Is boss unreasonable?

beauf wrote: »

Having all leave requests, go though one person, "the boss" regardless of efficiency is not autonomy. Being unable to make decisions independently is not autonomy.

What leave request?
Nobody has said anything about a leave request.

OP made the autonomous decision to leave. The request was that he lets his manager know about these decisions.
He didn’t need permission to leave. Boss didn’t request he ask permission is future.

Again, the fact you need to make up stories to support your point proves it’s completely baseless.

I do need to know if it going to cause a problem. If they've handled it, it should never come to my attention.

You can’t see how 50% of a task force being unavailable indefinitely has the potential to cause an problem? If you think that’s not going to affect productivity, its not a great endorsement of your method.

indie warrior wrote: »

I work in an office we are a small team. I am over 10 years working here and would be classed as senior member of staff. Boss is company owner, manager and very much micro manager, they are quite difficult to work for.

Last week I had an incident whereby I got a call at 3pm 're a family emergency. Boss wasn't there but I rang a colleague WFH to cover something I was doing and told another colleague who was there, another senior member that I had to dash due to emergency
Two hours later while I was following ambulance to hospital boss rang, I said I couldn't speak as was in car and chasing ambulance, I was probably a bit short I was frantic at time

Roll on Monday and boss was all nice asking how things were and then gets to end of conversation and says that I should have rang them and in future if I have to dash off suddenly i need to notify them directly!

I am really pissed off, I've rarely missed a day off in over 10 years except when my dad died and the funeral was on the Monday and boss said to me at my dads wake sure you might come in on Thursday and see how you are !!

Am I over reacting or are they right to say that I was in the wrong as I didn't follow company procedure and contact them directly ?? I am really peeved off and seriously contemplating staying here. Interested to hear other people's views or if I should just put up and shut up

Your boss sounds similar to mine; he had forgot to leave the keys to the SHARED company car in the office one day, it was 7am so I didnt ring him and took my own car out on a job, he had emailed me by 9am advising i should have rang him and not took my own car, soooooo when the same thing happened 3 weeks later, i rang him at 6am: had to ring out the phone 3 times to wake him, lol sickened the wee cvnt

Sounds like a horrible company.
Play it like this.

I would ask for a SUBSTANTIAL raise straight away.
Tell him you feel underappreciated , blah, blah , blah.
If you get it stay.
If you dont, leave.
Stick to your guns and definitely leave if you dont get it.
If you leave, you get to move on and away from them.
If you get the raise and stay, then you are happy too.
Either way your boss eother has to pny up, or come to the conclusion he can do without you and replace you for less.

Iguarantee wrote: »

I agree. However, it was apparent in that situation that the owner didn’t care about my attendance outside of company hours. He would have had full visibility of my timekeeping as I was typically in the office before he was.

I would’ve thought it was more related to the potential of this becoming a more regular thing that some other team members may want to partake in too. Likely wanted to nip that in the bud. It does come across as a bit presumptuous to just up and leave because any decent manager would have let you go in the circumstances if asked. If a request for the 15 mins had been rejected, that would make them look bad.

thefa wrote: »

I would’ve thought it was more related to the potential of this becoming a more regular thing that some other team members may want to partake in too. Likely wanted to nip that in the bud. It does come across as a bit presumptuous to just up and leave because any decent manager would have let you go in the circumstances if asked. If a request for the 15 mins had been rejected, that would make them look bad.

I agree. My point on that owner not caring about my attendance outside company hours meant to convey that the owner was protecting the company/core hours policy and anything extra was a different thing altogether and that the two were not to be intermingled.

He was indeed heading any repeat offences off at the pass. I fully understand why he did it and it was justified. However, I don’t want to work somewhere without flexibility, so I won’t be working there again. For what it’s worth, I was subsequently offered a job there on three separate occasions, all by people with the authority to do so. They are a great company to work for, every single person there was sound (almost impossible in my experience), but it’s not for me.

Several years ago I worked in a company where I really enjoyed the work.
I used to come nearly an hour early every day and up to 2 hours late going home. I never left on time or within even an hour of on time.
Id come into the office at the weekends to get ahead of stuff. Really enjoyed the work.

One Friday I was going away with a new lady for the weekend and was packing up to leave at 5:45. My official finish time was 5pm.
The boss noticed this and said "Finishing early". I thought it was a joke and laughed at him and said, "I sure am" and was locking up my drawer as he called me into a meeting room. Then he made it clear that he wasnt happy. He said I dont just pack up and go early without telling anyone.

I saw red and told him I do 9 hours minimum every day. I do weekends. And he is worried that im only staying 45 mins late instead of an hour or more. I left then.
On Monday morning he called me in and said we needed clear the air talks. I said fine. And he proceeded to say "I'll overlook you leaving early, just this one."

That day and each day for the rest of the time I worked there I left at 5pm. I also never, ever arrived before 9am again. If i was around early i could just go and read the paper.

I was talking to a friend about it after and he said you give 110% for long enough and people assume its only 100% and that giving less than 110% is then considered short.

That will never happen to me again.

beauf wrote: »

How did the boss know to ring him shortly afterwards...if he didn't know.

He could have learned about it in many other ways like noticing his absence, while getting to the office. Or he could have phoned him about something else, not his absence. And OP said that he hadn't contacted his boss.

Asking for permission and letting the boss know that he is one man short at work are completely different things.

