Do I jump - or wait to be pushed from my current role - I feel that the latter is inevitable? Any advice (speedy if possible please) gratefully accepted. Cheers Stuart

Totally agree with Chris, do not jump until you are pushed. You gave me advice about the state of the job market so unless you have another position waiting i would wait myself until it happens, save for a rainy day so to speak. Good luck

Wait till your pushed them kick and scream until you get good terms. If in doubt consult a solicitor - if they make any msitake in procedure you can take them to a tribunal....................

The question is Stuie, why do you think you are about to be pushed?

Stuie I would stay put, and see what happens, the job market is slow, we are working short time as the orders are down, I have been looking on the job sites, just in case, but nothing has come up as yet, you send your C.V. Off to the agency, but never here anything

He who works and does his best Is up the road before the rest. It would appear that you will well out of that establishment Stuie. If you bail out you will not be entitled to benefits so let them finish you up and "sign on" until your next job comes along. It is important to maintain your "stamp" payments. with best wishes Jon

Too right Jon - just wish i had managed to find a bolt hole before 'bernie the bolt' got me ;-( How old am I???

Stuie, hope you don't mind me hijacking this a little, but I'd like to ask KieranD what he means by :- Quote:- What coaching are you using to enable you to develop rounded perspectives before and during any 'bolt', to another 'hole'? I'm also unemployed and are interested by this remark, and hope any clarification may be of benefit to Stuie also. Also Stuie see link on the term probationary period (2/3 way down) http://www.adviceguide.o...tracts_of_employment.htm Thanks Chris

Why do you feel the latter is inevitable?? There is no point being in a job if you are not happy, or if you feel like you need to watch your back. over the years I have jumped 2 jobs as I felt the MD wasnt listening (didnt want to spend money to make things right) and the second was a safety show company, paperwork for everything, lovely stats when in actualy fact there was no safety. In both instances there was nothing I could do to make the situation better.

Having been in a very similar sounding postion to yourself and I can't offer you any advice but can only tell you what I did at the time. The exact same words were used to me witch hunt and I had a manager who blamed me for her inefficiencies and everything when the [expletive deleted] hit the fan. I was a total scape goat and a sitting duck. I didn't have a voice at all and I was mis quoted and people were mis informed of my actions. I was painted in an extremley bad light. It was described to me by other people who worked there as my face didn't fit. I completley felt that it was only a matter of time and I could not relax at all. Ironically my manager left 2 months before me - went off sick and never came back. You would have thought this would have been my saving grace but no the damage was done. I couldn't sleep, was a nervous wreck, thought about nothing else until one day something happened which was the straw that broke the camels back and I reigned with immediate effect - there was no arguements or shock to this news funnily enough. This was at the start of 2009 and it took me four months to find another safety job. I haven't looked back - the day that I resigned I was able to eat and sleep for the first time and the relief I felt was unbelievable. I worked as a temporary admin worker through an agency to keep myself going and a roof over my head and I am proud to say that I did. Jobs were scarce at this time also but I valued my mental health more than to continue in the set up that I was in. I guess what you've got to do is weigh it all up. Can you tolerate to continue working there as things are at the minute? If yes then soldier on - if they dismiss you so what. Yes it wouldn't be great but it won't be the end of the world. If you do receive a negative review - get specific realistic objectives agreed with a timeframe to complete before you leave the meeting. Go in well prepared with a list of all you have completed / improved / worked on whilst you have been there. Also a plan for the next 12 months of hings to target. H&S can be a real struggle at times and it is mostly a thankless task, there are days I feel like I have done ten rounds with Mike Tyson but I do enjoy it. Never have I been in such a situation again and had I no that I would walk away again if I was treated like that - life is too short to be unhappy.

