Not sure what to do about work situation Christmas day

[Cantsleepagain1]

I am bank staff for a community care company, so I work casually with them and choose the days/hours I can work.
They emailed me saying, 'You must work either Christmas day, boxing day, or new year's day'.

I am already working boxing and new year's in another job so I said I will do Christmas.
I don't drive and there's no public transport on Xmas day. It would be almost 2h walk each way.

They put a rota on for me, i asked if I could work in the other location which is walking distance from my home, explaining the situation.

They said, no sorry, we really need you to work in this location, you are the only person who can do it and we can't cover your shifts. (This is very typical of care companies)

What would you do? I used to have a bike but just sold it to make some money. I'm thinking of just seeing if I can rent a bike for a day or two.
Surely as I'm bank staff I'm not obliged to work this day, I wish I'd said no. I'm also giving them 9 days' notice.

Just because someone sends you a letter saying ‘you must do X’ doesn’t mean you have to do it. You are bank staff, it’s a mutually casual arrangement.

Do you actually want to work the day? If you don’t, just email them back saying actually you aren’t able to work at all for personal reasons.

If you do want to work it, tell them to get you a taxi. And make sure you are getting x 2.5 or x 3 your rate.

They will probably threaten you with no more shifts, but they won’t be able to carry that out because they will be very short staffed. Join your union if you are worried about that.

They need to pay for your taxi - no one would seriously suggest you pay it. It will be at least double rate.

x1.5 is really poor for Christmas Day. It should be x2 absolute minimum, most people would expect x 2.5 or x3. It’s not a normal BH.

Bank staff yet you are only getting minimum wage and time & half for Christmas Day? No chance!

at least double time and they pay your taxi or they can shove it

I think it’s so lovely of you to offer to be available to work, the people who need your care will appreciate it I’m sure.

If we saw a plea on FB asking for a bike loan we would happily lend one to someone in this situation. Actually DH would probably insist on giving you a lift tbh, It really is worth asking on FB or on the Nextdoor app for help. I hope you get sorted.

Tell them that you are happy to work but due to lack of transport the will need to pay for a taxi for.
They may be willing to do that to get cover.

^this
we run care homes and we regularly pay for taxis for staff. It’s a no brainer for us

Rather than renting a bike, have a scout around on Facebook selling - they tend to go for peanuts. Or post on a local page and ask if you can borrow a bike for work on those dates - I bet someone offers up an unused bike for free. I have one in my garage I'd pass over in that situation.

Have you considered saying No?

It's very simple and easy to do

You've came for advice and seem to be ignoring everybody telling you that you don't have to work as you're bank

Say you can't do the shift unless they provide taxis for you (at their expense) because there is no public transport on Christmas Day and you don't live within walking distance of that location.

Then leave the ball in their court.

@WeeOrcadian

"You're bank - they can swivel. I wouldn't be working because they told me that I have to, but I'm very contrary and despise being told what to do."

That may sound a good idea in principle though I have personally found that some employers will just black-list you for a month or two from getting bookings just as a "know your place" gesture. I've personally seen very committed staff having no contacts for shifts after being seen as difficult. Unless you work for another company this can really impact you.

They can't have the benefit of only paying you when they want to and also be able to tell you that you must work.

If you aren't on a contract with set hours, you don't have to work if you don't want to.

Just say no.

They need bank staff. There's nothign they can do.

Say if they pay£ for taxi there and back you’ll work - otherwise no you can’t do it