my rights?

sharon4adam

I work for a home care company. im on a zero hour contract. they treat everyone with an attitude in the office. they slam the phone down and give you calls to far from where you live too.

Im a walker. My rota is currently 7am till.2pm then back at 3.45 till 9.15. They keep piling so much on me. ive phoned up about it but they just guve me attitude or ignore the phone.

A girl i work back to back with keeps booking days off mainly on my weekends off. she wants next saturday off to go out. i know they will ring me to do it or just put me in. i was ment to have every weekend off. i am so stressed out because i need a rest and my 2 weekends a month are the only time i get off to see my partner and go out or simply clean up!!

Is anybody clued up on my rights. if i refuse to work can i be sacked? I dont get paid for walking between calls so my 13 hour days are only paid for seven of them hours. please advice me thanks.

paddedjohn

On a zero hor contract you can refuse to work but the downside is that they can stop giving you the hours if they want to.

sharon4adam

Thank you. there having lots walking out so theyd be shooting themsrlves in the foot if they did but im happy for them to drop ive had enough but im searchong for a new job so hopefully wont be for many more months

Takeaway_Addict

sharon4adam wrote: »

Thank you. there having lots walking out so theyd be shooting themsrlves in the foot if they did but im happy for them to drop ive had enough but im searchong for a new job so hopefully wont be for many more months

Just say you have something organised and cannot change it. Don't be specific.

anamenottaken

paddedjohn wrote: »

On a zero hor contract you can refuse to work but the downside is that they can stop giving you the hours if they want to.

Sorry. "Casual worker" is someone who can turn down work. Zero hours contract can include being required to take offered hours.

lovinituk

anamenottaken wrote: »

Zero hours contract can include being required to take offered hours.

Not according to the government website...

https://www.gov.uk/contract-types-and-employer-responsibilities/zero-hour-contracts

"they don’t have to do work when asked"

anamenottaken

lovinituk wrote: »

Not according to the government website...

https://www.gov.uk/contract-types-and-employer-responsibilities/zero-hour-contracts

"usually" and I wrote "can"

lovinituk

anamenottaken wrote: »

"usually" and I wrote "can"

The "usually" refers to the job type being described as zero hours. And according to that website, a zero hours contract "can't" require a person work. If a contract requires a person to work then it can't be a zero hours contract.

anamenottaken

lovinituk wrote: »

The "usually" refers to the job type being described as zero hours. And according to that website, a zero hours contract "can't" require a person work. If a contract requires a person to work then it can't be a zero hours contract.

It can require a person to work when asked to do so but not place on the employer any obligation to offer work.

getmore4less

that's not what SarEl said when they were here.

a key element of zero hours is the ability to not take work that is offered.

marybelle01

"A zero-hour contract is a contract of employment used in the United Kingdom which while meeting the terms of the Employment Rights Act 1996 by providing a written statement of the terms and conditions of employment contains provisions which create an ‘on call’ arrangement between employer and employee. It does not oblige the employer to provide work for the employee, nor does it oblige the employee to accept the work offered."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-hour_contract

"The term 'zero hours' is not defined in legislation, but is generally understood to be a employment contract between an employer and a worker, which means the employer is not obliged to provide the worker with any minimum working hours, and the worker is not obliged to accept any of the hours offered."
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4468

Zero hours workers are not required to accept work offered to them - although, as has been pointed out, the employer is also not obliged to offer work and refusing hours offered may result in no work being offered in the future. That is the risk you take.

Genuine zero hours workers are exactly that - workers and not employees, so they have few employment rights.