Same Job Title, Different Conditions

valiant23 · 23 October 2018 at 4:07PM

Hi all,

I currenty work in IT support along with a staff of around 50 others.

We all have the same contract which states that we can be asked to work shifts to cover a 34/7/365 operation.

So far so good, we thought we knew what this meant when we all took the job.

However we all specialise in different products within our team and some staff who cover certain products don't work weekend night shifts, yet some do.

This was not made clear that this was going to happen and we have been verbally advised this situation was only going to be for six weeks. This was three months ago.

My belief is that if I'm working (as a guide) 1 weekend day shift in 6 and 1 weekend night shift in 6, then all within the same job role should be expected to do the same. The situation is that half of the team are doing 1 in 12 weekend day shifts (ie no nights).

I've raised this with managers who have claimed that by signing my contract they are free to make differing demands as they see fit.

Morally, I am certain that they are wrong, however the question is, do I have any way to stand up for myself from a legal standpoint?

I'm happy to provide any more information as requested on this issue.

Thanks to all in advance.

sangie595 · 23 October 2018 at 4:25PM

I'm afraid that I am on the "This is what you signed up for" side. You were told that you might have to work these weekend shifts. I don't believe there's anything in law that says they have to tell you that some other people won't! Honestly, the job is what you signed up for. I don't even see a moral wrong here; there definitely isn't a legal one.

ReadingTim · 23 October 2018 at 4:36PM

Unless you're in a union with some sort of collective bargaining agreement, then whatever contractual arrangements your employer has with its other employees is none of your business - the only things which matters are the things you agreed with them. Not whatever they have agreed with other people - what they agree with you. And you with them. No-one else.

The fact that you may have the same job title to someone else is irrelevant - it doesn't mean the same terms and conditions, nor does it necessarily mean the same pay. Whether you think this is moral or not is also irrelevant.

jonnygee2 · 23 October 2018 at 8:01PM

As above, legally you have no stand whatsoever.

But, it's said (and I believe) that a perception of unfairness is one of the biggest destroyers of morale in a workplace. In fact, fairness, in general, is a strongly routed concept in our psyches. Here's a bit of background;

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/voices/comment/employers-should-not-ignore-unfairness

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201510/are-you-being-treated-fairly-work

Your best bet is probably to reason with them, point out you and others feel hard done by, that you realise it's what you signed up for and will keep doing it as instructed, but the unfairness still gets to you.

The fact they said it would only be for six weeks shows they are aware it's a potential issue, if a couple of people raise it they might be motivated to solve it with a few more rotations.

Not that there's any guarantee and I wouldn't go overboard in stating your case.

getmore4less · 24 October 2018 at 12:10AM

Often the solutions come from understanding why.

So the real question is why can't a more balanced rota be worked out.
Why are some doing more than others?

Or is one even needed, are there some that would prefer more weekend night working.

I would hate 1 weekend days every few weeks much prefer to do both days(as extra) getting Toil to make other weekends longer or even extra week off.

Would be happy to do much more than a fair share to get something back.

Same Job Title, Different Conditions

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