Am I being unfair? (work related)

lolage said:
I didn't choose to have 6 hours, most people are contracted that in case it goes quiet we all get low hours.. :/ I'd like around 16....



I do the nightclub stuff on a commision basis from selling keyrings. Some nights I can come away with £80, others £20 for 3 hours work... Although I do enjoy this and want to carry on it would probably be a good idea to have something stable to fall back on!
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Supermarket work is not stable and it is even less so if you're going to be seen as being demanding with your availability.

I was you and then I hired people like you and now, much later in life, I do something different but you will get turfed out if you're not careful in how you manage this.
 
You may have had a more helpful response had you gone and discussed it with him instead of handing him a timetable which he would have to try to rota everyone else around.
You agreed to work at least six hours, they agreed to not conflict them with your University time, anything else would be doing you a favour and would likely set a bit of a precedent which would become a nightmare for the employer.
 
[FnG]magnolia;23044445 said:
Supermarket work is not stable and it is even less so if you're going to be seen as being demanding with your availability.

I was you and then I hired people like you and now, much later in life, I do something different but you will get turfed out if you're not careful in how you manage this.
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My availability is good compared to friends availabilty at their jobs... I'm available pretty much every day - good hours its just I need to change them slightly on the weekend...

I may just have to push my luck and if they do give me 6 hours/week I'll just find a new job...
 
malfunkshun said:
You may have had a more helpful response had you gone and discussed it with him instead of handing him a timetable which he would have to try to rota everyone else around.
You agreed to work at least six hours, they agreed to not conflict them with your University time, anything else would be doing you a favour and would likely set a bit of a precedent which would become a nightmare for the employer.
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My availabilty for Saturday used to be 6:00am > 8:30pm I simply changed it to 10:00am > 8:45pm and this is what he flipped about...
 
[TW]Fox;23044418 said:
What would your boss say if you phoned him up and said you were not available next week?
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I have 37.5 contracted hours with specified times I need to be at work.

If I phoned my boss and said, I'm not available to work from 6pm - midnight next Wednesday, she'd probably laugh at me and ask why I was even bothering to tell her. ;)

If the OP is only contracted to work 6 hours, he's not doing anything wrong by saying he can only work those 6 hours.

Like I said, if the supermarket wanted a guarantee he would be available for X number of hours between Y and Z, they should have specified the number of hours and times in his contract.
 
malfunkshun said:
You may have had a more helpful response had you gone and discussed it with him instead of handing him a timetable which he would have to try to rota everyone else around.
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This is good advice. I changed my availability (and one of my contracted shifts) by talking to my manager and gave her time to sort it out. I didn't just tell them that I couldn't do this. I also took a month off, gave them a couple of months warning and they were fine with it.
Communication is always key!

lolage said:
My availabilty for Saturday used to be 6:00am > 8:30pm I simply changed it to 10:00am > 8:45pm and this is what he flipped about...
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Yes, but now he'll have to find someone to come in and do just 2 hours on a Saturday morning. Which will be next to impossible.
 
I think you'll have to look for a new job. This might be through your own choice.

e:
My availabilty for Saturday used to be 6:00am > 8:30pm I simply changed it to 10:00am > 8:45pm and this is what he flipped about..
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Ah well, I didn't want all those aisles filled with stock for customers to buy before the store opened anyway :cool:
 
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[TW]Fox;23044418 said:
What would your boss say if you phoned him up and said you were not available next week?
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What would your boss say if you phoned him up and said you weren't available to work 3-9am on Sunday morning if you are contracted to work 9-5 Mon-Fri?
 
Ahleckz said:
This is good advice. I changed my availability (and one of my contracted shifts) by talking to my manager and gave her time to sort it out. I didn't just tell them that I couldn't do this. I also took a month off, gave them a couple of months warning and they were fine with it.
Communication is always key!



