Moved departments in NHS with different work and hours

JoJoBramble102

Hello everyone, I am one of 3 senior nurses in a suite of operating theatres, due to organisational changes one senior anaesthetic practitioner will come under our budget, and one of us will be forced to move to another department, no one wants to go. 

The other department uses x-ray a lot and I for example cannot wear a lead apron due to a back condition also this other department has 7 day working whereas we currently do not work weekends and do on-call only, due to the nature of the surgery we do it is planned in advance.

If there is no volunteer someone will be chosen by management. I have looked online but I can't see how much notice they have to give. 

I feel if I am forcibly moved after 15 years I will have to resign, I work where I work for a reason, I did 10 years wearing lead aprons every day and I cannot do it now it would incapacitate me.

I have messaged my union rep but they are currently on leave,

Any advice is greatly appreciated

LinLui

You really need to talk to your union - context is important,  and people here can give general advice but I'd strongly recommend not doing or deciding anything without your union. 

If you are able to demonstrate a medical condition that means that you are unable to undertake parts of the duties,  then at the very least you should be able to ask for an occupational health assessment to demonstrate that the duties of the role would not be suitable for you. 

Working patterns may be more complicated - as you will be aware,  patient facing roles and demands do change,  and the devil will be in the detail of your contractual terms. Not wanting different shifts,  in and of itself may not be enough of an argument, so you'd need to bolster any argument around that aspect with good reasons for not needing to change. 

It may seem hard right now,  but there are often alternatives. Don't start planning an exit yet! If your union rep is on leave and you need a rep,  go up the hierarchy  - there are others. 

JoJoBramble102

I am not bothered about the weekends, I just added it in the post as I think you have to have some notice before your working times are changed, it's the wearing the lead apron I can't cope with. 

LightFlare

JoJoBramble102 said:

I am not bothered about the weekends, I just added it in the post as I think you have to have some notice before your working times are changed, it's the wearing the lead apron I can't cope with. 

typically 30 days notice of change of contract

just wait for your rep to come back

Savvy_Sue

LightFlare said:

JoJoBramble102 said:

I am not bothered about the weekends, I just added it in the post as I think you have to have some notice before your working times are changed, it's the wearing the lead apron I can't cope with. 

typically 30 days notice of change of contract

just wait for your rep to come back

Either wait, or as already suggested, go up the hierarchy, contact the local branch and get some initial advice. 

LinLui

LightFlare said:

JoJoBramble102 said:

I am not bothered about the weekends, I just added it in the post as I think you have to have some notice before your working times are changed, it's the wearing the lead apron I can't cope with. 

typically 30 days notice of change of contract

just wait for your rep to come back

It would depend on the law/contract terms/ and employer policies - there is no "typically". If the working hours are contractual (we don't know either way right now) then the notice period to enforce such a change would be at least 12 weeks (the maximum statutory notice period in the UK, and the OP has at least 15 years continuous service).

LightFlare

The 30 days is if the employer and employer DONT agree to any proposed changes then effectively the enployer will end the contract and offer employment under the new one. 

I say typically, because although notice periods do differ, I am guessing that a good majority of employees are on 30 day notice (purely and educated guess)

I would think that the rep would already be informed/involved regarding the change and I would suggest the OP waits untill the full details and consultation starts before panicking too much . After all - one of the others might choose to switch anyway

LinLui

LightFlare said:

The 30 days is if the employer and employer DONT agree to any proposed changes then effectively the enployer will end the contract and offer employment under the new one. 

I say typically, because although notice periods do differ, I am guessing that a good majority of employees are on 30 day notice (purely and educated guess)

I would think that the rep would already be informed/involved regarding the change and I would suggest the OP waits untill the full details and consultation starts before panicking too much . After all - one of the others might choose to switch anyway

Sorry but that is incorrect. IF the terms are contractual (and we don't know that) AND if there is no agreement then the employer would have to issue statutory notice to terminate the existing contract. The OP has worked there at least 15 years, and so the statutory notice is the maximum statutory notice of 12 weeks (contractual notice may be longer than that - we don't know). Therefore it is not 30 days. Typically or in this case. Notice periods are defined by law (based on length of service) and/or by contract. Notice is the longer of the two. There is no guesswork involved. 

There is no reason to assume that the employer has discussed these changes with the union already - typically employers do not consult on minor changes, nor are they required to. You appear to be confusing things that employers must consult on with things that they don't. They have no requirement to consult on this. The OP has the full details and knows what the employer wants - they are in a union and need to go to their union to get representation to prevent them being forced to do something they do not wish to do and which (it appears) they are medically unfit to do. 

They are not "panicking" - they are sensibly and reasonably explaining the circumstances, their position and asking for advice.