Hi cheers for the response I don't like what if's myself but previous experience is key to my skepticism. If the builder did a report and she refused would her insurers refuse to pay up should the worst happen? I know she is on hard times currently but we all are but don't want to put her in any more difficulty if I can help it and as this builder is a good friend he is offering the work at a knock down rate. He has said if she gives the go ahead to do the work he will also repair a hole in her roof as part of the price. He is semi retired and only takes on small jobs now to keep his hand in and make a few extra quid. Cheers Bill

Hi guys A little advice and guidance needed. Some years ago our neibour spoke with us stating that a builder she knew stated the chimney needed re-pointing and offered to go halfs with us to keep cost down which we did however only half the chimney ( Our half ) was done we discovered that whilst she gave him the go ahead she chose not to have her side done which was just crazy. skip to present day and I had a builder friend doing some ridge repair work on our roof and he asked me to loan him my phone and he proceeded to take pictures of the chimney stack he then informed us that the chimney as it stands is unsafe and ready for a good gust of wind as due to the fact that next door have not had their side of the chimney re pointed it has affected the stability of the stack. He has given me a really good quote for the work which I'm happy to pay but not for doing her side. I need to chat with the neibour sharpish on this however should she decline to pay her share and the stack does come down where do I stand as I will have given her the opportunity to rectify this now in advance. How to go about this?? Cheers

As a union rep I have to say I am disgusted with the lack of support = zero support from the regional officer and in store reps who as they where not affected couldn't give a damn. I had a long meeting with the Personnel managers last night an basically laid out the facts as I saw it and put them on guard for any possible claims arising out of redundancies they where quite put back by this as I don't think they'd expected me to have done so much research they where not happy at all I also spoke with our PM this morning and also put her on guard. This was after I had been pulled back in the office earlier in my shift to be notified that my application to move to a similar vacancy elsewhere had been successful so for now I am still in a job, the only down side is that as they already have a night rep I will have to step down This has not placated me as I am determined to support every one of my colleagues and guide them till the bitter end. Cheers

UPDATE: I have spent the last two weeks supporting colleagues in consultation meetings and have seen most of the jobs night staff did go up on the board for them to re apply. What has become apparent is that the jobs have been hacked to pieces where there where once 36.5 and 30 hour shifts theses have been reduced and at such times of the day that they actively discriminate against staff with family and mortgage commitments leaving vacancies untouched as the night team choose to take redundancy rather than accept the insult of scraps being thrown on the floor. As I was told my roll was redundant I have asked for redeployment to the same roll at a near by store which was advertised in store ( Which I expect to get as I more than meet and infact exceed the criteria for ) However I have now seen on the board that my old roll has been re advertised with the old roll title which tells me that my roll was NOT redundant what has happened however is that the hours as with the other jobs have been slaughtered to such an extent that it would be UN-economic for me to even look at. I have been back in contact with ACAS with the new information who have advised that if I can show that the alternative vacancy being offered is unsuitable based on my previous roll and the redeployment roll with these ones plus also given the statement that one of the criteria should more than one person go for the same roll be ( being a union rep ) which could be being used as a detriment to me being offered suitable alternatives, It would appear that i could have a good case for unfair redundancy / unfair dismissal? I am wondering would it be advisable to sit on this information until I hear the outcome and the appeal any negative decision with the possibility of taking it to conciliation or tribunal. And should I demand the company provide me with a job description of the new roll and my old roll where they can show how the new roll substantially differs from my old roll bearing in mind that they recon the new roll is customer focused merchandising when my old roll of general merchandiser was customer focused Hmmmmmmm. Ideas please Bill

Hi ericsbrother thanks for taking the time to respond. Following the unions inactivity and a lot of shouting on my part and I suspect the rumors that where starting I finally got the information I had been after. The issue involving my roll was they had originally suggested it was moving to the new time slot however it was not made clear that the roll had been made redundant due to restructure involving a change in who had responsibility for the task which is now department specific and the title change. I accept that and have been handed a copy of what my expected final pay will be. The company have realized that they have had to do some damage limitations and the whole process has now been laid out for me and other reps to see. Based on that I was able to answer most of the questions the night staff had I am resigned to the fact that I am unemployed from 11 March which is my birthday however I am hoping there are other rolls that will give me the hours I need to remain. If not its down the bank pay off as much of the mortgage I can then look for a new job. Cheers Bill

