Am I being unreasonable?

pmduk

RedFinn wrote: »

Comms69, You seem to be confused concerning employers responsibilities, I have contracted hours, they cannot compel me to work outside of those hours without consulting me about what hours I am able to give them and build a matrix around availability.

It certainly isn't permissable for any company to treat some members of staff differently because they have other responsibilities.

You've already decided on the answer you want so why post for advice?

Samsung_Note2

RedFinn wrote: »

Warby68, that's just it, if we were talking about this week I would agree with you, however (at the time of asking) it was two weeks in advance. Common policy is to either put it out as available hours to other colleagues who may want the hours, if no takers then tough, I would have to work. His blank refusal to do even countenance it leads me to believe there is plenty of credence to the back scratching comment.

Not the Burgundy uniform is it....if so know exactly where your coming from.:(

jobbingmusician

RedFinn wrote: »

I mentioned that he was putting me down for shift swaps that I am unable to comply with i.e outside of my contracted hours and when stated that I cannot comply with them, I remain on schedule anyway. I DON'T have issues with childcare as my contracted hours fit around it, extra hours are for me to take or leave, they are not compulsory.

Anything else you have difficulty with?

Well yes, I have problems with this.



You are expecting someone to swap shifts with you, for the convenience of your family, but it seems that you are completely unwilling to consider anything outside YOUR contracted hours. Isn't the point (or rather two points) of shift swaps that a) they involve working outside your normal contracted hours and b) they don't work if people don't participate in the 'give and take' of the swapping?

It also seems to me - a purely personal viewpoint - that you expect families to have allowances made for them which don't apply to childless workers. Is this true?

None of the above relates to the fact that you are left on the schedule after you have said that you can't work various shifts. This is of course unfair (although I do wonder if it is an attempt by management to highlight to your colleagues that you are consistently resisting covering shifts for others, if this is the case.)

RPWJ

Samsung_Note2 wrote: »

Not the Burgundy uniform is it....if so know exactly where your coming from.:(

Sounds very much like it. I was told it's plum or was that just the useless managers. They wonder why most of the nightshift left in the store I worked in.

Silian

I personally think that it is unreasonable to expect someone to come to work in the middle of their holiday and (during my time as a manager) I would never have expected it of someone unless there were no other options (and then I would have made it up to them).

I would also not stay at a company that does that. There is this thing called "work/home" balance.

I am in a slightly different industry thoug where employees have more rights (but that hardly seems fair).

OP: as others have suggested see if you can get someone to cover your shift (maybe offer two shift swaps for them) and take that to your manager.

Good luck!

shortcrust

Chickenlips wrote: »

If you find a colleague willing to cover and present this to him, I would say no: you're not being unreasonable. If he turns it down despite having cover for that shift, I would escalate the matter as I'd argue there is no valid reason to turn down the reasonable request.

If you're expecting your boss to find someone else to do the shift you don't want to do: yes, that's unreasonable.

You're off Saturday to Saturday so could take a 7 day trip with your family. It's not as though it's the Wednesday in the middle.

If there are many people off, he may already be taking a risk by granting you leave. I was once granted leave whilst several people were already off: despite assuming it would be turned down. I was greatful for the time off and agreed to do work out of my patch before leave to assist my employer.

Perhaps what they meant by scratching backs is he will authorise it if you find cover.

I don't think that makes much difference. I used to do rosters for a training company and once they were done they were done. It can be a nightmare to move things around and if you do it once you set a precedent. "But you did it for them!"

As for escalating, I think this is precisely the sort of thing that senior managers hate having come to them, and I'd say it's almost certain they won't side with you against the manager. They might privately tell them to deal with it differently next time, but they won't undermine them over it.

Someone in a team I managed years ago went to the boss to have a moan about me. The boss called me in and told me to get him under control or show him the door.

sangie595

Silian wrote: »

I personally think that it is unreasonable to expect someone to come to work in the middle of their holiday and (during my time as a manager) I would never have expected it of someone unless there were no other options (and then I would have made it up to them).

I would also not stay at a company that does that. There is this thing called "work/home" balance.

I am in a slightly different industry thoug where employees have more rights (but that hardly seems fair).

OP: as others have suggested see if you can get someone to cover your shift (maybe offer two shift swaps for them) and take that to your manager.

Good luck!

Rights are the same for everyone. What you are referring to is "wants". Wants are not laws.

And you are wrong. The manager doesn't want someone to come into work in the middle of their holiday. They want them to come in to work on a working day.

This situation appears very much to be of the OPs own making. All their posts indicate that they are never flexible to help out others. Maybe, depending on contractual terms, that's their right. But it comes home to roost - they cannot now complain that someone else won't be flexible with them.

Gavin83

I don't think the OP is coming back. Typical case of them not getting the answers they want and throwing their toys out of the pram.

Takeaway_Addict

Gavin83 wrote: »

I don't think the OP is coming back. Typical case of them not getting the answers they want and throwing their toys out of the pram.

No no Gavin...they will come back and tell us we were all wrong and that they went above the line managers head and got the day of...blah blaaah blaaahhhhhh

motorguy

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

No no Gavin...they will come back and tell us we were all wrong and that they went above the line managers head and got the day of...blah blaaah blaaahhhhhh

Indeed.......