Archived Any HR savy people here that can help?

[NervousTM]

This is like my third post in 24 hours so sorry!! Do you guys know the policy on TMs working during their unavailable days? Is there a policy against this? Can they pick up shifts or be called in? I have an issue with my HR right now about this and either they are going against policy or lying to my face. I'd like to know which one. Thank you!

 

[PullMonkey]

To my knowledge, you can be scheduled any day, any time. But most stores will respect whatever availability you have set. But if they call you about a day you aren't available, you can come in if you wish, but declining won't be held against you

 

[antivibe]

I don't know what the actual policy is word for word. If you're unavailable and you're scheduled anyway, you are not responsible for the shift. Obviously you should let your TL about the scheduling mistake, so they can find someone to fill in. You are able to voluntarily pick up shifts for days that you are unavailable. If you make a big deal about being unavailable and then you're picking up shifts on those day, that might annoy someone. People are still going to call you in, leaders/hr tend to just see who isn't scheduled that day and not people's actual availability.

 

[NervousTM]

To my knowledge, you can be scheduled any day, any time. But most stores will respect whatever availability you have set. But if they call you about a day you aren't available, you can come in if you wish, but declining won't be held against you

I don't know what the actual policy is word for word. If you're unavailable and you're scheduled anyway, you are not responsible for the shift. Obviously you should let your TL about the scheduling mistake, so they can find someone to fill in. You are able to voluntarily pick up shifts for days that you are unavailable. If you make a big deal about being unavailable and then you're picking up shifts on those day, that might annoy someone. People are still going to call you in, leaders/hr tend to just see who isn't scheduled that day and not people's actual availability.

Okay I was told that TMs were not allowed to pick up shifts(from swap board) on days or times they were unavailable. Said this was the policy but it sounds like bullshit to me. Have you guys ever heard anything like that? Thank you for the replies btw!

 

[PullMonkey]

Definitely bullshit. Like antivibe said though, if you do it often they might get a bit suspicious/pissed off, but every now and then isn't an issue.

 

[NervousTM]

Definitely bullshit. Like antivibe said though, if you do it often they might get a bit suspicious/pissed off, but every now and then isn't an issue.

Thank you was told this by ETL HR even though I have proof they do let people take shifts on their unavailable days all the time. The guy trying take my shift is someone they apparently screw over often(as told to me by half the store) so I think its a personal thing with him or maybe its me. Dont do it often at all. Going to talk to my STL because I was told it was a strict policy so she just lied to me. I might call the hotline because she's ETL HR and the fact that she would lie about it without a care is alarming to me. Thank you again.

 

[PullMonkey]

Thank you was told this by ETL HR even though I have proof they do let people take shifts on their unavailable days all the time. The guy trying take my shift is someone they apparently screw over often(as told to me by half the store) so I think its a personal thing with him or maybe its me. Dont do it often at all. Going to talk to my STL because I was told it was a strict policy so she just lied to me. I might call the hotline because she's ETL HR and the fact that she would lie about it without a care is alarming to me. Thank you again.

Don't bother with the hotline. That's for serious issues that going up the chain can't solve and that violate policy.
Talk to your STL if you feel it's an issue

 

[NervousTM]

Don't bother with the hotline. That's for serious issues that going up the chain can't solve and that violate policy.
Talk to your STL if you feel it's an issue

Oh no I am going to the hotline it is serious there were things said and done that I didn't post about here that were unethical and wrong surrounding this issue, but I just wanted to know about this specific policy. I appreciate your help.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You should talk to the stl, first. Make sure that your events are well documented with everyone.invovled, before calling the hotline.

 

[redeye58]

What Hardlinesmaster said.
Calling the hotline on this before you've talked to leadership will pretty much tattoo crosshairs on your butt.
For one thing, many stores vary on certain policies (otherwise known as ASANTS - all stores are not the same).
The TM that seems to get screwed over? Perhaps they forbade him to pick up shifts because he didn't show up for them or frequently went into OT.
You need to take your concerns to the STL first. Make sure you have facts & not hearsay, document your events & see if they have an explanation as to why the ETL-HR handled it the way they did.
If he/she seems complicit & nothing changes, then you could contact the hotline but you need to make sure that leadership was in the loop whether anything was accomplished or not.

 

[RedorBlue]

Okay I was told that TMs were not allowed to pick up shifts(from swap board) on days or times they were unavailable. Said this was the policy but it sounds like bullshit to me. Have you guys ever heard anything like that? Thank you for the replies btw!

I was an HR salaried manager for Wally World (I might be able to help). There was never a "set" policy on this. However we would decline people all the time from picking up shifts on there unavailable days off. If we allowed it, it would allow the TM to dictate there schedule.

