some very important advice please

[rozia]

I have been under a lot of stress regarding work recently. I only work part time and its a clerical post, i finish work at 2.30 just in time to pick the kids up from school and get the eldest to mosque. Yesterday, my line manager emailed me and 4 other admin staff to ask us what times we can work, she wants us all to work till 4 some days. One member of staff already works 11 to 4. I emailed her back to say i can work till 3 the latest and i explained why. She replied to me'saying she has to be equitable and equal to all members of staff and suggests i look into my hours again, if not, HR will have to determine what hours i do.

At this email, i was annoyed, felt a little bullied into making a decision that i don't agree with, and i cant do. I have since looked at my statement of particulars of employment and there is nothing in there to state flexibility or that my manager can change my hours.

i started this job at 16 hours and ended up being moved around so many times and was eventually pushed to do 25 hours, i struggle as it is, due to suffering from depression and anxiety some times, i cant go shopping without feeling anxious sometimes.

i have applied for other jobs, but they already had people lined up for them, and my only option is to fight back/put up with it/or do a voluntary post somewhere else (its available) but i don't know where i stand with that in regards to an income.

sorry for the long and dreary blog, please give me some advice, does anyone work for NHS HR, where do i stand? i am not a union member.

THANKS

[rozia]

Thanks Tony. I will stay calm, last time someone stood up to them was running out of their office in tears, i refuse to let that happen to me. Also they still bully this woman to this day, and took her off a permanent contract, and put her on a temp one till August 2012.

[EDDIE51]

rozia, In your case I would join the union now and get them to fight for you.
Also though I expect to be blasted by the 'anti benefit' brigade , you will find that if you investigate and claim everything you are entiteled to you will at least be no worse off if you give up work and become a full time Mum.
If you do get pregnant again (I read your post about the blood tests) you will definately be better off on benefits. Best wishes , as I stand by and wait for the 'whiplash' :-)

[rozia]

lol @ eddie, i do ask a lot of questions , don't i?.

[EDDIE51]

rozia, here is a benefits checker, if you put in the details of your income both with and without you working you may be very surprised that you may be no worse off if you do give up work to look after the kids full time.
http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
Remember that with you not working you do not have fares / petrol to get to work as well so you need to add that in.
All your posts recently tell me that you are very stressed, being home to give your full attention to the important job of bringing up 2 children should reduce your stress level as well. You can also find out what the financial situation would be if you do have a 3rd child. I have 5 children and 12 grandchildren, now we could not have existed without the family credit benefit.

[ojread2]

Do you know what rozia's partner earns?
She might be able to any benefits at all

[northernmonkey]

listen be grateful FOR YOU HAVING A JOB stop moaning

[cathfromsaron]

unhelpful and unkind NM!

she needs to work whilst the kids are in school, same as me!

[ChuckFickens]

Reported as pure stupidity and very close to getting suspended!

[boxtops]

Rozia - I work in the NHS so hopefully I might be able to offer a steer from inside the organisation, not sure whether anyone else who has replied, actually does.

Firstly, you have a contract of employment. It may not state your actual working hours but it WILL state how many hours per week you work. There is therefore no option for you "to involve HR" - they MUST be involved, because your manager will have to submit change forms to workforce altering your hours of work, and any workforce planning must show the rationale for making these changes. Your department's HR manager needs to know about this.

Secondly, your NHS employer will have an Equality and Diversity policy, in which it not only undertakes not to discriminate against patients because of their ethnic or religious backgrounds, but this also applies to the staff too - so find that on your intranet, have a read, again HR will be the best place to advise.

However - in all this, please do bear in mind that in our places of work, the patient comes first, and we are there to provide a service, and in many many cases at the moment, roles and hours ARE being changed across the country as every department is required to save money and to show how it's happening. If the changes in hours make your department more cost-efficient, that has to be their driver - unfortunately it does mean that it's not always so convenient for us as individuals. However - I'm not saying this means that you don't have some say in it - for any change of contract terms and conditions there has to be a consultation period with the employee (for us it's twelve weeks) so that the employee has the chance to put their side of it and have their say. It may not make a difference in the long run - but it has to be done, so that all views are known and explored.

So - step 1 - get in touch tomorrow with your HR manager - they can talk you through what's happening - and why - and tell you where you stand. (Please bear in the mind that the way it works with my NHS employer may not be exactly the same as in yours, but there are national guidelines and imperatives so IMO I wouldn't expect it to be that different!)

[boxtops]

... and PS rozia, you don't have to be a Union member to be able to go to your organisation's Staffside representative to have a chat and tell them what's happening. If it's happening to you, it may be happening to some of their members too. I'm not in any Union but I have found Staffside to be both approachable and helpful - they see both sides.

[EDDIE51]

Possibly some on here do not know that Family credit can still be payed with an income up to £70,000 a year ! there are very many people do not claim it as they do not think they qualify even though they do.
I was expecting a back lash from the 'anti benefit' brigade, but the truth is that a Mum with school age children is very often better off by staying home to look after them full time, especially when you add in the cost of travel to work and child care during school holidays , time off if the children are ill etc.

[boxtops]

cathfromsaron:

//you are a female with child rearing duties, and it therefore against the equality act!//

What?!! We work - we don't get special exemptions or dispensations because we have children. The NHS is already parentl-friendly, many people have term-time contracts - but we're running a national service here, on a shoestring budget - the NHS can't bow to the whim of any working female (and razia, this isn't a pop at you in any way at all, please don't take it that way). If you need to, you work suitable hours.

I wish cathfromsaron wouldn't keep spouting these statements (as others have already noted on this thread) - it gives people who really need advice completely the wrong impression of their situation.

[boxtops]

Here's the email from rozia's boss, here: http://www.theanswerb.../Question1100441.html

I don't think it's an unreasonable email, all things considered.

[rozia]

Boxtops, staffside representatives, are they found in HR

[boxtops]

They usually work alongside HR, rozia - the contact details for ours are listed on our intranet on the HR pages.

[rozia]

i think the email is unreasonable, considering she knows my situation and i have told her twice i can only work till 3pm. It feels she wants to get the answer she wants to hear, and will bully me into giving her just that, which i cannot give.

[boxtops]

I'm looking at it from the other side - I've been in a similar situation, trying to get a change in working patterns. I had to demonstrate to my bosses that I'd consulted everyone, and that their replies were, so that we could decide on the way forward. Did you reply to her on email or only verbally? - i.e. is there a written reply showing your preference?

I'm concerned way back in this thread that you only agreed your working hours verbally with your boss. I'd always recommend confirming it by email afterwards, so you have it in writing if you ever need to refer back to that agreement, and she can/should put it on your personnel file, I would! "Dear boss, just to confirm what we agreed".. etc. She doesn't have to reply, you keep a copy (next time!).

[boxtops]

^^ and if you feel there's bullying, bring that up with HR too. In common with ours, your employer is bound to have a Bullying and Harassment Policy - again, that'll be on your intranet.

[ojread2]

Certain benefits can be paid for wage earners earning up to £70k but that will depend on other factors such as how many dependant children there are

Anyway, digression because right now Rozia needs advice for work
GL tomorrow

[rozia]

Hiya guys, i spoke to manager today, and she said she has to be fair and equitable to all admin staff (she kept saying this, new word!!) i explained my situation, and she said she would speak to the director (boss) to see which way to go with this, may need HR involved, which doesn't really matter to me. I told her i need to know the process as soon as she has spoken to the boss. I also told her i like my job and am very good at it, and it would be silly if i had to leave due to just one hour.

so now i shall wait in anticipation, to see my future mapped out by other people.

Will update you ;-) but very stressed at the moment....