Employer changed mind over flexible/part time working

[seeksnewnamewithgsoh]

Are they allowed to do this?

I've been back at work 4 days a week for 7 months now, I was 3 days a week for 2 months before that when I first returned from ML.

My employer has just 'had a chat' with me and basically said that my job is a full time one, so I either need to do 5 days or 3 days and job share.

Can they decide this now, after accepting a flexible working request and having it in place all year?

I told her that 4 days a week suits me from a financial and family balance point of view and that I'm happy with arrangement - even though I originally wanted to return on a 3-day week, this was an acceptable compromise to ensure a livable income.

She said they don't want to lose me, and stopped short of saying 'change your hours or leave' but I am quite sure that's the conversation was leading.

I really don't know where I stand, or where to take it from here. Anyone been through this, or have any advice?

What hours are in your contract? I don't know where you stand but that would be a good starting point I would think.

Have you considered compressed hours - ie you work full time hours over 4 days instead of 5? Might be a basis for compromise?

You don't need to compromise. Your existing flexible working request consititues a permanent change to your terms and conditions and is now your employment contract.

They can't just make changes to your contract without good reason and they must consult with you regarding the changes. See here or they run the risk of you resigning and taking a constructive dismissal case to tribunal, possibly with indirect sex discrimination too because it's reading part time working.

regarding part time working.

And I can spell constitutes

I was originally on a full time (37 hour/5 day week) contract, and we agreed a flexible return to work. I gave them a written plan of my bosses suggested return pattern - i.e. a couple of months of 2 days a week, a couple of months 3 days, ending in me being 4 days a week. She's now said that her ideal was that I would end up being full time again before the year was out, but I had never agreed to that.

I haven't had a written amendment to my contract to say that these are my new hours of work though. At least, I've never signed anything to say that. It was just agreed between us after I typed it all out.

Before ML, I floated the idea of compressed hours Mod, but she wasn't keen on it. And in reality it would mean being in the office 8-6 which wouldn't work with dropping/collecting from nursery.

Katie, I've spoken to a colleague about this, who is the only other person in my department (and, incidentally, also part time). She hasn't been given the same 'offer' and she does a virtually identical job to me. We can't understand what the good business reason is for needing my job full time. As it is, I'm twiddling my thumbs as I don't have enough to keep me busy for my four days. In a few weeks it will be really busy, in which case overtime would be a solution, but for it to be full time all year doesn't make sense to us. That's a really useful link to, thank you.

Thanks for your replies so far. I'll have another chat with her to find out exactly why it is a full time job. And why she agreed to me being part time at all if it is so critically a full time job

Good luck with it. I'm in a similar situation, but almost a year on, my boss is still trying to force me to increase my hours and I am still refusing.

Beryl, how have you managed to keep your boss at bay for so long? I wasn't in the office today so I'll have to talk to mine on Monday, but I just feel sick all the time.

Would you reduce your hours if you could?

Seeksnewname I'm not sure I have the energy to explain without alcohol yet, and once I have alcohol, it might be long and ranty. Suffice to say it has been a long and stressful year .

It got extremely nasty, with bullying, which wasn't properly addressed by my boss's boss. We went to mediation, and I thought things had improved, although the actual issue concerning my hours was never sorted, just put in abeyance following medical advice (I had had major surgery and DDA issues).

I'm in particularly bad form today, as I have discovered that my boss has been snooping around my private life trying to dig some dirt. He has become seriously fixated. I think I need to go to a solicitor and get them to fire a shot across his bows.

Cripes, that does sound stressful and I sound like Scooby Doo

It's shocking that it's got to the point of needing a solicitor, but I think you need to get the ammo out now. I can't believe he's being snooping like that, it's disgusting!

I hope I can reach a resolution with my boss before it gets too bad. She might be out of touch with normal people, but I don't think she's on the moon yet...

It's me, seeks. Have changed name.

Bit of an update, and I need a bit more help/advice if poss.

So today, my boss told me that in 4 weeks, I either have to go to 5 days or 3. No discussion.

