Can anybody advise?

ray252

I work for a local authority, transporting special needs children to and from school. At other times I also do social services. I am employed full time, 35 hours a week, and have been for the last 15 years. However, due to constant cut backs/ cost cutting, I have now had 2hr breaks imposed in the middle of the day. Whereas I used to be able to claim overtime from 15.15pm I now can't until 16.15pm. On most days I am finished by then so basically I am now on basic pay. My core hours are 7hrs per day and as I start work at 7.15am, my finish time would be 15.15. However, I am not allowed to work that shift as the pm school run home obviously has to be done. I have willingly done the extra hr(s) in the past as it was to my benefit, ie, approximately 20hrs per month overtime. The council also say that I have to work the extra as I have to be flexible as well. I am going to put down a description of my working day below, after which I would like to ask a few questions which hopefully someone can answer.
Start work 07.15
School round in & return to depot before 09.30
09.30 until 10.30 do absolutely nothing
10.30 until 12.30 break
12.30 until 14.30 do absolutely nothing
14.30 until 16.15 school run home & return to depot
Finish work 16.15
As you can see I am only working 4hrs a day, even though I am paid for 7hrs.
The questions I would like the answers to are:
1) In legal terms, does a 2hr break make my shift a split shift?
2) Am I able to demand to work my core hours, thus finish at 15.15hrs?
3) As I am employed full time (35hrs, 7hrs a day) and the council can't provide me with full time work, am I able to demand redundancy or similar?
4) Do I have to work the pm school run, ie, be flexible, or does having a 2hr break mean I am being flexible anyway?
5) Is there anything else anyone can see, or suggest, any roads I can go down to improve my worklife balance?
I know to some of you reading this you'll probably think what am I complaining about as I only work 3/4 hours and get paid for 7, but it is so boring and the days drag and I would much prefer to be on the go all day. I, and others, always used to have work in the middle of the day but due to the incompetence of our operations staff, we have lost a lot of the work. When I say incompetence, it is just that. Time and time again schools were let down with no vehicle to take them here or there because our ops staff hadn't allocated the job(s) to anyone. Eventually, the schools went elsewhere for their transport, thus myself (and others) being penalised by having 2hr breaks imposed.
I look forward to your replys,
Ray

SarEl

I feel sure it will be sorted out when you are redeployed or made redundant. This is exactly the waste councils need to cut. I'd not complain - you might get what you want.

Oldernotwiser

ray252 wrote: »

I work for a local authority, transporting special needs children to and from school. At other times I also do social services. I am employed full time, 35 hours a week, and have been for the last 15 years. However, due to constant cut backs/ cost cutting, I have now had 2hr breaks imposed in the middle of the day. Whereas I used to be able to claim overtime from 15.15pm I now can't until 16.15pm. On most days I am finished by then so basically I am now on basic pay. My core hours are 7hrs per day and as I start work at 7.15am, my finish time would be 15.15. However, I am not allowed to work that shift as the pm school run home obviously has to be done. I have willingly done the extra hr(s) in the past as it was to my benefit, ie, approximately 20hrs per month overtime. The council also say that I have to work the extra as I have to be flexible as well. I am going to put down a description of my working day below, after which I would like to ask a few questions which hopefully someone can answer.
Start work 07.15
School round in & return to depot before 09.30
09.30 until 10.30 do absolutely nothing
10.30 until 12.30 break
12.30 until 14.30 do absolutely nothing
14.30 until 16.15 school run home & return to depot
Finish work 16.15
As you can see I am only working 4hrs a day, even though I am paid for 7hrs.
The questions I would like the answers to are:
1) In legal terms, does a 2hr break make my shift a split shift?
2) Am I able to demand to work my core hours, thus finish at 15.15hrs?
3) As I am employed full time (35hrs, 7hrs a day) and the council can't provide me with full time work, am I able to demand redundancy or similar?
4) Do I have to work the pm school run, ie, be flexible, or does having a 2hr break mean I am being flexible anyway?
5) Is there anything else anyone can see, or suggest, any roads I can go down to improve my worklife balance?
I know to some of you reading this you'll probably think what am I complaining about as I only work 3/4 hours and get paid for 7, but it is so boring and the days drag and I would much prefer to be on the go all day. I, and others, always used to have work in the middle of the day but due to the incompetence of our operations staff, we have lost a lot of the work. When I say incompetence, it is just that. Time and time again schools were let down with no vehicle to take them here or there because our ops staff hadn't allocated the job(s) to anyone. Eventually, the schools went elsewhere for their transport, thus myself (and others) being penalised by having 2hr breaks imposed.
I look forward to your replys,
Ray

Why not use this free time to study something relevant to the needs of your clients that could enable you to progress in your career?

debtfreenow

There is the possibility of your Ops. staff having deliberately not bothered to fill the "middle" hours of the driving staff - in the hope that the Schools would do exactly what they did do and "find other ways" and your "full-time + regular overtime job with enough work to do all day" would turn into "2 tiny little part-time jobs" and they would hope you would get so bored that you would leave and they could then advertise what had previously been a fully-occupied full-time job as "a tiny part-time job in the morning" and a separate "tiny part-time job in the afternoon" and get 2 separate people in just for the hours they want only (ie the hours that private companies arent willing to do the work for schools for).

That's how I'm reading this situation personally. That is, you've lost your overtime permanently and you'll just have to find your own ways to occupy yourself (whilst wondering if they will make your position redundant at some point:().

The only option you have is "Say nowt and don't rock the boat" realistically unless you can see a way to find some other work to do for them during all this "gap time" in order to help "earn your keep" and then you might be safer from redundancy.