Employment Contract Law Q

[cassa333]

Hello,

This is the scenareo: Employment contract gives wrong dates for the financial and holiday year but no one noticed (about 8 yrs) and everyone, including the employee and employer have been working on the actual dates.

If this is just a simple clerical error on your contract of employment that no one noticed for years and then the employee noticed it, could they say they had to go by the word on the contract and go though the legal consultation period etc or could the employer inform them of the change?

IE: Thank you for informing us of the error on your contract. This has now been addressed and the changes made and the dates for xxxxxx now run from xxx to xxx inztead of xxx to xxx.

Thank you

[factor-fiction]

Is it likely to cause concern for the employee?
If so, is it necessary to make the change?

[cassa333]

The employee has pointed out the error and is being difficult about it and saying we have to throughh the rigmarole of a proper consultation.

As it is a clerical error that no one has actually worked by it is silly to have to go trough the whole process.

[factor-fiction]

I don't understand it- does she want the change making but is saying she wants you to go through a process?

[cassa333]

She is saying that the information on her contract is wrong and we should go through the concultation pocess to be legaly able to change the wording.

It is just the wording she doesn't like because since she started the holidays have been calcultaed from July to June and not April to March as is written on her contract.

[factor-fiction]

Sorry, I don't get it- I don't see what the problem is. What 'legal consultation' does she want?

[chelle7272]

If she has been working to the actual dates, (rather than the dates given in error) then she has implied acceptance I would say and therefore the employer would not need to go through the consultation process.

[boxtops]

It might be easier all round if your company just changed the holiday year to what's been written in the employee contracts - is that feasible?

If not, I guess she's referring to the consultation time to which each employee has a right, before contracts are changed. It's not going to make any difference to her overall, surely - she'll still get the same number of holiday days p.a, irrespective of when the holiday year starts?

[boxtops]

PS when did she join, is this a new employee?

[cassa333]

Hi,

Thanks :)

She has been with the company for about 10 years and is a biligerant knitpicker.

She is saing that we have to go through a proper consultation to change the wording.

No we can't change the holiday year just because the wording is wrong on her contract, it is impracticle.

[factor-fiction]

Well what's wrong with just ignoring her.

[Zacs-Master]

Surely the 'legal process' is for you to write the letter as you suggested, her to sign it and on you go? If she refuses to sign she may be in breach of contract but it's a grey area.

[Zacs-Master]

Print off a copy of this and ask her to identify the 'process'. That should shut her up for a while.
http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/8/6/Varying-a-contract-of-employment-accessible-version.pdf

[factor-fiction]

Would the best outcome for her to leave, claim constructive dismissal and then lose her case. She sounds like the sort of employee who gives her bosses the runaround. I suspect she needs to be given more work to occupy her more so she's not got the time to dwell on issues like this

[factor-fiction]

I agree with Zacs- give her the problem- but make sure she doesn't do it in works time by making sure she has challenging deadlines and workloads

[mccfluff]

i don't know the law here, but we have had loads of changes recently - the holiday year, pay dates, salary review dates and all came out as announcements on the company intranet (apart from the pay dates, they went as letters to the affected staff first then intranet)

with immediate effect xxxx will be changing to YYY - except the salary pay dates, those affected were given 3 months and an offer of a bridging load before that one comes into effect.

no consultations were done & they are a massive company, everything employment wise gets run past the legal team

[boxtops]

I honestly don't see the difference if the dates are changed, whether she likes it or not - her income won't differ and she'll still get the same number of holidays.

[black_cat51]

can't you just write her a letter that says "we intend to change your contract so it reads blah on (date of 3 months) if you have any objections, please give them to me in writing before hten"

[boxtops]

It's not just her, though, it's the whole company's employees who need to get the letter - isn't it?

[thugulike]

There is no detriment. It can be changed. What is she threatening to do? She doesn't have to sign a contract of employment, nobody does. As long as the employee works then they are affirming the contract. Any problem has to be raised within 8 weeks. Just make the change, there is nothing she can do which could lead to a successful claim to tribunal.

[Prudie]

I don't know what kind of employer this is but where I work the 'consultation process' simply means it's been agreed with the TU (irrelevant of whether the individual is in a Union).