Employer wants to change my hours..please help.

kamp013

Hi!
My wife has been working at this retail store for the last 10 years. In the last 10 years she has changed working hours and times a few times. Some changes were at the employers request and some were at my wife's request.

My wife currently works 12 hours per week. Her availability is 9.15 am to 3.15 pm(this can be changed to 9am to 3.15 pm) Monday to Thursday. These hours were agreed after lengthy discussions last July with the area HR and my wife. My wife has also been allowed to take 8 hours unpaid time off during school holidays. The employer has been giving her work from 11am to 3pm on Tue, Wed and Thursday since this agreement came into place. My wife was asked to reduce hours from 16 hours to 12 hours for this new agreement.

Our children's ages are 5 and 8.

My wife drops the children to school and picks them up from school and we have no one who can help with Childcare so is not able to work evenings.

Last week my wife's employer said to her that they can no longer have this 11am to 3 pm shift. The only options are 9 to 1pm, 1pm to 5pm or 6pm to 10pm. My wife was also told that 9am to 1pm is already full so she cannot choose that and that she has till next week to decide which hours she can work.

How can the employer do that??? People working 9 am to 1pm may not have children and could have worked different hours.

There is a lot of favouratism going on and seems like picking on my wife is an issue. We had thought it was all resolved. But what do we do now???

Please help.
Thank you

Zazen999

kamp013 wrote: »

How can the employer do that??? People working 9 am to 1pm may not have children and could have worked different hours.

Because they have a business to run?
They MAY have children though, you don't know that. They MAY have other priorities and needs.

Employees can request flexible working but they do not have to honour this. If the business needs are such that they have to rationalise things, then they can and should.

kamp013

Zazen999 wrote: »

Because they have a business to run?
They MAY have children though, you don't know that. They MAY have other priorities and needs.

Employees can request flexible working but they do not have to honour this.

My wife is on flexible working and it has been honoured and has not even been a year. But where the law for mothers is concerned surely the employer has to follow some guide lines in deciding how they approach and resolve these sort of issues???

Oldernotwiser

Can you not look after the children so that your wife can do the evening shift?

notisis

Why not ring ACAS helpline to check whether your wife's employer can do this. National helpline number is 08457 47 47 47

kamp013

My finishing time is not fixed otherwise this was not an issue.

lyndsey80

You should get professional advice. You have 1 child under 6 and there is something in the law about parents being able to have flexible working. This would also apply to yourself.

mj8willia

Your wife's employer has to give her twenty eight days notice of a contract change. However it is my understanding that with regard to children the employer must take this is to consideration, and yes they do have a business to run, however if they did not employ mothers many retail stores would fail.
If they are giving your wife no choice, between working and not working(resigning) then it would probably classed a constructive dismissal.
Two words that scare most HR/PERSONEL managers.

Caroline73_2

lyndsey80 wrote: »

You should get professional advice. You have 1 child under 6 and there is something in the law about parents being able to have flexible working. This would also apply to yourself.

Parents have the right to request flexible working - it doesn't mean that it will be granted though

kamp013

Thank you all for your replies.
Doesnt my wife's employer have to have solid grounds in saying that they cannot accomodate her and give her 9am to 1 pm hours. There are 3 people working 9 to 1 and they do not have children under 16 or any carers resposibilities. Should the employer not be asking them to change their hours and so that my wife can do 9 to 1?

The last flexible working contact came into force last July / August so what was the need for that contract if they are now asking my wife to change now?

as far as i can see, I thought that employers have to revisit other staff and their rota to see if they can change.

Regards

lyndsey80

Does the contract expire?
If she has a flexible working contract then surely the employer can't deviate from that?
As someone else said - get HR involved!! ASAP!