Sorry to clog up the board - working hours question

[Lougle]

If an employee has hours specified with a start and finish time in their contract, can their employer contact them on their personal mobile phone and instruct them to start at a different time?

DH has occasionally have this happen. He has let it go, and complied with requests.

However, today a written notice was sent home with his paypacket, issued to all staff saying:

"Over the last few days drivers have been issued with verbal start time.....Can all drivers make sure they are booking on at the time they have been asked to start work"

Can his workplace insist on starting earlier than his contracted start time? And can they start issuing verbal start times when this is not provided for in his contract, and he has had no consultation?

DH's work are making life quite difficult as it is, and we aren't keen for him to be having contact with work in his personal time for work matters, tbh.

Simple answer...it depends.

How different are the start times from contract and what he is doing?
How long has it gone on for?
Are there any collective agreements?
How occasionally is occasionally?

They can contact you outside of work hours.

It sounds to me a reasonable management request is taking place. His contract may even contain wording that will say you need to be flexible to demands of the business from time to time.

From a work-life balance point of view, I don't think it is acceptable to be expected to change your working hours just because your manager sends a text message to your personal phone.

In fact, if it is the case then DH is going to have to turn his phone off when he leaves work, or perhaps get a separate phone for work use.

He is not in a position of 'responsibility', he is not responsible for the work of others, and therefore his work finishes when he finishes, IYSWIM.

His workplace are wanting to pay him for 34 hours and have access to him at whatever time they want. It's not on, IMO.

Your arguments are all moral though.

At a legal level, what does his contract say? Lots say you might be asked to change your hours from time to time.

The questions Kay asks are all relevant I'm afraid.