So example. TM says they can only work m-f, so Saturdays and Sundays they are not available. Making everyone of there peers to work because they put in limited availability. That TM decides "oh I need extra money so I'll just pick up a random Saturday". However every other Saturday when your help could be utilized you are not available.

Overall, you can set your availability to whatever you want as long as it falls within company guidelines. Your ETL can decline you to pick up shifts as well. There's nothing illegal about this or immoral.

If someone wanted to pick up a shift on one of there unavailables I would accepted it ONLY of they filled out a new availability sheet right there for being able to work that day going forward.

 

[LadyCynide]

I was an HR salaried manager for Wally World (I might be able to help). There was never a "set" policy on this. However we would decline people all the time from picking up shifts on there unavailable days off. If we allowed it, it would allow the TM to dictate there schedule.

So example. TM says they can only work m-f, so Saturdays and Sundays they are not available. Making everyone of there peers to work because they put in limited availability. That TM decides "oh I need extra money so I'll just pick up a random Saturday". However every other Saturday when your help could be utilized you are not available.

Overall, you can set your availability to whatever you want as long as it falls within company guidelines. Your ETL can decline you to pick up shifts as well. There's nothing illegal about this or immoral.

If someone wanted to pick up a shift on one of there unavailables I would accepted it ONLY of they filled out a new availability sheet right there for being able to work that day going forward.

That's a little ridiculous. I've picked up shifts outside of my availability that were made possible by me walking 7 miles to and from work.

Sometimes you're willing to go the extra mike to help someone who desperately needs the day off.

It's not up to the executives to decide if you're magically available forever just because you moved things around for 1 day.

 

[RedorBlue]

That's a little ridiculous. I've picked up shifts outside of my availability that were made possible by me walking 7 miles to and from work.

Sometimes you're willing to go the extra mike to help someone who desperately needs the day off.

It's not up to the executives to decide if you're magically available forever just because you moved things around for 1 day.

To each there own, I guess. It is up to the executives to make sure the store is staffed at a manageable percentage rate. It's not a policy, so it's up to the individual ETL. Or if the store has been experiencing availability issues, then they may have set this in place... To not allow TM to dictate their schedule.

 

[redeye58]

Our store never forbade it but they would start looking at their availability with a jaundiced eye.

 

[SFSFun]

Oh no I am going to the hotline it is serious there were things said and done that I didn't post about here that were unethical and wrong surrounding this issue, but I just wanted to know about this specific policy. I appreciate your help.

You should know that when you contact the hotline, the first thing they do is ask the STL what's going on. And if the STL has no clue, they will drop the issue and let the store handle it anyways.

 

[RedorBlue]

Oh no I am going to the hotline it is serious there were things said and done that I didn't post about here that were unethical and wrong surrounding this issue, but I just wanted to know about this specific policy. I appreciate your help.

Yeah... Your opening a can of worms. It's kind of an unwritten "manager code" that if a TM calls the hotline to find anything on that TM to get rid of them. Try to work it out with your STL first. You said things were said, do you have proof? If not it comes down to he said-she said, and who do you think they will believe? They will tell HR that you are a disgruntled employee and just trying to cause problems.

Just trust me.. I've been in retail management and HR for 10 years with multiple companies. Ive seen and heard everything, i know store politics and how it works.

 

[Producer]

Store Leadership is not obligated to approve any swap shifts. They don't need to provide an explanation for it. Talk to your stl about it, but just be warned that you're digging yourself into a deep hole.

 

[Retail Girl]

We have a cashier so limited her availability in regards to evenings, but then constantly picks up extra hours as needed to get to 40. I think the fact they let her get away with that is crap.

But going outside of your availability on occasion because you want to help out or you don't have class that week? That should be fine. But like others have said, they don't need to approve swap shifts and it's none of your business what the real reason is. Unless they said they don't want that (racial slur) working that day, your call to the hotline will land you in their crosshairs, and you'll be gone as soon as they can document it.

 

[Barcode]

If you are scheduled outside of your availability you will not be held responsible for the shift as long as you report the issue to your supervisor/management in a timely manner. If you wait last minute, they might not be as gracious in fixing it for you.

And whatever you do, don't just ignore it and call in on that day.

 

[Goingstrong]

Alright gang, let's see if I can shed some Target HR light for you.

First of all, swap shifts are NOT required to be done at all. Target gives each store the option of either doing it or not. It's a "privilege" to offer swaps not a right.

Secondly, you are able to pick up shifts any day, any time, as long as you a) know the work center b) won't go over 40hrs in a week c) aren't a minor and violating your work permit. So you can pick up shifts on your unavailable days.

