I have a careless boss - (Apr/10/2014 )

I have been really experiencing the worst 4 months of my life. Seriously, the worst times ever. I have a terrible new boss who has ruined my life exactly when my wife is pregnanat with our first child.

 

The problem is that the government keeps paying me only half of the salary they are supposed to pay. When I asked I found out that my boss, who happens to be the head of the whole department, has made a mistake in the new contract conditions. Anyway, she apologised to me two times and promised to fix it, but I don't see any change. She even promised to raise my salary by another $400. I honestly didn't even believe that she is telling the truth, that it was just a simple mistake. This is too big for a mistake. How can they confuse the salary of a fresh PhD gradaute with a 3rd year postdoc?

 

 In December, because of her delay in processing my application before the end of my first visa, I ended up being jobless for 2 months (Jan and Feb)....and now this...

 

Guess what, yesterday they informed me that they can't fix the problem until the end of June. They are not even able to pay the balance, because the money is paid by the government directly. I keep asking this woman to help me fix it but she ignores my emails. I only managed to catch her offguard twice in the corridor.

 

I really can't tell if she is unable to help, is lying or wants to waste my time. In November, she promised me high salary with great benefits. I was so happy that I shared it here with you guys. I didn't see ANY of that. I'm not even covered by medical insurance.

 

My wife and I decided that I quit my job. We've got expenses for the child and we can't wait for this woman to keep giving us false hope. I've started looking for other jobs already. It's a long story and a series of events happened, all because of this woman being careless.

And in which country did this happen? There has to be a governing body that overlooks matters like these? Maybe the university/institute?

Malaysia. But I don't want to mention any names here.

Curtis on Fri Apr 11 14:45:12 2014 said:

Malaysia. But I don't want to mention any names here.

Public or private institution?

Curtis, 

 

Isn't there an agreement or employee contract or something that you signed when you took up this job? 

 

Your institute sounds like some fiefdom where nobody would move a finger without your boss' approval. Even if you quit your job, you must receive the difference in the pay that you are getting and you are supposed to get, since it is an administrative mistake. 

You should let them get away with this. 

science noob on Sat Apr 12 11:12:04 2014 said:

Public or private institution?

 

Public. I'm government staff.

Ameya P on Sat Apr 12 12:18:16 2014 said:

Curtis, 
 
Isn't there an agreement or employee contract or something that you signed when you took up this job? 
 
Your institute sounds like some fiefdom where nobody would move a finger without your boss' approval. Even if you quit your job, you must receive the difference in the pay that you are getting and you are supposed to get, since it is an administrative mistake. 
You should let them get away with this.

- of course there is, but according to the contract people who stay outside the country for more than 100 days must pay 26% tax. When I received the offer letter I was already here, so it should not apply to me. This is a mistake and they know it.

- this is my 3rd year as postdoc in this country. The first two years I was at a different institution. That one was also governmental but I never paid such tax.

- there is no medical insurance here, since I'm not permanent staff. You're on your own and must be careful not to get sick.

- my previous institution bought me an Emirates return flight ticket from my country to here which was given to me at the end of my contract. Here, they laughed at me when I mentioned it.

- according to the contract if I quit my job now I have to return the salary I received the last two months.

Bottom line, this is modern slavery.

How long do you have to wait for the contract to expire, if you do not quit now? 

 

Fine, no Emirates ticket, but they must at least pay what is promised. Who else have you spoken to about this other than your boss. Surely, your boss is not the one handling accounts/ salaries/ HR as well. You can probably just get an acknowledgement of the error from her and then pursue the matter with the people who are actually deducting this tax. 

 

Also, on whose recommendation did you join this institute? Catch hold of that person as well

Recommendation was from my former boss.She knew I was looking for a better job so recommended me to the new boss. I worked for her for 7 years but I should have stayed there. 

 

I just told my students that I'm leaving.. They said this is not the first time she is careless as other students and postdocs have also resigned before. My only male student is also resigning by the end of the month. Only I know that.

Can you go back to your old job? How long can you stay in the country, if you are no longer employed by this institute? 

Actually I want to go back. I was offered a permamnent position somewhere in my country, but I turned it down because of distance to my own city. But I've also applied for two more, waiting for their response.