P.Service employee (Health Service Provider Agency) offered support role job?

I am working in the public sector for 10 yrs.

Recently the boss who has been in post 6 months approached me and asked me would I be interested in working for him supporting him in his role. We had a discussion and I asked him re salary benefits. He said no to a salary raise. I told him i would think about him.

Long story short I told him I was not interested in the post unless he offered me a raise. He told me he would offer me €4,000.

There is another individual employed to work to him - half her post is salaried to pay for support she is supposed to give him. She is a lazy character and he has never used her.

Prior to making the announcement to my department I told him €4,000 was not enough as this other lady was on a higher grade than me and he should not ask me to work for less than my colleagues. He agreed a raise of €5,400 and said he would try for €7,000. I was thrilled, the announcement was made and he told me he would backdate the money to the 1st June.

On 16th June he called me into his office and said he had been to a senior managers meeting and that he was giving me confidential information. Staff cuts would be made, voluntary redundancy offered and increments frozen with agreement from staff. This is public knowledge to all staff in the public sector. He said he was very sorry but he could not pay the money we agreed and he would understand if I did not want to work for him. I told him I would think about it.

I am due to meet him on Monday to tell him my decision. We shook on this deal twice. I am absolutely gutted. In a subtle way he said I would have more job security by working for him but I feel I placed all my cards on the table and he is expecting me now to go and work for him without the pay deal we arranged.

Do I have any comeback from a verbal agreement?

What is the best way to handle someone as underhand as this?

Sorry for long post!

izzybizzie said:

I am working in the public sector ..

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The public sector is a very large collection of organiastions, agencies, services and companies indeed.

Broadly speaking what part of the public service have you been working in?

Line Managers in public bodies generally have no discretion about salaries or gradings. That is all done by HR, and is generally not done through the kind of horse-trading approach you describe.

Complainer said:

Line Managers in public bodies generally have no discretion about salaries or gradings.

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This is true in the public and civil service but is not true in the commercial semi state organisations such as Bord Gas, ESB, Bord na Mona etc who have have largely abandoned the civil and public service grade structure in recent years for most but not all employee categories.

izzy, are you in a trade union?

I am working within HR in a health service provider agency. It would be part of my remit to advise this manager re salary scales, recruitment, contract extensions etc

yes I am in the union even though my role is a HR role. I have no proof of the salary agreement though only some scribbling on a scrap of paper that I kept. When he made the announcement that I would be working for him there was no indication to my colleagues that money had been discussed.

izzybizzie said:

What is the best way to handle someone as underhand as this?

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In fairness I dont think he is being underhand. He strikes me as a manager more used to the ways of the private sector where they are free to recruit support staff in a more flexible manner. Does he (and more importantly you) know how the public service works in this regard?

he has always worked in the public sector. He is well aware. I also provided him with documentation showing precedence and examples of other employees that had been regraded or offered higher salaries for doing extra duties. He is the top man in the organisation he is well aware how this system works.

I reckon you're on a road to nowhere pursuing what was a private verbal agreement between you.

Different ways of looking at it:

Have you been hit with the levy and paycut? If you have I'd tell him that you've taken your fair share of hits and would prefer not to be expected to work for nada for him.

You could also decide to turn it to your advantage and get an assurance of more job security (in writing) for taking on the additional duties for him.

Either way I think getting into a huff about it won't be to your advantage.

Personally, if your hours aren't increased I'd take on the role and get on with it. Take on the duties but lessen your load elsewhere.

I have a close work friend who is a senior manager I think if I backtrack it would be a mistake. He needs me more for my expertise and this senior manager advised me to hold onto this as leverage to negotiate my position. This guy is a slippery eel he will not put anything in writing. I take a half day parental leave a week and he had the cheek to say to me look I will pay you for the parental leave and you wont have to make up the hours. I told him no way I would not compromise myself.

izzybizzie said:

Long story short I told him I was not interested in the post unless he offered me a raise.

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If there is now no raise on offer now, have you not answered your own question? Tell him that you want to stay in your current post.

People have to take on more work for the same money all the time. What's the big deal?

Thread title (original 'Made a fool of - Please advise') changed to P.Service employee (Health Service Provider Agency) offered support role job?