Team leader doesnt understand

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walkers_dream

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I dont think my team leader, or infact my management understand the responsibilities i have outside of work, In all means i am happy to change my hours to suit their needs, but i always get the short straw, I have said im happy to do the 8-4 shift that no one wants to do, as im up at 5:30am any way so makes sence to, but they have also put me one week on early, one week on late which is 10-6, which is a pain! means im waiting around from 6-10am which i find silly, and means i have to muck out in the dark meh :(

not only that i had a bad day yesterday (mixture of old demons and being tired) and heard them talking about the horses just as i left, tbh the last call i had put me in a even more foul mood to the point it bought me to tears on the way home :(

I get in today and was asked if i felt better, but i know for a fact ill be pulled over and something will be said!

why cant employers take peoples lives outside of work in to consideration and stop mucking them around! our shifts keep changing, which as a result so do the boys routeen! and i hate that! :confused::mad:
 
everyone has responsibilities outside of work.


Do all your colleagues get chopped and changed as to what shift theyre on too?
 
nikicb said:
Is there a reason you can't muck out etc before work?
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Mmmmm... that's what I wondered.

Everyone has commitments outside of work. I have 4 kids, horses, other animals, house/garden to maintain, etc... Perhaps people with children also like the 8-4 shift?

Don't grumble on here about it! Speak to your Team Leader directly and express your concerns. It's only that way that anything will be acheived.
 
I have commitments outside of work which at the moment include getting up at 6am to do the yard. However I don't complain that I have to work the late shift which means finishing at midnight so by the time I've got home, walked the dog etc I get to bed at 2am.

Your out-of-work life should be fitted around work, not the other way round. Sorry.
 
Fact is that as much as I bet we all have certain gripes about work and we all have bad days, it is just that - work. Work means you can have the horses, not the other way around, and at the end of the day you are there and contracted to do a job for them, not a favour.

It's not an employer's choice that someone has horses and while a reasonable manager will work with their employees to help them all out as best as possible re working patterns, at the end of the day it's the business needs that come first.

If you think your shifts are getting jigged about too much for no reason that has been explained, talk to your team leader and ask why they're shifting and ask if it's possible to get some more consistency. Hope you are feeling better today.
 
they do, but im forever being asked to switch shifts, which means one day im at 10-6 and one im at 8-4 as it doesnt fit any of our needs, i have horses, one has children, one has cheerleading comps to attend, We wernt asked we were just given.

Normal instances i wouldnt have a problem with any of it, Appart from the change in routeen every week, but at the moment i dont have a car and have to drive to the yard every morning, it gives me 30 mins every morning with the car so i do all what i need to do in the afternoon, and my boys are turned out at night, as they are colts, and Y/O has mares so it works well this way round. Hence the awkwardness of it :/ I have had to say to every one not to keep asking me to change my shift with them as its really messing me up o_0

the whole reason i went for the job because it was originally 8:30-4:30 which was perfect!

whole not having a car has put a huge snag on things, and currently resulting to a push bike (which is temendous fun!) these changes are given 1 days notice mind, we dont get a week to make arrangements we just get told, even though our contracts state they are to give us a week notice of any changes.

I have said to team leader and management but it gets ignored, for the other two people, they were told they dont get priortybecause they are still in probation. and with kids i think its wrong to say that !
 
Does it matter who does what shifts in terms of getting the work done? Just thinking that if you and the rest of the group come up with a plan that would fit all your external commitments in, you could present it as a suggestion to your team leader. That way you are showing that you are being proactive about sorting things out rather than just getting fed up when shifts are imposed on you.
 
Well its anual billing at the moment (end of year tax's) so its manic at work, so i sent an email around on monday saying who wants what days, who does what, and so we can work around the issue of change of hours, only one person got back to me, so i switched my mondays so now im on perminant late, so he can have the early shift as plays football in pm. And i get perm fridays 8-4 (so the weekend comes sooner! lol)

I thought i would have had a better reply.

the only reason i bring the horses in to this, is because i get penilised for it as im "tired at work" even if i had kids ide be "tired at work" thats life lmao! they dont understand the responsibility is that similar to children?

be it a better option imo! kids drive me mad loL!
 
