Can my employer ask me to increase my hours?

[LucyTamedOgres]

My current hours are (changed slightly for the purpose of anonymity) 4 days a week, 9am - 5pm!

My Employer has decided he possibly needs me to work alternative Saturdays, therefore increasing my hours.

My current contract states my hours and days (in the week) I’ll be working. States nothing about being able to increase hours or weekend working.

I’ve worked here for over 12 years. I would never try and work anywhere which included weekend work.

Is there anything I can do? I might have a new contract to sign soon.

What is the reason for the change?

A technician who worked on tools has started working in the office after my colleague who worked the extra day, retired. He has always alternative Saturdays but in the workshop area.

He’s still going to be working the alternative Saturday but now in the office, the office has never been open at the weekend.

*worked

Not sure I’m following- how does that mean you now need to work Saturdays?

Because he now thinks having someone in the office on a Saturday morning answering queries etc is a good thing. The office has never been open on a Saturday.

Work colleague always worked alternative Saturdays in their technical role. They’ve changed jobs, no longer hands on technician into our office based environment. Still working alternative Saturdays. So now I’m expected to start working Saturdays as my Employer thinks it works well!

Speak to ACAS, they can advise.

I've been our of the system for a while & I know there has been some changes in employment law, but I'm fairly certain this isn't one of them, so I'd say, no they can't make you do that

www.acas.org.uk/contact

How approachable is your boss? Is this something that they’d like but will listen to you on or is it an order?

Tbh I’d be inclined to test the waters by saying “thank you for thinking of me but that’s not an opportunity I’m interested in. Maybe new colleague would consider doing it weekly or we should look into a Saturday cover post.” If they then say ‘it’s an order not an offer’ then acas is the way.

Good advice from chchch I think.

Let us know how it goes.

Is it a case of increasing your hours means increasing your pay, or giving you time off in lieu? Or are you just expected to do the extra. Are you the only person who could do this? Is it an offer, request or demand? I would clarify with the boss what he's actually expecting, and what you're getting in return, and clarify your rights with acas at the same time. My feeling is that you can refuse it, but that will obviously sour the relationship slightly, but I would check for sure, as it's been a while since I looked at contractual employment rights.

No, they can't force you to increase your hours. They're contractual. And if you have specified days in your contract they can't change those either.

If you had a contract which states, for example, 28 hours between Mon-Sat, they could give you notice to change your days, but they would have to take the Saturday hours out of your other days, they can't make you work more. But that doesn't seem to be the case here anyway.

They could attempt to force a contractual change but that could lead to you taking legal action. Speak to ACAS or your union (if you're in one) for specific advice about your own contract.

@Chchchchangesarecoming he’s not a people person, definitely needs management skills. He’s approachable to a point but will quickly fly off the handle if he doesn’t agree with your point of view.

I haven’t had a pay rise for over 3 years, expected to travel over 40 mins to work an extra 3 hours on a Saturday morning.

I will definitely take your advice and suggest he possibly employs someone for those 3 hours, that’s if he can’t force me to work it

@NEE1302 thank you, sorry I’ve only just seen your reply.

I’m not in a union but will contact Acas for advice if needs be. Thanks for clarification that they can’t change my contractual days, it does state these in my contract so I’m thankful for that. Gives me some leverage.

No mention of Saturday working in my contract, only the days I currently work.

@katmarie increasing hours, meaning increasing pay but, I don’t want the extra hours. It was almost like a demand, yes. I’ve worked the same hours, with extra needed for cover in the week during other staff holiday but not a permanent every other Saturday increase. This would mean my usual hours plus every other Saturday.

Oh dear, some incorrect advice here.

The starting point is that your consent is required to change your terms and conditions, yes. But that’s not the same as saying they can’t force you to change them. They can, if there is either provision to do so in the contract (it would be unusual not to have a general right-to-vary clause, although it may not automatically be enforceable) and/or there is a genuine business need to do so.

If there is a business need to open on a Saturday the manager should consult with you on the proposed change, which means explaining the reasons, confirming the impact on your pay and other conditions, answer any questions you may have or concerns you may raise, with a view to seeking your agreement.

If you don’t agree, alternatives should be explored. But if there is a reason why (for example) employing someone specific to do Saturdays won’t need the business need, he could then dismiss you and re employ you on the new terms. You may potentially have a legal claim in that case, but if there are good business reasons for the change, and every effort made to explore other options, probably not, or not one worth pursuing anyway.

Do resist it if you don’t want to do it. But he could certainly push this if so inclined. Although if you resist strongly he may well back off on the basis the change isn’t necessary enough to be worth the hassle!

@flowery thanks for the great information. Not looking great if he forces it hopefully when he sees I’m not going to back down he’ll think of alternatives.

You’d think a fortnightly Saturday office job would be the sort of thing that a sixth former might be up for. He could pay him or her less too! That’s what I’d do, unless the office role was highly specialised/tech itself.

[quote LucyTamedOgres]@flowery thanks for the great information. Not looking great if he forces it hopefully when he sees I’m not going to back down he’ll think of alternatives.[/quote]
I think that's entirely likely. There's a hassle and risk factor which means that businesses do only tend to force it if they genuinely do need to.

I would respond along the lines of "thank you for details of the proposed change to my hours. As you know, my days and hours are part of my terms and conditions and I understand my consent is required to amend these. Unfortunately I am not able to agree to the proposed change, however I'm very happy to discuss other ways you could cover the hours if my input would be helpful"

Or something like that. At the moment he may be thinking he's allowed to just do this. Responding firmly but politely might either make him rethink completely, or at least take some advice/look into how/if he can force it. The process and risks involved might then put him off.

If he forced a new contract would that just affect my days/hours? It won’t affect my years of service etc? Meaning it won’t be like I’m a new employee?

No you’d still have continuous service.

@flowery just so I’m clear. If I refuse to sign a new contract for which I’m really not sure he’ll even have a decent sit down and chat about, he can legally force this?

Sorry for all of the questions, I’ve never been in this situation before.

Just really asking what the next steps will be when I don’t agree to the change. Will he have to send me a dismissal letter, is this my dismissal or the old contract?

I would never have agreed to a position that included weekend work and for 10 years this hasn’t been an issue.

I think I would also be querying why someone who is new to the role is having a negative effect on you having been in the job for 12 years. When he was offered the new role why were Saturdays even included if the office isn't normally open then? Was it because they didn't want to reduce their pay? Is there really a business case to have the office open every Saturday morning? Paying out more in staff costs right now seems quite strange unless there is a real business need.