Yes, but now he'll have to find someone to come in and do just 2 hours on a Saturday morning. Which will be next to impossible.
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Its not as if I just threw the new availabilty on his desk, I just gave it him and left him time to read it etc. I said to him that I will work it until you can sort it etc but apparently I need to stop working my availability around my life.
 
malfunkshun said:
How regularly have you worked between 6am and 10am on Saturday mornings?
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This is the thing, I did have it down as my availabilty - as when any availabilty with a 6 hour contract you won't actually work your availabilty but I have done the past 5/6 saturday mornings and after getting home from work at 2am doing the photography its meaning I'm getting 4 hours sleep on Friday which isn't exactly ideal...

& I didn't use to do the nightclub work on Friday night, this is quite new hence being able to work at 6am on the Saturday.
 
If you have been working regularly from 6am to 10am on a Saturday then of course it is now going to cause him problems if you suddenly say "No sorry, can't do it any more." Especially when it is for another job. So I can see why your manager does think you are being unreasonable.
 
Ahleckz said:
Right, first things first. What are you contracted hours?
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AFAIK 3 hours on a Saturday and 3 hours on a Sunday. This is another thing, in the past he has told me I HAVE to work till 10 on a Saturday due to it being my contracted day. But I wasn't contracted to work till 10 as a matter of fact the shop only used to be open till 8 which is when I had my contract.
 
lolage said:
This is the thing, I did have it down as my availabilty - as when any availabilty with a 6 hour contract you won't actually work your availabilty but I have done the past 5/6 saturday mornings and after getting home from work at 2am doing the photography its meaning I'm getting 4 hours sleep on Friday which isn't exactly ideal...

& I didn't use to do the nightclub work on Friday night, this is quite new hence being able to work at 6am on the Saturday.
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Well I have to stand by what I said originally. If you want my advice you need to sit down and seriously think about priorities. Uni first, obviously, but I would suggest that the supermarket comes second unless they move you to a zero hours contract since that is a reliable, if low, source of income.
 
RDM said:
If you have been working regularly from 6am to 10am on a Saturday then of course it is now going to cause him problems if you suddenly say "No sorry, can't do it any more." Especially when it is for another job. So I can see why your manager does think you are being unreasonable.
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I don't think it is unreasonable, there are plenty of other people who could work that. I'm also not saying I don't want to do it next week or w/e, just that I'd like to change it if possible for the future.
 
lolage said:
AFAIK 3 hours on a Saturday and 3 hours on a Sunday. This is another thing, in the past he has told me I HAVE to work till 10 on a Saturday due to it being my contracted day. But I wasn't contracted to work till 10 as a matter of fact the shop only used to be open till 8 which is when I had my contract.
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How don't you know your contracted hours? As long as you are working them, then there isn't a lot that your manager can do with those hours. Sure, he can make it hard for you to pick up any extra shifts and be vindictive because you've made his job harder, but that's about it.

If you're contracted from 6am to 9am on Saturday morning and say that you can no longer do it. Then tough titties on your part.
 
malfunkshun said:
Well I have to stand by what I said originally. If you want my advice you need to sit down and seriously think about priorities. Uni first, obviously, but I would suggest that the supermarket comes second unless they move you to a zero hours contract since that is a reliable, if low, source of income.
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I think I'm putting the photography job second priority tbh.

1) On average I'm picking up the same amount for doing 6 hours photography than I am doing 16 hours at the super market

2) Photography is kind of/similar to what I want to do when I leave uni so I see it as relevant experience.

3) There are plenty of super market jobs I imagine..
 
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Ahleckz said:
How don't you know your contracted hours? As long as you are working them, then there isn't a lot that your manager can do with those hours. Sure, he can make it hard for you to pick up any extra shifts and be vindictive because you've made his job harder, but that's about it.

If you're contracted from 6am to 9am on Saturday morning and say that you can no longer do it. Then tough titties on your part.
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I don't have contracted "hours" just days and the amount of hours / week.
 
lolage said:
I don't have contracted "hours" just days and the amount of hours / week.
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Your contract likely states that you are basically at the mercy of your employers then. If your manager isn't playing ball, then there isn't much that you can really do.
 
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