Have I made the right move?

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I made a formal complaint last year and forwarded the blatant bullying but nothing got done by the area manager. I have since worked out a better way of dealing with that person.

This is why I feel I made a mistake.

Keep that evidence as now your Area Manager appears negligent. That's why you send it above him too - he is accountable. A lawyer's letter will set a fire under them.

If you go down this formal route you must be sure you want the battle first. Do you have a union in this place?

 

[Levo-Lon]

Good luck @luckyfox ,I was tempted to get on the books last year after 30 yrs self employed.

I just cant do it, people in jobs they hate but do becouse they have no choice are the fooooking pits as a rule and stab everyone at every opertunity ..sorry for that but you seem to know that already.

keep that S,E option open as long as poss

 

[Fubar]

Long story short I'm going from full time self employed to employed/part time self employed. One of my companies made me a generous offer and I have verbally accepted pending pen to paper.

The work is doable, im good at it, it's a full time, permanent, good job which i know a lot of people struggle to find, it's an ok environment etc. My issue is with the people. I've been through a lot lately so I am a bit bruised but they are really horrible. It's a warehouse with an office so if im not being wolf whistled at the office girls are bitching. Some of the warehouse guys are ok but the women sit and bitch all day long. I actually moved into a side office because it was so loud and i couldn't work. They are relentless. I've worked here for a year self employed & i don't mix with them. I never do when i have a contract but in some places it's easier to get along with people. Here they went through a nasty takeover which left the staff bitter and mostly twisted. I came in to sort the finances and given the nepotism and the issues around the take over, my presence was not appreciated. Well the bosses appreciated me and that's why they have asked me to stay on.

I am made of stronger stuff and it does help to know i'm not like them but right now, feeling a bit sensitive, I don't know if this is the right place for me. You can't pick who you work with but being self employed doesn't half make it a bit easier.

I don't like when i feel like this but any kind words would be appreciated

My last job left me feeling a bit the same and, despite losing on-call payments, overtime, etc I HAD to get out - I managed a group of mostly (there were a couple of nice ones) really negative staff who I had to cover a rota with and it was constant firefighting. When they made a mistake they covered it up and the Senior Management were more interested in covering their own backs than supporting me. Due to staff "sickness" I ended up working Christmas Day, New Years Day and a run of nights which left me a gibbering wreck, before turning up to the first meeting after the festive holidays to be given a lecture from my manager (who had had the whole of the holidays off) as Health and Safety templates were not up to date! I ended up in bed for a week 'cos I couldn't function anymore.

I vowed that day to get out and I did - sorry that may not be much comfort to you but my point is not to underestimate how much that type of negativity can affect you - I thought I was fine but looking back I can see that my behaviour was getting odder the more I was trying to cope with it all.

Sometimes it's just not worth it, but only you can judge if/when that is.

 

[luckyfox]

I need to seriously work this out. Help... as it stands I havent signed anything or have anything in writing. They made the offer and we are in the process of the finer details. The area manager asked me to send my 'final' invoice to their head office accountant and he emailed their accountant with me copied in saying i would be a full time employee as of 1st May. As things were I started here Jan 2014 on a three months contract which we have rolled on month by month. I took on extra work after they made the only other 'accounts' person redundant last month. I billed them with an uplift (for the extra work i've undertaken because they let him go) to the end of April. I emailed and said on formal acceptance of this email i will give them 4 weeks notice of any other change, I got no reply to that email.

Here's my stance... I don't currently have to give notice and I don't have anything in writing re the job. The idea was to become employed so i can get a good mortgage, have less paperwork to fanny on with and to take off some of the stress. The idea of being formally tied to this place fills me with dread today...

 

[Fubar]

I need to seriously work this out. Help... as it stands I havent signed anything or have anything in writing. They made the offer and we are in the process of the finer details. The area manager asked me to send my 'final' invoice to their head office accountant and he emailed their accountant with me copied in saying i would be a full time employee as of 1st May. As things were I started here Jan 2014 on a three months contract which we have rolled on month by month. I took on extra work after they made the only other 'accounts' person redundant last month. I billed them with an uplift (for the extra work i've undertaken because they let him go) to the end of April. I emailed and said on formal acceptance of this email i will give them 4 weeks notice of any other change, I got no reply to that email.

Here's my stance... I don't currently have to give notice and I don't have anything in writing re the job. The idea was to become employed so i can get a good mortgage, have less paperwork to fanny on with and to take off some of the stress. The idea of being formally tied to this place fills me with dread today...

