u/Pristine-Corgi7325

For clarification: I work in mental health and addiction support services.

I've been in this role for years. My manager is almost never around when someone needs help, and she's rarely on site. Recently, she got a new manager above her, and it was obvious he wasn't happy at all with the way she worked, but then lockdown started and he had to isolate, so she immediately went back to her old habits. She would always ask me to deal with things for her so she wouldn't have to come in, and honestly, I didn't mind helping until recently.

I had a meeting with my manager after a very serious incident at work, where someone tried to attack me. I told her I didn't feel supported after what happened, because she wasn't there and the follow-up was handled badly.

In the middle of the meeting, my manager said maybe I should consider moving to a quieter role in another service.

Me: What, why?

My manager: Look, you take on a lot of extra tasks that you don't need to do. A large part of that is management work. Maybe you need to get better at saying no when people ask you to do those things?

I asked her if there was a problem with the quality of my work, or if she had concerns about my performance, or anything like that. She said no. About five months later, six people from the team left and new staff were brought in.

My manager: OP, could you show the new starters around and do their induction in the first week?

Me: Sorry, manager, that's a manager's job.

My manager: Could you sort out the health and safety audit?

Me: Sorry, manager, that's a manager's job.

After a while, she stopped asking me to do those things. Then one afternoon, she was supposed to be working remotely. I'm almost certain she was telling her manager she was on site during lockdown, but most of the time she wasn't. A major incident happened between residents, the police and ambulance were called, and everything descended into chaos. I called my manager and explained what had happened.

My manager: OP, could you please follow up with the local authority, the staff and residents who were involved, write the incident report, and send me everything immediately?

Me: Sorry, manager, you need to come in and manage this situation. I'm not a manager, and this isn't my job.

My manager: Please, just do it for me this once?

I refused to manage the incident. It turned out she was visiting a relative in a seaside town when she was supposed to be on site. Someone accidentally told her manager that when he called about the incident and discovered there was no one there managing the situation. He asked me to take charge of it, and I explained that I couldn't, since my manager had already reported to occupational health that I was taking on too much work.

Now a formal investigation has been opened into her conduct and whether she's capable of doing the job or not. Her manager is now speaking to me directly and supervising me himself, and he's helping me apply for a higher role.

My manager is currently on leave pending investigation.