[delboyuk2005uk]

I have got an 2 year old girl and I work in the day of course and my girlfriend works part time in an evening and weekend.

Well today I had an meeting with HR to ask me why I need these hours so I advised the story above and that I would like to keep my 9am-5pm hours.

Am I being resonable?

They advised there getting everyone in who is on an fixed shift to find out why they are on it.

They also said they will write to me with there decison.

Will I be ok do I have any laws to back me up with having an young child to look after?

[Dave]

They need a good business reason to not allow you to work these hours.

Sorry but if they decide you need to work hours other than this then that's that.

My wife had to leave her old company after we had our little un because they wouldn't allow her to work part time or flexible hours because her job needed to be 9 till 5.

You have the right to ask, if it's reasonable they have the right to refuse.

[delboyuk2005uk]

ahh right but I am already doing these hours have been since she was born and even before if I remember.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by delboyuk2005uk

ahh right but I am already doing these hours have been since she was born and even before if I remember.

They can still change your contract without your agreement, effectively sacking you and then offering you a new contract with the revised working times.

More information is available here.

Before my wife had a baby I thought employment laws were quite flexible for parents but they're really not at all and the reality is you have very little protection if your employer wants to do something.

[nheather]

Sorry but if they decide you need to work hours other than this then that's that.

I think your position may be stronger than this.

If an employee wants to change his working hours to be more flexible then the employee has to consider it and has to formally provide a response if the request is denied.

However, what is happening here is the opposite - it is the employer who wants to change the working hours.

If you have a contract with your current hours then the employer is changing the contract. Even if you don't have a contract (or it is not stated) and you have been working this way for a considerable period then there implied contract which the employer is trying to change.

Of course you need to consider your employment carefully (especially in these economic times) as the employer could always make the position redundant (you would be entitled to redundancy but that may not be an attractive proposition).

However, it would appear that you do have basis for keeping your current arrangement so I would just wait and see how the employer responds to your reason. A lot will depend on the employer, the business, the position you hold etc.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Dave]

Originally Posted by nheather

I think your position may be stronger than this.

If an employee wants to change his working hours to be more flexible then the employee has to consider it and has to formally provide a response if the request is denied.

However, what is happening here is the opposite - it is the employer who wants to change the working hours.

If you have a contract with your current hours then the employer is changing the contract. Even if you don't have a contract (or it is not stated) and you have been working this way for a considerable period then there implied contract which the employer is trying to change.

Of course you need to consider your employment carefully (especially in these economic times) as the employer could always make the position redundant (you would be entitled to redundancy but that may not be an attractive proposition).

However, it would appear that you do have basis for keeping your current arrangement so I would just wait and see how the employer responds to your reason.

Cheers,

Nigel

Nigel, from checking the employment law website I linked to above they would not even need to pay redundancy if it's just 1 employee's contract they want to change.

I would agree that the employer must have a very good reason before forcing a change but if they can find one there's very little that can be done. Even though the law says that to change the contract both parties must agree, the employer is in a much stronger position if agreement can't be reached.

[unique]

Originally Posted by delboyuk2005uk

I have got an 2 year old girl and I work in the day of course and my girlfriend works part time in an evening and weekend.

Well today I had an meeting with HR to ask me why I need these hours so I advised the story above and that I would like to keep my 9am-5pm hours.

Am I being resonable?

They advised there getting everyone in who is on an fixed shift to find out why they are on it.

They also said they will write to me with there decison.

Will I be ok do I have any laws to back me up with having an young child to look after?

everyone has the right to "request flexible working hours" and the employer has to consider it, but doesn't have to grant it. in your case that doesn't really apply as you are already working the hours you want to

as 9-5 is your contracted hours, your employer needs your agreement to change these, or if they forced them on you, you have the right to request them to be changed back and could resign and claim constructive or unlawful dismissal. alternatively your employer could make your existing fixed hours post redundant, and offer an alternate post with varying hours, which means ultimately if your employer no longer wants/needs you to work 9-5 and you don't agree to the change in the hours, you could end up without a job

whilst they are looking into why people are on fixed contracts instead of flexible, it doesn't mean they will try and force a change. i imagine that originally the job was advertised by the employer as a fixed hour post and you applied and accepted the post on that basis, thus the simple answer as to why you are working those hours is because of the employer

in the current climate you have to ask why are they asking this. they may require cutbacks or more flexibility with staff, so they could be looking to make staff redudant, and selecting on the basis of staff who are not available to work as flexibly. if that's the case, you may find your job is at risk if you aren't able to work the hours they wish

you may have to think hard about this, as if you work full time and your partner works part time, it might be a greater loss to lose your full time post if it would avoid your partner from working part time. i'm not sure how long you have been employed, or the size of the company or type of work, but if it's a small company or a small number of redundancies at your workplace, they could make you redudant without a consultation period, thus you may be put on the spot to accept or decline the change in hours, without having the chance to say no to the change, hoping they won't make you redundant, and then change your mind and accept the change of hours if it means losing your job

you might have to consider the change in hours, and your partner may have to request a change to her working hours, or try and change jobs. you may have to accept the change in the meantime and then look for another job that would allow your partner to get a second job, perhaps having to arrange childcare whilst you do this (ie. accept the change and get someone to look after the child for the times your partner is at work at the same time as you). it might be better financially to do that, at least in the short time. you should at least consider these options

[nheather]

Nigel, from checking the employment law website I linked to above they would not even need to pay redundancy if it's just 1 employee's contract they want to change.

Not convinced by this. A lot will depend on the contract and the length of employment but I find it hard to imagine that an employer could legally single out one person and change his terms and conditions without issue.

Even though the law says that to change the contract both parties must agree, the employer is in a much stronger position if agreement can't be reached.

As I said the employer would have difficulty changing the contract but at the end of the day he could make the position redundant and create a new one with the hours he wants. However, the employee would be entitled to redundancy or constructive dismissal if the employer doesn't play ball. AGain this would depend on the contract and the time served.

The strength the employer does have is the economic position. I shouldn't imagine too many employees would be prepared to take a small amount of redundancy and put their trust in the job market - they are more likely to do what the employer wants.

My advice would be to wait and see what the employer intends to do. It could be that he is just collecting information and will let the current situation remain.

Cheers,

Nigel