My employer wants to force everyone to change thier contracted hours?

they have said that they need everyone to go frm 40 hour contracts to 44 hour flexible hours. they have given a set date for everyone to change and if they dont, the will terminate thier current contract. they have said this is not a redundancy situation,the employee under law will be deemed to resign.my question is can they legally do this or is there a flaw in what they propose to do??

Cari

They are legally allowed to do this. They have to give you a month's notice of the changes in the terms to your contract, and at the end of this time, you can either accept it or not, but if not then that counts as resignation.

Now, if you have legitimate grounds for not being able to change and they force you to anyway, then it's likely that you've got a good case for discrimination, such as if you are a woman with young children and due to caring for the children you cannot work flexible hours (note that only women can usually get away with this one).

However if you don't have legitimate grounds and it's simply a case of you not wanting to work flexible hours, then you're going to lose.

ALAN T

Any change in terms and conditions can be made with 3 months notice usually. If you then do not comply with those terms and conditions you will be deemed to be in breach of contract

The Wife

You need to refer to the original contract. There may be a clause you aren't aware of. If there is no provision for this made, then they may be within their legal right.

kitten

I think they can do this, yes, they've also given you adequate notice. Maybe talk to HR and find out more information

Julie K

As long as they give you notification and ask for your feedback and opinion, they are within their right to propose changes to your contracts. You need to get together find a spokesperson and put to the management your concerns about this. They have to listen to any objections - better still, write them down and get everyone to sign the objections.

LillyB

No they cannot legally do this and they can't fire you for refusing to change your hours. If the employee is forced to resign then this is constructive dismissal - can't get away with it - you need to get legal advice asap - go to your local citizens advice bureau or contact ACAS for further advice. What would be the point of having a contract if your employer could changeit whenever it suits them.

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