Finally, if you are scheduled on an unavailable day, unavailable time, or date that was requested off you need to let your leader or HR know right away (the schedule does go up 2 weeks early). MyTime has stopgaps in place to prevent this from happening, but I've seen it happen about a dozen times since MyTime rolled out.

If you let them know early they can find someone to take that shift. If you wait until say the day before, they're going to be upset and may tell you that you're responsible for the shift still. Ultimately, you own your schedule and own ensuring that it's correct.

If you have any specific questions or want to run other things past someone feel free to pm me.

 

[NervousTM]

Yeah... Your opening a can of worms. It's kind of an unwritten "manager code" that if a TM calls the hotline to find anything on that TM to get rid of them. Try to work it out with your STL first. You said things were said, do you have proof? If not it comes down to he said-she said, and who do you think they will believe? They will tell HR that you are a disgruntled employee and just trying to cause problems.

Just trust me.. I've been in retail management and HR for 10 years with multiple companies. Ive seen and heard everything, i know store politics and how it works.

Store Leadership is not obligated to approve any swap shifts. They don't need to provide an explanation for it. Talk to your stl about it, but just be warned that you're digging yourself into a deep hole.

We have a cashier so limited her availability in regards to evenings, but then constantly picks up extra hours as needed to get to 40. I think the fact they let her get away with that is crap.

But going outside of your availability on occasion because you want to help out or you don't have class that week? That should be fine. But like others have said, they don't need to approve swap shifts and it's none of your business what the real reason is. Unless they said they don't want that (racial slur) working that day, your call to the hotline will land you in their crosshairs, and you'll be gone as soon as they can document it.

If you are scheduled outside of your availability you will not be held responsible for the shift as long as you report the issue to your supervisor/management in a timely manner. If you wait last minute, they might not be as gracious in fixing it for you.

And whatever you do, don't just ignore it and call in on that day.

Alright gang, let's see if I can shed some Target HR light for you.

First of all, swap shifts are NOT required to be done at all. Target gives each store the option of either doing it or not. It's a "privilege" to offer swaps not a right.

Secondly, you are able to pick up shifts any day, any time, as long as you a) know the work center b) won't go over 40hrs in a week c) aren't a minor and violating your work permit. So you can pick up shifts on your unavailable days.

Finally, if you are scheduled on an unavailable day, unavailable time, or date that was requested off you need to let your leader or HR know right away (the schedule does go up 2 weeks early). MyTime has stopgaps in place to prevent this from happening, but I've seen it happen about a dozen times since MyTime rolled out.

If you let them know early they can find someone to take that shift. If you wait until say the day before, they're going to be upset and may tell you that you're responsible for the shift still. Ultimately, you own your schedule and own ensuring that it's correct.

If you have any specific questions or want to run other things past someone feel free to pm me.

Thank you for all your replies! I did contact the hotline, but not about the shift swap since you guys have helped me, but about things that were said and done around this issue that were completely grotesque. I also plan to leave target soon so I do not mind making a fuss or digging myself into a hole, not really about me they have been rather nice to me about this, but things were said about the other tm involved in this by managers that I believe were highly inappropriate and deserving of calling the hotline. Just wanted to say thanks for the help and clarify that I was not calling simply because my shift was not approved. I did not plan on coming regardless of if it was covered or not, because of other obligations I had.

 

[doxiemama]

Last year, I requested time off to go visit my daughter at her college for parent's weekend. When the schedule came out, I was down to work on the day I had requested off. I talked to the ETL HR and she said there was no problem with me going but I should try to find somebody to take my shift. Nobody signed on so I left for my trip and put a sticky note on her door reminding her I'd be gone and that she had verbally ok'd it. In spite of that, in the middle of dining out with my daughter, several states away, I got a phone call from HR during dinner wondering where I was. I explained that she had approved it, that I had told her, then had reminded her in writing. She seemed rather pissed off, but I wasn't sure what else I could do. I think she assumed that I would find somebody to take my shift. I figured she had sufficient time to find a replacement for me since I didn't have any luck getting somebody to take the shift. I was a bit unnerved she would track me down that way. Do any of your HR people call you at home to see where you are if you aren't at your store when you're scheduled? I just assumed that you were marked as NCNS and that would be the end of that.

 

[Retail Girl]

It depends on who you are. Some are nice enough to call to see if you are coming in before it goes NCNS. Some won't call. It depends on who the LOD is and who the person is who is missing.

 

[OffYaPhone]

@doxiemama, I've had that happen to me before -- more than once. HR didn't call me but the first time it happened, I called the LOD the day-of the first infraction and explained to her that I was scheduled on an approved day off and that my HRTL told me she would handle it. Not my fault that they scheduled me during approved time off so I shouldn't have been responsible for finding a replacement.