out of hours staff meeting do I have to attend?

chris7
chris7 Bots Posts: 2,696
Hi all

I work one day a week in a shop. When I arrived last Sunday I was greeted with a notice from the manager saying Out of hours staff meeting Monday 21st 5.30pm ALL STAFF MUST ATTEND. This is not unusual and I have usually made an effort to go to these even though they are normally attempts to train us again!! to squeeze every last penny out of a customer who just came in for a look! :roll: At least we are paid to be there. However it does mean I have to get from my other part time job which finishes at 5 and limp straight to the bus to get there.

However this time the notice ended with this is to discuss your responsibility for making (store name left out here!) a success.
Now if it had said OUR responsibilty I would not have been so absolutely fuming. :x I know full well just how many extra sales I got on Sunday by being helpful, interested and certainly not over pushy. I also know how many I lost because the someone in charge did not order enough of a popular stock item and on learning this the customers said no don't order I will get it on line.

An added complication here is that on the same evening I had planned to go to our local meeting to support my local library staff who have been told their years of expertise is no longer required and that if volunteers are not found to replace them the new library which opened last week with a £550,000 refit will close in April. You couldn't make it up could you? :!:

So do I tell my manager at the shop to stuff her meeting and go heckle the County Council in support of my local library staff and incur her wrath forever, or do I go to her meeting and tell her things she really doesn't want to hear? Any advise appreciated.
Thank you
Chris

Comments

  • traluvie
    traluvie Member Posts: 2,579
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Quite a tough one..

    There is a chnace that if you don't get out of work on time and miss the bus you would be late for your meeting with boss... if you were working late in your other job you would not be able to attend or if you had a doctors appointment or something similar, you cannot get into trouble for not attending as it is out of hours and you could have already made plans..
    Regarding the library, i think that every town should have a local library and would be fighting to save mine, my sone loves getting books from the library and my OH who is dyslexic loves getting facts and info on football and crime.. we need our libraries...
    Let us know what decision you make??
    th_tn_TisFORTIGGER.jpgxxTracyxx
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Option 3 is attractive, but I think option 2 is the answer. You can claim 'a prior engagement which cannot be broken' as a response to stupid/thoughtless boss. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • caterina57
    caterina57 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Go to the meeting to save your library hopefully it will still be there as a vibrant community resource long after you have finished working.
    Cath
  • chris7
    chris7 Bots Posts: 2,696
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    thanks Tracy, del, DD and Cath for your thoughts on this.

    I must admit 2 would be my choice at the moment too. Trouble is when I told the deputy manager about this last Sunday and suggested I might miss the staff meeting he rather unusually for him, did that sharp intake of breath indicating I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, which spooked me big time. :shock: He says I need to speak to the boss who should be in herself this Sunday so I am a tad worried about what to say. Still feel it is asking too much when I only work there one day a week. I mean how much damage can I do?
    I'll let you know if I manage to wriggle out of it.

    Chris
  • Bookseverywhere
    Bookseverywhere Member Posts: 196
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm not sure your boss can enforce a compulsory out of hours staff meeting. It seems to conflict with every principle of anti-discriminatory practice: it makes it difficult for those with second jobs, it makes it difficult for those who don't have their own transport, it makes it difficult for those with children or for those who are also carers, it makes it difficult for those with some medical conditions. All in all, I think it is unreasonable. Do you have a union rep?

    Best wishes,
    Kevin.
  • chris7
    chris7 Bots Posts: 2,696
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kevin

    Thanks for calling in. No, no union and no clearly she can't make us go to these staff meetings but since her job is on the line she can make things very difficult for me if I don't. Though having said that the bookshop has had three changes of ownership and 4 different managers in the 8 years I have worked there and I am still there. Funny that isn't it? :lol: Just hope I have the bottle to tell her I have made other plans which are equally important to me. Hope things going ok for you, I think in the same line of work? Tough times for us all I fear.
    Chris
  • Bookseverywhere
    Bookseverywhere Member Posts: 196
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Chris, Yes it is a difficult time for all of us in bookselling. We sell both new books and second hand books, and we sell in our shop and on the internet. Without the internet we probably wouldn't still be in business.

    Have you ever thought about setting up in business yourself? Perhaps starting with selling books online?

    Best wishes,
    Kevin.
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Chris,i dont think they can make you go to a meeting although they can make your life difficult if you dont,we have had a few of these "meetings and most times ive wiggled out of them with the prior engagment card,i used to work in a bookshop too and that has changed hands at least 3 times,funny if we all worked for the same company :smile:
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Since you had already decided to attend the library meeting and they had the foresight to give you plenty of notice (unlike work) I would attend the library meeting and tell work you have a prior engagement.

    Speedy
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • chris7
    chris7 Bots Posts: 2,696
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks again all, and to Kevin Kat and Speedy for your thoughts.

    Just a quick update for anyone interested. The shop manager wasn't in on Sunday Phew! so I just left my apologies and did indeed follow the concensus here and go to the library meeting.

    Inspite of the awful weather over 100 turned up. :grin: But guess what?? Because the local paper were chairing the meeting with the local MP and Borough Councillor the chicken livered County Council refused to send a representative. :shock: It just gets more ridiculous. :lol: Anyway voices were heard and views will be passed on but having worked for libraries in the past I know public consultation is a bit of a joke and that the big decisions have no doubt already be made. :roll: At least I feel I was there to be counted and will face whatever the boss throws at me next Sunday!
    thanks again
    Chris x
  • Bookseverywhere
    Bookseverywhere Member Posts: 196
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It is so short sighted to close libraries. I remember as a kid the amount of pleasure I got from my local library. Libraries help create an interest in and respect for books and they help increase and maintain literacy.

    I used to work for a local authority and it seems to me that when councils have to make cuts, it is always front line services that get cut first.

    Best wishes,
    Kevin.