My company seems to have forgotten the promises it made about a pension
I work full-time for a small business – an architecture practice with 10 staff including the three directors. They let the office manager go during the recession and now a freelance accountant looks after anything financial.
She comes in for a few hours every week and does not answer emails. I have been working for them for 15 months and have not been able to join the staff pension scheme, even though it was in my contract that I could join after three months. When I ask the freelance accountant she says she has to find out what the latest rules are. When I ask the directors they say they will ask her – but I have not heard anything.
I took the job because, although it is not well paid, it is a permanent position with (supposedly) a pension! As I am the main wage earner in the family I feel like I have to stay in this job, and I don’t want to threaten to leave over something like this. But I am desperate to have some security in the future. What should I do?
Jeremy says
I very much doubt if this inexcusable incompetence on the part of your firm is deliberate, or motivated by meanness. Having dispensed with an office manager it has taken on a freelancer who, not being a member of staff herself, probably concentrates mainly on financial matters and certainly wouldn’t see herself in an HR role. The three directors are presumably all working architects who may find all forms of internal administration a tiresome distraction from fee-earning activity.
None of this is to excuse their behaviour but, if I’m right, it means you’re dealing with a vacuum: there is no single person who feels responsible for personnel matters, and there is no one you can go to for support. I would have thought that one of those three directors would have been designated as a managing partner, but it seems not.
You certainly can’t let this situation continue, but I don’t think you need to threaten resignation. I think you should write a reasoned letter (and I suggest a real letter, not an email) to all three directors and the freelance accountant. It should contain a copy of the clause in your contract that granted you membership of the pension scheme after three months, and a reminder that you have raised the matter on several occasions (be date specific) but to no effect.
State that a full year has passed since your admission to membership was promised. In the absence of an office manager you badly feel the lack of someone to make the case on your behalf so they should know that, with some reluctance, you plan to join a union. Be careful to state this as an intention rather than an implied threat.
As you may know, every employee is entitled to join a union, whether or not it is recognised by their employer – and there is little doubt that, with a union acting on your behalf, that clause in your contract is far more likely to be swiftly honoured and any past loss of benefit corrected.
It is entirely possible that the mere mention of union involvement will be enough to jolt your firm into long overdue action. If so, you may decide to postpone applying for membership. On the other hand, given the slightly unorthodox structure of your firm, you might think that union membership will have a continuing value for you.
Readers say
• Ask the other staff about the pension scheme. With such a small firm it’s possible it was something they meant to set up and never got round to. Pavanne
• Send an email to both so they can’t fob you off, stating that you have asked several times and are exercising your rights in the employment contract. If that doesn’t do it, send a letter stating they are in breach of contract. AgentC
• You could do it yourself. Open a Sipp and give the directors the direct debit form for them to put in £X a month, where X is 4% of your income, or whatever. You could become your firm’s pensions executive. SergeantFunKiller
What can I do about a colleague who does his own projects in work time?
A colleague spends his time working on personal projects in the firm’s time rather than getting on with the work he should be doing.
We work in two-month cycles and throughout this time he can spend anything from 30 minutes to several hours a day doing his own projects.
Our team leader has left so we are down one person in a small operation with a lot of work coming up. The outgoing team leader, with whom I am friendly, mentioned that he regarded the colleague as lazy and didn’t trust him with important work. I am not sure what the new team leader thinks, but I believe the colleague manages perceptions of himself very well. He has even put the company logo on his personal work so that it looks like he is working.
We all have to work harder, which is causing additional stress. It annoys me because he is getting an easy ride at our expense, and also because he’s spending his time learning new technologies which we’d all like to be doing. This is experimentation we have to do outside work, so I can see his motivation.
I am not sure how to handle this. I feel as if telling on him is bad form, but I get really annoyed with him doing it. What should I do?
Jeremy says
Your irritation is entirely understandable but you must try not to let it obsess you. Harbouring a build-up of envy and resentment can make life even more unpleasant than simply knowing that a colleague isn’t shouldering his fair share of the workload.
Since you’re on good terms with the outgoing team leader, and since you already know that he has serious doubts about this colleague, perhaps you should suggest that the outgoing team leader has a hand-over briefing session with the new leader in which those doubts could be shared. (You’d think such a meeting was scheduled anyway.)
The arrival of a fresh pair of eyes, with no baggage from the past, would seem to be an excellent opportunity for your colleague’s behaviour to be carefully scrutinised – and any necessary corrective warnings issued.
Readers say
• Had a very similar experience in my office and brought it up in a meeting, “As others obviously do, I just wanted to make sure: is it OK to focus on personal projects once the company’s projects are completed?” That was met with a “What?”. Game changer. Be more Machiavellian than those who try it on, but only if you have to be. usasoneiaswe
• He may think he is doing his share of the work in less time than it takes you, and then keeping his skill base up to date with the rest of the time. I would analyse your own shortcomings before trying to bring up his, you are then capable of having a discussion without thinking you are being attacked. scissorkickliz
• If he’s behind on the work he is tasked with, bring that up to your team leader. If he’s causing you problems because you need his code to work with yours, pester him to finish faster. If he’s doing all he’s asked and still has spare time, that’s a team leader’s issue not yours. You don’t have to “tell on him”, but you can highlight the effects his actions are having. ID732779
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
