Can they do this???

xmaslolly76

OK My OH works for a security company they contract themselves out to various sites around the country there have been whispers that they may be cutting the security at the site he works however there has been no formal notification that that will happen and they were told the other week that the sites contract was at least good for another 12 months. Now my OH Just went to reception to collect the job sheets for the next shift person and he saw an email addressed to the director marked Proposed security w/c 7th June. Now currently they have three security guards covering the gates 24hrs a day so there is one day shift one night shift and my OH who does 3 days three nights and three off they all do twelve hr shifts 6am-6pm or 6pm-6am. This proposal states that there will be one security guard on site from 7am to 7pm monday through friday and 1 remote check of a night and 2 remote checks of a weekend.

Now if they decide to bring this in this effectively remove my OH's job and also the permanant night shift job. Now my OH is on sat,sun,mon night with tues,wed,thurs next week off back in on friday So if he doesnt get told anything until he goes back in then he will effectivley have 48hrs notice of no job. He is going to check his contract tonight but we believe he is contracted for his basic hrs. So if they do bring in this shift pattern do they still have to pay him his normal rate until they put him on another site the other option is do they have to make him redundant and if so can they get away with just giving him 48hrs notice as he is contracted to the security company not the site. The other thing to consider is that he lives in rugby and this is the only site there that they cover he has no means of transport other than public so if they do offer him another site but its not practicall to get there do they have to make him redundant?

Sorry this turned into an epic but we are obviously very worried by this and would like a heads up on where he stands.

Thank you for reading and any help would be appreciated :-)

getmore4less

Are there "lay off" clauses in the contract

"lay off" is different to redundant (some use lay off when they mean redundant)

xmaslolly76

No nothing like that at all that we can see getmore.

getmore4less

Without a lay off clause then they need to keep paying

If the only options is redundancy then they probably should pool those covering the current contract that might be changing.

Problem is they could use flexability as a key selection criteria and as he cannot work elsewhere he could get selected.

Are the others likley to want to leave or relocate? definately something to bring up if it comes to consultation.


Redundancy will depend on the amount of service.

xmaslolly76

He can get to other sites just not all of them i just wondered if he couldnt get to the one they ask him to go too do they have to make him redundant. One guy would probably be happy to relocate but the other one will want to stay he has been there years and generally isnt very flexible he wont do nights he doesnt like covering for holidays but he is reliable and good at his job.

Its all abit worrying as his company are not the best when it comes to rights and procedures and i'm worried he will get short changed by them if he doesnt know exactly what he is entitled too they tried to stop his paternity leave for the our child who is due in august and we had to get acas involved before they would back down. He has been there just over 2yrs now.

getmore4less

Redundancy if transfering to another site is unreasonable will depend on the contract, any mobility clauses and how reasonable the request is(even with a mobility clause)

This would be on an individual basis based on a number of factors like
Distance (no fixed rules on this)
Time ( how much longer )
Transport ( can you get there)
cost (should not be out of proportion to income)
personal (child care, this can for example make the time element more unresonable)


Assuming the worst.

Redundancy if given and not enhanced would be £760.
Check holidays carefully he should be paid acrued but not taken.
Notice will be a minimum of 2 weeks or contractual.

I think they should pool the 3 covering the current job for redundancy selection.

If there is another site close then it might be possible to get the people covering that included in the pool as well but that would be tought but the company might have someone they want to get rid of at that site ad this could help them.

If they still need to cover 60hr for 52wks with holiday/sick cover would job share be an opton to ask about. or if they go to one person perhaps providing cover and some shifts at the sites he can get to.



I think it's time to get the CV up to date and be ready for the worst case.

Freddie_Snowbits

Time to join the Union.

xmaslolly76

Thank you get more thats been really helpful :-)