A few work questions

Oscar1919

Hi,

A few questions, if I may.


1) Can my boss make me work weekends?

We are paid hourly, not salaried if that makes any difference.

We don't have any signed contracts, either. I have worked for this company for around 3 years and they have only written out and offered staff members a contract recently since a former employee, that they sacked for theft, took them to court for unfair dismissal and they settled out of court for what was probably a fairly large sum for someone that has been sacked for this reason, as they didn't give him a hearing, just told him not to come to work ever again.

So out came the contracts and I have refused to sign mine as it states I will not work in any other job while I am employed by the company. Personally I feel I should be able to do what the hell I like once I have clocked out at 5-00pm, and won't sign it.

Anyway, back to the weekend thing.
The situation was that they needed someone to go to London (150 or so miles away) on a Friday morning, work in the afternoon upon arrival, stay in a hotel over night, work Saturday in London until the work was complete, then head back home. Probably arriving back in my hometown after 7-00pm on the Saturday. They asked on the Wednesday, which I feel is short notice, even though they have known someone was needed months in advance. They are just so unorganised!

When asked, I said I couldn't go. The manager asked me why not and what I was doing. Does he have any right to ask me what i'm doing in my own free time? It wasn't a friendly question, it was more of a ''what is more important to you than the company?'' question. I told him I was going fishing, and he said "What do you mean you're going fishing??" and that I needed to put the company before fishing.
I'm a lowly warehouse assistant on minimum wage !!!!!!. The company don't give a !!!! about me so I don't give a !!!! about them outside of my 37.5 hours.

I didn't go in the end but it will no dount happen in the future. They bullied another lad into it even though he initially refused. Oh, and i've never fished in my life!

So, basically, can they make me work at weekends, away from home? And do they have a right to ask what is stopping me from being available?

Another question while I have your attention, slight change in topic.

The warehouse that I work in, there is virtually no regard for Health and Safety.
Things blocking access/egress, things crammed in corners and down aisles, stock too high to reach even with a ladder, boxes too heavy to lift, being required to carry 15kg+ boxes up some ladders with no handrail, stock stacked loose 20 feet high on the racking, overhanging, store rooms with no lighting that are pitch black, racking overloaded weight-wise. The Warehouse Manager climbs all over the racking when he shouldn't, it's a joke.

I have got the other lads in the warehouse to stop doing most of it, so we can say we personally aren't breaking any H&S Laws when H&S visit, if all goes according to plan

I tell the manager about my concerns most days but he takes no notice. He thinks it's the best run warehouse in the world.

Is it time to call H&S in? Will they come? How do I get hold of them? I've taken pictures of hazards. They've never done a risk assesment - the manager didn't know what one was.

Before my time this, but apparently when they had just moved to this building and the H&S visited, the lads in the warehouse were told by the boss just to sit at the desk while they were being inspected!

So basically i'm just looking for any advice please.

To give you an idea of what the company is like, once when our company van was a tonne overweight, I refused to drive it to Manchester at that weight and told them I wanted to hire another van to be driven by a colleague to split the load, the owner of the company's solution to an illegal deathtrap of a vehicle was that he would drive it if I would be his passenger. :rotfl: Obviously I refused that idea too and we ended up getting another van.


It's only a small company. Am I just a moaning sod or am I well within my rights?

Thanks.
Sorry for the long windedness!

Annisele

I think you need to separate out all of your concerns, and then work out what (if anything) you want to happen about all of them*.

Some of your concerns are (in my view) a little petty. For example: can your manager ask you what you're doing in your free time? Of course! It would be pretty miserable working environment if nobody was ever permitted to ask anybody else about their lives outside of work. However, I suspect that you're not really after advice on that point; it reads to me as a "whilst I'm annoyed I'm going to chuck the kitchen sink at this"

Some of your concerns are not petty at all. Can your boss make you do something dangerous? No, absolutely not. For that one, a browse around the Health and Safety Executive website might be helpful to you.

Can your boss ask you to sign a contract? Yes. Can you refuse to sign it? Yes. What will the consequences be if you do refuse to sign? Can't tell you that one - but I can't imagine many employers being too happy.

*Mainly I think you need another job, but that's a bit off topic.

ohreally

Two things..

1) Join a trade union

2) https://extranet.hse.gov.uk/lfserver/external/comp1

Oscar1919

Annisele wrote: »

I think you need to separate out all of your concerns, and then work out what (if anything) you want to happen about all of them*.

Some of your concerns are (in my view) a little petty. For example: can your manager ask you what you're doing in your free time? Of course! It would be pretty miserable working environment if nobody was ever permitted to ask anybody else about their lives outside of work. However, I suspect that you're not really after advice on that point; it reads to me as a "whilst I'm annoyed I'm going to chuck the kitchen sink at this"

Some of your concerns are not petty at all. Can your boss make you do something dangerous? No, absolutely not. For that one, a browse around the Health and Safety website might be helpful to you.

