Informing boss of new job application...?

[Dizzieblonde]

Do any legal-minded people know at all whether you are obliged to inform your boss if you apply for another job? I recently applied for a new post within my company and have been told by my current boss that "How dare you apply for another job without telling me" :oO Of course you'd tell them and give the required notice if successful, but are you somehow obligated to tell them before you even apply? :os

[WoWo]

No your under no obligation at all to tell them.

It's none of their buisness until such time as you were offered a job and decided to take it.

[Dizzieblonde]

Cheers WoWo - I was pretty sure it was my own business whether or not I was looking for another job. What annoyed me more was that the next day everyone on my ward knew as he'd apparently gone around asking them whether they knew! :oO

[laurence2]

he sounds like a total jerk, you were probably a threat to him, its none of his buisness and whats more i would take out a grievance proceadure against him and if nothing else would remain on his cv for future reference, that will give the ward something to talk about

[paddy_36]

Your boss's behaviour is completely out of order. You do not have to tell anyone when you apply for a job. How did your boss find out? If people apply for internal promotion, the danger is that managers speak to other other about prospective candidates, particularly if they are current employees and if your manager is down as a referee. Not quite sure about the legalities of that, but normally there's a box you can tick to say you don't want referees contacted unless you are the successful candidate. Definitely think you could take this further if you wanted to - grievance/bullying/breach of confidence (with both the recruitment team and your boss for blabbing it round the ward) - but that's not always the best course of action either. I would maybe try and speak to someone completely neutral who knows the ins and outs of a situation like this. Does your workplace have a confidential employee helpline or anything like that? I can't understand why any manager would be so upset at one of his staff going for internal promtion; it would seem perfectly reasonable to any rational human being. Good luck!

[Dizzieblonde]

Ta for the support Paddy - My boss found out as I had to list him as a referee. I ticked the box to say I only wanted him to be contacted if I was called to interview, which I was, and thus he found out about it. It wasn't an internal promotion as such though; I'm a Staff Nurse at an NHS hospital and it was a vacancy on another ward, so I can understand why he wouldn't want me to leave but still don't see what right he had to say that and to go around the ward while I wasn't there asking the rest of the staff whether or not they knew I had applied - other than a close couple of colleagues, they didn't know, although thanks to him they do now :oO

[laurence2]

my wife is also a nurse, she normally clues me up to what is going on, seems a common occurence in the NHS, appreciate other wards, staff shortages, budgets etc but does he honestly think your have the same working relationship now, once a gossip always a gossip. tell him to look up the words confidentially = entrusted, gossip = him !!

[ursula62]

It depends on the HR policy at the place where you work. Some companies do not allow you to apply for an internal promotion unless your current team leader or boss has signed the application form.

Check with HR or your union.