Zero hours contract - but no contract signed...

Daisymoocow

Hi all, i started a new job a few months back. It is a carers role and I work part time. Rotas get sent out weekly on a friday - telling you waht you are due to work next week. The company i am employed by have recently started ringing me with a couple of hours notice and telling me i need to work that day, despite the rota for that week saying that I am not due to work, for example.
When i went to interview I was told it would be a zero hours contract, so I am fully aware that there are no min or max hours they can give me. Do i have the right to refuse to work at such short notice? I have a 14 month old daughter and simply cant drop everything last minute. If they had rota'd me in then i could arrange childcare etc and would have no problem working the hours. I just can't do it that short notice.

Also - I still havent had a contract from them, despite me asking several times. They keep saying they would send one out, but have failed to do so... where do i stand with this? I am looking for employment elsewhere as i just can't work like they want me to, so what sort of notcie do i legally have to give?

Finally - at my interview, we were told that we would need to be CRB checked and that they would pay for the checks. However if we were to leave within 12 months, we would have to pay back the cost of the checks, which is apparently £50. I assume that this would be in my contract, but seeing as I havent got one, does this still apply to me? If i have to pay it i will, but it would be a few extra pennys during my job changeover period that would come in very handy...

Any advice would be gratefully received

getmore4less

One basic premise for a zero hours seems to be mutual agreement so you can refuse work.


Zero hours are also handy because you never need to resign and give notice you just stop accepting shifts and get work elswhere.

Also means you have never left so no need to pay back the CRB costs

Daisymoocow

So instead of 'resigning' ie. handing in my notice - do i just stop accepting work?

joedenise

On a O hours contract you do not have to work any hours that you don't want to. From what you have written I assume you are working for a temp agency? If what has been agreed is that you get your rota on Friday for the following week then you do not have to do extra hours if it is inconvenient for you. They know you have a young child and can't just drop everything to go to work so I think they are out of order to even ask you to do so, let alone expect it.

As for a contract, you should really receive this within a maximum of 13 weeks. Demand it from the agency the next time you speak to them and perhaps arrange to go in to sign it and take a copy home with you.

Denise

Seems others have posted while I was typing this!

SarEl

Sorry - both of these pieces of advice are incorrect. A true zero hours contract does not imply mutuality of refusing work. Arrangements for agency workers are (currently) slightly different in that the agency has a contract with you to "introduce you to work opportunities" - it does not have a responsibility for providing you with work. Since this is a care home I think it quite likely that you are employed directly by an employer on a zero hours contract. A zero hours contract is an employment contract - i.e. you are in fact an employee and required to follow the erasonable instructions of your employer, which includes truning up to work when you are told. There is certainly no right, unless it is contained in your contract, for the employee to refuse work. The issue is, of course, whether the employer is issuing a reasonable instruction in asking you to attend work at short notice, and the answer to that is not clear from this. It could be argued that the point of your having a flexible hours contract of this sort is to provide cover as and when required, and that you are not being reaosnable in refusing. Did you discuss this with your employer when you started (or since) and have you discussed it since?

One thing is clear - if you refuse work consistently, as suggested, you can be dismissed - simply going "AWOL" is not more an option for you than it is any other employee. And if you are dismissed then you may have to pay the costs you mention - although not if they don't provide you with your written statement of terms and conditions, which should have been provided within two months of you starting - not 13 weeks