Q and A with Which? Legal Service

[RachelMumsnet]

Want to know more about your employment rights?

Are you are currently on maternity leave and want to better understand your rights? Or are you worried about redundancy? Or perhaps you?re working full-time and want to know if you have the right to ask to work part-time? Which? Legal Service could help.

Which? Legal Service offers unbiased expert legal advice from our team of qualified lawyers and employment advisors. Because they are part of Which?, they take no advertising or sponsorship and are completely independent, not for profit and a registered charity. Their profits go directly into our campaigning work to help fight for consumer rights.

Which? team of lawyers are on hand to answer your employment legal queries.
Post your comments and questions here by Wednesday 24th May and they will do their best to answer as many questions as possible.

[purepurple]

If I work overtime can my employer insist that I get time back instead of extra pay?
I work in a day nursery with around 20 members of staff. The manager insists that we all have to attend staff meetings after work and open days and fun days on a weekend.The hours are then added up and we can take time off. Except, because the manager has to maintain ratios it is very difficult to actually take the time that is owing (and I am not convinced that the tally kept is accurate). Can I ask for the extra hours as pay instead?

[justamoment]

Hi, I want to employ my currently unemployed sister (who herself is a parent) as my part-time nanny. Please can you advise me on tax responsibilities etc - is it correct that she cannot be self-employed as a nanny, as I have read on some websites?

Thanks for any advice.

[MillieMummy]

Hi,

Have found out recently that I am at risk of redundancy. My post is going to be cut as the loss of it is seen as not a big risk to the organisation. The reason it is not going to be a risk is that some parts of my work - including what is defined as my primary job function on my JD - have been given to two new posts which were created about 12 months ago.

At the time the new posts were created I asked a few questions, although not formally, and I was given vague, verbal re-assurance that my role was still clear. In hind-sight I would have asked for written confirmation of the affect of the new posts on my future position in the organisation, but hind-sight is a wonderful thing.

Where do I stand; is it too late to do anything? The two new posts are filled by women so not sexual discrimination. I have worked for the organisation for 15 years and have a perfect employment record.

Thanks - have been wondering who to get advice from.

[flowerybeanbag]

Arrrrghh.

I think I need to hide this thread it's frustrating me too much!

[needs to get a life emoticon]

[angrybird]

My employer has adopted the policy that if anyone wants to reduce their hours from full time to part time they must drop down to a half post (17.5 hours per week). There is no flexibility around this. Also, the other half of the post is gone once someone takes it up. We are not able able to reduce hours for a period of time, then resume full time later on.

This is a change of policy from them and I wonder whether they are safe legally to do this. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[aarghhelp]

Is`that Weds 26th May or Mon 24th May?

[ceeebeee]

During the consultation period of my redundancy I was advised by ACAS to lodge a formal grievance about me not having a meaningful consultation (questions were not answered until the last possible moment so that I couldn't actually ask any further questions on the answers given) - taking care to label all correspondence as such- so that they would meaningfully consult with me before my redundancy was made final. I received a reply saying that they were not going to accept it as a grievance and instead would accept it as an appeal (even though the redundancy was not yet final). They also said that I was not allowed to use any of the issues I'd raised as grounds for a further appeal. When I questioned the fairness of this, they said that they'd done this after taking legal counsel.

Are they allowed to take away my right to appeal before the redundancy is final?

[chocolateme]

I think Flowery & Ribena are just fab!!!

[RibenaBerry]

[FutureMum]

Does anybody know when we are getting the answers? Or has this been postponed?

[onadietcokebreak]

Mumsnet HQ? any info on when replies are expected?

[purepurple]

What's happening with the answers?
Anyone?

[DancingHippoOnAcid]

Well, that all turned out to be a bit of a let down.

[RachelMumsnet]

Sorry for delay in getting back to those of you who were chasing the answers. The team have now answered your questions and you can see them on the archive page Many thanks to all who sent in their questions.

[PercyThrowerYouRock]

.

[swanseajacks]

My company is going through a restructure. One job out of our immediate team has disappeared. My position is the one they have elected to make redundant. I have been offered an alternative role but management insist I have to be in office 100% of time when my contract allows me to work some of the time from home so I can meet my childcare commitments. Do I have to accept? What happens if I turn it down? To make things more complicated, one of my colleagues has elected to retire, leaving a position still vacant in my immediate team. Should they offer this role to me considering it is more suitable to me in terms of hours? I suspect management will insist that this role too will now need to be performed 100% from office because they have been difficult about my flexible working since I returned from mat leave in March. They told me my old role had changed (which it hasn't) and could no longer support my flex working and moved me to this new role (which has now been made redundant) citing that this could support my flexi working. I suspect all along they want to abolish my flexible working. Can they do this?

[RibenaBerry]

Swansea, this has closed now. I suggest you start a separate thread...

[Herecomestheninkynonk]

The company I work for have refused my application to return to work part time following maternity leave.

Another mum in the same position as me worked part time until her children were at school. Work have advised me the role has now changed and this is no longer appropriate. (I would argue the role hasn't changed significantly).

My son is disabled. Does this allow me any extra rights? Could this be disability discrimination?