I never had my flexible working confirmed in writing, so she's saying that my contract is still a full time one. The reason for me being full time is that they need the cover in the office, that she and my colleague are having to cover for me on the day I'm not there. Also, the nature of my job meant that I used to have to work away from home and do long hours a lot. The client that we used to do this work for essentially no longer exist, so that work isn't available to do now. Yet she says that they haven't asked me to do the extra hours to let me get used to being back at work

I accept that we're busier now - this is traditionally a busy time of year, as is the spring. But in the summer I didn't have enough work to keep me occupied for 4 days let alone 5.

Today she gave me a copy of the contract that I will move to if I go to 3 days a week (this is her ideal situation, as she told me today). It includes a 3.5% pay increase, which works out at £2 per day, so over the three days I'll be in the office will be £25-ish a month. Which, with the drop of one day a week, will mean I'm £200 worse off each month. If I reduce my hours, I can't pay my bills. We're scraping by as it is. But that's beside the point, my financial situation is not her concern/responsibility.

I don't know what to do now. The only financially viable option is to go full time again. Do I have a leg to stand on if she didn't accept my flexible working in writing? Can I just refuse to change my hours if the ones I'm working aren't written into my contract/statement of particulars?

It doesn't matter that the flexible working wasn't confirmed in writing. If you have been working those hours for sufficient time then they are an implied part of your contract by custom and practice. That means your employer cannot force you to change your hours without good reason.

I would remind them of this and also contact ACAS.

I really need to grow a pair. I am so bad at standing up for myself. I know I should just say that, but then I don't know what to say next.

Have been looking at other jobs that pay more so that it's worth my while being full time.

Will look at ACAS though. Thank you.

"Dear Boss Lady

Thank you for the new contract of employment proposing reducing my hours and pay. As you know my current hours of work are [28?] hours over 4 days a week. Having taken advice I understand my consent is required to amend my terms and conditions and unfortunately I am not prepared to consent to this proposed change.

As you know I requested a reduction in my hours following my return from maternity leave under my rights to request flexible working as a parent, and my proposal to return on 3 days a week increasing to 4 was agreed. I have been working 4 days a week continuously and successfully for 7 months.

In the absence of any specific agreement or discussion of a trial period or temporary change, changes to terms and conditions agreed under the flexible working legislation are permanent. The statutory flexible working procedure requires that my employer confirms the outcome of my request in writing, however your failure to comply with this statutory requirement does not reduce my rights in this regard.

I look forward to continuing to contribute to the work of the organisation under my current terms and conditions.

Yours sincerely seeksnewname"

There you go. Don't give an inch or imply in any way that this is up for discussion or that she might have some right to change her mind. She doesn't. If she wasn't sure it would work she should have specific a trial period at the time.

Weird, I replied to this yesterday morning and it's disappeared. Never mind, I have an update.

I spoke to her on Wednesday. Not a great success but we may have got sort of somewhere.

Flowery, I gave her your marvellous letter. She was not pleased

She didn't think I was doing 'flexible working', as I'd never put that in writing calling it that, the whole thing was done verbally. She said it was a 'back to work' plan, which involved me increasing my hours. I said that we never agreed a point at which I would be full time, like we agreed the timescale for 3 then 4 days. She said that didn't matter, I said I never agreed to full time. You can see the circle forming.

So then she said that if I was to put in a written FW request now, I would be offered the 3 days a week contract. And if I was to now refuse to change from 4 days, there isn't a job for me.

It basically comes down to: she wants me in the office everyday. There are small elements of my job that she has continued to do since I've returned from ML, mainly mailing jobs. I can easily absorb this back into my 4 day week. She refuses to accept that this can be done in less than full time (she actually means 5 days). I said we should have agreed a trial basis from the start, so why don't we review the 4-day week in 3 months with me doing all of my old responsibilites. She wouldn't entertain that either. Which is when I worked out that she actually wants to see my face in the office every day.

So I'm working out some new hours, where I do 3 full days and two half days. It will work out cheaper with nursery, as I can swap a short day for a half day, and DH's work hours mean that we can have an extra paid-childcare-free day a week. I'm going to find out if I can work the 3.5% increase into the deal, to cover the extra day travel.

I made it very clear that I'm unhappy with the way this has been handled, and I'm doing this under duress.

It makes me so angry to think about it and even if we were to come to a resolution we were both happy with, I don't want to work for a small family company that has made me feel like this. It's left a bitter taste, and I really think I'd be better off elsewhere. I can't trust her any more. It's sad because I've been with them for many years, but I guess that's how it goes.

Thanks for all your help.