Dear Evil HR Lady,
I was recently hired at a medical school library as an assistant. But I had a question about how long they are allowed to make me wait to start the position. The HR Department set my hire date as a week ago. I am in their payroll system and HR said I could start working. But the librarians will NOT give me a start date. They keep saying another person is going to start with me, and they want to wait until that happens. How long are they allowed to make me wait? They’ve also told me to stop following-up with them to get a start date, that they will call me when they are ready. Is this normal?
No that is NOT normal. Are you getting paid while waiting? Call HR and tell them what is going on.
This stinks to high heaven to me. Definitely something worng somewhere. I concur with Anonymous – contact their HR. If you can't get any satisfaction, seriously consider going back on the job search while you're "waiting."
One question that I would ask you is…Are you on a 90 probation period? If so, the start date affects your eligibility for benefits….BIG RED FLAG…
With the economy being the way it is, these are the type of games that some employers are playing.