Can working hours be changed with little notice?

[Waxonwaxoff0]

Posting for a family member. Don't want to be too outing but she works in an NHS role (major hospital) Monday to Friday, She has been told that due to the Covid situation she needs to be redeployed and will now be doing different hours - starting and finishing 3 hours later than the hours she does now, including weekends and bank holidays, starting from next week. Is this allowed? She has no dependents if that makes a difference.

There was no prior discussion about this, it was sprung on her today.

Check her contract

Depends on her contract really and its wording around working hours etc.

If she has caring responsibility/dependants /concerns re transport etc she can speak to them to see if there's an alternative but given the circumstances there might not be.

Our company has just given two weeks notice of shift changes which is causing many of my colleagues huge issues as the new shifts pose problems with childcare and public transport.

The company does not give a shit and have told their employees that we can like it or lump it. Let's be honest....no one has much of a choice at the moment.

It happened to some people who were redeployed to work on my ward. They would have had very little notice, because this happened in March when outpatients departments and similar closed suddenly. They start earlier and finish much later now and work weekends, some did nights but that must have been optional because some didn't. I don't have my contract to hand, but there will be something in there about location and timing etc can change to meet the needs of the service and probably something about the Trust can ask you to do anything in an emergency.

I’m going to say probably. Due to the fact that the exact same thing happened in the hospital I work in back in April.

Outpatients or clinic staff were suddenly expected to redeploy to wards working 12.5 hour shifts. So far as I am aware, none were able to successfully challenge it.

DS1 works in a totally different field, but also had his hours & days totally changed on his return from furlough. He now has to work slightly longer shifts Friday to Monday rather than Monday to Friday. It’s a pain but his view has been at least his job still exists.

Thanks all. She has no dependents so no issue there, it was more the lack of communication that she was a bit annoyed with.

It's 2 weeks notice where I work which seems to be the norm

Wow, so what happens if you have a second or third job in the private sector and the new hours just aren't compatible? As with a pal of mine who is dreading redepployment.

redeployment

Then you'd have to either pick what job you like most or hope the second job can be flexible

@missbipolar

Then you'd have to either pick what job you like most or hope the second job can be flexible

Yeah, that's what you woud like, isn't it? You work for HR, or are you a troll? You were wrong. She was able to be redeployed with same hours, lucky her NHS trust is more compassionate that you ever will be.