Am I Right To Be Feeling This Way?
Family Life0 min ago
Common Practice
39 Answers
My contacted hours are 6-2 but for the last five years i have been doing 5 45 till 1 45 now my employer wants me to go back to 6-2 where do i stand?
Answers
Billie...if you think they are changing your hours to annoy you then thank them very much...smile nicely and say that suits you so much better..... :-)
19:19 Sat 14th Jul 2018
Remember what you told them at your interview and how pleased you were to get the job, then start again from there. Just go to work and enjoy it, don't get involved with personalities and petty politics as it's just not worth it - at any level. I'm sure you can find better things to do than worry about what's going on at work.
'Custom and practice' has liitle, if any, relevance in contract law.
For example, when I worked on the railways, all staff got a free travel pass that could be used by any other person that they nominated. (Job adverts, published by the company, included that as one of the 'perks). However the company later switched to using the same system which most other train operators used, whereby such passes were only available to spouses, civil partners and people who were living with an employee as if they were their spouse or civil partner. That annoyed employees like me, who'd given their 'spare' pass to someone who was just a good friend, and who would no longer be eligible for one.
Four different trades unions got their solicitors involved and they were all told that (despite the perk being part of the advertised employment package) the free pass was only part of 'custom and practice', meaning that there was no legal right to retain the privilege.
I suspect that a lawyer would also say that your change in hours only formed part of 'custom and practice' and was therefore exempt from the provisions of contract law.
For example, when I worked on the railways, all staff got a free travel pass that could be used by any other person that they nominated. (Job adverts, published by the company, included that as one of the 'perks). However the company later switched to using the same system which most other train operators used, whereby such passes were only available to spouses, civil partners and people who were living with an employee as if they were their spouse or civil partner. That annoyed employees like me, who'd given their 'spare' pass to someone who was just a good friend, and who would no longer be eligible for one.
Four different trades unions got their solicitors involved and they were all told that (despite the perk being part of the advertised employment package) the free pass was only part of 'custom and practice', meaning that there was no legal right to retain the privilege.
I suspect that a lawyer would also say that your change in hours only formed part of 'custom and practice' and was therefore exempt from the provisions of contract law.
Chris, custom and practice can create an implied term in a contract, from ACAS,
"Implied terms are often:
● too obvious to mention or because the people involved assumed they
would be incorporated at the time the contract was entered into (eg: that the employee will not steal from the employer or that the employer will provide a safe working environment)
● necessary to make the contract workable (eg: that an employee employed as a driver will hold a valid current driving licence)
● the custom and practice of the business or industry, ie: where a particular custom or practice has been adopted over a period of time.
What if I can’t reach agreement with my employees?
7
If you cannot reach agreement with your employees you can serve notice to terminate the existing contract and offer the employee re-engagement on the new terms. This should be considered only after full and thorough consultation with employees and their representatives and treated as a last resort.
By doing this you will be dismissing the employee and it is important that you follow a fair dismissal process and offer the employee the right of appeal against their dismissal. Your employee may make a claim to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal. It would be for the Employment Tribunal to decide whether or not the dismissal was fair or unfair.
Proper notice of the termination of the contract will be as specified (or implied) in the employee’s contract, or the minimum statutory notice period, whichever is the longer. Whilst you would not be breaching your employees’ contract by doing this your employees could claim unfair dismissal if they have the qualifying length of service to do that"
"What if I leave?
If you leave you could claim constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal if you consider that the changes to your contract are significant and fundamental and providing you have the qualifying length of service to do this."
Unless you travel by bus or train and it's not possible to get to work for 5:45 or there are caring issues, I doubt a Tribunal would say the change was significant and fundamental.
Also if you left voluntarily and claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) unless there were transport or caring issues, you'd not have a good reason for leaving and JSA
would be sanctioned (stopped) for thirteen weeks.
"Implied terms are often:
● too obvious to mention or because the people involved assumed they
would be incorporated at the time the contract was entered into (eg: that the employee will not steal from the employer or that the employer will provide a safe working environment)
● necessary to make the contract workable (eg: that an employee employed as a driver will hold a valid current driving licence)
● the custom and practice of the business or industry, ie: where a particular custom or practice has been adopted over a period of time.
What if I can’t reach agreement with my employees?
7
If you cannot reach agreement with your employees you can serve notice to terminate the existing contract and offer the employee re-engagement on the new terms. This should be considered only after full and thorough consultation with employees and their representatives and treated as a last resort.
By doing this you will be dismissing the employee and it is important that you follow a fair dismissal process and offer the employee the right of appeal against their dismissal. Your employee may make a claim to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal. It would be for the Employment Tribunal to decide whether or not the dismissal was fair or unfair.
Proper notice of the termination of the contract will be as specified (or implied) in the employee’s contract, or the minimum statutory notice period, whichever is the longer. Whilst you would not be breaching your employees’ contract by doing this your employees could claim unfair dismissal if they have the qualifying length of service to do that"
"What if I leave?
If you leave you could claim constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal if you consider that the changes to your contract are significant and fundamental and providing you have the qualifying length of service to do this."
Unless you travel by bus or train and it's not possible to get to work for 5:45 or there are caring issues, I doubt a Tribunal would say the change was significant and fundamental.
Also if you left voluntarily and claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) unless there were transport or caring issues, you'd not have a good reason for leaving and JSA
would be sanctioned (stopped) for thirteen weeks.
TCL:
I fully accept that 'implied terms' can form part of a contract but it seems (from my own experience) that they can be hard to enforce.
If the four different solicitors acting for the RMT, ASLEF, TSSA and UNISON couldn't come up with a way of geting our rights to a free travel pass for a nominated person retained, and they actually said that it was because it only constituted 'custom and practice' rather than being a contractual right, I think that Billie1234 might have a mighty (and probably unsuccessful) battle on his hands if he wants to try to argue that he has the right to work from 5.45 until 1.45.
I fully accept that 'implied terms' can form part of a contract but it seems (from my own experience) that they can be hard to enforce.
If the four different solicitors acting for the RMT, ASLEF, TSSA and UNISON couldn't come up with a way of geting our rights to a free travel pass for a nominated person retained, and they actually said that it was because it only constituted 'custom and practice' rather than being a contractual right, I think that Billie1234 might have a mighty (and probably unsuccessful) battle on his hands if he wants to try to argue that he has the right to work from 5.45 until 1.45.
In the words of the old pop song "Billie, don't be a hero".
Having been there myself, I know just how tempting it is to try to exact revenge. In my case I moved on, changed jobs - luckily I got a much better place, and six months later I heard the other guy (my stupid boss) had got the sack - I did chuckle.
Anyway, good luck with sorting it out, with the gness solution, or whatever - but do be careful.
Having been there myself, I know just how tempting it is to try to exact revenge. In my case I moved on, changed jobs - luckily I got a much better place, and six months later I heard the other guy (my stupid boss) had got the sack - I did chuckle.
Anyway, good luck with sorting it out, with the gness solution, or whatever - but do be careful.
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