Sorry but i'm a parent with horses & I don't think anyone (with rare exception of some health probs) should be allowed to get away with being to tired to do their job. Would never expect special treatment because of my lifestyle, anymore than I'd allow for someones hangover. The responsibility is not the same as having horses.
If nobody else is that bothered about last minute rota changes can you not just ask your boss to give everyone a weekly one?
 
walkers_dream said:
the only reason I bring the horses in to this, is because I get penilised for it as I'm "tired at work" even if i had kids iI'd be "tired at work" that's life lmao! they don't understand the responsibility is that similar to children?
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Is this some sort of troll thread??????
 
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Oh get off your high horses you lot.

OP - I never talk about my horses at work except with people who appreciate or are genuinely interested. However, a long time ago I learnt never to take time off due to vet/farrier etc and tell them as such. No one understands - obviously not even people on here!

Can I suggest you invent an imaginary niece or nephew and say you are committed to pick them up or drop them off at school. If I have the farrier/vet coming that is what I do as I cannot be arsed explaining to people who think their lives are more important than mine.

We work to live not live to work and although our earnings do support our horses that is none of their business!
 
mcnaughty said:
Oh get off your high horses you lot.
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I don't think anyone's on their high horse. But just a bit surprised at the OP's attitude.....:o

However, a long time ago I learnt never to take time off due to vet/farrier etc and tell them as such. No one understands - obviously not even people on here!
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My work have never had a problem with me taking time off for any reason, providing it's out of annual leave and convenient to my job. And the odd time that there's been an equine emergency have been just brilliant.

I've found that people in general are interested in what their work colleagues do for a hobby etc. they just tend to switch off a bit to those who are perceived as having the wrong priorities. And any goodwill by one's employers soon disappears under these circumstances.;)
 
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mcnaughty said:
although our earnings do support our horses that is none of their business!
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Which was exactly my point in my first post, ironically...

OP, if your shifts are being jigged against your contract, you need to actually do something, i.e. refuse. Sounds like a quiet and sensible discussion with your line manager is in order but I wouldn't recommend pleading horses - or indeed any other lifestyle factor, for valid reasons others have outlined well - as part of it.

ETA second what amymay said - appointments I need to be at are sorted out in my own time, be that flexi or annual leave, and the disaster of losing my old boy very suddenly nearly two years ago was dealt with very well by work and I made it clear how grateful I was. Some people are more reasonable than others but it works both ways.
 
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When you work the hours I do and want to take time off in lieu it is ALWAYS better to give any other reason other than horses.

We had a contractor here ie. only paid for the hours she does up to a total of 8 hours a day - she had polo ponies and needed to take time off for an urgent vet visit - she got the sack because she had time time off for an "inappropriate" reason. She too had worked long hours and did not get paid overtime.

Sometimes it is not worth arguing with your line manager over what you want the time off for. Lieing is never a good option but sometimes it is just a lot easier!
 
walkers_dream said:
why cant employers take peoples lives outside of work in to consideration and stop mucking them around!
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To put it bluntly because employers are in it to run a business and make money and not to care about their employees personal circumstances! People's lives outside work are just that, outside. The harsh truth is that when you're at work you're being paid to be there and if you aren't happy then the majority of employers will simply wave you goodbye and get someone else in. Don't get me wrong, I understand only too well what it's like to be miserable at work - I had a hard time for a number of years pulled around with office politics and a bullying boss but I had to work to pay the mortgaage. I had to drive 30 miles each way to work and get up at 5.30 every morning and muck out by the light of a lantern - in winter I never saw my pony in daylight except at weekends!
 
mcnaughty said:
When you work the hours I do and want to take time off in lieu it is ALWAYS better to give any other reason other than horses.
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I just take it as annual leave, so there's no problem.

We had a contractor here ie. only paid for the hours she does up to a total of 8 hours a day - she had polo ponies and needed to take time off for an urgent vet visit - she got the sack because she had time time off for an "inappropriate" reason. She too had worked long hours and did not get paid overtime.
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Providing it was taken as agreed annual leave, I can't see how they can have done that.... :confused:

Sometimes it is not worth arguing with your line manager over what you want the time off for. Lying is never a good option but sometimes it is just a lot easier!
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But surely you don't have to argue for or justify your reasons for taking annual leave? You just book it off.
 
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Mcnaughty- see your point & I'd sympathise if the op wasn't allowed to book time off in advance for farriers & vets when parents could book the morning of for a school play etc. But I got the impression the issue was having to muck out etc after work, which is entirely differe
 
Everyone has responsibilities outside work, sorry but you can't expect to have the pick of the shifts.

