Acting role

[Vesna.Miletic]

Is it legally allowed to have 2 persons performing the same leadership role where one was originally appointed to this role and the other is in the 'acting' role at the same time? The one originally appointed is on reduced working hours. Would it not be more appropriate that the second person is appointed in the deputy instead of acting role? Can the first person choose what they want to do and whatever they don't want to do then falls on the shoulders of the second person? Can the liner manager not agree with this choice? A lot of questions, hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on this. Thank you very much

 

[Rod]

Likely just bad management, not illegal, but too few details to know.

 

[Martis]

Ahhh acting role — classic employment spaghetti + role creep vibes 😅 Suddenly it’s not just “step in for someone,” but classification, entitlements, pay rates, and contract clauses all doing a cha-cha 👀

Most headaches come from upstream fuzziness: vague contracts, informal “just fill in” vibes, or unclear HR communications. Once payroll or legal teams get involved, it’s a tangle of evidence, timelines, and compliance checks 😬

Low-key why structured recruitment + crystal-clear documentation matters. Platforms like AcademicJobs.com are clutch — formalised position descriptions, transparent acting role policies, and compliance-aligned pipelines help clarify responsibilities and entitlements from day dot, especially in academia/research roles where multi-project juggling, grants, and approvals can get… messy 😅

Anyway, loving this convo — acting role nuance deserves way more airtime than it usually gets 😂