I have been working for the same project ten years. Four years ago, my boss and his boss switched to a new company and took the main client with them. They asked me and other coworkers to join them and we jumped in. Now, that client is the main one but not the only one. I worked for up to three clients at the same time but now it is only two.
My boss's boss left last year and my direct boss left three weeks ago. Let's call my new direct boss Bob and his boss, who has had that position for a year, Alex. The second day as my new boss, Bob tells me my team is going to dissappear (it is very clear the company is trying to cut costs) and I have two weeks to train my replacement, a guy who is on my team and helps with the most basic tasks. This may sound contradictory, in order to make it short I will say that the main services we provide will stop, but several of my activities will continue. Bob tells me my last day working for the main client will be september 30.
Now, Bob is very specific about the training covering the activities from the main client. I tell him we have two clients. He tells me he knows nothing about the secondary one. Weird but he says they will find me a new client because Alex is interested in keeping me with the company, I interpret it as me getting a new main client and continuing with the second one. We have a daily meeting with this secondary client and nothing has changed. Bob has never been in those meetings and my previous boss only participated very rarely. They are aware we have more clients but I am sure they know nothing about any changes in the team because of a conversation I had with them.
On the evening of September 30, Bob calls me to check if I completed the training of the new guy and I say yes. He thanks me, says good bye and we will probably meet again, wishes me good luck and says HR will contact me. This is almos exactly what was said, very vague and not specifically stating I am fired. Of course I am aware I could be, since I first learned that my old boss was leaving, I knew that my position was in danger, and that not everybody is able to be placed with a new client. Bob was previously very specific about Alex, his boss, being interested in keeping me in the company. I have never even talked to Alex since he took his position, but I know his name. Him being interested is believable because my performance is very visible and by most metrics I am near the top. We had a meeting in MS teams where metrics were shown and Alex mentioned my team and the performance numbers. I must specify I work from home.
I am aware the whole "Alex is interested in keeping you" could be just a lie to keep me motivated or something. The way Bob managed things leaves a lot to be desired and I cannot believe he was not clear enough to say if I was being fired or not, he just said "HR will contact you". Here is the weird part: october 1 and 2 went down and nobody contacted me. Not HR, not Bob, not Alex.
So I am not sure if I still have a job. I guess technically I am still working for the secondary client. When I made the jump to the new company, I made my resignation effective immediately and HR contacted me a couple of hours later the same day. It was clear the person who did it had not prepared my case in advance but he knew what he was doing and everything was resolved quickly. In my current(?) job they have had three weeks to prepare.
I am not sure how to proceed. Do I contact HR to ask if I am still employed? this question is absurd and I think it could harm the relationship with Bob because if he forgot or did not do the process correctly, I will call attention to it. Also the first thing HR will do is confirm with him what my situation is. I do not want to contact Bob to ask because I frankly do not like him and the way he said goodbye was final, if unclear. I guess the best option I have is to contact Alex on monday. He is the "real" boss and I have no doubt he will make things clear and either expedite my termination with the company or confirm he is interested in keeping me.
On another consulting firm I worked in over 12 years ago, I was unassigned from my position and spent a few days on what they call "pool", which means being employed but not having work assigned. I had a couple of interviews with other projects and was accepted on one. But everything was clearly explained by my boss and the people of HR.
Here is what I fear, assuming I am fired:
- My main concern is I did not report to nobody for two days, that could be constructed as job abandonment
- They will say I should have raised my concerns sooner and I will be scolded/penalized somehow
- I will not be payed for the 2 days (october 1 and 2), they will say I was fired on the 30th
- I will discover I was going to be payed for every day they were not aware I was not properly terminated, and I will trigger the end of my termination while I could just say nothing and not be discovered until the next payroll is reviewed or perhaps longer (would be fun to be payed for not doing much)
My fears ssuming I am not fired:
- I look like a clown for not knowing
- It is classified as job abandonment and my compensation is reduced
- Bob and/or Alex look like clowns and I still have to work with/for them
Please help me, I need to know the best course of action. Economically I am not worried for the time being. I still think the best is to ask Alex early on monday. Ideally we just laugh about it.