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Can Tesco make you work outside of your availability window?

Started by snufflesthebear, 28-06-22, 05:28PM

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snufflesthebear

Hi, our store and is over-hours and everyone that leaves is never replaced. The department I work on is paper thin. I have my contracted shifts which I do, and they are needed, but during right hours, right place can your manager contract you to a day which is not in your availability window?

Thanks

Sherwoodforest

Your availability is exactly that,your availability,they can ask you to move,but cant force you,alot of managers just toss off availability forms,people apply for jobs saying available full time most days,then availabilty form done by manager and suddenly only available for contracted hours,
Tesco Finest Karma,best served bent over💩

Jackwarda

I think one of the VLH more experienced people may be able to offer more help. BUt my understanding is if you have not put down a day you are available, then I dont think they can. For ex, if you work Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur and not put down frid or weekend, I dont think they can make you, only on the days you stated?

Jackwarda

@Sherwoodforest, also if someone has put say 9am to 5am availability and you contracted 9am to 1pm, they can ask you to cover up to 5am availability but cant ask or tell you to do say up to 7pm, unless you wanted to.

Redshoes

All areas are thin now. Hours have been cut. If your store is over hours they will be tasked with getting the hours in the right place and there will be limited overtime available because of this too.
You can select to work outside your availability window but you can't be forced to do so.
There can however be a business case scenario to move hours from an over hours time to an under hours time. It has to be fair and not targeted at one person but it can be done. If you can't work in the new proposed hours the store can then look at moving your dept to an area that does need you at that time.
If the store is generally over hours moving people to a different time of day or dept might be a exercise not worth doing. It's only if over hours but with shifts unfilled that it generates a business case to do so.

Tesla

Do them 1 overtime shift and that makes you fully flexible. If they complain remind them of that time you helped. The managers won't have a leg to stand on.

Redshoes

We have loads of people that only do one overtime shift a week. That's fine, it's fair.  Everyone gets a bit of overtime and as so many doing it the overtime can generally be filled.  Trouble days are Sat and Sun but this just takes a bit more work but no pressure for anyone to do shifts they don't want.

redeo

Quote from: Sherwoodforest on 28-06-22, 07:08PMYour availability is exactly that,your availability,they can ask you to move,but cant force you,alot of managers just toss off availability forms,people apply for jobs saying available full time most days,then availabilty form done by manager and suddenly only available for contracted hours,

Yes because the contract isn't long enough and provide enoug money to live off, so people end up getting additional jobs. If Tesco wants full time staff then offer full time contract at a wage that allows people to only have Tesco as their only job.

Batmanjo

Quote from: snufflesthebear on 28-06-22, 05:28PMHi, our store and is over-hours and everyone that leaves is never replaced. The department I work on is paper thin. I have my contracted shifts which I do, and they are needed, but during right hours, right place can your manager contract you to a day which is not in your availability window?

Thanks

They can move your hours within reason and would need to show a good business reason to do this, however they cannot change them from day to night, having said that it would not be within reason to change your days as this would cross over the day / night exception. I would not except the RHRP malarkey as a business reason this is just a copy of the rota for whatever department you are on. 

Cinderella

I am constantly being scheduled outside of my availability. My manager even threatened to demote me and move me to another department because of my objections! Not even the Occupational Health report detailing how difficult certain times are for me stops them. This comes up every few months, and I've been scheduled out of my availability for the next three weeks in a row. They never ask me beforehand, and won't make changes once the schedule has been issued

FarmerFred

If they're consistently scheduling you outside of your availability windows without your agreement then do your standard contractual shifts & raise a grievance as they're not following policy.

