Xmas Eve working to 8pm. Problems getting home!

outsetsailer

Just been told that we have to work Christmas Eve until 8pm. The thing is 95% of us have to travel to work by bus/train. On CE, the buses and local trains stop between 5pm-6pm. We work in a call centre and last year's Christmas Eve, we finished at 4pm, giving us plenty of time to catch the bus/train home. After 2pm, we received very few calls, 1 or 2 per CSA in the last two hours. Those last two hours dragged on forever.

Some of my team members, it will cost them £55 for a taxi home on Christmas Eve, the same amount they earned during the day. They are asking why they should work up to 8pm, when last year, they received very little calls during the day, as people got better things to do than phone call centres on Christmas Eve! Due to our business, we are receiving less calls than last year (3-5% fewer calls) as people have cancelled our service to cut down on bills.

Annual leave was fully booked back in early October. There is nothing in our contracts about our hours on Christmas Eve. Our employer will not pay for taxis etc. Plus, for many of us, our friends and family don't have cars either. Those who do, live miles from work! Work doesn't support trade unions either.

It's totally wrong that my employer is doing this to us! What do you think we need to do? For some people, pulling sickies isn't an option as on final written warning!

pandora205

This does seem unreasonable and someone needs to explain this calmly to the management. Perhaps you should write a collective letter explaining that the staff will be stranded and therefore cannot work after whatever time public transport ends.

As the change from last year has been made without any consultation, I doubt whether this has been thought through. If the response is that it cannot be changed then ask how people are supposed to get home (assuming that most don't live around the corner).

surreysaver

pandora205 wrote: »

This does seem unreasonable

Especially if you've only been told today!

Sharon87

Well if worst comes to worst do a mass walk out at 4pm or something!

Have you talked to your boss? Tell them that it is unreasonable, especially with such short notice. Tell them you are unable to till 8pm and you will be leaving when you can catch public transport.

Fluffi

Depends, OP is your normal shift until 8pm? In that case I don't see why people are surprised at having to work their normal hours because Christmas Eve is no different to any other day and if public transport is normally bad Christmas Eve then those affected should been organised and booked half a day's annual leave months ago or asked about this years working hours.

Companies are under no obligation to let people have a half day or work less hours for the same money just because its Christmas Eve and just because you finish at 4pm some years its dangerous to assume it'll be 4pm every year. I always think companies that allow people to finish early on Christmas Eve are being unfair to those that have booked full or half day leave anyway.

JoolzS

I was pretty much going to post the same as Fluffi. If your shift normally ends at 8.00 p.m. then there's no reason for it to end any earlier on xmas eve other than your employer being nice.

If, however, they are asking you to work more hours because it's xmas eve, then it would be reasonable to ask for help in getting home.

Chances are that there is more than one person on your team who is able to arrange a lift home at 8.00 p.m. on xmas eve - perhaps the person who gives them a lift may be willing to also give some of the rest of you a lift for a petrol donation. My DH used to give loads of my work friends lifts home from work at all sorts of odd hours (if he was also picking me up). He did appreciate a fiver or a tenner for petrol at the same time!

Julie

ceridwen

Hmmm....the fact that they are telling you all to work till 8pm (and at such short notice) - when previous years it was 4pm - sounds a bit "suspect" - smacking of desperation, considering how few calls you had at that time last year.

Well - personally I'd take a "sickie" - but I appreciate you saying that some staff cant do that because they are already subject to disciplinary process and I would strongly advise against doing so in their case.

Maybe you could all club together and pay for a minibus or summat (not a taxi) and if it costs more than normal fares - tell management that if they want you all to work past 4pm then they must "stump up" the difference in transport costs and see what happens (quoting health and safety as necessitating this).

Its certainly not reasonable to expect people to pay £55 for a taxi home because of managements decision to change Christmas Eve workhours (dont think they've thought this through at all....or, on the other hand, they are desperate/they have thought this through very clearly and are hoping to provoke people into doing something they could be sacked for (reason: less people to make redundant in January:cool: ).

This management decision does not make logical sense - from what you say about the low level of phonecalls at Christmas Eve last year. I dont know what type of service you provide - whether its a "service" type thing (eg callouts for emergency type provision of services) or its a callcentre for selling goods. If its a callcentre for selling goods (as I suspect it is) - then the only way this would make sense is as a "set-up" deliberately hoping that some of you will provide them with "excuses" to sack them.....be wary....I suspect this is what it is. Only logical as a way to cut their redundancy bill.

Good luck with this.

DaisyFlower

Can't believe the "I would take a sickie" - all because of having to work normal hours. No wonder this country has a serious work ethic problem.

OP, if your contracted hours on that day say 8pm finish then its not unreasonable of your employer to expect you to work as usual, neither should they have to provide transport.

Your employer still may let you finish early on the day if calls are low but wont officially say in advance.

ceridwen

But the employer is not entitled to expect people to pay out £50 odd out of their own money for taxis - just because they have changed the Christmas Eve end of work time.....Not a lotta Christmas spirit being shown there by said employer methinks.

It does have to be said that this looks like a "set-up" by management - as in "get the employees to provide me with an excuse to sack them".....but maybe you've never been on the end of a deliberate "set-up"....a lot of employees have...and sometimes they've "fallen for it".

liney

Good grief Ceridwen "Power to the people!" .... the finish time is 8pm, as normal. No one is entitled to finish work early on Christmas Eve, it is a bonus if your employer allows you to do so.

Instead of wringing hands, and complaining, then why don't you start a message board/email chain for people to post where they need to travel to and arrange the sharing of taxis amioungst themselves. A mini bus might be cheaper still depending on the areas you all live.

DCFC79

liney wrote: »

Good grief Ceridwen "Power to the people!" .... the finish time is 8pm, as normal. No one is entitled to finish work early on Christmas Eve, it is a bonus if your employer allows you to do so.

Instead of wringing hands, and complaining, then why don't you start a message board/email chain for people to post where they need to travel to and arrange the sharing of taxis amioungst themselves. A mini bus might be cheaper still depending on the areas you all live.

could you do the taxi share thing, dont you live near to some other people who you could share the fare with,