Advice needed- contract changes at work

[Aw12345]

The company I work for has just been combined with another company, they're trying to change our contracts to something a lot worse.

Obviously I can argue comparing contract to contract but what about things that were not specified in my contract? Eg if I worked the weekend then I always used to get Monday afternoon off... it has always been this way (and I can prove it with my old rota) but it was never specified in my contract... where do I stand? Can I insist on keeping this?

Have you been TUPE'd? If so, then no. It only applies to anything contractual

Anything that has become the norm may be an implicit term of your contract through custom and practice. The key question is whether your employer's actions have communicated an intention that the policy is contractual. It sounds like the Monday afternoon off after weekend working may be an implicit term of your contract but it is impossible to be sure without more information. You may need to consult your union (if you are in one) or a lawyer who specialises in employment law.

Even if something is an implied term, and even if TUPE applied, then yes - it is relatively easy for an employer to make fairly substantial changes. They simply need to be able to justify them - the legal phrasing is having ETO reasons; Economic, technical, or organisational reasons. To be honest, it's a stupid employer who can't think up something that legally justifies even contractual change. So there is actually very little that you can "insist on keeping". Your only real manoeuvring space - and it isn't one that you'd much like I suspect - is if the change is large enough that it goes to the heart of the contract. The would only be things like substantial changes of hours, pay or something else big. And sometimes even that is not enough - and it would only qualify you to be treated as redundant! Where changes are compulsory (and large) and the employer attempts to enforce them, there is a legal process they must follow, and if they don't offer redundancy then it is potentially possible to claim unfair dismissal. But there no guarantees that you would win. In the end, the law operates on basis that the employers business needs are paramount, and in the end that is what most tribunals will support unless the employer is being wildly unreasonable.