Can your boss ask you to sign a contract? Yes. Can you refuse to sign it? Yes. What will the consequences be if you do refuse to sign? Can't tell you that one - but I can't imagine many employers being too happy.

*Mainly I think you need another job, but that's a bit off topic.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I'm all for a bit of friendly chitchat about what people might be getting up to at the weekend, but not so keen on being interrogated as to why I can't/don't want to work away from home on a weekend at the drop of a hat. I would be more likely to be willing to go if they had informed me a month in advance or something. I guess I don't like being told what to do with my own time.

I will admit to being very stubborn about a lot of things :A

I'm always on the lookout for another job , but they're few and far between these days.

Oscar1919

double post*

elsien

I don't know what the legalities of your situation are, but if my manager asked me why I was doing in my free time, the answer would be that I have made personal arrangements that I am not prepared to alter. I wouldn't tell them the details of what I was doing, as I really don't think it's their concern, so I can see why you're miffed (if this is a new situation.)

Has the weekend thing come up before and is it considered a normal part of the role, or is it a new development?

Oscar1919

Thanks ohreally.

Trade union might be a good idea actually.
There's nothing like that at work, in previous jobs i've had the union have been linked to the sector, so i'll have to have a look into joining one independently.

Cheers for the link, which I can't have in my reply to you as a newbie.

I will have a look at filling that out tomorrow.

The W/house manager was mocking me the other day saying "I thought you were contacting HSE?"

It'll be funny if they turn up.

Oscar1919

elsien wrote: »

I don't know what the legalities of your situation are, but if my manager asked me why I was doing in my free time, the answer would be that I have made personal arrangements that I am not prepared to alter. I wouldn't tell them the details of what I was doing, as I really don't think it's their concern, so I can see why you're miffed (if this is a new situation.)

Has the weekend thing come up before and is it considered a normal part of the role, or is it a new development?

So many replies, and this late!

The weekend thing overlapping into Saturday is unusual. Normally when we are required to work away we do so on a week night or we arrive back at HQ late on a Friday night.

As I said in my original post, I haven't signed my contract for different reasons so I don't think i'm obliged to work whenever they please am I? I don't think the contract even mentions working away to be honest.

I keep remembering more gripes once I start typing! Perhaps I am just a moaning sod.

Quite often we leave work at 5am, drive to London, work all day, leave London at 7-8 and arrive back home past midnight. I'm not overly thrilled at doing 19 hour days, driving both way either but hey! What are the legalities of that? I have started to insist on being put up in a hotel on some occasions, and I refuse to share a room with anyone. :beer:

They must hate me!

SarEl

Just to add - it doesn't matter whether you have signed the contract or not. By continuing to work under the terms of the written statement of main particulars (what people call a "contract" - it isn't) then you have in law accepted them in their entirety including the bits you don't like or agree with. So you can't "do what the hell you like after you have clocked off" - this is a contractual term and if you breach it the employer may decide to take action on the matter, so you need to know that. It is a myth that people have to sign "contracts" for them to be binding. The act of turning up to work and the employer agreeing to your presence and paying you is the formation and confirmation of the contract; and the "contract" is a complex mixture of the written statement of main particulars, custom and practice, policies and procedures.

teajug

ohreally wrote: »

Two things..

1) Join a trade union

2) https://extranet.hse.gov.uk/lfserver/external/comp1

Look at your household insurance to see if it covers legal issues. If not join 'Which' legal advice, it only cost £38 for a year and you can get advice on the phone and by email.

You can also get advice on the phone from your household insurances if you have that on your policy.

On a public forum there is a chance that your employer will see your post and that is not good. :eek:

Been in unions and they have been nightmare with trying to get them to answer questions and when I did happen to get someone on the phone their attitude was condescending to say the least.

Oscar1919

SarEl wrote: »

Just to add - it doesn't matter whether you have signed the contract or not. By continuing to work under the terms of the written statement of main particulars (what people call a "contract" - it isn't) then you have in law accepted them in their entirety including the bits you don't like or agree with. So you can't "do what the hell you like after you have clocked off" - this is a contractual term and if you breach it the employer may decide to take action on the matter, so you need to know that. It is a myth that people have to sign "contracts" for them to be binding. The act of turning up to work and the employer agreeing to your presence and paying you is the formation and confirmation of the contract; and the "contract" is a complex mixture of the written statement of main particulars, custom and practice, policies and procedures.

So basically my company own me and if they say I can't do this, that or the other after work and on weekends I have to obey what they say?