discriminated against for refusing to work sundays

S

susie80

Guest
i have been working for my employer for 13 years, and for the last 7 years i have been working every other saturday. Now my employer is saying that as i dont work sundays i am now expected to work every saturday, however sunday is a voluntary working day so i am now being bullied and penalise for not agreeing to work sundays by having to work every saturday, is this allowed??
 
What is the nature of your work. In retail most employees work Saturdays and Sundays. Are you saying that by asking you to work every Saturday that this is bullying ? Or are you being bullied in some other way and you feel its because you wont work Sunday ? Your contract will probably cover the fact that he can ask you to work any day. I presume your contract says Sunday is a voluntary day ?
 
i work for a supermarket. Sunday is classed as a voluntary day, so because i refused to work sunday they are now saying that i have to work every saturday, even though i have worked every other saturday for years and years.
 
Unless you have a contract to say you can negotiate your hours to suit yourself I would say your employer is correct and the fact you won't work Sundays is irrelevant.
 
I dont understand what you are trying to achieve. You have worked every Saturday for years. You dont want them to state that you 'must' work every Saturday in the future. Are you trying to make sure that you could be eligible for a Saturday off sometime in the future ? Am I right with this ? I would imagine that they could enforce this. This was standard practice for anyone who works a Saturday in the past i.e hairdressers, bar/shop/restaurant workers and I'm pretty sure it still stands. Most would get a Saturday off as a holiday if required although not ideal for your employer they would oblige for weddings etc. We all have to give and take I'm afraid.
 
elcato said:
I dont understand what you are trying to achieve. You have worked every Saturday for years. You dont want them to state that you 'must' work every Saturday in the future. Are you trying to make sure that you could be eligible for a Saturday off sometime in the future ? Am I right with this ? I would imagine that they could enforce this. This was standard practice for anyone who works a Saturday in the past i.e hairdressers, bar/shop/restaurant workers and I'm pretty sure it still stands. Most would get a Saturday off as a holiday if required although not ideal for your employer they would oblige for weddings etc. We all have to give and take I'm afraid.
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OP said they have worked "every other Saturday", so his query is whether he can be made to wark every Saturday as he doesn't work Sundays.
 
i work every other saturday. work want me to now to work every saturday because i dont work sundays.
i am also a carer for my dad who has terminal cancer, and i take him out at weekends when i am not working, so this decision will affect my family.
 
fobs said:
Unless you have a contract to say you can negotiate your hours to suit yourself I would say your employer is correct and the fact you won't work Sundays is irrelevant.
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No, if she has been working the same hours for 7 years then a precedent has been established so it's as good as having it written into a contract.
OP, they can't make you work every Saturday without your agreement. If you are being bullied (still not clarified) then you have a strong case for constructive dismissal if you feel you have to leave.
 
A word of caution - before you start talking constructive dismissal you must exhaust all available internal routes to settle your grievance with the company - check your company handbook for information on how you do that
 
i have been doing every other saturday for 6 years and 2 months. I use to be a supervisor but had to go off long term sick, i went back to work last november and decided to step down providing that i remained in the department and i got hours within my availability and my employer agreed so i stepped down, ive only had this contract for 3 months and now they want to change it to every saturday coz i dont work sundays, however ive done every other for AT LEAST 6 YEARS AND 2 MONTHS
 
You're saying Sunday is a voluntary day but maybe people are volunteering for Sunday because they don't want to work every Saturday - which is a reasonable compromise. They get paid more and the company doesn't need to employ more people.

I worked in the job where my contract stated I needed to be available between 8am and 8pm, and 9-1 on saturday.

As it happened, the job was mainly 9-5, with one day working 12-8pm once every three weeks.
A year later, operational demand meant I had to work one day of 12-8pm every 2 weeks instead. (people had been in the company for up to 5 years who also worked it more frequently)
And then they changed it a full week of 12-8's every 6 weeks.

The contract clearly allowed for this!

What does your contract say?
 
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