I used to work in mental health as a residential support worker until one day an accusation of a sexual nature was put in against me by a client who was well known for making false allegations. However as the normal process was to contact the police I was questioned formally 3 months after the allegation I had actually left the company resigning my post as there was as I felt a which hunt being levied against me. The who case was dropped as there was no evidence DNA etc to support this false allegation however to my shock when I applied for a new job some time latter it the advice from the CRB was not to employ me working with vulnerable people needless to say my career was destroyed by these accusation and I was convicted and found guilty by stealth. I put this out there because I know how this system is destroying people and families I lost my job my carer and good money. Just thought i'd share

The union made an agreement with the company not to let the union reps know what they had planned which as I see it goes against what I and our members would expect. The union have done nothing to support reps or members up to now effectively hanging us out to dry, and have not had the decency to come forwards and explain their actions which has caused a lot of anger from members but as members fear loosing redundancy pay by alerting the wider public of this disgusting behavior no one is speaking out as of yet. So understandably my trust in the company and the union is now none existent and although a rep in store who is not affected by the changes is feeding me information his attitude as I am a rep is ( It's not all about me there are other members affected ) He has totally missed the point that as my roll is at risk and he wont be paying my mortgage it is all about me and my family at this moment so as you can see this is why even if the advice may not be what I want to hear, I am looking for other support and guidance from you good people. Regards Bill

I was hoping someone could suggest ways forwards maybe a letter of grievance with the grounds for grievance? As I see it even though my contract has me down as general assistant, I was told that as I have done the same role for years this in itself forms the contract? Also the company have a process of moving you round the business right hours right place and have used this for changing my shifts and times previously and as the roll is only being moved to a new time surely this same system should be applied again as it is what makes up the policy? I spoke with the manager rep today who also highlighted that if we are being required to re apply for our posts then a manager was assigned to a post that really should have allowed other displaced managers to apply for to so there seems to be no consistency in the companies policies and processes with regards to this scenario? Any ideas? Cheers Bill

Hi to answer the first question whilst the post links with other previous ones they where related to other colleagues this one is specific to my current position. To answer the Third question the company have not specified a pool but the options given are move to a vacancies in store if one is available move to another store where a vacancy is available or compulsory redundancy. I have spoken with ACAS as our union have in my opinion failed it's members by forming an agreement with the company to withhold the details of the companys plans making it impossible for the reps to effectively support and guide members. When mentioning Constructive dismissal they stated that rather than constructive dismissal from the information I have given them I could possibly have grounds for unfair dismissal should my role be denied to me. Which leads me to the second point made. As I work in a big company my title is general assistant which covers all eventualities however I joined the company as a merchandiser and have done only this roal for the past 8 years with no concerns raised about my abilities to do the job in fact the company moved me to another role for two weeks and admitted they had acted incorrectly as others struggled to do the job right. My issue isnt the company changing the shifts / tasks to suit the business which is their mantra when moving people round the business but the fact that when they did it in the past I was never required to re apply for the job as the job was just moving however they are changing the goal posts now to meet a new agenda which Iis totally unfair as the role is not redundant it seems that the criteria could be used to dismiss the over staffing or as a way to introduce a new contract stripping me of any other premiums I currently would be entitled to. As the new CEO is renound for hating the unions the fact that one criteria mentioned was if your a union rep which was recorded in my meetings minutes that has raised alarm bells for the ACAS adviser I spoke to. So all I am asking for at this moment is ideas to take to my next meeting which will strengthen my position. It may seem selfish but I am fighting for my own job at the moment so am concentrating on my needs. Cheers Bill

Ok this is one that affects me directly so guidance is needed. I work for a large retailer and as part of my job they can change my shifts / hours to "suit the needs of the company". Because of this my shifts have been changed on 3 occasions causing major upheaval and stress within the family as we try to juggle time. I originally started on days then was moved to nights then twilight then back to nights all to suit the needs of the company. However now they have decided that they are changing the way replenishment is done ( Not my roll ) however this means the closure of the night shift which I am on ( Not through choice ). I have been reliably informed that the roll I am doing is not being made redundant but is being moved to an earlier twilight shift which I am happy to move to. But now I am being told that as the roll is moving to twilight I will have to re apply for my own job ( To make it fair to others? ) what about fairness to me? A job I have done for 8 years I think they are doing this in order to force redundancies of over staff and possibly as a way to change my contract to remove my Sunday premium which makes up my wage. My argument against having to re apply is that the company have used the " needs of the business" speal to change my shifts on 3 previous occasions and I was never required to re apply but now they want to change the goal posts to push though their agenda which could ultimatum lead to my redundancy cos as a union rep I am sure I would be in the firing line as the new CEO Is anti union. I am getting ready to address the current situation through the consultation process but would like some guidance on recourse, questions to support my current concerns and ultimately highlight any areas to take further should the worse scenario play out. At 50 I know if I end up out of work I will probably never work again. I have worked almost continually since leaving school.and cant see myself unemployed. Advice please. Cheers Bill

