Performance “reviews”

[anonymous]

Given my goals and verbatim what should go into my 2018 performance review in Nov. 2018. So, I’m not given what I’m evaluated on until nov...
1) is that okay? Obviously beyond unethical but is it legal?
2) so when we “fall short of our goals” is there a case there, since we didn’t receive the goals until nov?
I don’t understand how companies can get away with treating their employees this way -

 

[anonymous]

Given my goals and verbatim what should go into my 2018 performance review in Nov. 2018. So, I’m not given what I’m evaluated on until nov...
1) is that okay? Obviously beyond unethical but is it legal?
2) so when we “fall short of our goals” is there a case there, since we didn’t receive the goals until nov?
I don’t understand how companies can get away with treating their employees this way -

Look, just DON'T sign it if it is a below average review. That is all you need to know.

Why do they do this?

Because they are evil, and want to control you.

If you don't like it, the trade off between selling your soul to a company (which is what most people do) for the money, then just look for another opportunity.

Blessings to you, and when in doubt about it all just read my first sentence. If they pressure you into signing, then get an attorney and sue. You do not have to sign anything. It is a magician trick that they use, and it is total nonsense. Any yes, I lost my six figure job despite being top rep in my area for about 5 years straight because I was naive enough to sign a bad review that I never deserved, given my excellent performance.

 

[anonymous]

Look, just DON'T sign it if it is a below average review. That is all you need to know.

Why do they do this?

Because they are evil, and want to control you.

If you don't like it, the trade off between selling your soul to a company (which is what most people do) for the money, then just look for another opportunity.

Blessings to you, and when in doubt about it all just read my first sentence. If they pressure you into signing, then get an attorney and sue. You do not have to sign anything. It is a magician trick that they use, and it is total nonsense. Any yes, I lost my six figure job despite being top rep in my area for about 5 years straight because I was naive enough to sign a bad review that I never deserved, given my excellent performance.

Another thing they do, in this industry, is black ball you if you have a bad review. Never sign it, yep.

God, this industry is a total shit show.

 

[Charles Joseph]

It is common for employers to require employee signatures on documents such as acknowledgements for employee handbooks, confidentiality procedures, non-compete clauses and drug-free workplace policies. Employee signatures prove the employee received the documents.

Typically, signing a performance evaluation is like signing the above documents –it’s an acknowledgment. Your signature shows you were present for the appraisal and that you were shown a copy. Your signature does not necessarily mean you agree with the evaluation, but before you sign, you should discuss with HR what your signature denotes at your particular company.

Of course, you would be within your legal rights to decline signing any employment document. But refusing to sign your evaluation won’t change the outcome and likely would create an adversarial tone to the process. If you disagree with the appraisal, a better tact would be to calmly discuss the reasons you disagree.

While there is no law mandating that you sign a performance review, there could be a company policy. Some employers require a signature as a condition of employment.

Bottom line -- check your employee handbook or ask HR about your company’s policies before making a decision either way.



You can read more about employee rights at https://www.workingnowandthen.com/.


This response is not legal advice, but is general information only, based upon the information stated in the question and general legal principles. It is provided for general educational purposes of the public who may have similar questions, not for any specific individual or circumstance. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal issues depend on all the specific facts of a situation, which are not present here. If you would like to obtain specific legal advice about your issue, you must contact a local attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state.

 

[anonymous]

I’m no attorney and I’m somewhat surprised that the attorney here didn’t mention this but maybe he knows this won’t be effective or it just slipped his mind when he composed his reply.

Regardless, would never refuse to sign a document but along with my signature I would add an explicit statement along the lines of “signature indicates only acknowledgement” or “signature indicates acknowledgement and not necessarily agreement”

This way regardless of what’s written up in company policy they can’t claim that you agreed with or ascented to the review but only that you acknowledged being aware of it.

Never just sign a bad review if you feel it’s unwarranted or not in line with what others with the same performance have received.

An additional tactic might be to send yourself an email in the company server which will therefore provide a time stamp and do a point by point rebuttal of the points you dispute and present your view of the situation. PRINT off multiple copies and put in a safe place. Also archive the email if you can and save it to your desktop if you can. DO NOT send this email to anyone but yourself. Hopefully the bad review will eventually be forgotten and be lost in the shuffle in time but this way you have a contemporaneous record with a proven time stamp of precisely and extensively WHY you disagreed with the review and arguments and facts to back it up. Save ranking and sales reports from that time period to prove your story. If they’re getting you on “skills” or competencies then document activities you’ve done and solicite customer testimonials from the time period to counteract the impressions of just one or two people who wrote up biased field trip reports.

Perhaps our attorney friend can shed light on this but given force rankings and the company comparative nature of reviews if a rep sues, can’t they demand in discovery copies of other employees reviews to ensure that there wasn’t bias and unfair and inconsistent treatment? If just a few reps would sue and win some of these things, not settle but WIN in open court and not have the judgement sealed some of this inexcusable behavior on the part of these big pharma companied might stop!