Well hello, stranger
When people don't do their jobs and you get shit for it... Why can't they just do their jobs?
So we did water testing last year in September, but since we are a planning department we outsource our water testing. The lab we usually use when fully booked and we needed results by the end of the month. We decided to find another lab. The water was sent their way, they gave me all instructions on how to pay, I informed them I work for a company and the company will pay so I need an invoice. I got the invoice, filled in the PO form, got confirmation from admin, asked our head to sign everything and handed the FINAL DOCUMENTS over to our admin assistant. All he had to do was finalise the payment on the system, since I don't have access to the accounts, and email the lab proof of payment.
WEll! Today I received an email, that I AS AN INDIVIDUAL have been handed over to debt collectors for the outstanding R 1000 ($ 50)... The admin assistant never completed the payment process. After I did all the paperwork for him, he never finalised the last step. And since my name was on the lab results, I'm seen as the person at fault. Due to the fact that he didn't do his job, I'm the one at fault.
The best part of this is that I reminded him to pay them in October last year after I checked with the finance department and saw it was still outstanding. He informed me the next day that he did finalise payment and emailed them proof of payment.
We have searched for that proof of payment for 4 hours now, and we still haven't found it. So I guess I'll be paying the R 1000 ($ 50) out of pocket to save my own butt. So much for saving up to go on holiday!
If you work with admin or finances, you are taking responsibility for an entire company and the people. I feel this is a huge responsibility and it should not be taken lightly, one tiny slip from your side can end up causing issues for an employee or the entire company. Luckily for us the amount is small and we can repair the damage, but it should have never happened in the first place.
