Later starts with school run

[moonjaguar]

Been told today we are soon to have later starts making it impossible to pick up kids. Manager says nothing he can do, either do the hours or leave. Is this legal? Is that it for surely many of us? Can the union do anything?

[scoobydo79]

Legal I think if given a months notice

[yellowbelly]

Been told today we are soon to have later starts making it impossible to pick up kids. Manager says nothing he can do, either do the hours or leave. Is this legal? Is that it for surely many of us? Can the union do anything?

This is one of the (many) reasons why the union have been 'negotiating' over the weekend (as possibly still ongoing) to
stop the EA that management are forcing through and do proper revisions involving the union.

If they manage that then there should be more appreciation of colleauges individual circumstances. Doesn't
mean you'd get what you want but we can live in hope.

If there is major change in the DO which classifies as a major change a repick is a possibility
in which scenario the following quote is a factor (but other factors primarily seniority come first),
again it's why the CWU are trying to stop the EA and get involved in the revisions:

employees taking part in the re-sign will be given the opportunity to advise of any personal circumstances, which necessitate a particular duty type or attendance pattern and, where practical, this will be accommodated. Where this happens, there will be prior discussion with the local CWU rep;

I think other posters have mentioned it before but as female colleagues are in a lot of cases still
take on the primary role of childcare it could be construed as discrimination if a significant percentage of
female colleagues are affected by the decision, but an agreed solution should be found way
before that if the employer is family friendly as RM are supposed to be.

[Woody Guthrie]

Whether it's legal or not will depend on a lot of factors including the amount of change involved, your contract, your implied terms and conditions and the affect it will have on your personal circumstances.

None of us are qualified to give that kind of advice so take any comments on that basis.

The notice period required for a change of contract can be varied but is generally accepted in law to be equal to the notice given for termination of employment which depending on your circumstances could be anything up to 12 weeks for some.

My advice first of all would be to submit a simple letter of protest stating that you do not accept the changes, this stops the business from arguing that working these new times constitutes an acceptance of your new contract.

Secondly I would submit a flexible working application form which are available on the government website stating that you require an earlier start and finish time for childcare reasons.

[Foxel]

Been told today we are soon to have later starts making it impossible to pick up kids. Manager says nothing he can do, either do the hours or leave. Is this legal? Is that it for surely many of us? Can the union do anything?

There needs to be proper consultation. I'd ask the manager to state, in writing, exactly why they can't meet your needs. RM have to seriously consider your request and demonstrate why they are unable to meet your needs. This request itself might make the manager consider, they don't like the extra work and any mistakes on their side could be taken to ACAS or a tribunal.

[koolishy67]

Month notice

[postslippete]

The notice period required for a change of contract can be varied but is generally accepted in law to be equal to the notice given for termination of employment which depending on your circumstances could be anything up to 12 weeks for some.

My advice first of all would be to submit a simple letter of protest stating that you do not accept the changes, this stops the business from arguing that working these new times constitutes an acceptance of your new contract.

Secondly I would submit a flexible working application form which are available on the government website stating that you require an earlier start and finish time for childcare reasons.

Thanks for that woody. I have been looking into this because it's obvious to me that the company appear to be giving us both a larger outdoor workload AND a later finish time. These are the changes that RM have really wanted from the outset.

This is the link to the govt website for anyone concerned
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... king-form

Question is do the company have a right to refuse your request? Where would you stand legally

[roman]

Thompson said that they would try to accommodate people with special circumstances. Although I don’t know what that means. Could you say getting home to feed the dog special or looking after an elderly relative. Who knows ?

[pinstripe]

Thompson said that they would try to accommodate people with special circumstances. Although I don’t know what that means. Could you say getting home to feed the dog special or looking after an elderly relative. Who knows ?

Well child care for 2 disabled children doesn’t count as special circumstances according to my managers

[roman]

That’s definitely special circumstances

[Gary55]

They must be monsters

[Acca Dacca]

Maybe im missing something but surely if the reason given for the later starts is that the mail and parcels from the mail centre are going to arrive at the DO later ( with more stuff that was sent our later the previous evening ) then there is nothing for those who cant start later to do even if allowed to start at current time

Its not like they can start tying up their frame an hour before others have started if the mail isnt there to be sorted, or already been sorted

And if the mail is there, surely everyone would want to start earlier since the work is there to be done and so there'd be no reason for the later start in the first place

[Foxel]

Question is do the company have a right to refuse your request? Where would you stand legally

Yes, they do. But they need to give it proper thought and show why they have. If it can be shown that they could accommodate you but have chosen not to or you can point to people who are treated differently you may a case. I know people who already start late and finish early for school.

[Foxel]

Maybe im missing something...

The solution could well be a move to PT to accommodate the earlier finishes. In some DO's there are people coming in early on docket to sort. It really depends on individual and workplace circumstances.

[twoloops]

Half nine start, half ten, four in the afternoon, Royal Mail know some donkeys will still turn up hour, two hours early unpaid