

I haven't ruled it out Jane.... but there are so many issues there, it's hard to know where to start and I'm not sure OH will either. The place is a zoo; due mainly to us having a large cohort of disaffected students in lessons that are way too long.... and doing subjects that are unsuitable and very boring; i.e employability skills and making plans for fundraising. The whole setup hasn't been thought through in relation to what these kids need; only as a PR effort...... hence why results and attendance is low and behaviour escalates very quickly.

if I go back..... and it's a big if at the moment, I would need to come out of the classroom environment for at least 50% of the time and do something else. The way things are at the moment, teaching across one of my subjects is so fragmented (3 members of staff teaching the same kids), with constant group changes.... that very little gets pulled together and assessed ready for certification because no-one knows where they are with it all...... so work is left languishing in computer files and students come out with nothing. I could co-ordinate this and it's something I'm good at BUT this kind of thing normally comes with a higher salary..... and he won't pay it. He won't pay for someone to head up the course, so there's no-one overseeing it or writing it either apart from the useless sidekick Vice Principal who is down as co-ordinator but does absolutely nothing. This means I would be doing part of a job that she's being paid to do...... I've done something similar for the past 2 years and am bloody sick of it now...... so I really don't think there's much that OH can do to make me feel better about what's going on there.

The other alternative would be to cut my days down to 3 a week and although this would cut the stress in half, it would also cut my money down and I am reluctant to do this just because management can't do their jobs properly..... so I think we're going to come to a stalemate situation.

The only upside is that I now have 2 people who will be a great support until all of this is over (one way or another); the psychologist colleague who I mentioned earlier and an ex-colleague who is now area manager for my particular union.

One way or another, this will need to be sorted before January 2015. That's what I have in my mind anyway......

[Pixie]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Only just caught up with this. I'm sorry about the other job P1 x

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Thanks Pixie..... but it's life, I suppose. I'm over it now but was gutted a few days ago.

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

just had a 'phone call from Occ Health and an appointment has now been made for around 3 weeks time.... Is there anything I need to be aware of before going to this or are they impartial?

[tastyjane]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

They should be impartial, however in my experience they tend to take the employees "side" when reviewing a working situation. Are they affiliated with the employer or are they using a entirely separate company? If they are an independent company they will have the concern of being sued

On a practical level, if you have kept that diary then take it along - if not write yourself a timeline which monitors your moods and anxiety levels. Make a note of any incidents that add to your pressure during the working day/week. Be open to suggestions and perhaps have some ideas of your own how the working environment can be improved.

Jane x

Jane x

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

They should be impartial, however in my experience they tend to take the employees "side" when reviewing a working situation. Are they affiliated with the employer or are they using a entirely separate company? If they are an independent company they will have the concern of being sued

On a practical level, if you have kept that diary then take it along - if not write yourself a timeline which monitors your moods and anxiety levels. Make a note of any incidents that add to your pressure during the working day/week. Be open to suggestions and perhaps have some ideas of your own how the working environment can be improved.


Jane x

I'm not sure if they're affiliated or not but think they might be......

I am open to suggestions but in all honesty, doubt that my working environment will improve until they've removed Pinky and Perky from running it...... It's horrendous in there and the expectations from staff are ridiculous, so it looks like there are only 2 options left; they can either transfer me back into the main school and out of this one, where I was before or, pay me to b*gger off, 'coz I will not hand my notice in.

As I now have no new job in the pipeline, I will be bringing my union into this as well.

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Emailed my union last night and spoke to them this morning. The way forward initially seems to be......

1. Go back to my GP for another "unfit" note because the Occ. Health meeting will not happen before my current one ends.
2. Attend the Occ. Health meeting.
3. Wait for the report to come out and a meeting date with my current employer (with a union rep present).
4. Find a way forward.
5. If a way forward cannot be agreed, negotiate a settlement to leave.

What kind of settlement is normally offered in these situations? If I need to go down this route, then I have to know that I can survive and for how long.

[oscar]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

What kind of settlement is normally offered in these situations? If I need to go down this route, then I have to know that I can survive and for how long.

Think it depends on circumstance.

I know people that have agreed full redundancy package - which obviously differs company to company, plus a PILON payment of a month.

[tastyjane]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Settlement payment will usually be dependent on your contract; minimum notice period goes up in levels to a maximum of 12 weeks after 12 years of service - your contract will state your notice period but if you have worked for a company for a considerable amount of time even if they state a month it is worth checking the minimum state notice period IYKWIM. An employer must always pay what is stated in the contract unless it is less than the minimum state requirement.

You will also be entitled to a payment for any benefits you receive ie health cover etc

As part of a settlement I would expect to include a small lump sum to ensure that an employee waives their employment legal rights. Its not usually much, either the same as a redundancy payment or a couple of thousand pounds.

Hopefully you will not have the payment in lieu clause in your contract then this can all be tax free up to £30,000.

Keep your chin up lovely - you have a plan now and it looks like a good one x

Jane x

[PriorityOne]

Re: Work have pulled a fast one here.....

Thanks Jane..... I'm starting to feel like all might not be lost after all.

According to my union, I have 8 years continuous service for redundancy purposes..... but 6 years for settlement purposes. If my boss suggests a settlement then contractually, it will need to cover me until the end of April 2015, no question. Health benefits can also be added to this. However, I am thinking of pushing for contractual payments until the end of the academic year; August 2015.... on the basis that I can/will raise a grievance re. working conditions, etc. if not. The union can/will argue that this will give me a realistic timeframe to find another job in education because these are limited to 3 end of term dates each academic year; Christmas, Easter and Summer and the vast majority occur at the end of the summer term. I may not be able to pull this off but it's worth a shot for the 2 years of Hell that I've experienced under this management.

My union said that settlements in schools are very common and they include a good reference, etc...... because they don't like the prospect of staff raising a grievance and the PR it could bring...... so it might be worth playing with, as I have nothing to lose. My boss will not like this at all though! If he negotiates a reasonable offer, then I will go..... 'coz I think I'd be ostracised if I went back there, to be honest. Alternatively, he may suggest I take up a different post at the parent school..... but it's all hypothetical at the moment until that Occ. Health meeting has taken place. I'm just dreading the meeting that will follow but will have a union rep in there with me this time.....