posting as AE

AEbb

Sorry guys, I had to do this in case a co worker every sees this.

I work on an "as needed" basis for the company I work for. There is no formal clock-in/clock-out system. All time is turned in by a supervisor to payroll, but my supervisor is not always there when I work. I have been asked to turn my time in to the supervisor or either directly to payroll. This has never been an issue until today. A co-worker called to tell me that the employee who does payroll pulled him to the side (away from my supervisor) and questioned him about my hours as if to imply I am turning in hours that I did not really work. We have all been on this honor system type thing for years because the business is so small. I am offended and pretty hurt. I want to go to my supervisor about this, because I don't want to feel like I have to defend myself everytime I turn in the hours I worked.

Any advice?

(Also, please don't quote me. I may DD later.)

chelseamb11

That sounds so crappy. I'd be so angry.  Whoever does payroll was EXTREMELY out of line questioning it to the CW rather than your supervisor.  Unless your CW is in the line of people "in charge" of you, it's not the CW's business and it's unprofessional to be discussing it with the CW.  If the payroll person has a problem, they should be addressing you or your supervisor.  I'd suggest either talking to teh payroll person directly and explaining that, or just talking to your supervisor.

AEbb

Thanks, chels. And no, CW is not in charge of me at all. Just a very close friend.

LetsHikeToday

I would definitely talk to my supervisor about this. It's really unprofessional that the payroll person questioned you to a coworker.

shaydenise

I would be pretty irritated if someone went to a co-worker, not my supervisor, and accused me of not really working when I say I am.  I feel like I would probably mention it to my supervisor.  If for nothing else, but to report that someone is breaking privacy rules/laws.  And I don't mean that to be passive aggressive.  If this person is talking about your work information with someone who doesn't need to know, what else are they talking about with other people?

chelseamb11

Is payroll person stupid enough to think this close friend wouldn't tell you what payroll person was gossiping about? Duhhhhh.

And unless this payroll person literally sees you walk in and out each day, how the heck do they have the balls to question how much you work?

NicoleSahara

I would go to your supervisor about the issue. Sorry you're in that situation I would tell your supervisor that if this is going to be an issue that you suggest they buy a time clock if they're that concerned about it.

KateJ10

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_posting-as-ae?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:e4067572-7d44-40c4-a694-2d4f26582d1bPost:2079d5cb-2a41-49e7-84e3-3991af2b90ee">Re: posting as AE</a>:
[QUOTE]Is payroll person stupid enough to think this close friend wouldn't tell you what payroll person was gossiping about? Duhhhhh. And unless this payroll person literally sees you walk in and out each day, how the heck do they have the balls to question how much you work?
Posted by chelseamb11[/QUOTE]

<div>I would agree- this payroll person a) shouldn't be questioning it unless they had actual proof that you were making hours up and b) the concerns should have brought to the supervisor, not a CW. </div><div>
</div><div>Sorry you have to deal with this.</div>

AEbb

S/he does see me come and go every day. I think it's coming down to that person questioning if what I am doing techincally qualifies as "work." Saying that the errands I run for my boss should not count in my time. I know what my boss asks me to do, and I feel like if he doesn't question my time and my work then nobody else should. I always get my work done. I am starting to think it's a jealousy thing because I'm new. I don't know. I am just beyond frustrated right now. I am not scheduled to work today, but I am thinking about showing up anyway to set this straight!

LetsHikeToday

I would. I wouldn't want t hanging over my head during the weekend.

pirategal03

We had an organizational health training last week here at work, and a situation like you've described came up as an example of what can happen in an office and we discussed the healthy way to handle it.

I would do four things:

1- Tell your supervisor what you have heard, and that you plan to speak directly with the payroll person.  Your supervisor needs to be informed, but not necessarily involved.  Invite her/him to come along to the meeting if they're a hands-on type person and they feel like they should.

2- Meet with the payroll person who questioned your co-worker.   Let them know that you've been alerted to the fact that they have discussed your hours with another member of staff.  Tell them that if they do have questions about your hours, they can speak to you about them, or your supervisor, as appropriate.

3- Meet with the payroll person's supervisor.  Ask what the policy is when hours come into question.  Discuss what you've spoken to the payroll person about, and the agreement that you and the payroll person have come to regarding hours in question.  Make sure your agreement alligns with policy. 

4- Document. Document. Document.  After your meetings send a follow up e-mail, use read-receipt.  Summarize what you've discussed with each person, the responsibilities of everyone (ie: I will... Payroll person will... Supervisor will...) just to make sure everyone is clear on what should happen in the future if the same problem happens again.  Ask for responses from everyone involved to be sure that they all agree with the summary.  Don't assume silence is agreement. 

LP11509

That's crappy.  I would definitely talk with your supervisor about it.

I've never had a job where i had to clock in/out, but I've never had a job where I'm in an office all day - I'm usually out in the community doing home visits, meetings, etc, so it wouldn't be efficient.  Are you out of the office for work related things often?  If so, then maybe your supervisor can relate that to payroll to explain why you're not always around, but that you ARE doing work.  

mbody

Everything pirate said. I'd definitely talk with your supervisor. It's extremely unprofessional for the payroll person to discuss this issue with another coworker.

FWIW, I would also think running errands for your boss would count in your work time. It's not like you're doing it out of the kindness of your heart or for your own damn good time. Whenever I have to do things for the school outside of the building, which isn't much, I do it on the school's time.

ski2play

Excellent response Pirategal! 


ETA: didn't want to creep you out and tell you what I was really thinking- aka I may have a "girl crush" on you after that response.

pirategal03

Ha, thanks ski.  Our office is big into organizational health lately, so we talk about this kind of thing a lot.  We also work in teams, so the chance of people talking about what other people are doing is kind of high. 

The main point is to be clear with whomever is involved.  Don't tattle to a supervisor and expect them to handle it on their own.  He said/she said just gets too tangled up to deal with and things become a bigger deal than they need to be.

chelseamb11

Pirate has some excellent points. And I agree, just go in today so you can get it off your chest and enjoy your weekend.

jemmini6

I used to do payroll for about 25 installers, who had to log their time on certain jobs.  There were a few instances where their time looked a little sketchy (ie, they worked on it with someone else, but had different hours).  I always went to their supervisor first, and let him determine what the deal was and approve their time or not (they submitted their time directly to me, it only went through the supervisor if I felt necessary).  I would have never gone directly to one of their coworkers to discuss their time, I find that highly inappropriate and really unprofessional.

I would definitely bring this up with your supervisor.  While I understand it's a crappy feeling to know they are checking up on your hours, it's also his job.  You said it's an as-need basis, so if, for example, you weren't working a lot of hours one week, and then worked a lot the following week, I can see how that might raise some flags and he'd feel responsible to verify your time.  Regardless, that's why he should have verified it with your supervisor, and not discussed with a coworker who has no business approving your hours.  Your boss, and his boss, needs to be aware that he's being unprofessional.

srfgirlie5

I would think you had to have given them some sort of reason to be suspicious. Are you sure you're being completely truthful with your hours?

JenGin74

I definitely think you should speak with your supervisor, however I also think you should give your friend a heads up because  she may have to get involved or be questioned as to what the payroll person said.

I do payroll for 60 technicians and if something looks weird to me I'll ask the tech directly.

AEbb

Thanks for all the great advice (minus srfgirlie5...wtf?!). I went to work today but low and behold my supervisor was not in the office and the payroll employee suddenly "had to go" and also left for the day. I have full intentions of clearing this up with my supervisor and that employee in particular next week when the opportunity arises. I really don't want to feel like I have to defend my word to get a paycheck.