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Hi all. Hoping someone can help.
I work for a large UK company who are going to be moving everyone onto one contract, instead of having the 6 different contracts they have for people of various amounts of service.
This new contract has a break of 15 minutes if you work under 6 hours 10 minutes (it goes to half hour if over the 6hrs 10 mins). On certain days we work 6 hours but are then expected to clean up after those 6hrs, so work slightly longer.
Now, my understanding is that a shift longer than 6hrs has a statutory minimum of a 20 minute break. I rang ACAS and a man stated that even going over by one minute, you are entitled to that 20 minutes. They told me to give a letter to my employer stating that a fifteen min break on a shift longer than 6hrs is breaking Working Time Regulations.
I wrote the letter and gave it to my manager who believes a company as large as ours won't be making a mistake and if I give the letter, a grievance will have to be raised, I won't be allowed to sign the new contract and I'll be given my marching orders more or less. He also said if I sign the new contract I am signing my rights away for that minimum break.
Has anyone any info on who is in the right here please? I, like my manager, feel that the company and the union (who agreed to this change) would not make such an error, although I really want them to be wrong! I am not in a union btw.
Thanks for looking.
I work for a large UK company who are going to be moving everyone onto one contract, instead of having the 6 different contracts they have for people of various amounts of service.
This new contract has a break of 15 minutes if you work under 6 hours 10 minutes (it goes to half hour if over the 6hrs 10 mins). On certain days we work 6 hours but are then expected to clean up after those 6hrs, so work slightly longer.
Now, my understanding is that a shift longer than 6hrs has a statutory minimum of a 20 minute break. I rang ACAS and a man stated that even going over by one minute, you are entitled to that 20 minutes. They told me to give a letter to my employer stating that a fifteen min break on a shift longer than 6hrs is breaking Working Time Regulations.
I wrote the letter and gave it to my manager who believes a company as large as ours won't be making a mistake and if I give the letter, a grievance will have to be raised, I won't be allowed to sign the new contract and I'll be given my marching orders more or less. He also said if I sign the new contract I am signing my rights away for that minimum break.
Has anyone any info on who is in the right here please? I, like my manager, feel that the company and the union (who agreed to this change) would not make such an error, although I really want them to be wrong! I am not in a union btw.
Thanks for looking.
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