What Happens If You Don`t Work Your Contracted Hours

You are entitled to full payment of any period during which your contractually agreed working hours have been reduced, through dismissal or short-time working, as long as your contract does not allow for reduced or unpaid redundancies and you make yourself available for work but you could not afford these hours through no fault of your own. If an employee is dismissed or employed for a short period, he is entitled to payment of his contractually agreed hours, even if these hours are not worked, provided that he is available for work. The only exception would be if the employment contract stipulates that the employee is not paid for dismissal or short-time working, or if he agrees to reduce the hours. Your employer has a duty to create a safe work environment. This includes making sure you don`t work too many hours. Some of your legal employment rights only take effect after you have worked for an employer for a certain period of time. It must be a period of continuous employment. If there is a contractual clause that puts you in a worse situation, for example, if you have agreed to work for less than the national minimum wage, your employer will not be able to enforce the contractual clause. They still have the legal right to receive the national minimum wage. Your employer might discriminate against you if they try to get you to work overtime, and you can`t because: If you work too many hours, there are several ways to reduce them. For example, you can: Contract hours can be a complex topic and each case is unique. The employee should always seek the advice of a professional if he or she is unsure of his or her labour rights to ensure that he or she receives what he or she is entitled to and that he or she is treated fairly. Since a contract still exists even if nothing is written down, it`s a good idea to write down everything your employer says about your rights at work and what you`ve agreed verbally.

If you breach your contract, your employer should try to resolve the matter informally with you, but they can sue you for damages in the same way you can sue them. The issue of non-compliance with contract hours affects workers across the economy, as employers are forced to react to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Your first step should be to schedule an informal meeting with your supervisor to explain your concerns. Counter-notification means that the employer does not accept the request for dismissal, as the work will be available within four weeks. This work must last at least 13 consecutive weeks. If the employer does not provide counter-notification, it is presumed that the employer has accepted the severance claim. You won`t necessarily be paid for the time you`re not at work, but your employer should be careful not to impose additional penalties. If there`s nothing in your contract that allows your employer to do so, they`ll have to pay you what you earned and then decide if they`re suing for the money they lost because of your delay. Again, if the employee`s contract allows for short working time, this may not be paid. However, if the contract does not mention short-time working, the reduction in the number of contractual hours offered to the employee would constitute a breach of contract.

Explicit conditions are expressly agreed between you and your employer. These include: Issues associated with contract hours that are not met can be complex. (For tips on how to bring an action against your employer before an employment court, read our article: Labour Court (action against your employer)) Unlawful termination is a breach of contract in the manner in which you were terminated. B for example without proper notice or without following the procedures of your contract. You can take action in the same way as in the event of a breach of contract. A fixed-term contract indicates a date on which it ends. If you have a fixed-term contract, your employer should not treat you differently from a permanent employee simply because you are a term employee. They have the same legal rights as permanent employees. You don`t have to work overtime if you could prove that you would earn less than the national minimum wage through overtime. Your employer doesn`t have to specify how many hours of work they will give you if you have a zero-hour contract.

If you have a zero-hour contract, your employer can`t stop you from working for another employer. As mentioned earlier, some companies include mandatory overtime in their contracts. If this is the case, you may have to work overtime if your supervisor asks you to. If you are not paid by the hour, your employer may be able to reduce your salary. However, if you don`t have enough work available and your contract hours can`t be offered, your employer may ask you to take unpaid leave or stay home. The statement must indicate the number of hours you must work, including overtime. If you think you need to work too much voluntary overtime and want to cut it, talk to your employer informally. You may be able to find another way to manage the work. Employees have legally mandated rights – these are called “legal rights.” Any rights you have under your employment contract are in addition to your statutory rights. If your employment contract does not expressly provide for redundancies or short-time working, you and your employer can individually agree to amend the terms of the contract so that any reduction in working time is made by mutual agreement.

If you work too many hours but your employer doesn`t want to pay overtime, you may be able to get “free time instead of INSANITY” (TOIL). Whatever you decide, you don`t have to do it alone – you can always get help from the nearest citizens` council. Check what you can do if you are discriminated against at work. In the event that you are unable to claim your employer`s unpaid wages, either informally or as part of a grievance procedure, your advisor can also help you assess whether you have reasons to take legal action before the Labour Court. Short-time working is when an employee`s contractually agreed hours are temporarily reduced. This could mean working fewer hours a day or fewer days a week. Not paying at the agreed time is often a breach of contract. If you can prove that you have suffered a financial loss, para. B example if you had to pay overdraft fees, you can claim them as damages. Talk to your employer first.

If this continues, you can try to get a court order to prevent them from repeating this violation. If your employer continues to let you work excessively long hours, you may be able to resign and apply to an labour court for constructive dismissal. They should argue that they could be violating the implied trust agreement. You and your employer can agree on all the terms of the employment contract you want, but you cannot agree on a contractual clause that puts you in a worse situation than you have under your legal rights. If you are under the age of 18, there are special rules for your working hours. Check your rights at work if you are under 18 years of age. If an employee is struggling with the fact that contractually agreed hours are not being respected, it is best to contact an employment lawyer. They can talk to the employee about their options and let them know if a lawsuit could be brought in a labour court.

Some contracts allow the employer to make changes. If this is not the case for you, you and your employer must agree on any changes. Making changes without agreement is a breach of contract. While your employer may ask you to change your contract hours, they can`t force you to do so. As a result, contractually agreed times that are not met would be classified as a breach of your contract. Unless your employment contract expressly authorizes unpaid or reduced layoffs or short-time working, or you agree to a reduction, your employer is not legally entitled to reduce your salary. As a general rule, working hours should be set out in an employment contract. This should detail the number of hours worked each week, as well as how the hours are worked. This may include shifts or fixed days. Continuous employment is the length of time an employee has worked for his or her employer without interruption. You can learn more about continuous employment on GOV.UK.

There may be an agreement between the organization you work for and the union on contractually agreed hours that are not respected, although for such an agreement to have contractual force, it must be included in your employment contract. To be eligible for dismissal, the employee must have worked for the employer for at least two years. They would also have to prove that they earned less than half of their normal salary during the period of dismissal or short duration of work. If an employee has been dismissed without pay or has been placed on short-time working with less than half of his contractually agreed weekly salary, he may be able to request dismissal. This severance claim can be invoked if the employee has been absent from work for four consecutive weeks or six weeks in a 13-week period. Be sure to keep all the documents you have received from your employer. For example, if an employee`s contract states that they must work 35 hours a week, they must have the opportunity to work 35 hours. If they cannot work this number of hours, they could be in breach of their contract.

If an employer is unable to provide them with work for these hours, they could also be in violation of the employee`s contract. This means that your employer agrees to give you time off instead of paying you for the overtime you worked. For example, if several co-workers are also working unwanted overtime, you might suggest that your employer hire someone else to cover overtime. .