Redshoes

Quote from: FarmerFred on 12-07-22, 09:56AMIf they're consistently scheduling you outside of your availability windows without your agreement then do your standard contractual shifts & raise a grievance as they're not following policy.
As you mention threaten to demote you are not a customer assistant. As such it all changes. Managers and shift leaders don't have set shifts. I request a regular same day off and get that 80% of the time. I request another day off for working a Sunday as I don't want to work six days a week, I always get this. My only other request is minimal late shifts into earlies. I used to get loads of 2000 finish into 0500 starts. I get hardly any now. The rest of it we swap between us. As in "I will do your late tues". There is never a schedule without a change. Shift leads and managers are all on one rota. The fresh shift lead gets more early shifts and the grocery gets more TW, generally.

lucgeo

Nobody, irrelevant of status, should be working without the legal 11 hour working time directive rest break between shifts.
As a manager, you obviously know this! :-X

Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Redshoes

It's 11 hours without opt out and it happens. I get shifts most weeks with 9 hours between at least once. For a superstore with a small management team it happens. When one manager is on holiday and another goes sick then add in the managers with child care we sometimes do not have a choice. We just get on with it.

londoner83

But the point is you shouldn't just get on with it. If you dug your heels in and said no, the manager wouldn't have a leg to stand on and couldn't make you work those shifts.

A company the size of Tesco would struggle to show that they couldn't move someone from another store to cover gaps in rotas caused by absence.

Long-term lack of rest affects your health and mental well-being, and you could well be storing up problems that affect you later in life.

General Thorn

Quote from: Redshoes on 15-07-22, 07:41AMIt's 11 hours without opt out and it happens. I get shifts most weeks with 9 hours between at least once. For a superstore with a small management team it happens. When one manager is on holiday and another goes sick then add in the managers with child care we sometimes do not have a choice. We just get on with it.

The point is, it should not be happening regularly or it just becomes the norm. Next we will find that the time between shifts has been slashed to 8 or 9 hours because 'colleagues have agreed to it.'

In my store there are lots of things that should not be happening, that now occur on a regular basis eg split shifts, less than 11 hours between shifts, working 12 days before time off, not taking breaks, no safety shoes when offloading wagons, pressured to do overtime with very little notice.

With Tesco's low rate of pay and all the increases in day to day living, I can only see more and more colleagues jumping at whatever they can get and the bosses rubbing their hands in glee  >:D

Nomad

I have trouble recalling an employment where I have not had to point out to others that whatever you do over the top is rarely appreciated, remembered or rewarded.  but it will surely come to be expected and will make you the 'bad guy' when you decline to do whatever it is.  FACT.  :'(
Nomad ( Forum Admin )
It's better to be up in arms than down on your knees.

Cinderella

This is still happening in my store. Almost a year of arguing with them about scheduling me outside of my availability, without even asking if I am willing to do it. I actually changed my availability, adding in the day they kept scheduling me for, but limiting the times I could do - giving nine hours of availability on the day that was previously not available at all. But that's not good enough, apparently. They keep scheduling me outside of this, and telling me I'm not fit for the role if I can't do any shifts they want. They also keep saying that Part Time colleagues aren't required to be flexible, although employment law states that FT and PT employees should be subject to the same conditions and treatment. My availability is limited that particular day that I've added (just for them!) due to medical reasons, but even that isn't good enough. I'm seriously regretting increasing my availability at all, as it's just created even more drama!

I found on ourtesco a paragraph about being scheduled within the agreed availability window, but nothing about accepting the availability, following it for two months and then suddenly scheduling you wherever they want and saying you're not suitable when you object!

SimonF12030

They are full of s**t, get them to show you the corporate guidelines that say this, and they will buckle

oldfashionedplayer

Quote from: Cinderella on 16-09-22, 10:27PMThis is still happening in my store. Almost a year of arguing with them about scheduling me outside of my availability, without even asking if I am willing to do it. I actually changed my availability, adding in the day they kept scheduling me for, but limiting the times I could do - giving nine hours of availability on the day that was previously not available at all. But that's not good enough, apparently. They keep scheduling me outside of this, and telling me I'm not fit for the role if I can't do any shifts they want. They also keep saying that Part Time colleagues aren't required to be flexible, although employment law states that FT and PT employees should be subject to the same conditions and treatment. My availability is limited that particular day that I've added (just for them!) due to medical reasons, but even that isn't good enough. I'm seriously regretting increasing my availability at all, as it's just created even more drama!

