The Culture of Fear

Strange the reaction something which you think to be perfectly innocuous can garner...

This morning I posted this on Facebook while I was merrily cooking breakfast sausages after receiving some unwelcome post:

My work's HR department receives a special award today for consistency in muppetry.

Just before Christmas my contract is extended for 6 months to end of June. Monday I receive a letter saying my contract is ended. Tuesday my boss confirms with them my 6 month extension. Payday on the 20th I'm not paid, confirm it will 'probably' be the 27th. Today... P45 arrives in the post.

I daresay there will be a few people reading this who agree with a couple of comments I got, suggesting that I delete the post as employers can see such 'adverse opinions' as 'gross misconduct'. The people commenting aren't necessarily normally given to over-reaction, or to believing that matters which are occasionally reported in the media hint at epidemic levels of reality. So it was confusing.

The post makes no reference to my employer (and I don't think I ever have on Facebook, or here for that matter); and the profile is a private one to which only a select few have access, so it's unlikely a Google search of my name would bring up 'Anth hates his employer and is planning to blow up the building' headlines.

But on a more basic level... Seriously??? Calling the HR department 'muppets' because they've made one fundamental error; been informed of that error; then 4 days later compounded that error... That could be quantified as 'gross misconduct'???

Some may say 'Well it could, aye, of course it could'. To which I reply, you're wrong. So very very wrong. Calling HR muppets for making two serious mistakes that have such a detrimental effect on the 'caller' (I've not been paid this Friday gone, and can only be told I'll 'probably' be paid next Friday - as well as currently being unable to log in to a portal I need to access to re-apply for my own job after a restructuring of the team that is meaning redundancies for some - this is a pretty serious knock-on from someone not doing their job right), there isn't a single Employment Tribunal in the land that would uphold that as 'gross misconduct'. Not one.

Bear with me here. Gross misconduct is something so serious, so out of the ordinary, so detrimental and shocking, that the employer doesn't have to go through the usual disciplinary rigmarole and can simply terminate your employment on the spot. Embezzling for example. That's gross misconduct. Looking at porn on the work computer would likely qualify. Punching your boss. Calling the HR department muppets in an anonymous way in a private place? Instant-dismissal-worthy?

Do me a favour.

Oh, and after last night's post, I've got our quote from the place we got the bathroom stuff from, and the consequent quote from the plumber with his discount on those prices (he has a deal with the supply place) and on both the underfloor heating appears. I think he was suggesting last night that his quote for the actual work didn't include putting in underfloor heating - and that he didn't think we'd said we wanted it. Now apart from the fact that the item itself appearing on the supplies quote giving a strong indication that we did want it; I'm certain we had a discussion, with Mel there as well, where we waxed lyrically about how nice it would be to have a heated floor in the bathroom... Need to ponder how to play it.

And finally, had been looking into a potential career change should the worst arise with the company restructuring going on. Turns out I'm too late to apply for something which starts in October (legal-based, utterly different to what I'm doing just now - not a job as such, more training that would lead, almost inevitably, to one).

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