This sounds like my last job, wonder if it was with the same company

That will be a long 5 minutes Stuie. You will smell the whiff of any bullet powder when you walk in. Look them all in the eye - you will get the message in fewer than five. Keep your calm and composure and of course your own powder dry. A well known outfit (major world wide multi disciplinary consultancy) we work with are seeking top notch HS Managers for their Middle East and Indonesia projects (mining and sub sea pipeline work) for their client. PM me if you require details. Jon

I think you have already decided that you want to move on. Good luck with the interviews etc. Hopefully the review won't be as bad as you think it is going to be but make sure you state your case and have everything documented if things don't start to go well. Please let us know how you get on and keep your chin up :)

Congratulations on walking away. :) Well done for speaking about your experience. Very few people do, and I applaud you for it. I was in a similar situation, albeit a completely different industry, and I ended up in a bad way. No job, no matter where it is, or who it's for, is worth a person's mental wellbeing. I've been "thinking" about focusing on the HEALTH side of the HSWA because of this, as I don't think too many companies pay it much attention. I think experiencing this type of distress first hand could be advantageous. I'm just not sure which way to go with it/who to contact.

Thank you Nikko - Nappo, I certainley know whenever I was in the situation I thought it was only me, now I know a lot different. What it did teach me was I would never be in that situation again and if I wasn't happy I would be quicker to move on in the future. I worked in an extremley profitable, large organisation with very developed HR, policies and procedures and this still happened to me. It was HR that were puppets for those conducting the witch hunt and unfortunatley I was based right within that HR Team. Those conducting the witch hunt were funnily enough those that paid the HR Salaries. If I had of been a stronger person or a more experienced person at the time I might well have went down the constructive dismissal route. At the end of the day I am so happy this did not hold me back in my career and I have learnt a lot from it. Stuie - I think that we all have one job on our C.V that we have not stayed in a very long time, wish we could drop, gaps in our employment etc - there are ways round it though. Personally I think it is better to be honest with people and the right company and the right people with acknowledge that and be thankful for it. There will always be companies that only want to pay lip service to Health & Safety have a negative attitude towards H&S Professionals and the work that they try to do and I think that those with a good H&S Commitment from Management are very aware of that. In terms of resigning v dismissed. I would look at it in financial terms and if you would feel comfortable explaining to future employers that you were dismissed. There are pro's and con's to both. I resigned from my position as at the time I thought that I would not be able to get another job if I had been dismissed. This I now know is not true. Funnily enough when I handed in my notice with immediate effect I was allowed to keep my company car for a month after that and was paid up until the end of the following month. They knew what they were doing didn't they.......

How do I leave on a 'mutually agreed basis' Decimomal? My Union have advised me that the best course of action is to resign before I am pushed. A couple of recruiters that I have had dealings with said that there is not much difference between the two - but both erred on the side of jump not be pushed. So dis the DSS or whatever they are called these days. I have my notice prepared but have not had the meeting yet - tomorrow now - talk about dragging things out. Performance management consisted of basically kicking me and not assisting me - no targets, actions plans etc - just where you are going wrong now get on with it - then this week I find that middle managers are saying that I dont support them - accidents are down, incident reports are up, duration rate is up etc etc. I will be glad in so many ways to be out of here and hopefully into something very soon so that I can put this sorry chapter of my life behind me. And I am even more confused as to jump or be pushed now!!

Hi Stuie I would definately wait until I was pushed. Been in the same situation and walked away with nothing to go too. Had a lot of problems signing on- mortgage payments ect. You have Irons in the fire - so its a waiting game. My advice hang in there. ( and yes I know how hard that is) All the best Simon

Stuie The above posting is spot on - by bailing out you are going to create untold difficulties for yourself. Let us be blunt about this - they want you out but are not professional enough to allocate resources to deal with the essential issue - hence the chopping and changing of meeting dates etc. Likewise, you want out of the wretched place. To bullet you on their exclusive terms is what they are seeking and perhaps in doing so an attempt to humiliate you and gain bully boy points in the eyes of the workforce (excluding the wretches) who are stabbing you. Rise to the challenge boy - set out what you want - a mutual parting of the ways and a good reference to take with you. It won't be long to wait - but agreeing to go unilaterally is really fraught be difficulties as has been penned by others other than myself . If I were you I would keep that resignation letter well under wraps. I am indeed surprised about the stance your Trades Union has taken- was the "advice" from the Shop Steward or from your Branch Secretary or above. Is the shop steward part of the organisational Mafioso (some are) . Your own Union Official if you have one is the one to listen to. I know this is a difficult position you are in but think of it as Stuie PLC and what is best for you NOT what is best for a rogue employer. Best wishes Jon

Now that appears to be a reasonable compomise agreement that will not impact on you too badly. Go for the terms of that finality. Jon