zx135 wrote:LaggyBand wrote:zx135 wrote:LaggyBand wrote:zx135 wrote:LaggyBand wrote:So does that mean management can change your rota day with short notice without your consent? Or are you unsure?
Legally yes. But doing so could leave the dom open to losing a grievance case against him over it
Ok, what makes you say yes?
Is it simply the absence of a clause to the contrary in the contract?
Also, why would a dom be open to losing the grievance? What have they done wrong?
I am saying yes as legally royal mail can change any part of our contractual terms and conditions including days off and attendance times, there is no law which stops it.
As for the grievance, they can change our terms and conditions but there are guidelines(not rules) that state they should give reasonable notice, so a short notice change of day off could be considered unreasonable hence the dom could lose a grievance case over it
Thanks for going back and forth with me, I am trying to bring this to a legally sound conclusion as it seems quite muddied.
I disagree with the first paragraph though, a contracting party cannot unilaterally and retrospectively change the terms of a contract, it is done through agreement. That's why I said they could do it purely because there is an absence of a clause to the contrary; in other words, you are contracted for 39 hours, but not on specific days (unless contract says otherwise).
Do you know which guidelines you are referring to? I'm looking for a citation for our office to use.
As I said legally they can make changes,
this pages shows the options an employee has if they do make changes without agreement, the employer is not supposed to make changes without agreement but again there is no law actually stopping them from doing so
https://www.gov.uk/your-employment-cont ... h-problems" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
as for being reasonable notice look here:
http://www.safeworkers.co.uk/if-your-em ... hours.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Notice of working hours/changes
Your employer must give you reasonable notice of any changes to your working hours, such as cancelling your shifts. They may request last minute changes (such as ringing you that morning to say that they do not require you to work) and you can choose to agree to this change. However if you are not given reasonable notice of your shift being cancelled/shortened, you can politely refuse this reduction in your hours.
How much notice is "reasonable"? There is no law simply defining reasonable. However your contract may state this. In most cases, a minimum of 12 hours notice would be expected as reasonable notice to cancel a shift. It may be reasonable to have more notice of a requirement to work (rather than not work).
They may try to make changes, but the common law of contract limits what they can do. That's why that Gov website lists the remedies for breach.
And by guidelines, I meant internal RM guidelines ancillary to the contract, not some guidelines from a third party.
I think the bottom line is they can change your rota day a week before, your only hope is to argue unreasonable notice.
There is a legal definition of what is reasonable. Something is reasonable if twelve of your peers deem it to be. That's the test.
Edit: So just to conclude, if postie is moved from "his" duty, and put on a different duty all week, and gets that duty's normal day off, and knows about it the week before, but this day off is different to the rota day he would have had but for the change, it would not be advisable for him to simply refuse and say he's not changing, where management will not bend due to operational need. The postie could be in breach of contract.
Hey I always like to side with the postie. But I like my ammo full metal jacketed. Kinda sucks.
