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Original poster

Can i be made to work full time after Flexi agreed

14 replies

Fliptopdustbinlid · 13/03/2018 08:07

I have been working for my employer for 12 years, 5 years was normal full time hours, 5 days a week 7.30am-4pm, once i had DC1 i went to 4 days a week- same hours and then after DC2 i work 7.30am-2.30am 4 days a week to accommodate the school run and have been working these hours for 5 years now.

Work have now hinted that i could be made redundant to accommodate a full time employee in my place if i dont want to go back full-time, which i cant do and unwilling to do due to childcare.

Does anyone know where i stand?

OP posts:
Zampa · 13/03/2018 08:11

I wouldn't have thought they could make you redundant, as that implies the role is no longer required. This obviously isn't the case if they would then recruit a full time employee.

Do you have a new contract stating your hours or is there some sort of side letter?

Believeitornot · 13/03/2018 08:15

My understanding is that they can ask you to look again at the hours and they can stipulate that they need a full time post.
We have similar issueat my workplace but on the flip side. We have a few people who work part time but they’re actually doing more than their hours and it isn’t working out.

Your arrangement doesn’t sound flexible because your hours are fixed? I think it’s fair enough that your employer needs to change the hours and maybe you could meet them some way in the middle.

But definitely speak to HR for advice as they should be able to answer.

bastardkitty · 13/03/2018 08:17

I believe that they can do this. It's basically saying that they need you to return to the hours you were originally employed to do.

MaverickSnoopy · 13/03/2018 08:42

If you were not given a new contract (or a variation) to reflect your current hours then custom and practice comes into play. You've been doing the hours for 5 years so they are your new contracted hours and form part of your contract.

You might find this information on the working families website particularly useful www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/the-law-when-an-employer-asks-you-to-change-your-hours/.

Original poster
Fliptopdustbinlid · 13/03/2018 09:12

I cant seem to find my contract :-( and my HR advisor isnt very approachable as i had a spell of stress and anxiety 5 months ago which resulted in me having 2 weeks off sick and the HR guy last week offered my a 'pay out' if i wanted to leave- which i dont, i was put under undue stress 6 months ago, but things are a bit different now, but he basically implied that i either take the payout or i could face a restructure or redundancy situation.

OP posts:
Original poster
Fliptopdustbinlid · 13/03/2018 09:14

I didnt keep all the letters when i returned back to work either, but i wrote a letter asking for a change to my working days and times, which was agreed in a letter back to me- which i am sure is somewhere within the workplace, as i work for quite a large organisation

OP posts:
flowery · 13/03/2018 09:15

No. They can’t say they need you to work more hours but then claim your position is redundant. It used to be the case that employers could claim a diminished need for part time work, being replaced by a need for full time work, but that doesn’t meet the definition of redundancy so they couldn’t do that now.

If they need you to increase your hours they’d need to consult with you, have a good business case, and should make reasonable efforts to explore other ways of covering the extra work.

It’s no easier to change the established hours of a part timer than a full timer. Those are your permanent contractual hours.

Original poster
Fliptopdustbinlid · 13/03/2018 11:49

Luckily ive managed to find all the emails that i sent and the replies agreeing to the change in hours

OP posts:
RebootYourEngine · 13/03/2018 12:26

I know someone who is going through similar at the moment. They currently work full time but the business structure is changing so staff are being asked to do part time hours. If staff dont want to or are unable to they can be made redundant.

Jellycatspyjamas · 13/03/2018 16:07

Changes to working hours under a flexible working request form a permanent hangs to contract so I wouldn’t have thought they can change that any more than they could force you to go part time if you were full time.

Oweeeee · 13/03/2018 16:14

This exact same thing happened to me 6/7 years ago.

I’d worked 3 days a week for almost a year after maternity leave. They then said I was needed for 5 days.

Spoke with ACAS who said they were well within their rights to do it. They needed someone in MY role working full time hours, therefore MY part time role was redundant.

I resigned. And found a much better, more flexible role

flowery · 13/03/2018 17:39

”Spoke with ACAS who said they were well within their rights to do it. They needed someone in MY role working full time hours, therefore MY part time role was redundant.”

Fortunately things have changed, and it is now established that an increase in hours being needed is not a redundancy situation.

Oweeeee · 13/03/2018 17:52

flowery this is good, hopefully bodes well for the OP!

flowery · 13/03/2018 17:59

Yep, fingers crossed!

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