Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

[Silverplum]

I worked for the Federal Government for nearly 30 years. All of the verbiage in the original post screams of federal employment.

If that is the case, in my experience the employer ALWAYS has the right to assign work. "Other duties as assigned" does not need to be in the job description.

"Other duties as assigned" is in EVERY Federal job description.

 

[AdoptADog]

Other Duties as Assigned

"Other duties as assigned" is in EVERY Federal job description.

It was in every one I worked under. It is in fact a long standing joke among the workforce when asked to do something odd.

 

[0651]

Thanks for the responses folks.

I work in private industry and was actually surprised that my job description didn't include "any duties as assigned" as almost every other job I have worked included something along those lines.

 

[0651]

Can you point me to a law that says your employer is prohibited from assigning you to any duties than the ones you were hired for, and that if he does he is prohibited from assessing your performance on that duty?

No?

Then he can.

And if you REALLY stop and think about it, you'll know why. I'm betting that you won't take that thought to the logical conclusion, though.

I am not a law expert hence why I thought I'd ask here.

You seem to think very highly of yourself. Do you post on here to make yourself feel better about yourself?

It was a simple question that was appropriate because of the lack of that duty in my job description.

In other words, I don't mind if they asked me to perform these duties but to put me on a PiP because I didn't get them done as fast as he wanted them done seems a bit punitive to me.

This task is still not done at the moment and has been assigned to a person whose job it is to do that work. So basically I am not sure why I am getting judged in an adverse manner while the other person isn't.

Anyway, thanks and I hope you feel better about yourself.

 

[eerelations]

I am not a law expert hence why I thought I'd ask here.

You seem to think very highly of yourself. Do you post on here to make yourself feel better about yourself?

It was a simple question that was appropriate because of the lack of that duty in my job description.

In other words, I don't mind if they asked me to perform these duties but to put me on a PiP because I didn't get them done as fast as he wanted them done seems a bit punitive to me.

This task is still not done at the moment and has been assigned to a person whose job it is to do that work. So basically I am not sure why I am getting judged in an adverse manner while the other person isn't.

Anyway, thanks and I hope you feel better about yourself.

And "punitive" does not = "illegal" - this is what cbg (and everyone else posting here) was trying to convey to you.

 

[Silverplum]

cbg is a highly respected HR expert, with many years of experience in that field. (Despite those years, she looks amazingly like she's maybe 27. )

Here's to feeling better about yourself.

 

[cbg]

Aw. (blush) Thanks, SP.

If the employer were prohibited from ever assigning you to any duty that you were not initially hired for, then how would you ever learn new skills that would allow you to move elsewhere within the organization? Or elsewhere? If you were limited to only the duties you were hired for and nothing else, ever, what's to give you the experience to grow and eventually be promoted? Or move to another company into a higher paying job?

No one ever thinks of that, though. No one ever thinks that if the offer letter is contractual and the employer can't ever ask you do do anything not listed there, then they also can't increase your pay or your benefits; they would also be restricted to what was listed in that offer letter. But for some reason everyone assumes that while they are entitled to increases in pay or benefits, the employer can never change their duties, shift, or job location.

I can't say if writing you up for not performing those duties to standard is over the top or not, since I don't know how those duties relate to what you normally do or what someone in your position might normally be expected to know. But whether it was or not, it was legal.