Work colleagues

[Left Back]

1 hour ago, Don Diego De la Vega said:

C'mon tae f**k scottsdad! 

Won’t hear from him for a while.

HoS has sided with the prof.  Scottsdad has been fired and the prof is looking to hire 2 people to backfill the now 2 vacant teaching roles.

Scottsdad will be on a bender  for at least a week is my prediction,

[scottsdad]

9 hours ago, Left Back said:

Won’t hear from him for a while.

HoS has sided with the prof.  Scottsdad has been fired and the prof is looking to hire 2 people to backfill the now 2 vacant teaching roles.

Scottsdad will be on a bender  for at least a week is my prediction,

Sorry folks, been a touch busy. 

First with the "second deputy". I told her about all my dealings with the Prof, and she told me all hers and we compared notes. Very similar stories, similar obstructions being put up. She negotiated his contract when he came and is very unhappy that he's giving various reasons now why he cannot teach, that he didn't give during the interview/negotiation stage. Further, her view is that someone shouldn't get out of teaching simply because they're being awkward. 

The Head/Nuclear Option has told her in no uncertain terms that the Prof is teaching. So what we have is a case of serious mixed messaging. 

The second deputy is meeting the Head tomorrow or Monday to discuss this.

I will indeed be on a bender for a while now - much needed.

[GordonD]

I'm clearly missing something with the Prof saga. If he was taken on to teach, and he's now saying he can't do it, why isn't he being punted into the sea?

[Florentine_Pogen]

I'm clearly missing something with the Prof saga. If he was taken on to teach, and he's now saying he can't do it, why isn't he being punted into the sea?

Welcome to the party, Gogs. Be prepared to be amazed.

[scottsdad]

1 hour ago, GordonD said:

I'm clearly missing something with the Prof saga. If he was taken on to teach, and he's now saying he can't do it, why isn't he being punted into the sea?

This is the consensus of the teaching team, to be honest. 

[Florentine_Pogen]

Welcome to the world of academia.
Not a single person will step up and take the reins on this and do what should have been done a few weeks ago.

Nah, HoS will put the tackety boots on and kick some arse.

[scottsdad]

And so it ends not with a bang, but with an email.

An email from the Head (now reinstated as the Nuclear Option, my doubts were very wrong) to the Prof, cc'd to me and his deputies, instructing him to undertake the course as directed. The language in the email could not be clearer, making reference to his contract and the like - reading between the lines, the Head seems really hacked off. This is probably the first time that an academic has refused to teach, and it be escalated to him.  He shouldn't need to intercede in what is a small issue.

This is the outcome I wanted a fortnight ago, or a week ago even. 

I'll be blunt. In my years in my Director role I have never, ever had someone refuse to deliver a course requested. Never had someone try to go above my head to get out of teaching. Never had such relentless push back on every aspect of delivery. Every academic gets given a course to teach that they don't want to, it's part of the job. I think what swayed the Head, and indeed the second deputy, is that if it is seen that you can dodge teaching by being awkward, then everyone will be at it. 

That said, going forward I see more trouble and fights with the guy every time something comes up and he is asked to take his fair share. 

[Jacksgranda]

First leg ends scottsdad 1 bolshie prof 0

[scottsdad]

6 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

First leg ends scottsdad 1 bolshie prof 0

If you met him, you'd hardly call him bolshie

[Florentine_Pogen]

^^^^ Let's just call him an entitled posh c*nt, then.........

[The Moonster]

Shall we have a sweep on how long from now until the Prof's notice lands on this Heads table?

[Dan Steele]

56 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

email from the Head (now reinstated as the Nuclear Option, my doubts were very wrong) to the Prof, cc'd to me and his deputies, instructing him to undertake the course as directed.

You can tell the Head that I am absolutely fuckin' livid that I wasn't cc'd in. I've followed this saga from Day 1 and this is how I'm treated? Very disappointing.

[Jacksgranda]

Ask for a meeting and report back...

[BFTD]

I'm guessing the Prof turns up to every lecture, sticks his feet up on the table with a paper, and refuses to even acknowledge the students.