I'm self employed - my choice, and my horses have to fit in around my work, sometimes they're turned out at 4am :eek:(even in winter), other times it's 7am. If I didn't work I couldn't afford to have my horse's.

If the hour's don't suit you switch to a job that the hours do or a job on flexi time.

Your farrier is only every 6 weeks so you have plenty of time to book leave and f you organise the daily chores to suit your work I'm sure they will be understanding if an emergency arises.
 
Second littlelegs's post.

And mcnaughty, I say this gently but perhaps it's not such a matter of 'when you work the hours I do and want to take time off in lieu' as a matter of 'when you have my particular employers and want to take time off in lieu.' It may not have been meant in that way but I'm sure there are plenty on here who a) work long hours for no OT (myself included) and/or b) work odd or shift hours and are able to take the time off in lieu they are entitled to as long as it fits with business needs.
 
mcnaughty said:
We had a contractor here ie. only paid for the hours she does up to a total of 8 hours a day - she had polo ponies and needed to take time off for an urgent vet visit - she got the sack because she had time time off for an "inappropriate" reason. She too had worked long hours and did not get paid overtime.
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Sorry if I misread that but 8 hours a day long hours?!!!

8 hours seems like a breather lol. Annoys me when people say the standard hours are such a hard slog. At one of my last jobs I could start travelling at 4am and not be back til 10pm on a fairly regular basis. You chose the job, if it's that bad write a CV and be pro-active!

Pan
 
MissChaos said:
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ETA second what amymay said - appointments I need to be at are sorted out in my own time, be that flexi or annual leave, and the disaster of losing my old boy very suddenly nearly two years ago was dealt with very well by work and I made it clear how grateful I was. Some people are more reasonable than others but it works both ways.
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surely it is a lot easier to sort things out in your own time when you know what your shifts actually are though. If the OP is sometimes not due in until 10am that leaves a good couple of hours as does finishing at 4pm at the other end of the day. I expect she could organise her life around that if she knew what her shift pattern would be, having only 24 hours notice would make this very difficult.

PJ, I read that as she was doing more than 8 hours per day but only able to be paid for the 8, hence taking time off in lieu.
 
amymay said:
But surely you don't have to argue for or justify your reasons for taking annual leave? You just book it off.
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Nope. You obviously haven't ever had to scrap tooth and nail to get what is rightly yours. If you had you would understand more what people are trying to say.

My last job I had to literally fight to get my AL. I would be told it was pencilled in when I asked months in advance (required to stand any hope at all) and then the week before, be told no, actually I couldn't have it etc.

Asking for one day off required three weeks notice. Having a horse related emergency was not good enough reason to take AL at short notice so I had to rope in friends to hold for the vet etc.

I think perhaps you have only worked for nice companies. I left as a result of the way I was treated but not everyone has that option. And that was working as a 'professional' in a skilled job!
 
Ester, that's exactly why the OP needs to do as suggested and what Jesstickle had to do and take some action, be it refusing to accommodate a short notice shift change - as this is against contract - or otherwise something a bit more drastic.

I'm in a nice company at the moment but have experienced being yanked about with leave and lieu before and appreciate it makes life neither straightforward or pleasant. Just saying that there would perhaps seem to be valid gripes on both sides in this case from what has been disclosed.
 
ester said:
surely it is a lot easier to sort things out in your own time when you know what your shifts actually are though. If the OP is sometimes not due in until 10am that leaves a good couple of hours as does finishing at 4pm at the other end of the day. I expect she could organise her life around that if she knew what her shift pattern would be, having only 24 hours notice would make this very difficult.

PJ, I read that as she was doing more than 8 hours per day but only able to be paid for the 8, hence taking time off in lieu.
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Ah fair enough, seems a very strange company.

Still if there is that much issue OP write a letter (recorded) to your boss and a copy of the relevant clause in your contract stating the notice required for shift changes and that at all times you require at minimum this notice.

24h still seems plenty to me to sort out whether doing duties in morning or evening. A pain, yes, and not right, but not impossible.

I wouldn't take time off for a vet unless it was a true emergency. And farrier certainly not unless again a bad situation. I'd arrange all for out of work hours and arrange with a suitable friend to sit in on farrier in return for one muckout or something if that was not possible :confused:

If the job is not viable then start looking elsewhere and keep your options open?

Pan
 
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