Advice required on work related issue

geek84
geek84 Registered Posts: 568 Epic contributor 🐘
Good Evening folks

I hope you're all well and a very happy new year to you all !!

Can someone kindly give advice on the issue I have at work please?

I have been working full time as a credit controller in the finance dept. for a private company on a permanent basis for the last 18 months, having passed their initial 3 month probation.

However, last October, a job opportunity came up in their accounts dept. and I moved into this new dept. after having a chat with my line manager and financial controller. My new job title is Management accounts assistant. I was put on a 3 month probation again, and trained up quite quickly and made my own notes (regarding how to perform my job related tasks) as we went along. However, i am still a bit rusty on some of the tasks and have made several mistakes. I have requested my line manager to sit down with me again, so that I can correct my notes and fill in any gaps in my knowledge. The manager keeps on saying that there is a large work load for her to get through and if I have any issues then to raise them at my work review meeting which will be take place in about 2 weeks time, when my 3 month probation will end.

If in that meeting, the manager argues that I have been given all the necessary training, and should be up to speed with performing my designated tasks (which I am not) and consequently decides to fire me, do I have grounds for appeal? Or, do you think it be better just to collect my belongings and work out of the building?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • CSan89
    CSan89 Registered Posts: 207
    What makes you think that they would fire you? I am guessing that if your line manager is asking you to bring it to your review meeting, hen she isn't planning on firing you.
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  • David Ballantyne
    David Ballantyne Registered Posts: 105 New contributor 🐸
    Hi Geek,

    I have been in similar situations to this in the past, and I am sure that many other people have found themselves in this situation also so you are not alone.

    Looking at this from your manager's perspective. To give you the Management Accounts Assistant role they must have had confidence in your potential based on your performance in the credit control role and your motivation to progress. The fact that you have raised these concerns with your manager should indicate to her that you are focused on your role and are motivated to perform your work to a high standard.

    Your manager has invested time in training you for this role and you have diligently applied yourself to learning the role and performing the duties. If there had been serious under performance during the three months probation I think your line manager would have spoken to you already. If you have a reasonable and supportive manager she will understand that there may still be gaps in your knowledge and will work with you to resolve those issues.

    If your manager were to fire you, she would then have to go through the recruitment and training process again. This would be expensive for the company both in time and money in addition to the risk that you may choose to take legal action if you were fired. Your manager is very busy so this would be an additional burden for her to deal with, something she would wish to avoid. It would be far more sensible for your manager to set aside some time to deal with the gaps in your knowledge constructively.

    It would seem that your manager is particularly busy at the moment and does not have the time to deal with your queries. However, she has advised that she will discuss the issues in the probation review when she will be able to properly focus on the matter. This seems reasonable to me.

    Whilst I understand your anxiety entirely, having been in similar situations myself, I think you will find that your manager will deal with the situation positively and constructively at the scheduled time for the reasons I have stated above.

    Conversely, should the worst happen and you lose your job, you now have credit control and junior management accounts work in your portfolio of skills. You also have over eighteen months of continuous employment, prospective employers like staff who stay. You should find that your marketability in the employment market place has increased, and the likelihood of you finding temporary roles in the short term and a permanent role in the long term, significantly increased.

    Regarding taking legal action if you are fired, personally, I would not do this. You will find that it would be a highly stressful and drawn out process. Your main goal if you are fired, in my view, would be to secure a reasonable reference from your current employer, possibly, in extremis, using the threat of legal action to encourage them in this respect.

    Hope that helps,

    David.
    David Ballantyne
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    Ballantyne Accountants
  • Neillaw
    Neillaw Registered Posts: 307 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Afternoon Geek

    The thing that caught my attention was the fact that your line manager currently hasn't got the time to be able to sit down and talk with you. In my experience this isn't something out of the ordinary as your line manager will have deadlines and it's their neck that's on the line to meet those deadlines. Your probation meeting will be fixed in their diary as a meeting.

    There isn't anything you can do apart from wait for the meeting, as regards legal action anything up to 2 years they can dismiss you without any recourse. (I worked for a company who spent 6 months pissing me about with my expenses to make me leave and then fired a week before my 2 years were up.) I now work for myself and earn the same money with 3 times the holidays.

    It appears to me that you firstly care about your work and review your work to ascertain where you are strong and weak. It would be worth doing a simple swot analysis to take with you to your meeting. This is a quality which employers like from their employees and with your background in both credit control and accounts you would be an asset to a company especially a small company who rely heavily on cash flow.

    All I can suggest is to sit tight until your meeting without having a panic attack and then after your meeting decide your future career path whether in the same job or another.

    Good luck
  • geek84
    geek84 Registered Posts: 568 Epic contributor 🐘
    Good Morning folks

    I hope you're all well and many thanks indeed for your valuable advice.

    When I was originally given this new job role, it only after I spoke to my previous line manger in credit control requesting if there are any more opportunities in the company. She then spoke to the financial controller who then had a very brief chat with me. My current line manager was also present during that brief chat. It was verbally agreed between myself and my present line manager that if I am not performing properly, then she would notify me. I know i have made mistakes during the last 3 months, but she has never spoke to me about them. These mistakes also caused more unnecessary work for the rest of the team, and one or two individuals had to stay behind after normal working hours in order to correct my mistakes and meet deadlines. That is another thing which is worrying me.

    I would like to become self employed, I am a qualified bookkeeper through the ICB, but haven't a clue how to recruit clients. Any advice on that matter would also be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks in advance for your responses.
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