[Sergeant Wilson]

2 hours ago, scottsdad said:

And so it ends not with a bang, but with an email.

An email from the Head (now reinstated as the Nuclear Option, my doubts were very wrong) to the Prof, cc'd to me and his deputies, instructing him to undertake the course as directed. The language in the email could not be clearer, making reference to his contract and the like - reading between the lines, the Head seems really hacked off. This is probably the first time that an academic has refused to teach, and it be escalated to him.  He shouldn't need to intercede in what is a small issue.

This is the outcome I wanted a fortnight ago, or a week ago even. 

I'll be blunt. In my years in my Director role I have never, ever had someone refuse to deliver a course requested. Never had someone try to go above my head to get out of teaching. Never had such relentless push back on every aspect of delivery. Every academic gets given a course to teach that they don't want to, it's part of the job. I think what swayed the Head, and indeed the second deputy, is that if it is seen that you can dodge teaching by being awkward, then everyone will be at it. 

That said, going forward I see more trouble and fights with the guy every time something comes up and he is asked to take his fair share. 

His work here is done. By the time he gets started, pisses about, is excused individual days, calls in sick, delivers the square root of hee haw in class, and by the time your management have to stop pretending not to know, you'll be collecting money for his retirement card.

[welshbairn]

Background for his first zoom lecture.

[Florentine_Pogen]

^^^ The Prof has signed up to a 'Teaching &, Scholarship' employment contract. This commits him to delivering certain stipulated lectures/courses in specified semesters.
All of the foregoing shenanigans have been about getting the Prof to honour his contractual commitments.
Now, I'm not very knowledgeable on the business/HR front, but Id've thought the Prof has no case here. Would be interested to hear oaksoft's reasons for his opinion above.

[Left Back]

6 minutes ago, Florentine_Pogen said:

^^^ The Prof has signed up to a 'Teaching &, Scholarship' employment contract. This commits him to delivering certain stipulated lectures/courses in specified semesters.
All of the foregoing shenanigans have been about getting the Prof to honour his contractual commitments.
Now, I'm not very knowledgeable on the business/HR front, but Id've thought the Prof has no case here. Would be interested to hear oaksoft's reasons for his opinion above.

I’m more interested to know how I get a job in academia.

I thought I had skiving down to an art form.  Sounds to me like the prof should be giving lectures in it.  I genuinely hate the c**t because he’s far better at it than me.

[NotThePars]

2 hours ago, Florentine_Pogen said:

^^^ The Prof has signed up to a 'Teaching &, Scholarship' employment contract. This commits him to delivering certain stipulated lectures/courses in specified semesters.
All of the foregoing shenanigans have been about getting the Prof to honour his contractual commitments.
Now, I'm not very knowledgeable on the business/HR front, but Id've thought the Prof has no case here. Would be interested to hear oaksoft's reasons for his opinion above.

If there's anyone on that email chain that doesn't need to be on it then he could kick up a stink. It would depend on how it was phrased though.

[Honest_Man#1]

5 hours ago, oaksoft said:

I'm not sure why you think it's ended.

I think you've just seen the end of the beginning.

Sending an "arse kicking" email to an employee rather than face-to-face and cc-ing in a whole raft of other employees is a pretty stupid "ego-fuelled" thing for a Head of Department to do.

Is this Head of Department seriously expecting this guy to just fall in line now?

I wouldn't be surprised if this triggered a formal complaint by the Prof.
The Head of Department could now face disciplinary action and if I was the Prof I'd be kickstarting that process first thing in the morning.

Every time you post an update, my jaw hits the ground with ever increasing strength.

From top to bottom you appear to be working in one of the most incompetent work environments I've heard of, outside Westminster.

All of this could so easily have been avoided if academics had a shred of inter-personal skill about them.

It's fabulous entertainment. Maybe not for you though.

There is absolutely nothing that could lead to a disciplinary for the head for sending an email with his deputies copied in. If that was grounds for disciplinary then the world is fucked.