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You both seem poorly paid and in an expensive part of the world. Could this be the push you need to look for jobs (rather than just a job for Madame) in another part of the country/world. A good mechanic can make money anywhere so your wife would be able to search far and wide.
I was in a similar position and just had to cancel my plans (no financial loss unlike yoursselves - but at five months you can probably negociate on the accommodation and may get some of the ticket price back). It was one of the demoralising factors that resulted in me resigning and making a new life for myself - thank you miserable incompetent line manager.
Thing is, there's nothing unreasonable in what we've done. We've given a MASSIVE amount of notice, played by the rules and the spirit of the rules and then they attempt shaft us. That's what pisses me off. I can put up with all sorts of crap, but mess with my time off and I'm gone. We'll be at the TT
The worst that can happen is she gets fired. I'm happy with that, but I don't think they've got the balls personnaly.
The best is that she goes somewhere else. Also fine.
I've been saying they treat her like shit for 10 years at least, but it's too easy to turn up and take the money. I've been there when I was younger, done a crap job because it's easier. I was lucky that my kick up the ass was redundancy but I'm wiser now. That's why I only stayed in my last job for a year before going back to the previous job. It's slightly easier for me but there's jobs so local she can walk to work.
Nuff said from me.
Good luck - I feel your pain, I like to go to NZ for a few weeks sometimes, the sooner you book the cheaper it is, but can't get leave authorised that early. Bit of a punt.
The manager won't (shouldn't) deal with you anyway about your partner's HR situation and you will make her look like she can't manager her own life. You have a better chance pleading your case and asking nicely.
You have a better chance pleading your case and asking nicely.
The only chance even. Unfortunately some people don't respond to pleasant, reasonable requests as they'd feel less important than they do being a *. Experience tells me that *s rarely get fired.
she doesn't get paid anywhere near what she's worth, she's covering for people earning 2-3 times her salary
well then resign a week before the TT and some other idiot will soon be recruited to work longer for less pay, as is the current employment situation now, its happening all the time and workers seem to have to accept it, or just moan on a cycling forum.
She's been upset about it at home more than once. She's had to work 4 Christmasses in a row because everyone else had to take it off because they've got kids.
That is just wrong and needs to be dealt with.
Can she not dial in to run the reports? That's what I do when I'm off. Sounds a bit shite all round. You should (and I can't believe nobody has suggested this yet) own him with bombers or wee in his shoes. Possibly both if he's displaying high levels of cockwombleness 😉
Standards STW standards
she doesn't get paid anywhere near what she's worth, she's covering for people earning 2-3 times her salary
Doesn't mean anything. Nearly everyone (okay, a slight exaggeration) thinks they can do their manager's (or manager's manager) job. Some are right, some are delusional. They also think higher qualifications or decades of extra experience shouldn't mean you should be paid more. Well, work doesn't really work like that, does it. Unless you are flipping hambugers, and nothing more, things are rarely that simple.
I'd be leaving. If she's been there 10 years and it's a company of a certain type, chances are they'd pay her a lot more if she came there new tomorrow.
Definitely time to look around.
And/or, she's got 5 months to figure out a way of automating the reports, or at least creating a report template which can run off a spreadsheet data-dump that someone else can do. She's got Q1 to practise.
I'm quite prepared to get her managers phone number and tell him myself, and I might well do that
That is a terrible idea, probably one of the worst things you could do.
She can get a new job paying at least twice as much, immediately, within walking distance of home ?
If that is genuinely the case you wouldn't see me for dust.
She's been upset about it at home more than once. She's had to work 4 Christmasses in a row because everyone else had to take it off because they've got kids.
TJ, would this fall foul of "fairness" perhaps, then?
I'm quite prepared to get her managers phone number and tell him myself, and I might well do that
"I'm sorry, but I can't discuss employee details with a third party as it would be a breach of confidentiality. Bye, sir."
The OP’s other half should count her self lucky, LUCKY to have such an important & respected job. Such jobs are like verrucas – not everyone's got one.
I know for a fact that her manager is almost certainly worrying about this very decision. And when they are down the boozer, I imagine.
Moreover, the senior managers will be cutting back on their salaries and golf carts almost as we speak to ensure such a strategic issue does not have such an unreasonable and cranky point of failure.
Come the time of the TT, I’m sure they will keep the OP’s partner up to date with the developments on the Isle of Mann – perhaps (and it wouldn't uprise me) they might be watching it live so they can give her instant updates.
And let’s be honest, she can’t be that good if she the only one who can do the reporting – if it was hard, loads of people would know how to do it.
In the distant future, in the dotage of her old age the OP’s partner will positively glow with the knowledge of a worthy job, done well for a company that was going. Places.
Ask any lowly, menial, unimportant, grunt worker if they would change the time they spent working at shambolic, badly run failing mess and everyone (52%) will say “I was so lucky. It was all I was capable of, I knew my place. I wouldn't have it any other way – they were good times – [i]better [/i]times.”
