Contract changed - no redundancy offered

summerplumber

My friends department has been told they must work nights.
She currently works 1 day every 10 days "on call" overnight from home.
For this she has an unsociable hours contract that pays overtime if she is called as well as having an unsociable hours allowance.
She will be working slightly less night shifts over the year than "on calls", however to incorporate the night shifts she will be expected to work 12 hour day shifts for certain weeks and 12 hour night shifts for certain weeks.
Currently she works 8 hour shifts (between 8am-6pm) on an any 5 days from 7 basis, but it is in her contract she may be expected to work until 10pm.
She will no longer have an opportunity to earn overtime but her unsociable hours allowance will be added onto her salary.

According to the HR department this is not a "significant change" so no redundancy terms are being offered.

She has been told that ultimately if she does not sign a new contract she will be effectively resigning.

Is this correct?

Her business does need to make the change to work effectively, but it is really going to mess her life around.
She has worked there for 8 years

cabbage

The legal answer is unless there is a variation clause in her contract it cannot be varied and therefore there is a breach by the employer. If she accepts she can do so under protest and raise a grievance otherwise if she works the new hours she is deemed to have accepted the change. It doesn't matter if its not a significant change or not although in this case I would argue it is a significant change.

I would ask for a copy of their Disciplinary, Dismissal and Grievance procedures as she may have to use them. It also tips them off that she is going to look into this properly and get advice.

Unfortunately unlike other contracts the relationship between the two parties is not equal when it comes to employment.

Might be worth a call to acas 08457 47 47 47 or your local cab

summerplumber

Thanks for the quick reply Cabbage, I will pass your info on.

PHYTHIAN

Worth a call to ACAS but IMO there is not a lot she can do.

You have said in her contract it specifies she may need to work until 10pm so the change from 8hrs to 12hrs was always likely. She will also be doing less nights than previously(even though they will now be 12hour nights) so there is no real argument there either. There is also no loss of earnings as the allowance is being added to her salary.

You'll probably also find in her contract something along the lines of ' any such hours as is required by the exigencies of the business, at the sole discretion of the business'. Basically they can ask you to do whatever the business needs you to do to survive/ become more effective.

Vomityspice

Perhaps another option is to consider if the employer is complying with minimum pay legislation....

Is she getting (Not sure of the current rate! Google it) £5.80 x *8 (Minimum) for her night working???? If your friend is getting less that this then the company is breaking the law.

Might be a idea to 'discuss' this with her employer and if they are paying them less, initially start a grievance and within 3 months initiate an employment tribunal claim.

Often companies seem to forget the minimum wage applies to all employment....

woody01

The legal answer is unless there is a variation clause in her contract it cannot be varied and therefore there is a breach by the employer

An employement contract can be changed as long as reasonable notice is given.