Part time worker hours issue

[Wemol]

I’m a bit clueless on all of this but would welcome a wider perspective! I’ve worked for the same company for 10 yrs after returning from maternity leave 4 yrs ago I’ve been working on a part time basis. My initial contract was 15 hrs p/w. About 6 months after I returned my boss retired and a new boss started taking the department in a completely different direction. For a long time my role required more than 15 hrs but I was reluctant to change my contract because I wasn’t sure I could manage it permanently. Eventually we settled on a happy medium which allowed me to claim for the extra hours I was working. After a while HR stepped in and said they were concerned that I was consistently working double my contracted hours but because of my contract was not accruing holidays in line with the hours I was working. It was unclear what the hours would need to be so we settled on the solution that I would be effectively zero hours and would then accrue holidays accordingly. This was ok but then covid hit. I was furloughed in the first lockdown returning to work on 1st June we had a huge back log of work so I agreed to work 5 days per week 6 hours per day as an interim measure. This has kind of worked but I feel like it’s too much and now the situation is getting more normal I’m worried that during the school holidays I won’t have access to childcare on tap for various reasons. Since Xmas I feel I’ve just hit a wall and can’t do it anymore. My husband’s job is very demanding and he works v long hours so I don’t have a lot of back up at home. I felt on the verge of a nervous breakdown so have basically said I wish to revert back to fewer hours. Originally I was imagining even working 4 days might help but my boss said well would you need to back to 15 and I was like hang on yes that would be much better. We are a very small dept and I have been hugely loyal and hardworking and I’m actually very close to my boss. But his reaction has both disappointed and surprised me. He’s gone to his boss and they’ve basically said I’m needed for 25 hrs p/w and almost said I’ll be made redundant if I can’t do it. They’re saying the budget is set at 25 and can’t be increased so it would be impossible to get a job share for so few hours. Ironically I suggested a figure of 25 hrs in the budget to allow for me working around 20 with some flex to claim for overtime but made it v clear I couldn’t work at 25 hrs. The dept is growing and in fact we will be taking on another engineer over the next few months (I’m currently managing 3) It’s been suggested that the role will then need to be 40 hours which I definitely would not be interested in. I know from reading around it is legal to make me redundant if I can’t do the hours that are now required but are you allowed to cite budget as the reason when it is a job that could work as a job share by increasing their costs by say 5 hrs p/w to make it a more attractive/worthwhile opportunity. I feel I’ve always been v clear about my limitations but have grafted more than anyone I know there to try and get us back on track. So much so that it is now just expected of me and I’m not paid hugely for it £12 p/h. I feel very let down that I’m kind of being managed out of the department without so much of a backward glance. I’m reluctant to just hand this over and ask to go elsewhere as so much blood, sweat and tears have gone in! Does it sound like they can actually do this under the circumstances? For a company that’s doing very well and likes to promote being family friendly and enabling women to succeed with them it doesn’t really feel like they are practising what they preach! TIA

[Aprilx]

If they are growing and need to make the role a full time one that seems like a decision a business should be entitled to make. You mention that the role needs 25 hours and elsewhere 40 hours, I wasn’t sure which. It is but could you see if they are interested in going closer to the 40 hours now and then considering job share?

It is a bit of a shame you agreed to a zero hours contract, there is no way I would have done that from a set hours contract, I cannot see how that benefited you in any way, but it is done now. It wouldn’t have stopped them from deciding that they needed full time rather than part time, but you would have been on a stronger footing. How long ago did that happen?

[Wemol]

Oh yes I totally agree they are allowed to make it full time but I don’t see why this has to rule me out of the equation. I changed to zero hours about a year ago well a bit longer because it was pre Covid. The reason for it was because HR weren’t comfortable that I was billing so much in regular over time that wasn’t accruing me any holidays. I agreed with my boss that by keeping it zero hours it allowed me to scale back if it became too much. So the whole thing now feels like they are changing their tune and casting me out in the cold! I have always been v clear that ultimately I wanted to remain part time and not work more than 18-20 hrs but when I could especially in term time do more until the dpt was a bit more bedded in and we could look to recruit more back office support. I’ve managed to do far more than I ever intended partly because of the artificial situation created by lockdowns etc but now my child care requirements are preventing me from continuing this way. My physical and mental health is suffering and I’m just surprised how they are treating me. It’s not so much the decision but more how quickly they’ve reached it and without even really listening to what I’ve got to say! The budget for my salary is 25 hrs now but they see the need for this to rise to 40 when another engineer comes on board. We don’t know when that will be exactly yet, everything usually suddenly happens overnight though! But I think either way there is an additional admin role for me one way or another due to the amount of work. I’m being told I might need to sacrifice a few weekends to get ahead! So I suppose I’m just trying to work out how the zero hours contract affects my position and whether the context of how that came about makes any difference. And whether they are allowed to just reject a job share based on budget alone!

[Ariela]

I wouldn't mind betting there's plenty of people out there would like 2-3 days a week at £10-12/hour!
With holiday needing covering, I'd suggest it might be an idea to ask them if they can test the water and see if there is anyone interested in applying. Then if they take someone one, you could train them up, get the admin ahead ready for the new engineer.

[flowery]

”I know from reading around it is legal to make me redundant if I can’t do the hours that are now required”

What have you been reading? That’s not the case at all. It’s not a redundancy situation in the slightest- redundancy is when work diminishes.

It sounds like you effectively want to reduce your current hours. When you agreed to change to 30 hours a week “as an interim measure”, was there a timescale set, a review date, confirmation of returning to a lower number of hours?

[Wemol]

Thank you good advice re job share. I’m starting to wonder if they’re just hoping I’ll get over it and carry on! I’ll push that it might still be viable even as it stands.

[Wemol]

It sounds like you effectively want to reduce your current hours. When you agreed to change to 30 hours a week “as an interim measure”, was there a timescale set, a review date, confirmation of returning to a lower number of hours?

No it wasn’t really agreed more just that we are so busy that’s what’s been necessary. The agreement was more around why I wanted a non fixed contract instead of one with more hours so that it wasn’t expected and was only what I could manage to allow for flex especially in school holidays. Apologies I thought from reading other similar posts that I could be made redundant if it was shown that business requirements needed more hours than I could sign up to. In this specific case I was wondering how they stood if they felt for budgetary reasons they could only replace me for the set 25 hrs in the budget rather than make up the difference with a job share with what they deem to be a viable number of hours for the other person. Although as stated above there might be someone wanting 10 hours. I just think it’s a technicality that they couldn’t actually increase the other role to 15 also anyway. They’re hiding behind the budget really. Perhaps trying to call my bluff! Or at least hoping I’ll just get over it and was maybe just having a bad week!

[flowery]

They would not be expected to create additional hours in order to facilitate a job share for you.

What exactly does your contract say about working hours. Clearly it hasn’t ever actually been zero hours, but what does it say about your right to refuse work?