DH has been put on a shift he cannot do - what can we do?

[IrishDraught]

DHs usually shift work, they changed the shift so he was working Mon-Fri days though (rota is done month by month) and was told it would stay like that (unofficially I guess). He has paid for evening classes starting next week but the manager has said the shift must change to 3 days, 3 nights, 3 off , end of. She will not budge at all on it, even though the others were happy with the way it was. His contract states just hours per week (minimum) but can they force him to go in? Will he be sacked if he doesn't? I cannot see that it's fair he basically has to leave 24 hours a day free, 7 days a week for all the changes. He really really cannot go in 3 nights a week.

Was he given 4 weeks notice? That is usual when doing a change of hours. Have you checked his contract?

Other option is to suggest another meeting with his boss and if the issue can't be resolved he will need to raise a grievance.

I suggest contacting his union if he's in one.

No notice of changes, a few days really. He has raised a grievance now and there is a meeting on Monday. I think he is contracted X amount of hours rather than set days. If they still refuse I think he will really take them to town though now - one day he had to work a 24 hour shift as they didn't sort anyone else to come in, they lost proof of 3 days holiday he booked and didn't pay him but we think they paid the supervisor his lost holiday etc. Argh, why are companies so awful?
Thanks for your help

If his contract is just to do set hours and there is no reference either to fixed shifts or notice of shifts, he won't be able to 'take them to town' tbh. It sounds as though it's perfectly within his contract for them to change shifts if they want to, so they've done nothing wrong in that sense.

What basis has he put for his grievance? Is he basing it on the unofficial verbal comment that the shifts would stay as Mon-Fri?

You say they 'changed the shift so he was working Mon-Fri'. How long ago was that? If it was years ago and he's been doing that shift for ages and ages, and always verbally been led to believe it wouldn't change, then that's more of an argument, even if technically his contract says they can change it, because he could then argue that those had become his established regular hours. Is that the case?

The Mon-Fri has only been a few months. It's just the final straw with this company, last night he by mistake told a collegue the wrong day that he had off (casual conversation) and 7 minutes after leaving work was hounded by text from one of the bosses to bring proof of this "supposed day off" along with proof of this college course. They had a meeting without him to discuss this , he now starts college in 2 days so it's too late to even find another job. When he has called in sick they have made him come in, making him feel guilty and like he was at risk of being a "bad worker" if he didn't, so he's had to sleep in laybys just to get home again. Lots of "come in tonight and we will make sure you have X day off" which ends up not happeneing, and another time he couldn't go home when I was desperatly ill to look after the children, only thing he could have done is left site which would have been dismissal. Surely even just making him stay 24 hours is illegal? I am hopping mad with his supervisor, he's a weasel of a man - always comes in late and leaves early but no one is there to notice, had sex with ex collegue at work, lies about trying to find cover if DH is ill so then Dh has to come in. We are both so worn down with it all

Why did they want proof of his college course? Surely whatever he chooses to do i his time off is nothing to do with them? What did they want proof for?

A 24hour shift may well have been illegal, yes, and was certain to have put his health and safety at risk. Have a read here about rest breaks.

Don't get me wrong, it sounds like there is a lot going on which may be worthy of a grievance, but them changing his shifts when his contract allows for that probably isn't something to focus on other than part of an overall pattern of unreasonable behaviour. In isolation the change of shifts doesn't look particularly bad at all.

Yes I agree, on it's own it would have been a pain but there is no reason to change the shift from what he was doing - the supervisor did it when DH took a rare day off sick and didn't tell him and it's spiralled from there. I guess they want proof so they are possibly going to change the shift again for a good reason rather than someone just fancying certain days/hours, but his word should have been good enough. Thank goodness it was all dated! Fingers crossed for tomorrow now, even the company directors etc. want him back on the day shift, but they can't do anything as his job is outsourced.