Forced to take on new role

bobblebob

I work for am NHS department, which is basically admin work. Due to various factors their isnt as much work as there used to be. This coupled with NHS budget cuts we have taken on other departments workload. One area we have taken over is patient customer service, and we are in the process of recruiting internally 20 or so staff, with another 60 or so more planned over the coming months. Basically meaning half the office will continue as normal, half will be call centre staff.


Now the call centre department is in the same office, but you will sign a new contract, have different working terms and be paid by this call centre department. Essentially working for a different department within the same office. Due to the call centre being a less attractive job than at present not many have volunteered internally. Management have now said if they dont get enough volunteers, they will force people to take the new job. If we refuse we have to resign. They said Unison and HR have agreed its legal due to it being "redeployment' however this seems up to debate.


My issue is this. If our job was going and redundancies were on the cards, i get that this would be redeployment and you either accept it or resign. However thats not the case. Our current jobs are safe for the foreseeable future, so can they legally say do this call centre job or you have to resign, despite our current job being available?


There is a reason staff do this admin job and thata because alot dont want call centre work. I personally have major phone anxiety so i dont think i could physically do it anyway.

Browntoa

If the union says it's ok then theres not much you can do .

Your choice is as they stated, either take the new job or resign

bobblebob

Thing is Unison havent said anything yet. Management have said they're onboard, but the Union themselves havent said a word to anyone.

Im in a different union and they seem to think this isnt as straight forward as mangement think it is and will look into it


Fact for me personally i would struggle mentally to do the job seems to not be a consideration aswell

McKneff

Start working on your phone anxiety.
Find some mindfullness classes and meditation clasaes.

Remember how many thousand of people would just stampede to replace you to work in the nhs, for your salary and a chance to get an nhs pension .

I would be at the front of the queue

Browntoa

Is your phone anxiety previously documented ?

Are your performance reviews good and up to date ( if they say every 3 months are they actually done )

Performance reviews should be used to assist in selecting who stays and who moves

bobblebob

Not documented as the current job doesnt involve being on the phone (one of the reasons i took the job) so never been an issue. And yes reviews are up to date and always told im doing a good job and keep up the good work

jonnygee2

Thing is Unison havent said anything yet. Management have said they're onboard, but the Union themselves havent said a word to anyone.

It seems very unlikely management simply 'made up' that the union had agreed to it. Have you contacted the union to check?

Our current jobs are safe for the foreseeable future, so can they legally say do this call centre job or you have to resign, despite our current job being available?

Yes, they can, if they agreed it with the union, they can change your contract and duties.

If not agreed with the union, it depends how different the job is and whether it would be reasonable to assume someone doing your job could also do the new job.

Fact for me personally i would struggle mentally to do the job seems to not be a consideration aswell

If they gave you a get out of jail free card for this, I suspect everyone in your department would suddenly remember they had 'phone anxiety'. Ultimately if, with agreement of the union, your job changes and you cannot do the new job, you may have to resign.

bobblebob

People in Unison are in the process of contacting them. The fact Unison havent actually held any meetings with staff to say they agree with management for a,b,c reasons, and x,y,z is going to happen i think is pretty poor of them. They are meant to represent staff so should be keeping them in the loop.


This bit is interesting from the ACAS website

An existing contract of employment can be varied only with the agreement
of both parties. Changes may be agreed on an individual basis or through a
collective agreement (ie: agreement between employer and employee or
their representatives (trade unions or workforce representatives)).


● An employer who is proposing to change an employee’s contract of
employment should fully consult with that employee or his or her
representative(s) and explain and discuss the reasons for the change.

Unison dont represent me, and at no time have my employee spoken to me or my union regarding a change in contract.

jonnygee2

Unison dont represent me, and at no time have my employee spoken to me or my union regarding a change in contract.

I don't work in a unionised indusrtry by my understanding is that the part of the ACAS website you quoted does not apply to you if you work in an industry where the union has bargaining rights (which you do). The employer can negotiate with the union instead of you.

It doesn't matter if you are a member or not in this case.

bobblebob

Thanks. So basically Unison could have held meeting with their staff, had consolations etc to try work a compromise, but instead just gave in to the employers demands? Because like i said my work colleagues who are Unison members have said they have had no interaction or meetings at all from Unison regarding this contract/job change

jonnygee2

So basically Unison could have held meeting with their staff, had consolations etc to try work a compromise, but instead just gave in to the employers demands? Because like i said my work colleagues who are Unison members have said they have had no interaction or meetings at all from Unison regarding this contract/job change

I don't know about this situation, but in general I believe it would be in their power to do so.