unfurloughed contract change advice.

lozwinter

Hi.

Firstly i just want to say that i'm aware i'm lucky i still have a job in the current climate but i just want some advice. Basically i was on a 30 hour contract pre-furlough. A couple of weeks ago my manager rang me and said the only way she could afford for me to come back was if i drop to a 20 hour contract, i ummed and ahhed and she assured me this was my only option or she didn't know if/when i could come back so i agreed because i'd rather that than be unemployed and i thought fine, thats that. but i have been given overtime - this week and next i'm working over 30 so am working over the contract anyway but then this  week, one week after i said i'd come back on a reduced contract, a member of staff is returning on a 30 hour contract. He was on a 37 hour contract but has been reduced to 30. Given he was on a higher contract my supervisor said it's a different scenario as he's still been dropped contract - my argument was that i'd lost a third of contracted hours whereas he hasn't even lost a quarter and came back on the hours i was told weren't available (even though i'm working them) also he has still stayed on what is classed as a full time contract whereas mine has gone from full time to part time . Do i have any right to argue to try and keep my contract? managers in other departments have told me that it's not right because if contracts are restructured there should be a consultation period and everyone on the contract should made the same. I feel like i possibly can't argue because of the situation etc and given the first thing i was made to do when i was unfurloughed was sign the new contract but going to part time makes a huge difference if there is an overtime ban etc and my holiday pay etc will be affected.

Thanks.

Marcon

lozwinter said:

Hi.

Firstly i just want to say that i'm aware i'm lucky i still have a job in the current climate but i just want some advice. Basically i was on a 30 hour contract pre-furlough. A couple of weeks ago my manager rang me and said the only way she could afford for me to come back was if i drop to a 20 hour contract, i ummed and ahhed and she assured me this was my only option or she didn't know if/when i could come back so i agreed because i'd rather that than be unemployed and i thought fine, thats that. However i've since found out that another member of staff is already back on a 30 hour contract (they came back before me so brushed it off), but i have been given overtime - this week i worked 37 hours and next week 32 so am working over the contract anyway but then this  week, one week after i said i'd come back on a reduced contract, a member of staff is returning on a 30 hour contract. He was on a 37 hour contract but has been reduced to 30. I was assured that there was no thirty hours available and everyone would be given the same option as me. Given he was on a higher contract my supervisor said it's a different scenario as he's still been dropped contract - my argument was that i'd lost a third of contracted hours whereas he hasn't even lost a quarter and came back on the hours i was told weren't available (even though i'm working them) also he has still stayed on what is classed as a full time contract whereas mine has gone from full time to part time . Do i have any right to argue to try and keep my contract? I've worked there 9 years and there will be two members of staff on the contract i was told i couldn't have, one of which has only worked at the company a year. managers in other departments have told me that it's not right because if contracts are restructured there should be a consultation period and everyone on the contract should made the same. I feel like i possibly can't argue because of the situation etc and given the first thing i was made to do when i was unfurloughed was sign the new contract but going to part time makes a huge difference if there is an overtime ban etc and my holiday pay etc will be affected. I don't want to go straight to HR to ask if it will potentially cause tension with my manager and i don't have a leg to stand on but if there is a chance that it's unfair action that i'm the only one reduced to part time then i'd want to check.

Thanks.

Neither helpful nor professional that managers in other departments have chipped in. You clearly aren't the only one reduced to part time (your colleague has dropped from 37 to 30 hours, which may be 'classed' as full time but obviously isn't), so that argument isn't going to wash. Unless there is some sort of unlawful discrimination going on - and no evidence at all that there is - you either accept or you can resign. Just don't expect any sort of 'compensation' if you do the latter.

Brynsam

lozwinter said:

Do i have any right to argue to try and keep my contract? I've worked there 9 years and there will be two members of staff on the contract i was told i couldn't have, one of which has only worked at the company a year. managers in other departments have told me that it's not right because if contracts are restructured there should be a consultation period and everyone on the contract should made the same. 

Why are managers in other departments putting their oar in when they really should be referring you to your own manager and why are you discussing this with them rather than HR? They are wrong, which is also unhelpful. There is no requirement to treat everyone the same, provided that any differences aren't based on practices which are unlawfully discriminatory.

You've agreed to the change, so there isn't much you can do other than raise the matter in as pleasant a fashion as you can. You may find you get an explanation which might not increase your hours, but might decrease your sense of injustice.