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I have received a letter from my boss saying that a meeting has been arranged for this date and time, and a member of HR will be there.

That is all the letter said.

When I asked the boss what the meeting was about she explained that it is a one-on-one meeting to discuss the contract I signed and talk about the shift change. I'm confused as to why a member of HR is attending on a supposedly one-on-one meeting and no other explanation was given.

How should I prepare for this meeting?

David
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    It could be about something which doesn't relate directly to you at all - for example an incident involving some co-workers which needs to be investigated, and someone has stated (whether correctly or not!) that you witnessed it or were involved in it. In that sort of situation you would certainly not be told in advance what it was about, to avoid collusion, rumour-spreading, etc. – alephzero Jan 21 '19 at 16:19
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    Really, why is this question still open? The question is blatantly too broad and not answerable. One must be in the head of manager to provide answer. It could be really anything. I vote to close – usr-local-ΕΨΗΕΛΩΝ Jan 21 '19 at 18:00
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    Is your boss someone who habitually emails to set up meetings without being willing to say why? My boss's boss does this, and it's apparently because he is afraid of saying anything substantive in an email, ever, for fear that it will be used against him. –  Jan 21 '19 at 19:16
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    @usr-local-ΕΨΗΕΛΩΝ Not really anything. There can only be a subset of things in the given circumstances, most of them significant, as the top answer says. Plus, this behaviour is not abnormal, but SOP for some actions (ie. promoting someone). And there are definite steps the OP can take to prepare. So, a well-known set of actions within a well-known framework. We don't know exactly what's gonna go down but it doesn't matter. – rath Jan 22 '19 at 10:33
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    None of any of our business, but boy, I'd sure like to know how this turns out. – MickeyfAgain_BeforeExitOfSO Jan 22 '19 at 15:16
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    While many bad things are possible, it could merely be that they want you to agree to a change of contract regarding shifts. Do you have night shifts where you work? Could they want you to do more of them? Would that bring extra pay, and would you want that change? – o.m. Jan 22 '19 at 18:51
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    You have said that your manager is a "she" and, presumably by the name David, you are a "he." Does your company have a policy about needing an HR rep when a manager speaks with a subordinate of opposite gender to avoid sexual harassment claims? – Michael W. Jan 22 '19 at 20:22
  • Slightly aside from your question, but you'd be well within your rights to ask your boss what the meeting is about. – AJFaraday Jan 23 '19 at 11:35
  • I am happy to give you your 100th upvote, which gives you a golden badge. However, also I am very curious, what is happened on the meeting. It is an anonymous site, you can safely share it with us. – Gray Sheep Jan 24 '19 at 12:11
  • @GraySheep since this question is now "on hold", don't think the OP could post an answer to tell us what happened! Could he edit his own question, perhaps? I'm not sure... – gmauch Jan 24 '19 at 13:03
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    @gmauch He could post it as a comment. – Gray Sheep Jan 25 '19 at 02:45
  • @David, Is there an update? – clueless007 Mar 01 '19 at 10:16

5 Answers5

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Could be harmless, could be bad. It's clearly significant: Written invitation and HR presence means it's something official where HR makes sure that all laws and procedures are followed. Most likely a formal change to your work arrangements.

How to prepare:

