can I be made to increase my hours?

[Nonemoreblack]

I am a teacher currently working 2 days a week. I have been working 2 days for the past 5 years, following maternity leave. Prior to that I worked full time at the same school for 5 years. Today my headteacher told me that due to staff changes she wants me to work 3 days a week from September. I really don't want to increase my hours. Can anyone tell me if she can make me do this? I have emailed my union but in the meantime i am awake worrying!

Bump! Anyone? I've had 4 hours sleep and now i have to go to work!!!

What does your contract say?

My contra

Do you have this formally written in to a contract or has it arisen by usage? (Both valid, but contract is more likely to include provision for change - have you checked?)

No you cannot be forced to change hours.

But if they are restructuring the workforce, and the 2 day a week post is removed because of genuine business need, then you could be made redundant.

Sorry, on phone. Contract says that I work 0.4 fte, so 2 days.

Basically my job share partner has been fired (he was given choice of resigning or capability) and she wants to employ a ft teacher in that class. I will be moving year group to fill in for someone on maternity. It is a massive school with over 50 teaching staff. They have recruited 4 more teachers this year to cover expansion/ staff leaving. If any of that is relevant!

Perhaps they should have employed a .6 to work opposite you then! Hope the union get back to you soon.

Do you have a job share agreement? That would usually state what should be done if one job sharer leaves. I think these sometimes protect employers from redundancy applying if one job sharer leaves. If you have a contract with part time hours, but not specifically a job share agreement. an employer can ask you to increase your hours, but you don't have to say yes, although that isn't a reason to say no immediately because if you say no, ultimately the outcome could be that you leave on grounds of redundancy. I would suggest attempting a conversation with your manager about why they feel the role needs to be one full time person, and whether they will try and find someone to job share with you. Perhaps showing some flexibility might help - such as offering to increase to 2.5 for example, or working different days. Could you do any additional hours from home? If you can understand the reasons why a job share is no longer considered a good option, you can suggest ways to get around these. If you work in a large school, could you provide cover and support for other teachers 2 days per week?

You cannot be made to increase your hours, especially if you have a 0.4 contract, so just say no. But your Head could change your role eg. no longer job-sharing a class, but doing PPA or interventions, so you need to think about what you'd be prepared to do. And if your contract just says .4, and not specific days, they could stretch the .4 over more days, but shorter sessions. I would wait and see what your union bod says, and try not to worry. It's very unlikely they'd be able to make you redundant in a big school as there are always hours that need to be covered.

Thank you for all the advice. The union reiterated what has been said on here, that they can't make me do more than my contract, and that if they asked me and I said no then they could go through a redundancy process, but would be fairly unlikely to. I checked with HR that my contract was definitely 0.4, and found my original letter from the head amending my contract from full time to 2 days per week, and then basically went to see my head and told her that I had thought about her suggestion for doing 3 days next year and unfortunately it wouldn't be possible for me to do it. She actually looked at me like she wanted to kill me. Then just said "ok. Thank you, bye. And went back to her work. So Christ knows what next week will bring. I'm quite glad I stood up to her though, she's a shocking bully and it obviously hadn't even occurred to her that I might not actually do whatever she said! I've always been very accommodating as a part timer, doing different year groups, ppa cover, changing my days etc so she can hardly make out that I'm being difficult! Thank you again for taking the trouble to post.

I am also a part time teacher (0.6) currently working 3 days a week and am expecting a timetable spread over 5 days next year if I'm given a particular yr 12 class. Apparently a full timer was asked to do it and he said "no" - I wonder if a lowly part-timer such as myself will be afforded the same luxury (prob not!).
I feel totally marginalised as a part time teacher - a nuisance to be gotten rid of......maybe that is what the 5 days is all about????? (Paranoia??)

I think there is definitely a reluctance to employ part timers, and I certainly feel like I am bottom of the pile when decisions re staffing are made. Since being part time I have moved year groups every year, which is a pain as I spend a lot of time getting to know the curriculum, assessment etc, resourcing my classroom and then I'm off again. That's part of the reason I'm so angry that my HT is being such a cow about this, because I have always been so accommodating. I'm not sure where you would stand legally being asked to change your work pattern, as they aren't actually increasing your hours. Speak to your union though if you are worried about it.

As a parent, I find the reluctance to employ part timers really frustrating. Teaching is a real slog, having better rested, part time teachers is a real advantage. I know it shouldn't be that way, but I think it is. I also think that there are real benefits to having two teachers in terms of more varied teaching styles and greater continuity if one of them leaves.

The fact is while they can't force you to work my hours they can say you are unsuitable for the job and make you redundant so that they can employ someone who will work the hours. They legally can do this!