Employer changing working hours

[Trumpisacunt]

For the last 10 years I've worked compressed hours over a four day week which has worked extremely well in regard to my work life balance .
My new manager has now said that as this was never formally agreed they no longer have to honour this and are therefore looking to change my working pattern to 5 days -they've not reasoned this as a business need more the fact that they can so they will ! I've been given the impression that they plan to do this without notice and consultation.

Can they legally do this or have my working hours become 'custom and practice' and now form part of my contract because I've had the same working pattern for so long ?

If it makes any difference I work for the nhs so have a generic contract but have worked the same hours which were agreed when I started in this role .

Check your contract, most allow changes with the required notice period.

If you have kids though, read through your employers policies and formally apply for compressed hours.

(And, if boss is just a dick, start looking for a new job).

Hi, I also work for the NHS and encountered the same issue some years ago, unfortunately as I had nothing in writing I didn’t have a leg to stand on, it went to HR and the union but the manager said due to service need I had to work on Fridays, which was nonsense but I think like you say she was doing it as she could. When she left and a new manager started I asked again and fee agreed and I made sure I had it in writing!

I don’t think they just make changes to your habitual working pattern, whether or not it’s in writing. Speak to ACAS to get proper legal advice.

Talk to ACAS and your union (if you have one).

I had this, even though it was in my offer letter. Sadly it rarely ends well even when I claimed it was an 'implied term' because Employers have quite a lot of power to make changes if they are clever and do it properly.

Union rep here.

I would certainly argue that 10 years of the same work pattern is an established routine. Do you have proof of these hours from way the start?

By generic, do you mean numbers of hours weekly or monthly not the hours or days?

I’m nhs…I do compressed….I have it in writing ….but there’s a clause that says it’s all dependant on service need ….so the risk is always there

When I had a similar issue, objad great advice from https://workingfamilies.org.uk/ workingfamilies.org.uk/]]]]

If you've been doing it for ten years it's contractually implied. Your contract might not spell out your exact working pattern, but if you’ve been working the same hours for years and it’s been accepted by both you and your employer all that time, it’s likely become implied into your contract. Basically, when something’s been done without challenge for that long, it’s seen as a normal, agreed part of your terms and conditions. So your employer can’t just suddenly change your hours without consulting you or getting your agreement, because that would be changing an established term of your contract.

Guessing you don’t work for the nhs

If it’s NHS, any flexible working arrangements are supposed to be reviewed annually to see whether they still work for the service - or not. I do not believe you can get compressed hours on a permanent basis. If you’re lucky, they just agree again each year - but they don’t have to.