Change to shift rota for new year. Where do i stand?

bbl_2

helencbradshaw wrote: »

the reality is the OP has been inconvenienced...however....if it were my family weddings, etc, then regardless what day they were on, I would be there...(and last wedding was on a Monday, i.e. a normal work day for me!).It seems to me the Op got lucky in the first place with all these key dates falling on days off.....

I would not be inclined to go down the grievance route, as it is not likely to get anywhere, the needs of the business will always dictate shift patterns even for those traditionally Mon-Fri - although shift swapping for the key dates might be doable

Did not fall "lucky" as suh with everything falling on days off....

Apart from the wedding everything else has been organised to suit the shifts etc and with the change has now disrupted my plans severely...

bbl_2

mlp wrote: »

okay, there's a few things here -

- what, if anything, does the contract of employment say about the shift pattern? Does it say that you will always work 4-on 4-off and that your sequence in the rota shall never change? (doubt it)

- so, you could use the argument "custom and practice" - in that you've done this shift pattern for so long (although it isn't actually THAT long and I think the phrase "needs of the business" will overrule)

- you could argue that the employer has already set a precedent by allowing your colleague extra time off for previously arranged engagements

For example, we have a couple of staff who work Mon/Wed/Fri one week then Tue/Thu/Sat. It suits them and they plan their lives around this pattern. However, "needs of the business" mean that if I need them to change their pattern then so be it - their contract actually says they work 3 days out of 7.

If your supervisor is a turd then I'd request a meeting with the line manager or with HR to discuss. You could try and argue that you haven't had sufficient notice of the change of shift pattern and that through "custom and practice" you assumed it would continue as it was. Check your contract of employment however, as you might find that you only get 4 weeks (or whatever) notice of a change to shift pattern.

But ultimately, I think this is more a case of your employer being compassionate than anything, so go in softly softly and don't aggrevate the situation by raising a grievance at this point.

Thank you for your post, seems to be one of the few that are actually relevant to the thread rather than half of the keyboard warriors (although some help may be there)....

Contract from when i started stated 9 week rota pattern which is what i orignally started on. From there the current 4 on 4 off alternating between days and nights came into effect. Wasnt an issue, was happy to work them. So i belive as i have worked this current system for a little over a year it is classed as is if you will. I have worked them so far so that is in effect what i am now contractually obliged to do...

Just gripes me more the fact that it is one rule for one and another for myself.

Have offered a sensible solution as to swapping shift place on the rota but manger has stated this would cause too many "problems". The person is willing to swap with me, nothing in return and yet he is not allowing it.

Not one to shout "he has got it in for me" but never has been a good working relationship for reasons beyond me....

paddedjohn

why cant you just use your holidays? if i need a saturday off then i book it out of my holidays

bbl_2

Everything has been planned around what days i had off (bar the wedding) at the time of booking asked if there were to be any changes, supervisor said no, made them aware of the changes (so i coudlnt do overtime etc) and now being juggled about for no reason.

As previously mentioned a colleague raised the issue when the current system come in and got honoured extra days.

I am not going to take up over half my leave to compensate pointless changes, i had plans for the leave which will now not happen.

Savvy_Sue

bbl wrote: »

Have offered a sensible solution as to swapping shift place on the rota but manger has stated this would cause too many "problems". The person is willing to swap with me, nothing in return and yet he is not allowing it.

that's what I'd be raising the grievance about, tbh ...

paddedjohn

i had a similar problem a year or two back, my boss wanted to change our shifts to 7 on 7 off but i had got used to my 2on 3off 2on, 2off 3on 2off and had planned well ahead for school plays/family commitments etc. it took a bit of pleading on my part but he backed down.
have you had and consultation period regarding your changes?

bbl_2

Cheers Sue still toying with the idea, had to raise one or two in 4 years here but this one im unsure about :S

If i do the list i can think of is:

- Short Notice
- No Business need to justify change (Bit Sketchy but worth a try)
- Alternative Solution available but denied without just
- No justification to swap my position in rota from current position
- Previously approved for another colleague
- Supervisor aware of intentions/plans for next year and moves me to working now most of them

All i can think of off the top of my head but dont know if i could push it to grievance, have offered alternatives but as mentioned no luck. Previous grievences were fairly straight forward tbh both drug related which posed risk to others aswell as myself getting injured (another story)

bbl_2

paddedjohn wrote: »

i had a similar problem a year or two back, my boss wanted to change our shifts to 7 on 7 off but i had got used to my 2on 3off 2on, 2off 3on 2off and had planned well ahead for school plays/family commitments etc. it took a bit of pleading on my part but he backed down.
have you had and consultation period regarding your changes?

No consultation as such, was mentioned as a possibility end of november with strong objection and was put to vote, all voted against, no action was going to be taken and then pow, 3 days ago get an email saying it is being enforced .

paddedjohn

THIS IS WHAT THE DIRECT.GOV SITE HAS TO SAY.

If your employer wants to change your contract

If your employer wants to make changes, they should

• consult you or your representative (for example, a trade union official)
• explain the reasons why
• listen to alternative ideas

Changes can be agreed directly between you and your employer, or through a 'collective agreement' between your employer and a trade union. This might be allowed by your contract even if you're not a union member.

bbl_2

Did see that before posting the thread, but seems to be plenty of reasons both for and against. thanks for bringing it up again, can use it for reference