McDonalds contract

[inlectorecumbit]

This may be an insignificant problem but would like advice anyway.
DD2 is at college 4 days a week and works part time in McDonalds and has done for almost 2 years. She is on a 10 hour week contract but always works more than this.
At the start of term she requested not to be given more than 16 hours per week but they are consistently giving her around 30 hours due to staffing levels being low. She is exhausted and struggling to keep up with life.
She asked for a weekend off that was declined again due to low staffing levels and to give her credit she refuses to phone in sick.
DH says that after 2 years they can't sack her if she refuses to work that many hours-is this correct?
She has been looking for another part time job but there are only Christmas temps about. She would prefer not to go to another fast food outlet as the wages are so bad and bar work is long antisocial hours.
She is away to work at 7 am this morning and is on again at 6am tomorrow so l know she will be home at 5pm and go straight to bed.
This is no life for a 19 year old.
Advice greatly appreciated

Does her contract mention anything about working additional hours?
You might also be better to ask for this thread to be moved to Employment issues. There are some knowledgable HR types there who will be able to help.

I am no legal expert but surely if her contract is 10 hours they can't force her to work more? I think she should put in writing to the manager that she can only be rota'd to a max of 16 hours and if she gets rota'd in more often just remind that she won't be working more than 16 hours and don't turn up for shifts she hasn't agreed to. The key thing is putting it in writing (and keeping copies) so that it's clear she's being reasonable.

When I worked there through college I refused to work more than what was on my availability at the time of applying as they had a habit of scheduling me for days I was at college.

If they are being funny put a letter in writing to the store manager about only working the original hours. If they refuse then call HR. They are really supportive and will ensure the store are doing as they should be.

You will find some store managers take advantage of the fact the workforce is young and make them feel they have no choice. Make sure she is being assertive and not afraid to go over their head, otherwise some will take advantage.

Having worked in retail and food jobs my whole life (and worked in management too) I can say that there is some truth in that they cannot sack her for refusing to work more than her contracted hours however my experience is that if they want to get rid of you they will find some "legit" way to do it. It's very brutal because bottom line is they can always find someone else to do it, people always want those kind of jobs.

In every job I've ever had in those sorts of jobs I've always ended up working lots more hours than it says. When I was doing my A levels I took a job in a bar for 16 hours and after 2 months I was opening and closing on my own and averaging about 36 hours a week - getting sometimes an hours sleep and going to college!

I would say your dd should put her foot down a lot more and say she already has plans if she doesn't want to do the extra hours and stick to it. Hopefully she might find another job soon.

I'd also not rule out bar work - it is not as anti social as you think. The bar becomes your social life and it's great fun, it will give her lots of confidence and she might enjoy that more than McDonald's.