Employment Rights

TriedandTested

TriedandTested

TriedandTested

Soldato
Joined
11 Jul 2004
Posts
16,118
Location
Neptune
Hey all.

Similar questions have been asked in the past about employment rights so i'm hoping for some help this time.

Basically, a relation of mine is having issues at work. Rather than go in to a big story here are the points:

  • Working at said company for six years. 20 hours a week, 9-2 Monday to Friday. This is what was agreed when she started.
  • Has been like this for 6 years.
  • Company has suddenly turned round to tell her in 7 weeks time she will now be working Saturdays as part of a rota, due to 'business needs' and equality in the department.
  • Other staff when starting with the company agreed to working Saturdays, some, including her, didn't.
  • She does not want to - family issues and just not wanting to work Saturdays.
  • She has said she doesn't want to and they have subsequently threatened her with written warnings in an attempt to get her to comply.
  • They have now sent her a letter explaining why it is happening and that if she wished to appeal then she has one week to do so, in writing.

It's an utter disgrace how they're treating her - 6 years, one day sick and she has in the past helped at weekends if she was really needed. All in all the perfect employee.

She will of course be speaking to the CAB for advice but I'm wondering if anyone here can share some advice.

It seems like they're almost targeting her and one of her colleagues (she is close to retirement the other has been out of work after surgery and may be going in for more) so they're both very upset about it all.

Thanks. And please, serious answers only :)
 
I was in a sort of similar situation a few years back. The place i worked at wanted to make me start working Sunday evenings and i didn't agree, after looking into it, they are within their rights to write a new contract and if you didn't agree, they could then sack you then offer you your job back under the new conditions. I simply said cya to my old work :)
 
wez130 said:
I was in a sort of similar situation a few years back. The place i worked at wanted to make me start working Sunday evenings and i didn't agree, after looking into it, they are within their rights to write a new contract and if you didn't agree, they could then sack you then offer you your job back under the new conditions. I simply said cya to my old work :)
Click to expand...

How could they possibly be allowed to just write a new contract for you? I'm not saying you are wrong but that is just ludicris.:(
 
Amp34 said:
How could they possibly be allowed to just write a new contract for you? I'm not saying you are wrong but that is just ludicris.:(
Click to expand...

They can, provided they give sufficient notice, it's not ludicrous at all, there is a balance of power with both the employer and the employee having their own contribution towards it, to give too much power to one or the other is a very bad idea.

Moving on to the OP, there's two sides to look at. On one hand, what the company is doing is legally permissable, although it's possible (depending on the situation) that the employee could be in a position to claim constructive dismissal if they have been their long enough and if the change is significant enough from the original contract. If that's a route under consideration, seek legal advice.

More info.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1074003264

The other hand is that there are good ways of doing things and bad ways of doing things, and it's beneficial for the company to come to a mutually agreeable arrangement whereever possible. However, just as a company should try to be flexible, so should an employee. If they are introducing weekend working on a rota basis, that is the company trying to be flexible (they could just turn around and say the following people are working every saturday instead). Sometimes business needs do mean you need to change staffing patterns, that's the nature of things, and while you could say it's not fair on the employees to demand change, it's also not fair on the business for the employees to demand no change. It's a balancing act.

It sounds to me like both the employer and the employee are being stubborn and confrontational over this issue, I don't know the nature of the business, or the issues the employee has with the change in hours, so I can't make any statement about whether either side's stubbornness is justified, but there is no 'right' answer that says either side can just do what they want.

How many saturdays a month do they expect them to work?
 
Remember, a job is a privilege, not a right. If the company deems Saturdays to be essential for the role and the company, and your relative does not wish to comply, then (as harsh as it sounds) I suggest your relative considers looking elsewhere for employment.

Businesses need to change with the times, regardless of if it's convenient with the staff or not.
 
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