Help for my Dad please - reduced hours

[Hoopsadazy]

My Dad is only a few years away from retirement. He is great at his job and has been in the industry a long time.

Lately he has been very stressed as the industry has changed a lot over the recent years and he has had more work piled on him (cos he is reliable and good).

He previously asked for reduced hours (esp since having the inevitable pay cut due to the recession a few years back that was company wide) and was told jokingly that 'your wife would get fed up with you being at home, ha ha!'. I am not sure if he got a formal answer as he is reluctant to discuss the details.

However, over the last 6mths I have been increasingly worried as he has lost interest in most things, has put on weight and all I ever hear from my Mum is moaning about his lack of motivation and concern for his health (including bad sleep).

They have just come back from a long holiday and on the last day he got a terrible cold and spent a few days in bed. We are all worried that this was due to stress and not wanting to go back.

He seems to have more intent this time to ask to go to 4 days working week.

Sorry this is long and rambling, but does anyone know what his rights are here? He doesn't know and I am not sure where to look.

Thanks

He can ask, but he doesn't have any right to reduce his hours.

If he is a carer, he has a more formal right to ask and for the request to be properly considered and business reasons given for refusal, but assuming he's not, he's in their hands really.

If he's reliable and good, then perhaps they'd rather allow him to reduce his hours than leave altogether?

Might be worth stressing to his manager that by going part time (perhaps a job share) that he feels he will be able to continue in the role for longer - so it's in their interests to agree to the change? As Flowery says, there's no right to a change in hours, so he needs to show that its something that would benefit them. Might also be worth encouraging your dad to talk to his GP, see if there's anything underlying?

Thanks for the replies.

Hmm....I have thought about his proposing changing his role to training up the younger ones in the office and backing off doing the stressful work. However, I am not sure he is confident enough to do that.

He is not in a position to leave altogether just now, financially, so he doesn't want to make that threat. Good to know there's no right for it but it might be worth him talking to GP as he has had some health issues. Might be something that the boss could take into consideration.

Thanks guys.

Poor man sounds stressed and possibly depressed about this massive change in his life. Might be worth him mentioning his health issues and lack of motivation to his GP to see if depression is a contributory factor.