sudden change of hours

[lalalalala123456]

I have been within my current role for almost 4 years. The hours are ok, they have worked well for me, I work 8.30-4.30 every day, I have a 2 year old , who goes to Nursery around 40 mins away, and a partner who works full time too. The hours I do just about work for me logistically, I can spend a small amount of time with my LO in the mornings before I head off , I do majority of pick ups and drop offs for nursery due to OH job responsibility.

So the head of my department, has all of a sudden decided he wants to change the hours to 8am-5pm.. this is causing me extreme anxiety as I know this wont work for me and my current set up , and family life.

can they just do this to me ? How do I appeal ?

Will you be paid for the extra hour? If not will it take you below NMW? Phone acas.

They can't just increase your working day by an hour. They also can't just change your hours without consultation as it's a change of terms. ACAS can advise you what to do next.

You could start by saying, "that doesn't work for me, I want to stay with my current contract". Don't ever do the new hours, even for a trial as that could be seen as accepting the new contract.

I'm a bit arsey so I that position I would tell them that if they absolutely need extended hours then they should make me redundant and employ somebody else. For many jobs it would be more hassle for them to go through recruitment and training than to just keep things as they are.

I think they can change your hours but have to give you notice . Theyve just done it where i work and given us 90 days notice period. You can try a flexible working request, which they have to consider and give you reasons as to why the business cant support it if they decline it.

Not sure they can increase your hours though. Sorry didnt realise thats what they were doing. Thought they were just sliding them.

All those saying "they can't do that", actually they can. DH works in Retail and his contract has been changed a number of times over the last few years. The argument is always business need. Have they told you why this is changing?

I don't work in retail but my terms and conditions have also been degraded over the last few years.

Do you have a union? If not, join one. Your best bet is then to submit a flexible working request, as PP suggested, asking to stay on the same hours for childcare reasons.

They can't just change working hours without notice and consultation.

Will they be paying you more?

They should have discussed why it is needed, the benefits and given you chance to share concerns.

It comes down to your contract and what is stipulated but you have the right to raise a grievance, explain your circumstances, offer any compromise or alternatives once you know what the need is.