Part time/Flexible working - should you get a new contract?

[imgonnaliveforever]

Hello,

Just wondering about what usually happens when an employee is given flexible working/part time hours. I am a teacher in a school. In the last few years a small number of full time staff (myself included) have had children and requested to work part time. Typically these requests have been met on some level or another. But what is happening now is that people's hours and days are being changed year by year (e.g. from 3 days to 2 days)and with a new 2 week timetable people are being given different days each week so that they have to pay for lots of childcare they don't use.

So I'm wondering, should we have been offered a new contract to sign detailing our hours/number of days? And also is it reasonable for the school to wait until the timetables come out in the summer term before confirming people's working hours? This time is several months past the last day we are allowed to hand in our notice for the coming term, and alsob teachers are unlikely to be able to find new jobs at this time of year as they are mostly gone by the end of the easter term.

There was a question on this exact subject yesterday.

As for different days per week. Yes its legal.

As to if you need a new contract then it depends what is in your current contract. It could say 2.5 days from 5 so they would be allowed to do it.

Your flexible working arrangement should have been confirmed in writing, yes, although you don't need a whole new contract. Just confirmation of whatever arrangement was agreed.

The answer to the rest of your questions really depends on what the agreement actually was. If you put in a request to work Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday all day, and that was agreed, then no it can't be changed.

But if you just requested to reduce your hours by a percentage or something, with no agreement or specification about when those hours would be worked, that might be different.

Assuming people do have just a number of hours agreed with the understanding that these may change year on year depending on timetabling, then yes in that case it would seem reasonable not to confirm these until the timetable is actually agreed. If the hours are allowed to vary because of the timetabling, of course the school won't be able to confirm them until the timetable is confirmed.

What arrangement did you request?