Help Please! My working hours have been reduced!

princessdawnie21

I am not sure if I am writing this in the right place but here goes.

Last week I was called into the office and told my hours were being reduced to 20 hours (which is my contract) and their reason was they cudnt afford to keep me on full time (37.5 hours). I have been working full time for over a year now. So now they have taken me out of my department section and put me on tills. But now I have found out they have offered my department section to one of the till ops from the morning shift. And if she takes it they will hire a new till operator! I dont understand why I cant be kept in there as they have no problem with my work.

Can anyone help me with this as I have also been told by friends if you work full time for over a year your employer has to give you a full time contract.

Any help with this issue would be much appreiciated!

PD21

KiKi

princessdawnie21 wrote: »

I am not sure if I am writing this in the right place but here goes.

Last week I was called into the office and told my hours were being reduced to 20 hours (which is my contract) and their reason was they cudnt afford to keep me on full time (37.5 hours). I have been working full time for over a year now. So now they have taken me out of my department section and put me on tills. But now I have found out they have offered my department section to one of the till ops from the morning shift. And if she takes it they will hire a new till operator! I dont understand why I cant be kept in there as they have no problem with my work.

Can anyone help me with this as I have also been told by friends if you work full time for over a year your employer has to give you a full time contract.

Any help with this issue would be much appreiciated!

PD21

Your friends are wrong for starters! So let's start again.

Can you confirm:
* You're on a permanent contract?
* When did you start work there?
* Your contract states 20 hours?
* But you've been doing 'overtime' which meant you were doing 37.5 hours a week?

Have you been working 37.5 hours and getting holiday at the full time rate (ie, 28 days min a year)? Or has your holiday been at the 20 hour a week rate (ie, pro rata)? Do you have anything written down about your increase to 37.5 hours when they originally went up?

If you can answer these we can help you better.
KiKi

princessdawnie21

KiKi wrote: »

Your friends are wrong for starters! So let's start again.

Can you confirm:
* You're on a permanent contract?
* When did you start work there?
* Your contract states 20 hours?
* But you've been doing 'overtime' which meant you were doing 37.5 hours a week?

Have you been working 37.5 hours and getting holiday at the full time rate (ie, 28 days min a year)? Or has your holiday been at the 20 hour a week rate (ie, pro rata)? Do you have anything written down about your increase to 37.5 hours when they originally went up?

If you can answer these we can help you better.
KiKi

sorry wasnt sure of all the information needed.

I have a permanent contract with the company and have been working there since May 2007.

My contract does state 20 hours and as u say I have been working over these hours but only at normal rate.

My holiday pay has been for full time hours.

I have nothing in writing from the managers when my hours were put to full time it was just another conversation in the office. The only proof I have of full time hours is my pay slips.

Any other info you require I am happy to give.

PD21 x

KiKi

princessdawnie21 wrote: »

sorry wasnt sure of all the information needed.

I have a permanent contract with the company and have been working there since May 2007.

My contract does state 20 hours and as u say I have been working over these hours but only at normal rate.

My holiday pay has been for full time hours.

I have nothing in writing from the managers when my hours were put to full time it was just another conversation in the office. The only proof I have of full time hours is my pay slips.

Any other info you require I am happy to give.

PD21 x

Are your extra 17.5 hours on your payslip recorded as 'overtime'? Have you consistently worked 37.5 hours a week for the last year, without exception?

KiKi

princessdawnie21

KiKi wrote: »

Are your extra 17.5 hours on your payslip recorded as 'overtime'? Have you consistently worked 37.5 hours a week for the last year, without exception?

KiKi

They are not recorded as overtime all my hours are under basic rate( thats the section its under, none under overtime).

I have been working full time for 18 months now. In that time there has been no reduction in hours.

PD21

KiKi

Okay, then my pragmatic (NOT legal!) take on it is this: as they are not noting your extra hours as overtime, and as they are giving you full holiday as a full time employee, there has been an implied change in your contract, which you have accepted by continuing to work there on that basis. Therefore I would consider you a full time employee.

If they were noting your extra hours as overtime, and if they were paying your holiday as a 20 hour a week contract, then that would be very different.

BUT please note that I am saying this from a pragmatic perspective, not a legal one. You do need to get the legal view from someone like SarEl, LazyDaisy, Jarndyce or a solicitor, as the law may say otherwise!! Are you a member of a union that could help?

KiKi

princessdawnie21

KiKi wrote: »

Okay, then my pragmatic (NOT legal!) take on it is this: as they are not noting your extra hours as overtime, and as they are giving you full holiday as a full time employee, there has been an implied change in your contract, which you have accepted by continuing to work there on that basis. Therefore I would consider you a full time employee.

If they were noting your extra hours as overtime, and if they were paying your holiday as a 20 hour a week contract, then that would be very different.

BUT please note that I am saying this from a pragmatic perspective, not a legal one. You do need to get the legal view from someone like SarEl, LazyDaisy, Jarndyce or a solicitor, as the law may say otherwise!! Are you a member of a union that could help?

KiKi

Thank you for your help! I am part of USDAW but wanted to ask on here first. Will be phoning them hopefully tomorrow if I can find timeduring work when no-one else is around but difficult due to people getting sent on same breaks. There are other issue I also have to bring up with USDAW but thats more to do with bullying so didn't want to add that into this.

PD21 x

KiKi

princessdawnie21 wrote: »

Thank you for your help! I am part of USDAW but wanted to ask on here first. Will be phoning them hopefully tomorrow if I can find timeduring work when no-one else is around but difficult due to people getting sent on same breaks. There are other issue I also have to bring up with USDAW but thats more to do with bullying so didn't want to add that into this.

PD21 x

Excellent. The important things to raise with USDAW are:

* Your extra hours are down as basic, NOT overtime, and therefore you've been paid as a full time employee for 18 months
* You have been given paid holiday as a full timer and this was in line with your pay being as that of a full time employee
* You have worked on this basis for 18 months and therefore...
* ...you have accepted that as an implied change in your contract

And, of course, you had no reason to believe that when they upped your hours, this was a temporary change, nor one of overtime. Because nobody has written to you to this effect for 18 months, the change in your terms and conditions was implied and backed up by your payslip and holiday.

That would be my argument!

Good luck!
KiKi

ohreally

princessdawnie21 wrote: »

They are not recorded as overtime all my hours are under basic rate( thats the section its under, none under overtime)

Thats due to you not working overtime. There is a distinction between overtime and excess/ additional hours which is what you have been working.

Well done on being a member of USDAW, let them advise and take up the case. In addition to phoning them, (don't you have a local rep?), confirm the conversation in a follow up e-mail.

Good luck in resolving.