I found on ourtesco a paragraph about being scheduled within the agreed availability window, but nothing about accepting the availability, following it for two months and then suddenly scheduling you wherever they want and saying you're not suitable when you object!

https://colleague-help.ourtesco.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035197351-Working-Hours-How-much-availability-do-I-need-to-provide-if-I-am-a-flexible-worker-in-stores-

"If you are a Part time flexible colleague you can have core hours on a Sunday that are worked each week. You would not however have an availability window or be required to flex up on Sundays or Bank Holidays."

also - https://colleague-help.ourtesco.com/hc/en-us/articles/7085329110420-Extra-hours-Market-and-colleague-availability

"Until the new contract is launched on 16 October, colleagues currently on a flexi contract will be able to view and
sign up for extra hours shifts 24 hours before other colleagues. This is in recognition of the fact that stores will no
longer be scheduling additional hours for these colleagues,
and the new contract and commitment to increase
contracted hours has not yet come into effect. When the new contract comes into effect in October, the current
flexi contracts will no longer exist, and all colleagues will have access to view and book voluntary extra hours
shifts at the same time"

if they are pressuring you, you can challenge it under bullying, discriminating and equality, since you are being targeted.. whilst policy dictates that shouldn't be the case

Bobmay

Quote from: Cinderella on 16-09-22, 10:27PMThis is still happening in my store. Almost a year of arguing with them about scheduling me outside of my availability, without even asking if I am willing to do it. I actually changed my availability, adding in the day they kept scheduling me for, but limiting the times I could do - giving nine hours of availability on the day that was previously not available at all. But that's not good enough, apparently. They keep scheduling me outside of this, and telling me I'm not fit for the role if I can't do any shifts they want. They also keep saying that Part Time colleagues aren't required to be flexible, although employment law states that FT and PT employees should be subject to the same conditions and treatment. My availability is limited that particular day that I've added (just for them!) due to medical reasons, but even that isn't good enough. I'm seriously regretting increasing my availability at all, as it's just created even more drama!

I found on ourtesco a paragraph about being scheduled within the agreed availability window, but nothing about accepting the availability, following it for two months and then suddenly scheduling you wherever they want and saying you're not suitable when you object!

They can't do anything.If they don't want you than say pay my redundancy.

person7

They can ask but you can decline - whole point of availability window is "this is when I'm usually available if I'm needed but I'm not expected to be available out of these hours/days".

So they can ask but they cant make you.

Redshoes

Quote from: Cinderella on 16-09-22, 10:27PMThis is still happening in my store. Almost a year of arguing with them about scheduling me outside of my availability, without even asking if I am willing to do it. I actually changed my availability, adding in the day they kept scheduling me for, but limiting the times I could do - giving nine hours of availability on the day that was previously not available at all. But that's not good enough, apparently. They keep scheduling me outside of this, and telling me I'm not fit for the role if I can't do any shifts they want. They also keep saying that Part Time colleagues aren't required to be flexible, although employment law states that FT and PT employees should be subject to the same conditions and treatment. My availability is limited that particular day that I've added (just for them!) due to medical reasons, but even that isn't good enough. I'm seriously regretting increasing my availability at all, as it's just created even more drama!

I found on ourtesco a paragraph about being scheduled within the agreed availability window, but nothing about accepting the availability, following it for two months and then suddenly scheduling you wherever they want and saying you're not suitable when you object!

Is this as a colleague or as a shift leader.

universe

So am I to understand, does this new contract replace right hours right place ? if I say my availability is only my current contracted fixed hours they cannot force me to change any hours without my consent ?

Bobmay

Quote from: londoner83 on 15-07-22, 07:54AMBut the point is you shouldn't just get on with it. If you dug your heels in and said no, the manager wouldn't have a leg to stand on and couldn't make you work those shifts.

A company the size of Tesco would struggle to show that they couldn't move someone from another store to cover gaps in rotas caused by absence.

Long-term lack of rest affects your health and mental well-being, and you could well be storing up problems that affect you later in life.

Agree. Some love to be bullied and treated worse like donkeys than complain that others don't accept it

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