Hi no one is required to work the Xmas Eve night shift going into Xmas day however I am aware that the company as a whole was asking some staff iff they would go in I myself was considering going in but as I never got as far as to show my interest I was not privy to what was offered or not. I would not be surprised if they where approached separately but am waiting to see the 4 colleagues to get a bigger picture. What would seem to co-berate their allegations is that they where pulled in the office to be told the alleged deal had been rescinded. I know the 4 colleagues personalities and none would have agreed to work unless they had been given a deal. Plus we have another colleague who is saying the same thing who alleges he got a bonus payment and the time and a half. I am obviously thinking as you ie their word against managers if approached individually. However the fact that a colleague who did get the bonus payment etc is co-berating their claims. I will be clearer once I am in possession of all facts and allegations and hope that I can get some guidance from you knowledgeable people before moving forwards? Cheers Bill

Cheers I was thinking the same thing on the second point and you have confirmed my suspicions. I could do with some council on the first matter and best way to deal with it especially as I am hearing rumors that the night shift could be axed or redeployed. If the first is true then any redundancy pay for these two will rely on acculturate information. would the holiday calculation be directly attributed to the overtime done ( so a monetary remedy? ) Or would the people affected be entitled to the days off? EXAMPLE. If on the 1 day core hours they get 4 days of - if they have done reg 5 days are they entitled to say 20 days off? If that's the statutory amount of holidays given to a worker contracted to do 5 days or would the core holidays still be 4 days If that is the case then I'm confused as to how it works Regards Bill

Sorry I should have said I am a full time union rep myself so yes I mean union reps or one rep in particular. The issue is there are many changes occurring in our company at the moment and the other reps I deal with who work the day and evening shifts and best placed to address night colleague issues, so saving me having to stay back till 8-9am or go in outside my shift; however they seem reluctant to challenge the PM and senior managers unless it directly affects their groups? To be honest I get the feeling that one rep who paints himself as Big Chief Repingbull is scuppering many of my concerns directly colluding with the PM etc to make issues disappear, so I am loosing faith in him particularly but he is my first port of call unless I go and address the issues myself.. That is why I want to be clear before jumping in on this matter. Regards Bill

I was recently informed that 4 colleagues where asked to work the night shift Xmas Eve and where told that if they worked it they would be paid a bonus plus time and a half for the hours worked. The 4 staff have now been pulled into the office and told they wont be paid the time and a half for the hours worked nor will they get the bonus promised but have been told they can take the day they worked back as holiday. Now one could say that as there was no one else round it is their word against the companies however the person who made me aware of this issue also did the Xmas Eve Shift was told the same thing and was paid the bonus plus time and a half He is going to bring in his wage slip for me to copy before I raise the issue with the PM I would assume that faced with the evidence of the additional payment to one colleague the company would be obliged to honor the agreement if not what is the redress? Regards Bill

Ok I need some guidance with this as the other reps aren't being very forthcoming. There are two colleagues on Flexy contracts 1 does core hours of 2 - 7.05 hours but has worked a regular two other shifts per week over the period of a year. The other has core hours = 1 - 7.05 hours but has regularly worked an additional 4 shifts so that,s 5 shift per week over a period of a year. It is clear that both colleagues should have their contracts re-evaluated to recognise this but does the employer have to do that as it seems that the company is acting unethically in my opinion. A bigger problem is that the colleague with one shift has holiday entitlement of 4 days even though he / she is effectively doing a full time role and recently had to drop two weeks overtime to take holidays. However it is my understanding that anyone who does regular overtime is legally entitled to have those hours calculated in for the purpose of holiday pay. Am I correct if so both colleagues are entitled to a large number of days holiday before the end of the tax year. Before I take this further I would appreciate some clarity here as I seem to be working unsupported by other reps. Regards Bill