Changing my working hours to flexible?

[David234]

Hi don't know if anyone can help but let's see,
I work for a well known courier company as a supervisor/driver and my contacted hours are 7.30am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday, my employer is in the process of changing employee contacts to start 45mins earlier or 1 hour later which is no problem they are also creating more jobs with the hours of 10am-8pm which is where my problem starts I was told today that I would be covering all shifts and my contract will change to a flexi contract so one day I could be on 10am - 8pm and the next 6.45am - 4.45pm I was then told I don't have a choice in the matter and my salary will remain the same, my next issue is I have my little girl at the weekends and during the week picking her up at 6pm which I won't be able to do my child comes first but I love my job and don't want to leave ;-( can someone help me ? What are my options ? HELPPPPPP

[Kati]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

I'm not sure how much help it will be ... but GovUK has THIS LINK which is worth a read

Usually, the employer and employee both need to agree to any contract changes. But an employee can insist on a change if they have a legal right to it.Employers

You must get an employee’s agreement if you want to make changes to their contract.
You should:

• consult or negotiate with employees or their representatives (eg from a trade union or staff association)
• explain the reasons for changes
• listen to alternative ideas from employees

You may also want to talk with workers, asking them about their future plans. With older employees this can include talking about their thoughts on retirement and their options for staying in the job, eg changes to their role, hours or working pattern.

You could also have a look at the CAB pages

K x

[Okeydokey]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

I don't know but... It was my understanding that a contract could not be modified without consideration. Consideration if I remember rightly means in simple terms, payment, recompense or exchange in some other way, certainly it has to be agreed. Someone, I am sure who knows these things properly, will be along shortly :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[sean5302]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

It's conventional to get your agreement to any SIGNIFICANT changes to your terms and conditions of employment.
REASONABLE changes are acceptable, particularly where there has been union consultation and agreement, for the needs of safeguarding employment.
The obvious option for you is to confront them and ask for written information as to what your options are.
If you won't agree their new terms, they may opt to make you redundant and pay you off.
How long have you worked there?

[David234]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

Hi thanks for the replays sorry took me so long to get bk to you,
I've been with the company 2years and 3 months, I was told today they want to put all of us (4 in total) onto a flexi contract 9 hour days working anytime between 6.45am and 10pm, in return we will get shift pay for any hours outside 8am to 6pm and that's it, I've been summoned to a meeting tomorrow with HR looks like I won't have a choice in this :-(

[sean5302]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

Of course you have a choice.
The sensible move now is to throw that question back at them.
You want to know please, IN WRITING, exactly what your choices are.
One will be to accept their offer but another is to accept an offer of redundancy. They won't be keen to give you that in writing and just want you to roll over.

[wildcolonialboy]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

Hi don't know if anyone can help but let's see,
I work for a well known courier company as a supervisor/driver and my contacted hours are 7.30am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday, my employer is in the process of changing employee contacts to start 45mins earlier or 1 hour later which is no problem they are also creating more jobs with the hours of 10am-8pm which is where my problem starts I was told today that I would be covering all shifts and my contract will change to a flexi contract so one day I could be on 10am - 8pm and the next 6.45am - 4.45pm I was then told I don't have a choice in the matter and my salary will remain the same, my next issue is I have my little girl at the weekends and during the week picking her up at 6pm which I won't be able to do my child comes first but I love my job and don't want to leave ;-( can someone help me ? What are my options ? HELPPPPPP

Greetings David. It's important to note that you actually have a statutory right to request flexible working.

It doesn't mean they have to accept it, though they do need a substantive business reason to decline. You have to make such requests in writing, see this link for more info

http://www.acas.org.uk/flexibleworking

You don't have to accept any change in contract, that has to be mutually agreed; out of interest, how long have you been there?

[wildcolonialboy]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

Hi thanks for the replays sorry took me so long to get bk to you,
I've been with the company 2years and 3 months, I was told today they want to put all of us (4 in total) onto a flexi contract 9 hour days working anytime between 6.45am and 10pm, in return we will get shift pay for any hours outside 8am to 6pm and that's it, I've been summoned to a meeting tomorrow with HR looks like I won't have a choice in this :-(

If you've been there for over 2 years, you are protected from unfair dismissal (it kicks in after 2 years).

Remember, they can only change your contract with mutual consent, so you don't have to accept their demands. Keeping that in mind, try to negotiate a change that will give them some more flexibility, but also allow you the hours you need for parenting related stuff

[David234]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

Thanks for all the replies, so had a meeting today with my manager and a member of HR (who just took notes) was told they wanted to me to work a 9 hour shift variable between 6.45am to 9pm Monday to Friday with no extra pay just shift pay if the hours fall into unsociable, I told them my concerns with picking my child up at 6pm on Fridays, I asked them to put everything in writing and I would think about my options, tonight I was given a letter stating that we were in the 30 day consultation period and if I require any other meeting just to ask, they also put in a form saying I could apply for flexible working if they changes were implemented, but they haven't told me any of my options hahahahaha typical

[sean5302]

Re: Changing my working hours to flexible?

So, you've called their bluff.
For now, they've climbed down and claimed they are just consulting you for your views.
Nearer to the end of the 30 days they will have to contact you again. Make sure you receive that contact in writing, requiring them to tell you precisely what your options are.