Bank Holidays forced to work when not contracted?

jamesyboy007

galante_inc wrote: »

If they decide to change it to suit due to not having enough cover then it needs to be looked at from 2 points

Firstly if your contract states that your obliged to work bank holidays this generally means the ones that fall on the days of your contracted to work...
If it states all bank holidays there is very little you can do about this but at the same time if you're only contracted to work 28hrs then technically they can only ask you to work additional under mutual agreement, but in the wonderful world of employment they will always use phrases like, your contract states overtime as and when required....

From my experience of supermarkets shifts, well I was glad to get out of that, seemed to be a rule for one and a rule for everyone else.

Thanks, this was something i was thinking about that maybe even if they can force me to work the bank holiday surely they can't force me to work a 25% longer week? The 'handbook' states that from time to time i may be asked to work extra hours but to increase my hours by 25% seems unreasonable.

The reason why i can't work Good Friday is i have no childcare. If the worst comes to the worst i may be forced to take emergency leave.

montyrebel

just work it and start looking for another job, Asda are the worst company I have ever worked for, wouldnt go back there if i was destitute

duchy

Have you actually asked to have it changed as the nursery or whatever is closed ?

Pity you have no friends or family not willing to help out though- presumably you're a single parent so the extra 25% pay would probably be useful. I used to have the same sort of issues with bank holidays as a single parent as one of my scheduled days was a Monday - but was lucky enough to have friends who would help out (as I did them at other times).

Realistically if the job fits in every other week of the year it may be a case of taking the rough with the smooth until you find a job which fits your needs even better. Do you not have any Mum friends who could help out as a one off ?

jamesyboy007

duchy wrote: »

I'd read that as yes they can
If you refuse you could be disciplined and even fired.
If you feel that would be unfair dismissal (and have been in the job for more than two years) you could fight it -if you have a couple of grand spare to take it to a tribunal.

I tend to work bank holidays anyway so don't really understand what the fuss about working them is though. Just one of the facts of life if you choose to work in a public facing job rather than an office job. In many ways I prefer time off in the week when everywhere isn't so busy.

I know they think they can i'm just curious to know if its legal in employment law, like i said they tend to think they can write anything in the handbook and its binding.

I have no problem working bank holiday Mondays as they fall on my contracted day and i have childcare in place already. The Friday is the problem. I'd already told them that i couldn't do Good Friday but i'll do the other 4 that land on a Monday no problem. The section leader told me it shouldn't be a problem and then she lands this on me.

jamesyboy007

duchy wrote: »

Have you actually asked to have it changed as the nursery or whatever is closed ?

Pity you have no friends or family not willing to help out though- presumably you're a single parent so the extra 25% pay would probably be useful. I used to have the same sort of issues with bank holidays as a single parent as one of my scheduled days was a Monday - but was lucky enough to have friends who would help out (as I did them at other times).

Realistically if the job fits in every other week of the year it may be a case of taking the rough with the smooth until you find a job which fits your needs even better. Do you not have any Mum friends who could help out as a one off ?

I'm not a single parent but we've always struggled with childcare as my wife works really long hours, my parents are both disabled and my wifes family live 300 miles away. I agreed the hours i work with Asda to fit around childcare requirements and they know this, its part of the reason i don't work full time any more.

Sad thing is Asda project this image of being 'Family friendly' when in fact the opposite is true.

Undervalued

jamesyboy007 wrote: »

Hi all just after a little advice. I work for Asda and i'm contracted to 28 hours. My contract states that i'm required to work all bank holidays if needed. I'm contracted to Mondays so i expect to work bank holiday Mondays. I'm not contracted to work Fridays, its my day off as i work Saturdays.

Well that could hardly be any clearer. You don't work Fridays unless it is a bank holiday when you may be required to work.

Frankly I think you are only reading it the other way because it is inconvenient. If you weren't happy with those terms you shouldn't have signed the contract.

Undervalued

jamesyboy007 wrote: »

I'm not a single parent but we've always struggled with childcare as my wife works really long hours, my parents are both disabled and my wifes family live 300 miles away. I agreed the hours i work with Asda to fit around childcare requirements and they know this, its part of the reason i don't work full time any more.

Based on what you have posted here you seem to have misunderstood what you agreed.

jamesyboy007

Undervalued wrote: »

Well that could hardly be any clearer. You don't work Fridays unless it is a bank holiday when you may be required to work.

Frankly I think you are only reading it the other way because it is inconvenient. If you weren't happy with those terms you shouldn't have signed the contract.

Its not in the contract its in the 'handbook' and my question is about the legality of it. Employment law trumps dodgy contracts thats why i'm trying to get to the bottom of the law.

jamesyboy007

Undervalued wrote: »

Based on what you have posted here you seem to have misunderstood what you agreed.

I never signed anything to say i agree to work Good Friday. I signed to say i received the handbook. Its nearly a hundred pages long and there's no way you could commit to all its requirements ect after having only read it for 10 minutes. Thats also the official line from the GMB who refuse to recognise it as a binding contract. I also signed a 1 page contract which states my hours of work only.

jamesyboy007

hmmm just found this on the Acas website :-

Can workers be required to work on bank holidays?

There is no statutory right to take bank holidays off work so employees can be required to work on these days, as long as the bank holiday falls on one of the employee's normal working days. However, some employees may have contractual rights to time off on bank holidays.

If thats correct it seems like Asda are trying to 'pull fast one' (yet again) in there handbook .