Can you go back to them and candidly express your reservations at this point and get assurances that they will take steps to address the culture? i.e. if it's the same in 3-6 months time why haven't they done anything about it?

I know people are saying "take it further" and I can see why but in some workplaces (and this seems to be one of them) it is easier to inconvenience one person than tackle the majority. I'd be concerned that the staff appear to want rid of you already, what if that goes further and the management don't back you up? I think you will either just have to put up with it all or worse, you'll end up as negative as they are.

Your job is a big part of your life, but it's easy for me to say that sitting in a full time permanent job - I'm not in your shoes with your commitments.

 

[luckyfox]

Can you go back to them and candidly express your reservations at this point and get assurances that they will take steps to address the culture? i.e. if it's the same in 3-6 months time why haven't they done anything about it?

I know people are saying "take it further" and I can see why but in some workplaces (and this seems to be one of them) it is easier to inconvenience one person than tackle the majority. I'd be concerned that the staff appear to want rid of you already, what if that goes further and the management don't back you up? I think you will either just have to put up with it all or worse, you'll end up as negative as they are.

Your job is a big part of your life, but it's easy for me to say that sitting in a full time permanent job - I'm not in your shoes with your commitments.

There is the owner of the company who lives down south and bought this out in 2013, he has very little to do with it. There is the area manager who is local but is on site maybe 2 days a week for a few hours. He didnt uphold a previous complaint and has very little to do with the day to day. I have spoken to him about problems here because when they got rid of the other accounts person everything got dumped on me. Little has actually been done to put permanent changes in place, it's always been promised but little has actually been done. I know I am sensitive atm and im trying to take a step back and look at it from someone elses point of view but I cannot tie myself to a weight.

I worry that i look more 'employed' to the tax man and that it will come back to bite me. That and less fiddling on with my taxes was the main reason to become employed. Bit of stability and look better for my mortgage.

I cannot change the staff here if i stay self employed or go employed.

 

[Cheddar George]

If you haven't formally accepted i would tell the area manager that he needs to get his house in order before you take a full time job there.

 

[cd365]

I'd find out if it will be counted as continuous employment.

 

[Fubar]

There is the owner of the company who lives down south and bought this out in 2013, he has very little to do with it. There is the area manager who is local but is on site maybe 2 days a week for a few hours. He didnt uphold a previous complaint and has very little to do with the day to day. I have spoken to him about problems here because when they got rid of the other accounts person everything got dumped on me. Little has actually been done to put permanent changes in place, it's always been promised but little has actually been done. I know I am sensitive atm and im trying to take a step back and look at it from someone elses point of view but I cannot tie myself to a weight.

I worry that i look more 'employed' to the tax man and that it will come back to bite me. That and less fiddling on with my taxes was the main reason to become employed. Bit of stability and look better for my mortgage.

I cannot change the staff here if i stay self employed or go employed.

If stability and paying your mortgage are the overriding concerns then you may just need to suck it up - within reason. Though if you are saying "I cannot tie myself to a weight" that's a bit of a contradicition - unless I am misunderstanding. If as you say you are having to work with the same people regardless of employment status then may as well go for it and perhaps accept that some confrontation is inevitable at some point.

 

[luckyfox]

Thanks peeps. I'm having a sit down and going through the in's and outs. I've had a good think and I have to trust how uneasy I'm feeling. They need me but as a permanent employee I loose a big chunk of cash flow to my self employment. They need to get their 'house in order' and despite asks for help it's isn't there. The inhouse problems will continue to fall to me and as self employed I can walk away from them. Employed it will just fall at my door.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Other otion is Take the position and then start looking elswhere.
easier when your on the books too as you can take your time looking

 

[Crackle]

What happened in the toilet. Was it a big jobby that wouldn't flush?

 

[Fubar]

Thanks peeps. I'm having a sit down and going through the in's and outs. I've had a good think and I have to trust how uneasy I'm feeling. They need me but as a permanent employee I loose a big chunk of cash flow to my self employment. They need to get their 'house in order' and despite asks for help it's isn't there. The inhouse problems will continue to fall to me and as self employed I can walk away from them. Employed it will just fall at my door.

Sounds really sensible, good luck whatever happens.

 

[vernon]

What happened in the toilet. Was it a big jobby that wouldn't flush?

Unless it had your name written on it refuse to accept responsibility for it.

 

[stephec]

LF, you don't paint a very positive picture of this place.

If they make assurances to you about changes they're willing to make is there anything to stop them going back on those promises after you commit to them?

Could you not stay self employed but reduce the time you spend there, and look for other contracts to fill in the shortfall elsewhere?