Can an employer change my contract without my consent?

[DisneySenior]

I have recently been informed that my contract at work was changed a few months ago from a 30 hour a week contract to a zero hours contract. I have had absolutely no information about this, Its never been mentioned to me and I was advised off the record to ask for a copy of my contract which I did and seen its now a zero hour contract.

I would never have agreed to this. I need guaranteed hours and at the moment I work 4 shifts a week to make up my 30.

I work in a hotel if this makes any difference.

Any advice would be appreciated

Quite simply, no they can't. It would have to be agreed with you and then the variation signed.
I assume by your surprise that the contract you got a copy of isn't signed by you?

Do you have a copy of the contract you originally signed? Was the copy provided to you with 0 hours signed by you and shows your signature? What you signed is your contract any other copies without your signature is not a contract you agreed on and not bonding.

Well it certainly can’t be changed without your knowledge, so it definitely wasn’t changed a few months ago.

Your employer should seek your consent for changes to your contract, however there are ways to force through a change if necessary.

How long have you worked there?

You have to sign the new contract if it changes so it can't be done without you knowing

”You have to sign the new contract if it changes”

That’s a myth. If it can be shown that an employee was issued a contract and carried on working without raising concerns or stating they were doing so under protest, they don’t have to have physically signed it to be deemed to have accepted the terms in it.

But obviously no one can be deemed to have accepted terms they’ve never seen.

I had a dispute with my employer several years ago about a change in my contract. When I objected to it they wrote to me saying that they were not under any obligation to consult with staff and that my agreement to the change in terms and conditions was not required. They were a big company with in house legal specialists so I assumed they were right about that. Although that didn't make me any less angry...

Oh well I have always had to sign a contract when it's changed. And mine has changed 4 times in my job so just assumed that was standard.

To me, if they force this through with no consent it could be a case of constructive dismissal, if you felt strongly enough about it.

Unilateral contract change to something as serious as moving from guaranteed set hours agreed between employer and employee to having no control over whether you get paid nothing (because no work is forthcoming), to any other amount they chose (ie it's in the lap of the Gods) is about as serious as it gets.

OP, I would formalise in writing to your employer what you've said on here i.e. I would never have agreed to this. I need guaranteed hours and at the moment I work 4 shifts a week to make up my 30 - they need to respond back as to whether they'll dig their heals in, before you can make your next move. You may find they back down if they think a Tribunal claim is possible.

Have they stated from when they propose their unilateral change should start?

Also have they clearly stated a business rationale as to why they need to change you to zero hours contract. Is it only you (and equivalent colleagues) who have been singled out?

OP please get advice from ACAS asap.

There are other reasons why they prefer staff on zero hour contracts aside from the not having to guarantee you hours.

The biggie is that you are not entitled to sick pay of any kind despite being over the NI contributions threshold, not even SSP. If you are off sick you have to apply for ESA from the Benefits Agency. I found that one out the hard way.

How long have you been there?

According to ACAS both parties must agree to the change. If you are a member of a union speak to them, otherwise speak to ACAS.

m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3971

”Oh well I have always had to sign a contract when it's changed. And mine has changed 4 times in my job so just assumed that was standard.”

It is standard. Very sensible of any employer to ensure new contracts/contract amendments are signed. But that doesn’t mean a contract isn’t enforceable if it hasn’t been signed.

Thank you for all your replies and sorry for my late reply.

I have worked there for a year and a half. The contract they have with zero hours is not signed by me I had never seen it before. They do all contracts online now so it's digital copies but they have paper copies available if requested. The only copy I have is the one I signed and accepted when I started my employment with them in June 2016.

I am going to speak to the general manager too to find out exactly what happened then take advice from acas.

I'm really pissed off, I was off sick from the start of December to the start of January (gall bladder) and I didn't receive any sick pay. They told me it's because my sick lines weren't real so I had to chase the gp for copies and get them to send a letter to head office. I'm due to be paid this week so I will find out if the sick pay has been paid to me or not. I'm now wondering if this is the reason why I wasn't paid

Sadly you pretty much have no rights in that case

Yes, the latest update (only 18months employment) isn't good news unfortunately. You need 2 years to have the ability to exercise statutory employment rights such as unilateral change of contract terms.

I'd still try to discuss with them and see if they will reverse their decision.