Changes to working hours

AMalins wrote: »

My main problem is mostly surrounding travel, as my only method of public transport is one bus to work on the 6am shift and one bus home when leaving on the 10pm shift, if I miss there, there are delays or any other issues then I will have problems getting to work on time and getting home in general for a reasonable time (a problem that could be solved with a pay rise to fund a car).

I think you have a fairly valid point about the 10pm finish (though they aren't obliged to agree with you), as it could well strand you at work for the night. That being said, are you REALLY sure that no other bus option exists post 10pm? All local services near me run up to about midnight, and I'd expect that more so from a service which starts before 6am like yours...

Also, you being stranded is no concern of your employer. In their eyes you have at least one viable option available, so you can get to work. End of story.

A 125cc motorbike is also a viable option if a car isn't. The insurance can be really low for third party only, sometimes as little as £80 a month. The motorbike is the biggest outlay but can always be done on finance, even 2nd hand is sometimes cheap. Tax is negligible (£17 a year maybe?). Basic training is about £120 every 2 years. Petrol consumption is good. You just have to protect it by chaining it up etc, as people sometimes steal them.

Even so, there are car finance deals out there which allow you to pay X amount per month for the car and the insurance etc. My brother started out on that when he turned 18, but then again he wasn't bogged down with any sort of debt/obligations at the time.

I also find an issue in the fact that, while I have some training for the machines, there are multiple that can't be run at the same time that all fall under my job description, so while it's manageable with two people on one shift, it becomes a problem when spread over two shifts, with deliveries tending to need to be sent out around the end of the first shift, it doesn't spread out the work, merely puts all the pressure on the early shift, with little work for the second, so while I don't see an issue with competence, I do see an issue with being able to operate all areas as one person.

Wow! I have just noticed that all of this text is ONE SENTENCE! That's very impressive in one way, but a real drag to read.

It sounds to me that you CAN operate the machinery adequately, and that it falls under your job description. So not sure you can argue that you aren't yet trained up for it.

I would certainly raise the point that workload is not adequately spread across the day. I would, however, only be looking for the possibility of leaving some of the non-critical morning workload for the night staff as part of future procedure. That would allow you to focus more on sending out the deliveries in the morning.

Strange how they've gone from 8:30am-5:00pm on a daily basis to 6:00am-2:00pm / 2:00pm-10:00pm. Double manning on the fixed shift and single manning on the split shifts? If so, they obviously have a new business need for cover 6am-830am and 5pm-10pm and this is unfortunately the only way they can do it. The bottom line is that they need you to do those new hours, and you can either choose to comply or choose to rebel/walk. That being said, you would be wise to check your contract/handbook to see if they have any clauses which allow such changes to working hours.

The position did have a probationary period of 6 months, however, I will be remaining on trainee pay when the hours change, which again I feel is unfair as they clearly deem my qualified for the position now.

I certainly feel that you have some leverage here. Not only do they appear to be stretching their resources thinly (if they don't have plans to hire other people then they may worry to a certain extent about you walking), they are sort of saying that you are qualified to operate everything on your own. I would certainly recommend that you speak with your employer and point these things out; with the aim of getting paid the full rate. But that's your call really, as they may well disagree and keep you on the same rate. In that case you may well need to re-consider your employment with the company, or accommodate the changes.

Of course, it's all pretty irrelevant if, as it appears, you happen to have less than two years employment. Because if that is the case the employer can get rid of you very easily for just about any reason they like. So before you start telling them what your contact says, and what you will or won't do, you might want to consider that they might not give a damn ...