Is Flex Compulsory?

[arsenalfox]

Can anyone please confirm whether it is compulsory to flex 30 minutes?

Today I followed correct procedure to cut off and received a call with an hour or so of my finish time from management explaining I was required to flex 30 minutes. When I refused I was told it was in the national agreement I had to unless I have "specific plans" I need to attend to.

My understanding was they could only request this but not enforce it?

Thanks

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

They can ask you to flex all they want, but you have the right to accept or decline flexing, it cannot and should not be forced on you. No special reasons needed, you have a right to finish at your contracted finish time.

Flexing might suit you, doing an extra 30mins today, but make sure you get those 30mins back at a time that suits you (which for many is not starting 30mins later one morning this week).

[worktotime]

simple NO , and its not compulsory either ,and its up to you if you want to do it , and they can only use that flexing crap if a truck or machine breaks down not because they haven't a clue what mails is coming in and its above there under inflated figures ,

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 125/15 Flexibility in Delivery Offices Clarification

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 15&t=68288" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Point of Clarification on 30 mins Flexibility

Both parties re-affirm their commitment to the 30 minute flexibility arrangements within the Pay and Modernisation agreement. The following provides clarification of the agreed approach.



Where necessary, for example when traffic volumes are unexpectedly high or resourcing issues arise, individuals may be asked and may themselves request to vary their duty times by up to 30 minutes on a swings and roundabouts basis. Individual circumstances will be taken into account and total weekly contractual hours will not change. This means that individuals may flex their duty times by up to 30 minutes on any given day and this will be balanced either way over the next 5 working days. However this period can be extended by local agreement. A local record will be kept. Any requirement to change times of attendance or flex will take into account individual's personal obligations and responsibilities.



There is no other agreement in place between Royal Mail and the CWU that overrides or supersedes this statement. To be absolutely clear any hours worked before or after official duty times should attract the appropriate overtime payment, unless there is an arrangement agreed in line with the above.



Where managers continue to insist that working beyond duty time is part of some imaginary flexibility agreement then a disagreement should be put in place to resolve the matter using the IR Framework.

[arsenalfox]

Many thanks for all the replies.

[Lincox]

Because flexibility can only be REQUESTED in respect of abnormal events such as delayed mail, it cannot therefore be requested or imposed on an individual basis. You might want to ask around and see if others in your group did overtime on that same day and were paid for it. If that is the case then you are being treated differently to your colleagues. This happened to me in 2009 and I placed a grievance asking why I was being bullied into flexing whilst at the same time others were being paid for doing the overtime. After a long drawn out process they were forced into agreeing that I had in fact been treated differently. They cannot ask you to flex if you are not prepared to do overtime and at the same time not ask those who are doing overtime to flex.