Shorter Hours Through Contracts

[Guest]

Hi Everyone

 

Sorry, I'm back again already!

 

I am just wondering if anyone has experience of enforcing reduced/shorter hours using their staff's existing contracts.

 

Our staff have a clause in their t&c's that says "There will be occasions when additional/reduced hours are necessary to meet specific or special requirements". I think this will have come from a standard PSLA template.

 

I spoke to our local PSLA office and they weren't aware of anyone having tested it.

 

When I sought legal advice about if we could insist on shorter hours based on the contracts in place, (basically to avoid a redundancy), I was advised that as it was not very specific it was hard to predict what would happen if challenged through an employment hearing. As we are already in financial difficulties we decided not to try and enforce and to try and gain consensus amongst staff to adopt reduced hours. We had two cracks at this with no luck and are now going through the motions of having to make permanent changes to their contracts.

 

I don't want to be in this position again and would like to have the flexibility to reduce hours if necessary in the future and to respond quickly to any significant change in circumstances.

 

Does anyone have experience of doing this through contracts, has anyone ever had a legal challenge when they have tried to reduce/increase hours, or has anyone got suggested wording for contracts that they feel confident could be invoked if necessary?

 

Thank you so much!

[Guest SamG]

I opened my own setting in Novemeber last year with a business partner. After lots of enquiries for places for January we took on a member of staff working 22 hours a week. At half term in February we spoke to her and explained that the money wasn't there to continue paying her for 22 hours and did she object to halving her hours until things picked up. We were really lucky and she agreed, but her contract still says 22 hours.

 

Not sure if that helps at all, but didn't want to read and run xx

[Rea]

Our contracts state hours as low as 13 and as high as 22.5. We've used both when numbers were low and staff know its always a possibility of it happening again in the future. We have also worked for no pay, clocking the unpaid hours until such time we could afford to pay it. We've always been lucky that the majority of our staff came from parents who decided to train with us or who had been on the committee so they knew what to expect.

[barcombeplaygroup]

We have the same sort of wording in our staff contracts. We were in the same position a few years ago when numbers were really low and funds were just not there. We are committee run and they were very good at speaking to all members of staff about the situation and stating that if staff members were not prepared to take a cut in hours then they would have no choice but to make redundancies or even worse maybe think about closing. Once staff realised the seriousness of the situation then they were all happy to reduce hours (myself included and I am the manager)

[Inge]

We too had that clause in our contract, think it also had a minimum of 6 hours a week with extra hours offered when hey were available... the minimum offered depended on the role . as manager I too took the reduced hours with deputy working opposite me so we always had one of us working, all others were level 3 so it was fine for us to do this.

 

Committee always kept all staff well informed of the finances, so they knew how many children we had to have attending to break even each day.. and staff were also aware it was either cut hours, a redundancy or closure.No one ever objected .

 

they did occasionally have new staff on fixed term contracts.. this worked for those really busy periods, if you could find someone willing to do it..

[redjayne]

So many settings and other places of work are now in similar situations with fluctuations with numbers and the once a year exodus to schools, so really there are possibly two options people should consider

 

a) if you need less staff/ hours in September but the increase occurs termly or through the year consider an annualised hours contract whereby you employ for i.e. 600 hours for the year and the person works those hours as required - might only do 1 day in September and increase as needed - or can be called in on days where you have staff shortage or need extras (like when Mrs O knocks the door - not that any setting would draft in extra staff for the day for this )

b ) you employ for i.e 15 core hours and then any hours they work on top of this is claimed as overtime - so again you can identify need and cover as required but not be 'tied in' to paying for staff when the children are not there.

As for changing existing contracts it will have to be a case of goodwill on the part of the staff ( and they need to see that everybody is being treated the same or this can cause bad feeling) and pointing out that if the setting goes under nobody will have a job.

Good Luck :rolleyes:

Edited May 25, 2013 by redjayne