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

[MrsD]

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

calm and assertive and give them no reason to argue with you. methinks the penny has dropped that you're not going to messed around with, hope it all lasts

[PriorityOne]

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

Well, that wasn't such a bad week…. I've been given nicer classes, kept my two periods of planning time and been given Friday off; all part of my 50% phased return until the end of the month. I'm still waiting for a letter from Occ. Health with an appointment so will chase it up if nothing materialises soon, as I don't want to return to the Hell that was my job before all this kicked off. The boss and his sidekick have so far flitted between being very nice to me and ignoring me completely….

Three members of staff have also handed their notices in within the last fortnight. It's seems that it's not what they were expecting either…

No sh*t Sherlock!

[PriorityOne]

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

To be honest from an employers point of view if you are flexible with them they are more likely to be flexible to you. If you feel able to it will work in your favour to be seen to being reasonable.

Jane x

Thanks Jane..... think my post clashed with yours.

[tastyjane]

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

To be honest from an employers point of view if you are flexible with them they are more likely to be flexible to you. If you feel able to it will work in your favour to be seen to being reasonable.

Jane x

[PriorityOne]

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

Need to establish whether the phased return to work is recommended on a fit for work statement?

If it is it's just a suggestion but if work can't accommodate the phased return you revert to unfit for work I believe.

jane x

Hi Jane,

It is a fit for work statment.... and to give the boss his due, he has tried very hard (it seems) to phase me back in with unstressy classes. I mulled things over this afternoon and decided to go along to the training on the basis that, it would need to be re-scheduled for non-attendees if not.... and from memory, this was made at stupid o'clock last time. I emailed him back and said that I would return for the meeting and made it sounds as if I wasn't bothered by it.... as I don't want him to think he's got to me.... lol

I still haven't heard anything from Occupational Health yet but am quite looking forward to going there now....

[tastyjane]

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

Need to establish whether the phased return to work is recommended on a fit for work statement?

If it is it's just a suggestion but if work can't accommodate the phased return you revert to unfit for work I believe.

jane x

[PriorityOne]

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

I have just had an email from the boss regarding some training that's due to take place this Monday. My phased return has been arranged at 50% by my GP from this Monday... and part of it involves working Mondays from 8am - 12.30pm until the end of March when it ends.

The email states that I will need to attend this training as directed time; which (he says) still needs to be completed at 50%; regardless of the phased return... and these times are at his discretion. This means that I will need to leave work at 12.30pm and return for 3pm or, remain at work until 3pm..... which seems to go against what a phased return is for.

I have not emailed a response back as yet but would like to know where I stand with regard to this. I know that he is not happy with me for stating "work-based stress" on my GPs certificate prior to going into hospital.... and think he's decided to be awkward in return. Meetings are held every Monday from 3pm - 4pm and he wants me to attend half of these as directed time throughout March, whenever they may be.

If he's right.... then I'll just suck it up and go in but if he's not, I'll dispute it. I've also just emailed my union to get their take on it.

Any thoughts?



Many thanks and best wishes,

[cookie2112]

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

Thank you Cookie :-) I didn't want to take a rep. in at this stage but I did record it all on the sneak..... so have been able to re-listen to everything. if I have another meeting like that, then I will take someone in there with me.

Just remember courts don't really approve of taped conversations where the people being recorded aren't aware of it being used as evidence, however I do know that they allow it sometimes, might be worth you doing a transcript of the recording so you could produce paper copies if required - hopefully it won't go that far though!

Good luck!

[PriorityOne]

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

Thank you Cookie :-) I didn't want to take a rep. in at this stage but I did record it all on the sneak..... so have been able to re-listen to everything. if I have another meeting like that, then I will take someone in there with me.

[cookie2112]

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

Hi PriorityOne, haven't read through all of your posts but might be able to help a bit with HR side of things....firstly if you have certains things written into your contract then they cannot just take them away, they can remove them following a consultation and notice period (or your agreement) as many people have found since the recession when lots of the nice benefits have been withdrawn.

It was right for the HR lady not to lead the meeting, she would be there to take notes and just make sure the meeting was conducted properly but usually would not contribute to the meeting.

Whenever you have meetings you should be allowed to be accompanied, again this person isn't there to take part in the conversation but can take minutes/notes for you and your records.

It sounds like referring you to occ health is a good idea and they should be doing that as they have a responsibility to look after you!