JimmyVik wrote: »

Several years ago I worked in a company where I really enjoyed the work.
I used to come nearly an hour early every day and up to 2 hours late going home. I never left on time or within even an hour of on time.
Id come into the office at the weekends to get ahead of stuff. Really enjoyed the work.

One Friday I was going away with a new lady for the weekend and was packing up to leave at 5:45. My official finish time was 5pm.
The boss noticed this and said "Finishing early". I thought it was a joke and laughed at him and said, "I sure am" and was locking up my drawer as he called me into a meeting room. Then he made it clear that he wasnt happy. He said I dont just pack up and go early without telling anyone.

I saw red and told him I do 9 hours minimum every day. I do weekends. And he is worried that im only staying 45 mins late instead of an hour or more. I left then.
On Monday morning he called me in and said we needed clear the air talks. I said fine. And he proceeded to say "I'll overlook you leaving early, just this one."

That day and each day for the rest of the time I worked there I left at 5pm. I also never, ever arrived before 9am again. If i was around early i could just go and read the paper.

I was talking to a friend about it after and he said you give 110% for long enough and people assume its only 100% and that giving less than 110% is then considered short.

That will never happen to me again.

F*ck me, talk about a failure to read the room on the part of your manager. At a minimum
He should know exactly when you are contracted to start finish, seems like he didn’t know.

Any job where you default to working late is not a job I want. I just don’t care about work enough to do it to myself.

I worked in that type of environment for the last few years, I enjoyed the work and didn’t subscribe to the “finish early at 7pm” rubbish. I was blindsided my a former employer a few years ago (we made a deal as part of my entry negotiations, he subsequently reneged on it and basically told me to accept it or use the door).

I swore I’d never again put myself out unless I was getting paid for it, I now work in exactly that environment. The irony is that i got a massive pay increase by moving, and I work less hours. Life is far, far too short to work somewhere that doesn’t suit you or makes you unhappy unless it’s a calculated means to an end.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can't see that the boss did anything wrong here.

The OP should have informed their direct supervisor of the need to leave for an emergency - whether by quick call, text, whatever - and the manager is well within their rights to remind the employee of that. I can't see where they were an asshole about it.

The funeral thing is just being dragged up and into this incident, to make the manager look bad and to justify the OPs over-reaction to being pulled up this time.

Let it go, is my advice. I wouldn't go throwing my toys out of the pram and looking for a new job, over this.

Don't tell me, you're a manager yourself right?

...and a lovely manager you must be :pac:

Iguarantee wrote: »

F*ck me, talk about a failure to read the room on the part of your manager. At a minimum
He should know exactly when you are contracted to start finish, seems like he didn’t know.

Any job where you default to working late is not a job I want. I just don’t care about work enough to do it to myself.

I worked in that type of environment for the last few years, I enjoyed the work and didn’t subscribe to the “finish early at 7pm” rubbish. I was blindsided my a former employer a few years ago (we made a deal as part of my entry negotiations, he subsequently reneged on it and basically told me to accept it or use the door).

I swore I’d never again put myself out unless I was getting paid for it, I now work in exactly that environment. The irony is that i got a massive pay increase by moving, and I work less hours. Life is far, far too short to work somewhere that doesn’t suit you or makes you unhappy unless it’s a calculated means to an end.

You be amazed how blind some middle managers are. My normal one was on summer holidays and I was reporting to another one called Pat. As we were mobile we had a meal allowance and a top up to it if you were working 10 hours. The top up just about covered a coffee and bun. We were on call and if I was called out I used to show the top up. Pat anyway decided that as the callout was a different time schedule I was not entitled to it. I reminded him that his interpretation was incorrect. We were having a few words over it and he told me he check.my interpretation of my entitlements to the top up.

I said and I quote'' Pat that grand but if my interpretation is incorrect the next evening I get a call out on the way home in the evening( as happened this time) I go home for my dinner. If the company loses a contract that is fine by me''

Never heard a word about it again. Had another head to head with him at a work meeting a year later over another matter, one of the senior management pulled him up at that meeting.

In OP'S case here I have a fair idea what will happen next time. She will ring him and he will ask her to contact her colleague to act as cover.

My attitude would be to tell him sorry in an emergency situation I make one phone, he wanted me to phone him he can sort it now. As well if his phone went to voicemail I leave that exact message.

I have learned over the years if someone want to act the mick then I well capable of the same. The wheel always turns. This owner has not taught this one out. Yes he entitled to be s asshole but asshole's are there for to be kicked.

I am not buying that he was not aware of her absence. I not buying either that he did not know she arranged cover. This idea you text in a situation like this is stupid as well. At least you can make a hands free call driving.

OP I wait my chance and give it back in spade's

beauf wrote: »

Work was covered. The office knew, the boss knew.
The only thing that didn't happen was the procedure wasn't followed to the letter.
Did it make any difference in real terms. No.

We don't know, if work was covered. We only know that he delegated his work. But do you know, if the other employee had time to do it in a short notice? That's why passing such information to manager is needed, because he can step in and do it himself or prioritise things to do.

Also the manager probably wanted to know, how serious the emergency was to cover maybe for more days of absence. But OP didn't even allow for this information to be passed on abruptly finishing his call.

JoChervil wrote: »

Of course not! Why do you suggest that? An information text would suffice.

He told someone. Presumably he asked them to pass it on.

JimmyVik wrote: »

He told someone. Presumably he asked them to pass it on.

Here we go again. Read back, I already posted what I thought about the whole situation.