Permanent contract 7 years. Sudden change

[Rochellebee]

I’ve been at my work for 7 years on permanent contract part time same hours every week. Suddenly my boss decided I need to change my hours or they can’t have me anymore (I’m single parent and the hours they are offering I can’t do). Can they do that to me? It’s retail job - opening hours didn’t change so I can’t see why they suddenly have issues with my hours. What are my rights ?!

Are your working hours stipulated in your contract? It would help if they are bit even if not, if you have been working these hours for seven years then they are likely to now be an implied term through custom and practice.

So if you don’t agree to change your hours then they could treat it as a redundancy situation, so you would be entitled to redundancy pay. But it genuinely needs to be a redundancy situation, there would need to be an operational reason for them wanting to change hours and not simply them wanting to change your hours for example to accommodate another employee. So hard to comment further without knowing why they want to change your hours. Are you able to elaborate?

So I have been working two days a week. One being Saturday (whole opening hours when my ex had kids) and one being monday 9.30-14.30 so I can drop off my kids and pick them up from school. My contract says I am working 16hours a week but doesn’t specify what days. Normally the shifts at my work are 6am-2pm or 2pm -10pm so I’ve been lucky they've been accommodating till now I guess… but bussiness didn’t change ..I was usually covered from 6am to 9.30 by manager on shift and took over once I dropped kids to school

HR Director: If you’ve always worked those hours they need to consult with you. 7 years would definitely constitute Custom and Practice.

@Rochellebee I agree with @OnceAgainWithFeeling they need to follow a proper consultation process.

When you say “or they can’t have me at all” I assume they mean they will make you redundant.

Talk to ACAS they can talk you through the process.

Does your contract state that your hours will be arranged based on the needs of the business? Is this is right then yes they can without consultation.
I would query the proposed change again with your line manager and explain your personal circumstances. You should be ok.
I don’t understand though why they are changing your hours when nothing else changes?
Maybe there is some sort of ulterior motive.

I had similar happen to me, they changed my base to another venue 40 miles away! I went crackers as my contract said my job was at A town, not B town. The union told me to stop making a fuss and that it wasn’t unreasonable. HR said if I kicked off they would just do a 30 day consultation and make me move anyway. I applied for a totally different job out of the organisation and left. I have no idea if what HR and my union told me was correct.

As someone has already said after 7 years they can't change your hours out of the blue without consulting you.

Also the fact that this is likely to affect you even more as a single parent could also be discriminatory.

Are you the only staff member who is facing this problem? why are they only focusing on you? could be a sign they are trying to find a sneaky way to get rid of you.

Speak to Acas.

Thank you everyone. Yes my contract unfortunately states I’m working 16 hours a week - hours that suit the business . I’m the only person at my work who has this issue-I’m the only single mother there (I work mostly with men - single parents too, but none of them in sole custody of kids - usually weekend dads so they have much more flexibility)

If you’ve worked the same hours for more than (usually) 2 years it could be challenged under Custom and Practice and they can be forced to consult/make you redundant.

are you in a union?

And that’s before you get into the sex
discrimination bit.

They need to go though a consultation process with you and follow it properly. After that they can impose new hours in you.

However if they've not consulted you or followed the proper process then you have rights under employment law.

Best thing to do is call ACAS next week and get advice on your situation and the bat approach to take.

Sorry for the typos

Thank you. Unfortunately, no I’m not with Union, but I am planning to
come back next week my normal hours and see what they say (will sit down with management )

ACAS are really helpful and will advise. It doesn’t matter if you’re not in a union at the moment.

@Rochellebee defnitely keep working your current hours. Don’t change unless you have agreed the change after consultation.