contracted hours

hi, question on contracted hours

contract is down for 21 hours working week. for the past three months I have been working 34 hours per week being paid at standard rate.

it was agreed with my manager that this would be a temporary setup, but appears to be continuing. Is there any entitlement that after a certain amount of time that the actual hours worked becomes your contracted hours?

on a separate issue, I was transferred to a different branch and my job role changed, this was something that was done without my consent by management of the two stores.

within my new role I don't have as much responsibly and to be honest I miss this slightly; how and ever. - I am now being asked to change my normal hours that I have always worked to accommodate changes within the shop.

this is something which really I cannot do very easily as for the past few years I have built things around these hours; again can the company insist one makes these changes? - when I began with the company they were aware of my personal situation and these were my agreed house; that I have always worked.

How long have you been with your current employer?
Did you agree in writing to your current hours?

This link from Citizens Information may be of use.

in total about 6 years.

I dont have it in my contract, i know this now not to be great.
however my hours were always the same and I was hired on this basis.
they have never been changed nor have i ever been asked to.

i had a look at the link but this kinda goes in the opposite way; making reductions in hours. they are looking to change the hours, not the amount.

In this case not having a contract is not really a problem. Contracts protect the employer as much as the employee and in the absence of one custom and practice becomes your de facto contract.
Your hours (part of your terms and conditions of employment) cannot be changed without your agreement. Both parties should do what they can to accommodate the needs of the other but you can't be forced into these changes.

What exactly is the wording of your contract re: hours? It's incredibly common to have a '12 hour contract' or whatever but unless it says 12 hours max/21 hours max I would be wary of challenging it. My contract said: 'Your working week will be 15 hours, 2 evenings and 2 weekend days' I generally worked about 22 hours and was able to work 37.5 hours on several occassions. So unless yours says maximum in it somewhere that it is up to the needs of the employer what hours you work AS LONG AS your hours are over 21 hours. Did your contract change in any way when you moved branch?

Edit: Just saw that your contract does not mention hours. I wouldn't think you have a leg to stand on in that case.

CatherineB said:

What exactly is the wording of your contract re: hours? It's incredibly common to have a '12 hour contract' or whatever but unless it says 12 hours max/21 hours max I would be wary of challenging it. My contract said: 'Your working week will be 15 hours, 2 evenings and 2 weekend days' I generally worked about 22 hours and was able to work 37.5 hours on several occassions. So unless yours says maximum in it somewhere that it is up to the needs of the employer what hours you work AS LONG AS your hours are over 21 hours. Did your contract change in any way when you moved branch?

Edit: Just saw that your contract does not mention hours. I wouldn't think you have a leg to stand on in that case.

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I disagree. If, for example, the OP worked 30 hours a week, 6 hours X 5 days, for 6 years then they are her contracted hours.