change of hours at short notice

[frosterley]

My contract states 9 till 5 but have been working 7 till three for the last four years nearly, at short notice my employer will sometimes ask me to change my hours back to 9 till 5, I changed my hours to suit them in the first place. Do they have to give any notice before they can actually do this, and could they change them back to 9 to 5 without giving any notice first

[focussed]

I think you'll find by law that your employer must give you 90 days notice to change your contracted working hours.

[ladyalex]

You have a contract of employment giving your hours of work. The employer can ask you to change those hours and it is up to you if you do.
If you refuse then the employer has 3 options.
Firstly to allow you to work your contracted hours.
Secondly to dismiss you. If you were dismissed then you may have a case for unfair dismissal. A tribunal would decide whether the change in hours were fair given
the circumstances. They would take into account the needs of the business and your own special circumstances ie whether there were good reasons why you could not work the hours requested.
The third option is for the employer to change your contract of employment. This would normally require a notice period - probably 4 weeks in your case. You could refuse the new contract leading back to option 2. The fact that the employer gave notice would put him in a better light with a tribunal than if no notice were given.

The bottom line is how much do you wish to keep your job. Tribunals do not award a great deal of money for unfair dismissal.

[TEAK36]

I think because your contract states 9 till 5, then your employer is not changing your contcactual hours, he/she is simply enforcing them.

Sorry, but I dont think there is much you can do about it.

[fagidill]

Did the company , not do you a favour in the first place?
ie, give you a job. Ask yourself , who is doing who the favour.