Tuesday Q&As

12.9.23

• Changing shifts after we booked a holiday. What is the situation?

• I’m not being given my contracted hours but am paid for them. Now my employer wants me to pay some time back

• Can I be forced to do overtime?

• Am I entitled to look for work whilst off sick?

• My contracted role no longer exists - do I get redundancy?

• Do I lose holiday entitlement if I don’t use it?

• If I give enough notice must my holiday request be accepted?

• Can I be made redundant whilst on maternity leave?

• What happens if I end my notice period early?

• Too hot to work?

• Useful links

Changing shifts after we booked a holiday. What is the situation?

Q. Hi, My wife and I have booked a couple of nights away on her rota off shift, they are now looking to change her shifts. As she already had this planned do they have to honour it and will she need to cover it with annual leave.

A. Regardless of whether you had anything planned, the question is whether her employer can alter her shifts at short notice. You will need to check her employment contract. If her employer is entitled to alter her shifts by giving reasonable notice, it will be hard to argue against that. On the flip side, if her shifts are set out in her contract, any change to them should be agreed by both parties, not simply imposed on your wife.

Assuming they can change the rota, they are under no obligation to honour the time off purely because you have booked a holiday, but a reasonable employer should accommodate her needs. If they insist she changes her shifts and her request for annual leave is refused, there is not a great deal she can do other than take the break and face the consequences.