Can employer change my job description significantly?

Pink-Angel

I've been at my company for 10 years. My manager has told us that we're going to have to take on the work of another person who left. It's unrelated to what I'm doing currently and also includes heavy lifting. Can an employer completely change a job description in this way with us having no say?

I'm not a jobsworth, there have been changes over the years and I accept that. This new work had a totally separate job description, and I'm very concerned about the lifting. I have a back issue and would never apply for a job that involved lifting. My present role doesn't need it. I'm worried I'm going to have to look for another job after 10 years due to not being able to do the new work. Can my employer change the role so completely?

Any advice/knowledge would be welcome. Thanks.

getmore4less

Ask for a full risk assessment as the new job components involve dangerous lifting.

TELLIT01

Many contracts contain a catch-all phrase along the lines of "other such work as may be deemed necessary by management". Whether that would cover changing from a desk based job to manual working is questionable in my view. I'm guessing there's no union involved.

ohreally

In addition to getmore4less post, request a personal manual handling assessment is carried out.

Pink-Angel

Thanks everyone.

Unfortunately no union. It's a small independent company and only managers have access to outsourced HR man.

gingerdad

Ultimately it will depend on what your contract says. All ours have a line similar to the one above which means I can change what people do.

If you can't do the lifting I'd be looking for a new job.

Undervalued

Pink-Angel wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

Unfortunately no union. It's a small independent company and only managers have access to outsourced HR man.

Everybody (apart from a very few occupations prevented by law) can join a trade union.

getmore4less

Also ask if their liability insurance covers injury where no risk assessment or manual handling training has been carried out.

Alderbank

Undervalued wrote: »

Everybody (apart from a very few occupations prevented by law) can join a trade union.

Seconded. I would go further and say that everybody (apart from, etc...) should join a union

Alderbank

getmore4less wrote: »

Also ask if their liability insurance covers injury where no risk assessment or manual handling training has been carried out.

No harm in asking but yes of course it does. The purpose of Employers Liability Insurance is to pay compensation to an employee who is injured through their employer's negligence (such as failing to carry out risk assessment or provide training).

The insurer might react by raising the policy excess or premium.

takman

Why does everyone assume that a Risk Assessment hasn't been carried out or that no training will be provided?


I think the best course of action for you is to have a discussion with the management and tell them about your back problems and tell them what you can and cant lift. It sounds like there will be muliple people who have to do the lifting so they may be reasonable and say that you don't have to do that if you have a genuine reason why you can't.