And even if her line managers seem, shall we say a bit 1970’s, she can look to her co-workers for her just rewards - maybe they will shower her with “likes” on Facebook – no better thanks than from those “gone before” given to the last [s]mug [/s]man/woman standing.
The main “take-out” from this, of course, is that mangers have a difficult life – goodness knows the professional path to leadership is a long one – people who leave companies (or “quitters” as they are known) don’t occur often, you have to carefully bully and engineering the removal of “trouble makers”, ingrates will leave a sinking ship like the rats they are and, of course, people don’t die that often.
So to sum up – congratulations on your retirement/happy birthday/good luck on your marriage (you’re going to need it!) and you are real asset/sad loss and we all appreciate your hard work.
Leave. There are proper employers out there.
Not in my view cougar - unless it meant 4 xmas days and then only perhaps. I have worked all bar 8 xmas days in the last 37 years
I've given up trying to book the TT, am currently looking at the Southern 100. Maybe see if you can get those dates and switch the ferry booking?
I've given up trying to book the TT, am currently looking at the Southern 100. Maybe see if you can get those dates and switch the ferry booking?
Subtle! I see what youre trying to do there 😉
Manx GP is a good trip too. Bit less mental. There's the Manx 2 day trial to follow if you take mtbs. Great days out.
very good, BVP7!
Not in my view cougar - unless it meant 4 xmas days and then only perhaps. I have worked all bar 8 xmas days in the last 37 years
Hmm. I'm slightly of the opinion that "but I've got kids" shouldn't automatically trump anyone else's perfectly valid reasons for wanting time off at Christmas. What if I want to spend time with my elderly mother (she's got kids too - me)? But then, I'm not a parent so probably biased. Or, y'know, if I was deeply religious or something.
Seems a bit shit to me that someone gets preferential treatment year in, year out because of their lifestyle choices. If I was being stiffed every year I'd probably have a monk on about it.
If I was being stiffed every year
If you have kids, it's twice a year.
Christmas and your Birthday. 😉
Get out of my head. (-:
You're probably right on the legal front, but you seriously don't believe someone (allegedly) grossly underpaid being denied a holiday request with five months' notice and having arranged cover is being treated unfairly? Jesus, remind me never to work for you
I've just refused a holiday in summer for a member of staff. His team had already been halved by holiday he'd approved so he can't go. It's 7 months notice but it's not even remotely unfair. Everyone knows that except in cases like Xmas, bridging days for bank holidays etc that it's first come first served. If he can negotiate with a colleague to swap with him then he's on again.
She's been upset about it at home more than once. She's had to work 4 Christmasses in a row because everyone else had to take it off because they've got kids.
Meh. Everyone has reasons they have priority for certain holiday periods. If she wanted to take an Xmas off she should have tried to book it and spoken to her boss. However this is a good example of a problem. For some people Xmas is a priority, for some the TT. How do you manage to keep everyone happy all the time. You end up, for the most part, with most people mostly happy or at least mostly equally unhappy.
I've just refused a holiday in summer for a member of staff. His team had already been halved by holiday he'd approved so he can't go. It's 7 months notice but it's not even remotely unfair. Everyone knows that except in cases like Xmas, bridging days for bank holidays etc that it's first come first served. If he can negotiate with a colleague to swap with him then he's on again.
Seems reasonable to me, there's a perfectly valid business case here and an option to take it if he can find cover. Neither of which seems to be offered to Mrs OP.
Im sure it goes without saying but whatever you 2 decide to do make certain that you are not putting your wife under any pressure to do what she doesn't want. For some people the idea of looking for a new job is pretty terrifying and they are privately willing to put up with hell to avoid it.
Cougar - I quite agree about family friendly polices being unfair on non parents. My point was just to illustrate that working a lot of christmas days need not be unfair. I work in a 24/7/365 job - so to get new year off I work christmas day. Half of our workforce works one, half the other
I manage several teams and there are clear policies around how many team members can be off at once. Sometimes is hard to give the bad news but it has to be done as we're an 'online' company so we have to have a minimum staffing level at all times.
Another manager, at the same level as me, approved holiday for his much smaller team and they all ended being off for the same week! He then decided that it was 'unfair' that he can't take every half term off because he has 2 children which apparently trumps my 1 child and a wife who is a teacher, it also trumps a third manager who is a single parent! he also thinks it's OK to be on holiday and be on call at the same time!
Management is not always the cushy number people think it is!
So glad I'm self-employed..Nothinf to add other than dont put up with it if you dont want to.
What happened then?
Take a couple of days holiday - head to the IOM then get "sick" for seven days....
Take a couple of days holiday - head to the IOM then get "sick" for seven days....
Then disciplined for planned sickness as they've kindly warned her employer they're going away.
I am hoping this just turns into a "my wife now has a new job" thread rather than just bashing this around. It seems that, regardless of the morals, the employer has the law on their side. They employee either leaves or puts up with it.
Get to it OP, find her another job and put us all out of her misery.
Outcome?
They all died 🙁
Stalker