Where do I stand if my employer wants to increase my hours??

[peppajay]

I work part time and my contract is for 20 hours a week, things have changed in the workplace quite suddenly and I have been asked to up my hours to just over 31 hours. I love the hours I work as they fit around school and I get a little bit of time each day to do jobs at home. They want to add an extra 2hrs and 20 mins to my contract each day which also means I will need to source childcare for my kids after school every day and that I will never be able to take my children to school or pick up and for me this is very important and if I have to pay for childcare every day it just isn't financially viable. If I say no I can't do the extra hours and explain my reasons what can they do about it. Can they dismiss me and find someone else who can work the hours they need???

surely they'd have to go through a redundancy process if you can't do it?

How long have you worked there? Are you on a permanent contract?

I have been there for just over a year. I was on a yearly contract which was renewed in September for another year. I love what I do and if I could do more I would but I find 20 hours quite hard and the job I do is quite intense and full on that doing more hours just wouldnt work for me.

If they need 31 hours and you've only been there just over a year, then yes they could dismiss you and employ someone else.

Is a compromise possible? They may well prefer that to having to recruit someone new.

Flowery is right (and an employment solicitor, I think!). She's covered what I was going to say.

You have no real employment rights until you've worked somewhere for two years, barring discriminatory practices etc.

So if they need 31 hours and you can't offer it, they could just dismiss you and then hire a replacement who can work more hours.

Could you work 31 hours if they changed your shift pattern? Work up to 31 hours over two months? Work 25 hours and find someone on the team willing to do the other 6?

TBH in their defence my manager is lovely and she understands my predicament entirely as she is a mother herself. They are really pleased with what I do and have said they don't want to lose me but they really need these extra hours covered.

agree that offering a compromise might help
my boss wanted to increase my hours from 18/wk to 36
I offered 26, which was accepted.

Thank you Anchor. Must clarify though, I'm an HR consultant. Wouldn't want anyone thinking I was one of them there lawyer types..!

Have they advertised for someone to take on the extra 11 hours? And does your contract permit changes to your hours?

It does get a bit tricky when hours cannot be extended due to childcare.

Can you compromise? And agree to a halfway point so you would just need childcare at one end of the day?

Or can you do 31 hrs in less days? Ie 10hrs Monday so childcare that day, then 5 ish hrs the other days? So just one morning and afternoon childcare to pay for and you gain 11hrs money

Can you work from home for some of the additional hours?