Not fulfilling terms of contract....

mamabuddah

I’ll keep it as brief as I can, a colleague has asked about things at work which obviously might impact on all of us if we find ourselves in the same position....

Contract is 16hrs a week.

They work 4 shifts of 4hrs over 4 days

If they don’t work...they don’t get paid

Rosters are usually made two weeks in advance to make it easier
to make Doctor/Dentist appts etc.

Because they phoned on the morning of their shift and said they had to come in late for Drs appointment, then after coming in to work they didn’t feel well and had to go home early, then called in sick the following day and couldn’t do their shift they believe management has made an unfair verbal attack on them.

We know we won’t get paid if we miss work, but is management being unfair or illegal issuing threats like,

“You’re not fulfilling the terms of your contract, your position is untenable” (hope I spelled that right, not even sure of the meaning)
Or
“You’ve only worked 9 of your 16hrs this week, you’ll have to make up the hours next week”

Ok the contract may say 16hrs, but you don’t get paid if you don’t work...so how can they force you to make contracted hours up?
You can self certify as well so it’s not as though you’re doing anything wrong there either and again if you’re off work because you’re sick you don’t get paid!
Surely your employer must allow you to go home early if you’re sick and/or facilitate you to make appointments if you want to go to your Dr?
And can they really tell you that you have to make up contracted hours missed because of last minute Dr appointments? We all know how difficult it is to get one nowadays.

spadoosh

I dont think theyre being unfair. Making someone make up their hours if sick, is illegal though. You can offer it and they can accept, saying they have to is wrong though.


If theyre saying youre not fulfilling hte terms of your contract its untenable. They need to look for a new job. Untenable means they are unable to maintain it. Ie youre not fulfilling your contract we cant maintain your position. Basically theyll probably be getting the sack soon.


ETA how can they force you to work 16 hours a week? Well they cant, they can sack someone who doesstn very easily though.

Undervalued

mamabuddah wrote: »

I’ll keep it as brief as I can, a colleague has asked about things at work which obviously might impact on all of us if we find ourselves in the same position....

Contract is 16hrs a week.

They work 4 shifts of 4hrs over 4 days

If they don’t work...they don’t get paid

Rosters are usually made two weeks in advance to make it easier
to make Doctor/Dentist appts etc.

Because they phoned on the morning of their shift and said they had to come in late for Drs appointment, then after coming in to work they didn’t feel well and had to go home early, then called in sick the following day and couldn’t do their shift they believe management has made an unfair verbal attack on them.

We know we won’t get paid if we miss work, but is management being unfair or illegal issuing threats like,

“You’re not fulfilling the terms of your contract, your position is untenable” (hope I spelled that right, not even sure of the meaning)
Or
“You’ve only worked 9 of your 16hrs this week, you’ll have to make up the hours next week”

Ok the contract may say 16hrs, but you don’t get paid if you don’t work...so how can they force you to make contracted hours up?
You can self certify as well so it’s not as though you’re doing anything wrong there either and again if you’re off work because you’re sick you don’t get paid!
Surely your employer must allow you to go home early if you’re sick and/or facilitate you to make appointments if you want to go to your Dr?
And can they really tell you that you have to make up contracted hours missed because of last minute Dr appointments? We all know how difficult it is to get one nowadays.

If you are sick yes.

However there is no legal right to time off for routine medical appointments. An employer can insist that you must use holiday and they can dictate when you can and cannot take your holiday. In practice virtually all employers allow some flexibility on this (and many allow a great deal) but taken literally there is no legal obligation to do so.

mamabuddah

spadoosh wrote: »

If theyre saying youre not fulfilling hte terms of your contract its untenable. They need to look for a new job. Untenable means they are unable to maintain it. Ie youre not fulfilling your contract we cant maintain your position. Basically theyll probably be getting the sack soon.

That last bit might be what’s worrying then, she has called in sick On a number days...and asked to leave early because of feeling unwell...actually a bad back so I’ll maybe have to ask her did she make them aware at her interview, I would think if she did, maybe they are being unreasonable in not trying to help her.
To be fair none of us knows what can happen in a day, we all have families and difficulties

Undervalued

mamabuddah wrote: »

That last bit might be what’s worrying then, she has called in sick On a number days...and asked to leave early because of feeling unwell...actually a bad back so I’ll maybe have to ask her did she make them aware at her interview, I would think if she did, maybe they are being unreasonable in not trying to help her.
To be fair none of us knows what can happen in a day, we all have families and difficulties

They are only under any legal obligation "to help her" (i.e. make reasonable adjustments) if she has a disability. There is nothing in your posts to suggest that she has.

Whilst "none of us knows what can happen in a day, we all have families and difficulties" is true, it is not the employer's problem beyond the limited legal right to unpaid time off as I explained earlier.

Many employers would show far more flexibility than appears to be the case here. However that doesn't mean her employer has to.

sangie595

mamabuddah wrote: »

That last bit might be what’s worrying then, she has called in sick On a number days...and asked to leave early because of feeling unwell...actually a bad back so I’ll maybe have to ask her did she make them aware at her interview, I would think if she did, maybe they are being unreasonable in not trying to help her.
To be fair none of us knows what can happen in a day, we all have families and difficulties

If she's called in sick on a number of occasions, left early, due to sickness etc., then it is not entirely disposing that they are saying these things. This isn't what she'll want to hear, but there was no verbal attack and it wasn't unfair- those are all things that many, many employers would be saying. In the end, if she is not fit to consistently do her job, then dismissal would probably be fair - assuming she's got two years employment, which it sounds like she may not have anyway. If she doesn't have two years, dismissal will be easy. For pretty much almost any reason they like, because they won't have to give one.

Takeaway_Addict

mamabuddah wrote: »

That last bit might be what’s worrying then, she has called in sick On a number days...and asked to leave early because of feeling unwell...actually a bad back so I’ll maybe have to ask her did she make them aware at her interview, I would think if she did, maybe they are being unreasonable in not trying to help her.
To be fair none of us knows what can happen in a day, we all have families and difficulties

You are actually making that person sound unreliable....it isn't surprising the employer is getting fed up.