Agency giving disciplinary for refusal of work

VintageBelle

I spoke to her earlier, she keeps saying she is going to send me a copy of the memo they received but she said it states that they will mark down each refusal of work which can lead to a disciplinary. She is on a zero hour contract.

Before this American company took over she was employed directly by the company and had set hours, then out of season they were laid off for a couple of months. Now they are via agency it's all over the place and they don't know from one week to the next what work they will have. I don't understand the purpose of the disciplinary either other than to get people to accept the work even in difficult circumstances.
She is going to speak to a union for advice I think.

dandelionclock30

Can you help your Mum regarding applying for some better jobs? I think thats what I would be doing.

VintageBelle

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Can you help your Mum regarding applying for some better jobs? I think thats what I would be doing.

She has looked but she is close to retirement age and has no computer skills etc, her current skills are only specific to this factory job. She has had 2 main jobs in her life that have lasted for a long time so sadly I think she is screwed either way. The other issue is that the money is really really good and even doing just one or two days a week is more than she would get working 4 or 5 days in other jobs and she has no confidence. I just find it really cruel and I get so angry.

trollopscarletwoman

Agencies cannot discipline you for turning down work because its a two way deal.

In the real world of course after however many refusals they simply won't offer any more work unless the agency themselves are desperate for labour and in the current climate that seems unlikely.

I've done enough of all this sort of thing to know how grinding it is not knowing whether you are coming or going.

If this is agency work as I UNDERSTAND it then the agency could simply take the worker off their books.

VintageBelle

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

Agencies cannot discipline you for turning down work because its a two way deal.

In the real world of course after however many refusals they simply won't offer any more work unless the agency themselves are desperate for labour and in the current climate that seems unlikely.

I've done enough of all this sort of thing to know how grinding it is not knowing whether you are coming or going.

If this is agency work as I UNDERSTAND it then the agency could simply take the worker off their books.

I don't think their actions make sense at all. I won't mention the agency in question but from her experience so far they couldn't organise a p*** up in a brewery and mess everyone around including the company my mom works for. I think her best option is going to be to speak to a union or a solicitor involved in employment law, but thank you everyone who has given advice.