Tricky Situation...

[nat_84]

Hey Everyone - Hope you all had a good weekend!

Basically, my boss told me and my collegue (who only works in the office on Wednesdays) that he'll be letting our only other collegue go this week - obviously with a full months notice...

I know he hasn't actually told this person yet - and its only usually me and him that work in the office together full-time, so our boss has put me in a really bad situation. The guy thats losing his job is really nice and basically i feel two-faced! He just told me that he thought our boss was acting really weird and distant and i could only agree...but i feel REALLY bad, beacuse i know why he wouldve been acting "distant".

Was it right for my boss to tell me that he'd be letting my collegue go, knowing that im the only one that works with him full-time and that i'd have to keep it from him?

[nat_84]

lol claire. Good thinking.....i'll start drawing up a plan now!!

[WendyS]

No, I don't think your boss should have told you first. But perhs he just felt bad about it and wanted to confide in somebody. All you can do is NEVER let your colleague know that you knew this news first. Be sympathetic. Help him put a CV together if he needs support and look out for other job opportunities for him.

[nat_84]

Good advice Wendy thanks.x

[DavidUK]

I am intrigued to know what sort of job you do nat! You say you do hardly any work, you are on a pretty decent wage and got a pay rise after 3 months. Not meaning to be rude, but how can any company justify keeping you in this job?

As for office secrets, I have been in the situation many times where things have been difficult because people have confided in me. In fact, I had to pretend to be surprised yesterday when a management change was announced that I already knew about.

Is you boss approachable in the sense that you could ask him why he put you in this difficult position?

[nat_84]

I think the pay rises are his only incentive to get me to stay. There are no other benefits with the job. They also need someone in the office to be here to reply to emails and answer the telephone.

I also think that as time goes on he basically wants to train me up to a more advanced role. I think he is thinking very long term about me being here.

As i said before when i am given work to do i finish it quickly and to or above his required standard.

As for the situation, its all out in the open now. He spoke to my collegue yesterday afternoon then informed me that he had told him. My boss is now on holiday for a week. I onnly got the chance to talk to the guy that was "released" this morning and he just said "i guess you heard" and we had a little chat...

Thanks for everyones advice, words and personal experiences!! x