Nursery drop off - late for work!

[SAHDSheffield]

Hi All. I went p/t in August after my OH went back to work full time, I now only work Mon/Fri. She's recennty had to work further away and this has meant I've had to drop DD off at nursery and collect on Monday only. I arranged this with my direct line manager and he said it was fine as it would only be for a couple of weeks (3 maybe in total). A week afer my first drop off collect I was asked to have a meeting with GM and Line Manager. GM suggested I take drop in pay or make hours up another time. I said they couldn't reduce my wages or ask me to make hours up as it was authed by line manager and probably against the law! Now got a letter requesting I attend interview on Monday next week with director to discuss! Any advice appreciated...

I am not an emplyment lawyer, however I would have thought you are contracted to work a certain number of hours, and if you are not working those hours, unless you have a flexi system, then technically they are in the right. It sounds like they have dealt with very badly (i.e appearing to say that you can do it, and then saying you had to make up the time) but I don't think it is illegal. In any company I worked for, this kind of arrangement would have meant you making up the extra hours at another time.

I have this issue on a Tuesday and have had to adjust my working hours officially so I do 10 - 6.15 rather than 9 - 5.15. It's easier for everyone if it's on an official footing.

If you are contracted to work x number of hours, if you don't work the hours you are contracted to do, I'm not sure how you could say it's against the law to expect you to either reduce pay or make it up elsewhere.

How much time are we talking, is it 5 minutes late or an hour, what?

Thanks everyone. I'm supposed to start at 8am and leave at 5:30pm. With drop off it's start at 9am and leave 4:30pm. Problem in making time up is that I look after DD the rest of the time, so not a great deal of scope there!! Guess I'll have to see what happens on Monday!! Thank you.

You are missing two hours a day on the days you do the nursery run. Sorry to be blunt, but that's a massive amount for someone who only works two days. I'm not surprised that they want you to make it up in all honesty.

You say it's only for three weeks, but over three weeks you are missing six hours of work. That's the best part of a day, and it's only coming off six working days to start with.

You say you can't make the time up, but what about once these three weeks are over? Assuming your wife does nursery pick up and drop off those days normally (or who else does? it's obviously not you if it has such a big impact on hours), couldn't you volunteer to, say, make up the hours over a three week period after you wife's project ends. One extra hour a day on each working day and within 3 weeks you'd have the backlog fixed.

I really think you need to go into the meeting with proposals about how to handle this, or the results might not be what you want.

See what you are saying but not possible to make hours up. My normal hours are 8 - 5:30, we don't open any longer. The days I'm off i'm looking after DD! I do however work my lunch break!! I will just see what happens!

Sorry but I think you should either come up with a way to make up the hours over a fixed period or get your wife to take a days holiday and you go into work for a day to clear the debt.

Do others work their lunch break? If you're going above and beyond what is normal for your place of work, I'd probably explain to them that you're making it up that way and document it.

Where I work working your lunch break can not be taken into account for time missed as your employer can then be seen as not encouraging you to take your breaks.

If it was a member of my team I think I would just say to use some holiday time if possible.

If there is no way of making up the hours, then I guess you'll have to let them adjust your pay. There's no way that they can allow you to miss so many hours without some sort of consequence - doesn't it work out at around 12 hours in total?

I'm very much in favour of flexible working but can you imagine the uproar among other staff if you were allowed to shave so many hours off your day without any payback?!

Quite usual to take as unpaid parental leave or make up time. Why would it be illegal? I'm a part time solicitor and it's what I do to cover DD's hosp apts etc.

Either take 6 hours unpaid or arrange alternative childcare for your child and work an extra full day to make the time up - could your partner take a days annual leave?

4 years in as a part timer I always try to have some hours 'banked' to cover time off eg if I attend a training course on a day off I do it unpaid but have the hours there to cover any needed time off. Much better than being on the back foot and having to make up time - think it looks better to employer aswell.

I agree with Ribena about going in with proposals, rather than just seeing what happens.

You could use some annual leave, or get your partner to take day's leave to look after your DD and work an extra day to make it up, or obviously get your pay deducted.

There are a few things you could do so before the meeting think about which would work better for them and you.

I think if you might want them to be as flexible as this in the future, resisting making the time up or having pay deducted, or saying they 'can't' legally do so is going to all but remove all good will. So I'd suggest you walk those comments back as much as you can, be cooperative and propose some solutions that you think would work for both parties.

if you start saying they are not 'allowed' to deduct your pay or expect you to make up hours you've had off, there's no way they are going to remotely flexible for you again.