  1. Keep your eyes and ears open. Are there any financial troubles, reorganizations, layoffs, acquisition, etc. happening? Make sure you are up to date on the state of the company and the business
  2. Be prepared to listen a lot and say little. Politely nodding your head, mumbling "I see". Don't say "yes" or "no". Ask questions, especially if you don't 100% understand what they are saying. "Can you clarify?". "What does that mean specifically", "What are options for the next step", etc. Your boss and HR have a huge information advantage, so your main goal is to learn what is there to be learned and buy some time to digest the information and formulate your own strategy how to deal with this.
  3. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING in the meeting. If they give you papers, ask for time to thoroughly read through them.
  4. Prepare for the worst. This could be a termination meeting. Make sure that, if push comes to shove, you can leave the same day on short notice. Clear up personal files and e-mail accounts from work computers. Clear sign in credentials from browser caches, make sure your personal stuff is ready to go.
  5. Don't stress too much. It could also be something good. Preparation is good, but only if it's constructive. Worrying without doing just makes you more nervous.
Giacomo1968
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Hilmar
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    Point #4 is extremely important. Excellent answer +1 – Old_Lamplighter Jan 21 '19 at 13:45
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    @RichardU I'd say point 5 is just as important, do not emphasize the termination hypothesis too much. – Pierre Arlaud Jan 21 '19 at 15:21
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    and of course...... HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND – Old_Lamplighter Jan 21 '19 at 17:28
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    It might help to bring a hidden recorder in your pocket to the meeting. It might be illegal in your country, do check. And having a recording does not mean you should use it! – ghellquist Jan 21 '19 at 17:42
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    am I the only one who thinks point #3 is the most important? always take time to read and understand the things you sign. – BinaryTox1n Jan 21 '19 at 20:58
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    In my experience, the termination meeting is usually requested with as little notice to you as possible. Typically, you'll just get asked to swing by somebody's office right away and that'll be that. If they're giving you a heads up about the meeting, odds are you aren't being let go just yet. – aleppke Jan 21 '19 at 21:25
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    I might add this same thing happened once to me and my wife in different companies. Turns out they had done market research and determined pay was too low and we were all getting pay raises, so yay! Don't assume the worst unless you have any reason to suspect the worst. – gilliduck Jan 21 '19 at 22:58
  • A termination meeting arranged in this way could happen, for example, if your direct manager/HR rep is not on site and has to travel for the meeting... just like it happened to me :/ – Bamboo Jan 22 '19 at 08:05
  • In my opinion point 2 and 3 is extremely important... the reason they are not saying something now, is perhaps to surprise you, give a different impression than how things are in reality in the hope you would sign something in your disadvantage... – user1841243 Jan 22 '19 at 09:44
  • +1 for all the above, especially point #4. Also @ghellquist suggestion to record the proceedings. They will probably provide a written summary of this meeting and it will be slanted in their favour. If this looks like going badly, make sure you get copies of anything they produce (their "evidence"). As pointed out above, don't sign anything or agree to anything, especially a Personal Improvement Plan - ask for time to consider it. – Justin Jan 22 '19 at 12:20
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    @aleppke: I think it's true that with this much notice, the content of the meeting is not likely to be "you're fired". But it might be, "you're fired unless X", where X is something the OP doesn't want or can't do such as agreeing to this "shift change". So I still think it's a reasonable precaution to log out of your internet banking in case you don't see your laptop again, or that there isn't more stuff in your locker that day than you can carry, or whatever. Far more likely, ofc, that it's something very formal but not fatal. – Steve Jessop Jan 22 '19 at 17:30
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    I don't think any of these are more important than any other. Point one ensures you go in with maximum knowledge (you're already at a disadvantage there.) Point two and three protect you legally. Point four and five protect you emotionally. These are all very important. – corsiKa Jan 22 '19 at 18:27
  • I would suggest that part of #2 would be to bring a notepad to the meeting and takes lots of notes. I find that at times of stress (after assuming the worst) makes my memory of what was said foggy. Good notes will help remedy this after the fact. – JeffC Jan 22 '19 at 22:43
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Is your company a union company?

If so, check if you have a right to bring a union representative the same way that your boss has someone from HR. Most likely, you do.

Because the one thing you want to avoid is being in a 2 vs. 1 situation that could turn into a "he said / she said" conflict.

Announce this before, and treat it as a perfectly normal thing. If pressed, explain calmly that since you don't know what the meeting is about, you are sure that the presence of the union rep is entirely unnecessary, but you brought him just in case, so no time is lost in fetching him if his presence should turn out to be of advantage.

That doesn't mean this is bad. It really could be entirely harmless, and the HR person might be there not to check on you, but to check on your boss. But the point is that you don't know. So better safe than sorry.

If you don't have a union rep on hand, then @Hilmar wrote a very good answer on how to prepare and behave, especially points #2 and #3.

Tom
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    In the UK, you have the right for a colleague to attend. This applies even if your workplace is not unionised. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/problems-at-work/dealing-with-disciplinary-action-and-dismissal-at-work/ – CSM Jan 21 '19 at 21:56
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I would like to press that HR is not your friend.

Whenever HR is included that means change is coming (good or bad).
Unlike other answers, I think that if it's something good, your boss will give you a heads up while waiting for HR's confirmation.

I highly suggest preparing No.4 from @Hilmar's answer:

Prepare for the worst. This could be a termination meeting. Make sure that, if push comes to shove, you can leave the same day on short notice. Clear up personal files and e-mail accounts from work computers. Clear sign in credentials from browser caches, make sure your personal stuff is ready to go.

David K
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clueless007
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    Would just like to say that I've been in a few meetings that were #4 and every one was impromptu. I was simply asked to swing by an office somewhere with no formal meeting scheduled from my perspective. – aleppke Jan 21 '19 at 21:30
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Besides @Himlar's valuable gems, I would like to add the following based on my bad times with biased HR:

  • If anything is going seriously against you, put your disagreement on record in the written form.
  • If they talk about any damages to the organization, even if you are lured to accept it by indirect indication that they will forgive if you accept, don't get lured. It is a well known trap.
  • They may try to provoke you by direct/indirect insults and get something on which disciplinary actions could be taken. Keep your calm until the meeting is finished.
  • Keep us posted after the meeting is over. What it was about and how you handled it.
Giacomo1968
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Rajesh Kakkad
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Do you have any reason to believe that it is not exactly what your manager said? One-on-one could easily be boilerplate in the letter basically saying the meeting is just for you and not your whole team or department.

Have you signed a new contract with a shift change as your manager indicated?

If I had a contract change, especially with a shift change, with my current employer, this is exactly what I would expect to happen. HR is more qualified to discuss contract language than your boss. Since this is a change to your conditions of employment, HR should be present, just like they probably were on your first day of work/orientation.

cdkMoose
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