If you need specific advice about employment law, you might want to consider contacting ACAS, they can offer mediation services as well as advice.

Also make sure you get the companies policies on fair treatment at work etc as they need to make sure they follow their own procedures as well as the law, I believe it is heavily frowned upon in court if they don't follow their own rules!!

Not sure if any of this helps at all and I wish you luck!

[PriorityOne]

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

I admit I haven't read all your thread so I'm not really in a position to comment. But I was wondering whether it's the job role which is making you miserable or is it this particular school environment? If you changed to another school would it be any different or better?

My daughter's going through a similar situation. She loves her job and all it entails but she hates the people around her. She's the only female in a very blokeish office where sexism is dish of the day. She's given up and decided to look elsewhere.

I love the job PlanB.... it's bad management that's making it stressful. I loved the job when my previous boss was running the place..... but the one I have now has got me doing 2 jobs rolled into one. Hard to explain... but there should be more pastoral care in my current job and much smaller teaching groups because they are difficult kids.

Are there some additional SENCO courses that you can take? The rules are changing and you could be in a stronger position if you are up on this (sorry if this is insulting, it doesn't mean to be!)

Not insulting at all Cym... if there's an opportunity, I'll do it. They will need to look at my current role and minimise the stress now, so we'll see what happens.

[cymruambyth]

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

Are there some additional SENCO courses that you can take? The rules are changing and you could be in a stronger position if you are up on this (sorry if this is insulting, it doesn't mean to be!)

[PlanB]

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

I admit I haven't read all your thread so I'm not really in a position to comment. But I was wondering whether it's the job role which is making you miserable or is it this particular school environment? If you changed to another school would it be any different or better?

My daughter's going through a similar situation. She loves her job and all it entails but she hates the people around her. She's the only female in a very blokeish office where sexism is dish of the day. She's given up and decided to look elsewhere.

[PriorityOne]

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

I have been thinking long and hard about things since Monday and this would seem to be a prime opportunity for me to change the job into something I want it to be, rather than what my boss and his sidekick think they can get away with. So, I am gong to try and work it to get out of the classroom to do something else...

If I wanted to be qualified teacher, I would have taken the PGCE years ago but it was never my intention. There are loads of people out there being used a cheap teachers because academies can employ them and save money that way. The difference with my job now though is that I am caged up all day with large numbers of feral children teaching 100 minute lessons every day. So, I am going to try and work it so that I am out of the classroom doing something else, at least for part of the time. My colleague on the behaviour "team" (just her actually) is on the same pay scale as me; as a UQT but does no lesson planning or marking at all. If I could work with her, this would take me out of a traditional teaching role entirely.

Any suggestions as to how to go about this would be welcome... lol. I am thinking that the Occupational Therapist (when I see him/her) can support this kind of change? If this can't be done, then the only alternative is to suggest that I reduce my contractual hours from September to 4 days a week instead... and although this is something I was considering... a part of me is reluctant to agree to changes now that would save them money after the way they've carried on.

Any thoughts would be welcome, as I need to get this right.

[PriorityOne]

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

Good luck today; I am sure you have it all in hand but I would take bullet points in with me to ensure you remember everything you want to go over; also it would help if you had examples of particularly stressful situations where you haven't felt supported etc. In my experience the HR lady will probably lead the meeting (although she has only been invited to observe ) Jane x

Well, that was interesting! The HR lady didn't lead the meeting but was scribbling away taking notes. she said that I would get a copy of what was agreed, etc. The boss began by explaining that I am on teacher's pay and conditions and as such, basically the job description doesn't matter (not his precise words). The union had already advised me that he would take this angle.... so no worries. He implied that I was the only one experiencing stress but that he needed to put things in place to support me. I raised a few points for the benefit of the HR lady, including my colleague's hair falling out..... because I felt that he was doing a lot of damage limitation in front of her, so did get my points across at the same time.

The upshot is that I have been referred to Occupational Health.... which presumably, will be to my advantage..... but the issue of stress being caused by cack management will not be identified as the cause, obviously.... so, same old cover it up shit really.

Although I'm not sure that I've done myself any favours with management, it remains to be seen what will happen next. They will of course support my phased return but then, they don't really have a choice.

I find it amazing at times that one single plonker can morph a previously good job role into something so horrendous.....