Guest Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 the pre-school that i am running is loosing money. i have gone through the staff rota etc and can not cut down anymore apart from all staff have a planning meeting on a friday afternoon the staff get paid for 3 hours. i was wanting to cut these hours down by half and have got the support of the chairperson in doing this. the staff contracts do not state that they attend the meeting and get paid for 3 hours. does anyone know if i have to give the staff warning in the change of hours? as it does not say on there contracts? cutting these hours down will save us alot of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 wow 3 hrs staff meeting each week all pd does sound a lot, doubt that many setting have that much planning time, we have 1/2 hr each wk to plan the following week, as it isn't in staff's contracted hours i can't you why you can't just stop it as you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Kitty Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Blimey wish we got 3 hours paid a week too! We have a planning meeting every week which is usually around an hour and a half and we get £15 every other month for attending them - so it works out at about £1.50 an hour Anyway in answer to your question - technically no I don't think you have to give them notice of a change if it isn't in their contract but depending on their personalities they may not be too happy. However if they are aware of the money troubles I guess they may know it's coming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 WOW we have 1 staff meeting a term and get paid for an hour although bless them we are often at it for 2 although i do most times give them lunch. If its not in their contracts i guess it should be fine just need tactful handling good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 i think that if it is a 'custom and practise' then you will need to inform them and give them notice of change...even though it is not in their contract you have been operating like this for some time and therefore it becomes regular working. It really does not matter if you have a contract or not employees are still protected by law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 thank you everyone for all the replys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anju Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I have been paying staff (just for the last term) an hour per key child to get learning journals ready for open afternoons. this term i've explained i can't afford it but (as we have more than enough staff) they can have time off in lieu instead. the extra pay is not in their contract, it hasn't been going on for a long time, so not custom and practice, and they've agreed to it so i'm doing it. i always think at the end of the day if things are genuinely tricky financially in these sort of small businesses, staff generally understand - there's not much point digging heels in and refusing such changes if it results in the business going bust. an extreme example i know but that's the logical conclusion. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 You can change things even if staff object and it is written into their contracts as long as you can prove that it is to the detriment of the business to carry on then contract or not, custom & practice or not there isn't much that can be done about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 actually i think i have to disagree here....even if you are struggling financially you need to go through the process correctly or you may lay yourself open to a tribunal There is always a temptation to think that you know your staff well and that they would not take you to court, however i would suggest that under times of stress and financial dire straits people are put in positions that drive them to do things out of character. Deal with financial situations with great care especially if you are committee run as the liability is personal and if taken to court you could lose more than a colleague I think this is where pre-schools lay themselves open to problems and where we should follow larger company practise....IMO of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 we asked ACAS about a change to husbands contract.. their reply was extra hours regularly paid even if not stipulated in contract then they were deemed to be regarded as normal and part of the contract.. BUT any changes could be made at any time to the hours so long as enough notice was given, which is one week for every year of service.. so you can give 1 week per year of service notice to any changes to contract and this would be deemed lawful.. this even applied to any staff TUPED across when a comp[any was taken over... so not as hard as we thought to change a contract... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 FinlaysMaid, I didnt say you didn't have to go through the process correctly. I said- Even if it is in your contract if you can prove it is to the business' detriment and even if staff object you may still change it. Obviously you have to go through the process properly. My daughter is an HR Manager for a very large company and specializes in employment law. When her company decided it was too expensive to carry on paying (and causing staff problems) 'old' staff extra for working Sundays and 'new' staff had Sundays written in as part of their working week, it (as you can imagine) caused an uproar. However she said the employees had no choice as the company were able to prove that to carry on doing this was not financially viable and that they were in danger of being taken to a tribunal by the newer staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 sorry Lynne 55 i read your message in conjunction with Anju's...which i felt gave the impression that you could do what you like when you like, which is obviously not the case as your daughter is aware and i'm sure she gives notice of changes which is part of the orignal post here....sorry if there was any misunderstanding i completely agree that you are able to make changes but these must be done following employment law. ........Always the problem with email you cant always read the meaning behind the words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Finlaysmaid, I have just read my 2nd post to you and realised how rude? (for want of a better word) it reads. I didn't mean it to sound quite like it has- As you say that's the problem with the written word you cannot always hear the tone behind it. I really feel like it reads as though I am jumping on you and I'm not honestly!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Finlaysmaid, I have just read my 2nd post to you and realised how rude? (for want of a better word) it reads. I didn't mean it to sound quite like it has- As you say that's the problem with the written word you cannot always hear the tone behind it. I really feel like it reads as though I am jumping on you and I'm not honestly!! no problem at all ... to be honest i have the worst cold and i'm not sure i'm making sense all the time anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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