Legal rights surrounding working hours

[TinksandFloris]

I am on a fixed term contract.

I am contracted to work 12.5 hours a week. At interview there was a vague mention that occassionally I might need a degree of flexibility if there were events etc to attend.

My hours of work were set by my manager as:
9.30-2.30 Tues
9.30-2.30 Weds
9-11.30 Thurs.

However, on starting this position it became evident that far more was required of me, including working hours above and beyond my contracted ones for no extra money.

I have to go to an evening meeting once every two weeks and my employer, line manager and other organisation members regularly ring me regarding work matters on my days off, evenings and sometimes at weekends.

Today I had been asked to attend a meeting (on my day off) at short notice after school. When I said I would not be able to attend as I was unable to arrange childcare at such short notice, my manager got very aggressive with me and told me that my contract says I have to do whatever the organisation need me to do when they need me to do it.

On another occassion when I asked to book the week off between Xmas and New Year ( I have holiday owing to me) as school, nursery and childminder shut down over Xmas. I was told that I could not take the time off as my boss wanted that time off and I would have to take my children to work with me.

Can anyone help me with the issues stated above? My nerves are shot and it's getting to the point that I feel sick every time I have to go to work (much more than this has gone on).

Help much appreciated.

[TinksandFloris]

Bump

[morleylass]

Hi - what exactly does it say in your contract about working extra hours? I hardly think that giving you short notice to attend a meeting on your day off would be enforceable legally anyway but it would be interesting to see what you are up against.

Wrt Xmas it's difficult because lots of people want time off then and tbh you can't really guarantee that time, however there should be some sort of rules about booking holiday. Where I work nobody gets leave granted at Xmas until everyone has submitted their requests and then we tend to take turns.
Hopefully someone with more knowledge will answer the thread.
ML x

[TinksandFloris]

My contract states:

Normal hours of work are 12.5, days and times to be agreed on a weekly basis between yourself and your line manager. (We agreed the hours would be set at the one's I've stated above when I first started work) I made a point of letting them know that childcare doesn't permit me to work on an ad-hoc basis and that I would have to be fairly structured in my working patterns.

It says, also:

You may be required from time to time to work additional hours as the need arises. No payment will be made for additional hours unless pre-authorised.

I don't mind doing extra hours from time to time but it's getting to be extra hours on a daily basis and has been for a long time.

[morleylass]

Hi again,
Tbh I don't have any knowledge of contracts/legal issues - so I'll bump this hoping someone else does. Good Luck, your contract seems really one sided and unfair.

MLx

[SleepingLion]

I can't help specifically with the legal situation here, but surely when presented with that contract you queried why you should work extra hours for no pay? Wording like that would instantly have me on high alert in terms of the potential for exploitation.

[TinksandFloris]

To be honest I'm quite surprised I didn't pick it up. I sat and read it in front of them rather than taking it home.

To me it seems like an unfair contract term.

I'm just trying to find out about whether or not my employer has the right to continually ring me about work on my days off?

Any ideas anyone?

Also anyone got any feedback on the original post....I'm at my wits end and feeling really depressed about the whole work situation. I don't know how much more I can take.

[flowerybeanbag]

Contract terms like that are very common and perfectly normal ime. When I worked in house all the jobs I had had something like that in the contract. It's basically to cover the employer so that they can ask staff to work a bit late on occasion at busy times, that type of thing.

It really depends on the culture of the organisation and the type of job it is. Some organisations are very much clock in at 9 leave immediately at 5 and take a full hour for lunch, others are more fluid and most people come in a bit early, leave late if they are busy and take 20 minutes for lunch or eat a sandwich at their desk. I'm not saying that's the way it should be, but that's the reality in lots of jobs.

Having said that, I certainly don't think that means you should put up with phone calls in the evenings and weekends, and that type of thing. Yes you have signed a (very standard) contract that technically enables your employer to do that but that doesn't mean it's reasonable. Does everyone have that type of working situation or is it just you?

I'd be inclined to ask for a meeting with your manager and say that you understand the requirement to work the hours necessary to do your job, you are keen to ensure you contribute fully and perform well, however you feel being disturbed continuously during evenings and weekends is not acceptable. Make sure you propose a way in which the problems you are being rung about can be dealt with adequately without you needing to be disturbed. Similarly I would suggest you maintain a strong position about needing appropriate notice for things like meetings so that you can arrange childcare. Again technically your contract might say that your manager can demand you come in at short notice, but as you are (presumably?) a woman with childcare responsibilities he would be wise not to push that one.

In terms of the holiday, you have no right to take holiday whenever you want it regardless of your childcare responsibilities unfortunately. Lots of organisations operate a take-it-in-turns system for popular holiday times like Christmas, either formally or informally but if your employer doesn't do this there's not a lot you can do about it really. Do you have a DP or DH who can take the time off?

[TinksandFloris]

My partner is working.

Our organisation is a voluntary one and there are only two paid members of staff, me and my line manager. My line manager has decided that she wants the time off and therefore I have to bring my children to work as I am unable to make any other arrangements. She has not been reasonable enough to share out the time off over Christmas. My holiday year also ends in December so the holiday owing to me will be lost.

Can they do this?

[flowerybeanbag]

No you can't lose your holiday. If you've asked for x days and those have been refused, you should insist your line manager tells you when you should take them instead. Your contract may allow for some holiday to be carried over, but you can't lose it just because you can't have the days you want.