Opting out of Sunday working - bosses refusing

Section4

Hello. I am new to the forum and don't know where else to look for this info. You see, I work in Direct sales. I work on a kiosk in a shopping center. I work in a shop.

Now the law states that you can opt out of Sunday working by supplying your emplyer with a written letter stating you are opting out of sunday working. It doesn't matter if your contract currently states that you have to work Sundays, you can still opt out. The rules are as such



Employment rights act 1996Chapter 18, Section 4 (my DJ name) part 40 states



(1) A shop worker or betting worker to whom thissection applies may at any time give his employer written notice, signed anddated by the shop worker or betting worker, to the effect that he objects toSunday working



(2) In this Act “opting-out notice” means a notice givenunder subsection (1) by a shop worker or betting worker to whom this sectionapplies



(3) This section applies to any shop worker or betting workerwho is under contract of employment—

(a) Is or may be required t work on a Sunday (whether or not as a result of previously giving an opting-in notice), but
(b) Is not employed towork only on Sunday


So I have had a word with my employer who says we aren't shop workers but are classed as direct sales. Pleas that nobody out there is classed as 'shop worker' have fallen upon deaf ears. People who work on Sundays may be a food technician, retail assistant, manager etc...

You see we have to work 5 days in the week. The busiest days are Mon-Sat so to work sunday, we are taken out of one of the busy days only to be given a day where nothing happens. we go from ten sales per day to 1 if we are lucky. So they are taking money out of their own pocket as well as mine. I could earn lots more for myself and for the company if I was working midweek and no sunday.

Everywhere I go on google for infor on direct sales sunday working hours just brings up job advertisements or the original info regarding shop workers, which leads me to believe that it's just covered for retail staff full stop.


My contract just says this


1.1. Your normal hours of work will beMonday to Sunday (five days out of seven), 09:00am to 17:30pm depending uponthe operational needs of the shopping centre of which you are working and asnotified to you from time to time, but shall not exceed 40 hours in any oneweek.



1.2. In certain circumstances it may benecessary to adjust or exceed your hours in order to ensure that your dutiesare properly performed in accordance with the terms of your Employment.



1.3. You are entitled to take a lunch breakof thirty minutes, which should be taken at a time agreed with yourmanager. There are no other setbreaks.


Can anybody point me in the direction of where I could get more info about this? Or if anybody is knowledgable in this field could you give me more advice?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any help.

joolsybools

Section4 wrote: »

Hello. I am new to the forum and don't know where else to look for this info. You see, I work in Direct sales. I work on a kiosk in a shopping center. I work in a shop.

Now the law states that you can opt out of Sunday working by supplying your emplyer with a written letter stating you are opting out of sunday working. It doesn't matter if your contract currently states that you have to work Sundays, you can still opt out. The rules are as such



Employment rights act 1996Chapter 18, Section 4 (my DJ name) part 40 states



(1) A shop worker or betting worker to whom thissection applies may at any time give his employer written notice, signed anddated by the shop worker or betting worker, to the effect that he objects toSunday working



(2) In this Act “opting-out notice” means a notice givenunder subsection (1) by a shop worker or betting worker to whom this sectionapplies



(3) This section applies to any shop worker or betting workerwho is under contract of employment—

(a) Is or may be required t work on a Sunday (whether or not as a result of previously giving an opting-in notice), but
(b) Is not employed towork only on Sunday


So I have had a word with my employer who says we aren't shop workers but are classed as direct sales. Pleas that nobody out there is classed as 'shop worker' have fallen upon deaf ears. People who work on Sundays may be a food technician, retail assistant, manager etc...

You see we have to work 5 days in the week. The busiest days are Mon-Sat so to work sunday, we are taken out of one of the busy days only to be given a day where nothing happens. we go from ten sales per day to 1 if we are lucky. So they are taking money out of their own pocket as well as mine. I could earn lots more for myself and for the company if I was working midweek and no sunday.

Everywhere I go on google for infor on direct sales sunday working hours just brings up job advertisements or the original info regarding shop workers, which leads me to believe that it's just covered for retail staff full stop.


My contract just says this


1.1. Your normal hours of work will beMonday to Sunday (five days out of seven), 09:00am to 17:30pm depending uponthe operational needs of the shopping centre of which you are working and asnotified to you from time to time, but shall not exceed 40 hours in any oneweek.



1.2. In certain circumstances it may benecessary to adjust or exceed your hours in order to ensure that your dutiesare properly performed in accordance with the terms of your Employment.



1.3. You are entitled to take a lunch breakof thirty minutes, which should be taken at a time agreed with yourmanager. There are no other setbreaks.


Can anybody point me in the direction of where I could get more info about this? Or if anybody is knowledgable in this field could you give me more advice?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any help.

I've had a quick look on the Citizens Advice website and found this,

"Sunday working

Shop-workers who work in large shops (over 280 square metres) have certain rights if they are asked to work on Sundays.

Shop-workers includes betting shop workers. Employees of a catering business do not count as shop-workers and are not protected from having to work on Sundays. This includes employees of pubs, restaurants and cafes.

Shop-workers have the same rights to limits on hours of work and entitlements to rest breaks, under Health and Safety law, as other workers - see under heading Health and safety.

For more information, in England, Wales and Scotland, about your rights to rest breaks at work, see Rest breaks at work in Employment fact sheets."

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm#Sunday_working_England_Wales_and_Norther

So that makes it as clear as mud!

joolsybools

Who employs you, is it the shopping centre direct?

joolsybools

Don't post the employers name on here!

Section4

Thanks for the reply.

So I'm guessing because our store is so small, I am exempt from that rule? How is that fair and lawful?

Section4

joolsybools wrote: »

Who employs you, is it the shopping centre direct?

No it's not. We are a mobile phone branch of a huge IT seller in the UK. We have a small kiosk about 3 meter by 2 meter

heretolearn_2

Sorry, it only applies to shops over that size.
Is that fair? well, presumably it is to protect businesses by being forced to close on Sundays if several people opt out of Sundays - a larger business is more likely to have enough staff to work round this. Or imagine a shop with only one worker - they would have to close on a Sunday or take on someone to work Sundays only, and extra employees means extra costs over and above the salary for the day's work.

You might earn less on a Sunday, but that doesn't mean the unit would be better off not opening at all, which is what you seem to think. for one thing, it's probably in their contract with the shopping centre that they have to be open at all times the centre is open. For another, your working another weekday on top of the usual people won't necessarily summon up another 10 prospective customers and sales. Are people really walking away not buying something they definitely would have bought if they'd been another sales person immediately free? How often is it that everyone on the sales team is tied up making a sale at the same time? And they would lose the one Sunday sale.

I can understand that you don't like Sundays as you make less commission. That's the same for everyone who works there, you all have to take a turn at taking a hit. If you could opt out and only work weekdays - how do you think your colleagues are going to look at you?

[Deleted User]

why is it only shop workers that can refuse to work a sunday.....what about other industry eg airport workers

Dangermac

sky190176 wrote: »

why is it only shop workers that can refuse to work a sunday.....what about other industry eg airport workers

Superb idea. Why doesnt everyone refuse to work Sundays.

Let's hope you dont fall ill on Sunday, want to watch tv, get a bus somewhere, buy a meal, call the police etc

Some people are so thick and/or workshy.

dm

giraffe69

Isn't the time to address this before you start the job rather than when you have been doing it for some time or have you had a "road to Damascus" moment?

Southend1

I thought the right to opt out only applied to workers employed before 1994 when the Sunday Trading Act came in?