Any Employment Solicitors Here

[Fargo]

need some advice on a little problem at my work.

Basically im a gas cental heating engineer and was working for the last 8 months in the same area i live (UB postcodes) which i was employed to do with HA postcodes as a secondary area (cover sickness, holidays or busy times)

Now under our 3 manager and my main area or patch has changed to HA postcodes as my primary and UB postcodes are as the manage put it "dead to me now" which means i cna be as far as edgware, stanmore etc ( i live 5 miles from heathrow)

Problem is this.. i have a commitment to pick up a 7 year girl from afterschool care (3.30-5.30) and if im stuck in edgware etc at 4pm during school term time and when it starts to get colder then theres no way im going to make it back to the carers for 5.30.

This has nto been a problem so far and has not impacted on my work so far.

My contact says "such other areas as the company may from time to time reasonably require whether on a permanent or temporary basis" and

"you shall travel to sucj places on such a manner or on such occasions as the company may from time to time reasonable require"

therefore now im asked to work further afield on a permanent basis which puts my family commitment at risk and is an UN-reasonable change to my contact.

which makes me want to seek employment elsewhere, but trouble is if i leave within the first 2 years i have to pay back a % of training costs currently 75% of 5k.

so question is can i leave without paying back any training costs as they were the ones who changed my contract forcing me to resign..

ta

[tdiplc]

You find the answer here Paul limky

[Fargo]

ta mark, ill have a butch...

[Parthiban]

I'm no expert but it all depends on what's in the contract. If it says in the contract that you might be expected to work in a different area, then I guess there's no way round it.

If it doesn't, I'm not sure if that constitutes breach of contract, but there must be grounds to say that its no longer what you signed up for, but this is where a real solicitor would be more useful to you.

Good luck and hope it all works out :)

[Mr Morse]

"such other areas as the company may from time to time reasonably require whether on a permanent or temporary basis" and "you shall travel to such places on such a manner or on such occasions as the company may from time to time reasonable require"

It all depends upon what a tribunal might construe as "reasonable". In this case, the fact that you have permanantly been transferred to another area would possibly be considered "unreasonable"

[Jiberjaber]

That old chesnut of anything the company fancies and they think is reasonable.... have you been with them for over 1 year ? less than 1 year and you have very little statuatory rights (i.e. none!)!

Paul there is an interactive thingy on one of the gov websites about if you can request flexable working, which in reality is what you are after... 5 mins and you will know if you can go down that route.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Diol1/EmploymentD...&chk=NsuIFh

You havent stated your full obligations to the little girl, I made a couple of assumptions (which may be wrong, so please do the test for yourself)

Do I have the statutory right to request flexible working?

Conclusion

You don' t have the statutory right to apply for flexible working because the child you wish to care for isn't under six years of age at the time you plan to make the application.

However, even though you don't qualify for the statutory right, you can still ask your employer if you can work flexibly.

Many employers offer their staff flexible working, because it makes good business sense to do so. Speak to your employer to find out about what opportunities are available.

If you wish to apply for flexible working anyway, it will help your case to know what types of flexible working suit your needs, what the impact is likely to be on your employer's business and what you can do to reduce this.

You can get interactive help to find out what flexible working pattern suits your needs and to put together a case to persuade your employer

Get help with choosing a flexible working pattern and preparing your case

For any queries about your circumstances you can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47 (8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday).

Your previous answers

Q:

Are you an employee?

A:

Yes

Q:

Are you an agency worker or a member of the armed forces?

A:

No

Q:

Do you want to work flexibly in order to help care for a child?

A:

Yes

Q:

Are you (or your spouse/partner) the parent, adopter, foster parent or guardian of that child?

A:

Yes

Q:

Do you have (or expect to have) responsibility for the child's upbringing?

A:

Yes

Q:

Is the child under six years of age?

A:

No

Q:

Is the child disabled?

A:

No

The other alternative would be going that they have created the scenario you find yourself in order that you are out of a job, very hard to prove unless you started a diary some time previously because you suspected something was up.

I would guess without the assistance of a layer, your options are limited to either:

a. someone else looks after the child (have you looked in to child care vouchers?)

b. accept it, move on and find a new job in the mean time

c. battle it out with a lump of lead pipe.

Whilst the b option may not seem too good, at least you have got the qualifications and experiance now which were preventing you working for anyone in the first place in this field.... so it isn't too bad a story if you quit, just a bit of a financial burden short term.

Maybe you could see if there are any local one man band plumbers who need hand or see who the local councils use as their contractors (Barry might have some contacts?)

Hope it works out bud :)

[Fargo]

yes, the issue is what constitutes reasonable..

is it reasonable to now make me work in one area instead of two (impacting bonus payments ie less oppurtunity for bonus)

is it reasonable to expect me to pay more money to cover afterschool care till 6 pm (again financial impact)

think i should ask our HR what they consider reasonable

[Jiberjaber]

I agree re: HR

Also consult the acas website and the DTI website on contract terms etc...

http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/employmen.../page16161.html

Might be worth having a nose through this also:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=301

(I think Acas give free advise, so may be worth giving them a call tomorrow)

[Mr Morse]

I would also caution going to an employment solicitor....

When I had my own problems last year they were about as much use as boobs on a boar pig and I ended up doing all the homework myself and paying this lazy b***ard for the use of his letterhead and email address.

[Jiberjaber]

Paul... google turned up this gem which may help in you financial elements...

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/discussion/new_topic.asp?t=1460

[Fargo]

ta all for the info,, am reading through...

[derekyau]

Paul... google turned up this gem which may help in you financial elements...

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/discussion/new_topic.asp?t=1460

Bit but i-resign is a fantastic website.

Look at it whilst at work all the time!

[doughmiester]

Paul... google turned up this gem which may help in you financial elements...

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/discussion/new_topic.asp?t=1460

Bit but i-resign is a fantastic website.

Look at it whilst at work all the time!

Just an idea but i know it works like this in IT. Would the company you choose to go to not pay for the 75% as it would be cheaper than puting you through the course? And you already have the skills and are ready to go ?

[Mr Morse]

I read somewhere quite recently:

- Of the total employee / employer disputes, 70% are settled before they get as far as tribunal, ie the employee is made a settlement

- Of the remaining 30% that go as far as tribunal, the judgement is roughly 50/50.

So out of 3,000 cases a year, the employee would be awarded some sort of settlement in 2,500 cases - pretty good odds I'd say.

A tribunal is not there to judge which party is at fault, they are there to decide whether or not each party was compliant with the Terms and Conditions of service, in partuicular the disciplinary procedure. Unless the employee has been a total muppet, they will almost always hold the advantage since the employer rarely follows the clauses contained in the T&C to the letter and therefore leave themselves exposed to action.

Your problem Paul, is that you are not offered the protection of the Act as you have not been employed for 12 months.

[Fargo]

ah but i have been mr morse, 31st may 2005 was my start date...

[Mr Morse]

ah but i have been mr morse, 31st may 2005 was my start date...

Good news then :D

For some reason I thought it was less than that