Forced to change branch

Affynity

Righty, here's my problem.

I work in a branch of a national retailer for 25 hours per week.
As of Thursday, I have to transfer to another branch which will involve longer travel and extra costs.

My curiosity is, what are my rights to negotiate my hours?
My 25 hour contract is not being honoured, it is being replaced by a combination of 2 existing contracts at the new branch.
Ultimately, I will end up with 32 hours instead of 25.

I'd always hated having 5 small shifts, it made my caring responsibilities really awkward because I was constantly unavailable to go to appointments and had to ask my family to go in my place. Often appointments would have to be cancelled completely when nobody was available.
Unfortunately, now I have 2 small shifts, an extra 2 hours travel each day, and 3 long shifts that keep me out of the house for 12 hours.
I would *never* have applied for a job that imposed such conditions. Being honest, I never applied for the 5 small shifts, they just materialised after a few weeks of random shifts.

Would I be within my rights to arrive at this new branch and give one of those small shifts the chop?
I mean, ideally, I'd sooner just keep the 3 long shifts but I can't afford to work the same hours now that I have to pay for travel costs.

sniggings

you need to read your contract, that I'm guessing will allow them to do it, if not then yes you can tell them you are not doing it, whether they accept it or not is a different matter, if you have just been the less than 2 years they can just finish you with no reason given.

Up to you, if you really don't want to do it, then go in and first try the softly softly approach, if that doesn't work just come straight out and tell them you are not doing it, what have you got to loose, if you can't do the hours then you won't want the job anyway, they may back down but i doubt it, worth a try tho?

sad thing is, it all comes down to if you work for someone that treats their staff well or if they don't give a !!!!, only you know which they are.

Retrogamer

How long have you worked there?

If they are not honoring your contract at the new place and want to change it, you have no obligation to accept this change. If that's not suitable to your employer they would either need to either keep your current contract intact, pay you off, or they may just terminate your employment depending if your current contract has an expiry date and / or if you haven't worked there long enough

Affynity

sniggings wrote: »

you need to read your contract, that I'm guessing will allow them to do it, if not then yes you can tell them you are not doing it, whether they accept it or not is a different matter, if you have just been the less than 2 years they can just finish you with no reason given.

Up to you, if you really don't want to do it, then go in and first try the softly softly approach, if that doesn't work just come straight out and tell them you are not doing it, what have you got to loose, if you can't do the hours then you won't want the job anyway, they may back down but i doubt it, worth a try tho?

sad thing is, it all comes down to if you work for someone that treats their staff well or if they don't give a !!!!, only you know which they are.

Softly softly is going to be tough. I've been working Boxing Day, I'm in New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
This employer has promoted me, decided they can't afford it and demoted me again (but let me keep the extra work), almost transferred me already this year and essentially used me up during the festive period.
The only selfish satisfaction I can take from this is that after I leave, there won't be anybody on my department on the busiest day of the week and the place is going to lose more money through lost productivity because we were already 6 people short before I got this news.

I'm stuck because I can't afford to lose my job, but I can't feasibly manage my household which is already struggling because I have terrible hours almost every day.
I suppose this is the lot of working for a retailer. Staff are just an commodity.

I'd even offered to lose 5, or 7 at a push, hours to not have to change branch, but it's clear my boss didn't even want to ask anybody else when I had the perfect contract to slash off her wage bill.

Affynity

Retrogamer wrote: »

How long have you worked there?

If they are not honoring your contract at the new place and want to change it, you have no obligation to accept this change. If that's not suitable to your employer they would either need to either keep your current contract intact, pay you off, or they may just terminate your employment depending if your current contract has an expiry date and / or if you haven't worked there long enough

No, sadly I've only been there since April. It just seems longer because since April, they've been hiring and firing and making my job harder.
My colleagues are really genuinely lovely people, but the management of this place is truly shocking. I've never worked for such a badly run company, and Ive worked for some BAD employers over the last 15 years.

Although, I'm reading about contractual limitations on flexible working and it says your entitlement starts at 26 weeks, which would be sufficient for me...

Lieja

Is there nobody at your new store that would pick up the extra shift? I know when I worked in retail we'd all be fighting for shifts and I'd have my hand bitten off if I had a permanent one up for grabs, but then I always had quite laid back managers that didn't mind us swapping and changing as long as the shift was covered.

GothicStirling

What does your contract say about working at other branches? My contract stipulates that I can be asked to work at any location in England. I have worked shifts in Northumberland, and could have gone to Yorkshire and Wiltshire. Of course, if its any further than my commute I'm paid travel costs and they pay for hotel stays for anywhere further south than York.

Affynity

I'm due to go in today at 2:30.
My checklist for the day is:

To get my new shift pattern, because despite starting at a new branch *this Thursday*, I haven't even got the shift pattern yet.

Get a copy of my contract. There might not be a mobility clause, but it doesn't matter either way. If I have to go, I have to go. It just means I may be able to claim my travel expenses, which would be good.

Let them know that I'm compliant under protest, because I wouldn't want them to assume I'm accepting these terms because I'm trapped in this situation.

I'm operating under a few theories: Firstly I was denied my statutory right to request flexible working by having an unreasonable short notice period on a change to working hours.
Secondly, that the store I am moving to has demonstrated an availability of 32 hours, and that I should not be obligated to take 32 and that the burden of the extra 7 is their's.
And thirdly, there cannot be a demonstrable loss to business to me dropping a 4 hour shift because it would give me my contract +3 hours anyway.

But I guess it depends how bad the management is in this new branch.
Hopefully it wont be a misanthrope who thinks it's acceptable to travel for a three-hour round trip for a four-hour shift.

Wish me luck, lol.

sniggings

Good luck :beer:

remember you're a long time dead so don't let the !!!!! walk all over you.

Affynity

sniggings wrote: »

Good luck :beer:

remember you're a long time dead so don't let the !!!!! walk all over you.

Thanks.
I might see about being a union rep, because we don't have any union presence at my current store. The one I'm moving to is even smaller, so I can't imagine it being any better there...

Southend1

Affynity wrote: »

Thanks.
I might see about being a union rep, because we don't have any union presence at my current store. The one I'm moving to is even smaller, so I can't imagine it being any better there...

Good for you! It takes guts to stand up for yourself and your colleagues but it is very rewarding. I met a really inspirational woman a few months ago who had become a rep and begun organising her colleagues despite no previous union presence and management hostility. She was finding it tough but said she wouldn't have it any way as she and her colleagues deserved to be treated with respect.

Give USDAW a call, they will be able to put you in touch with a local organiser so you can get the ball rolling.

Good luck!