My girlfriends got epilepsy and working long hours is no good for her. She is contracted to 4 hours a day and has been for 7 years, but she has agreed to do some reasonable overtime for them. They keep messaging her the day before telling her the hours are 8.30 until 6 for her. Which is more than double her contracted shift. She’s tried emailing them, having meetings with them. They just turn around and say “That’s not going to work out for us” she went in at 9.30 on Monday and they got her into a meeting to say they can’t have her doing this. Even though her normal hours are 11-3 and then actually worked until 6 on that day for them.
She’s told them she will do 6 hours and maybe more on some days and try and help out where she can. This is just ridiculous though now, does she have to do this? Could they get rid of her? What’s the best course of action.
She is moving up to where I live soon so she will be moving jobs. She’s doing a course and trying to finish it but she’s got no time. Her work don’t know about her wanting to leave.
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I imagine she has a copy of her contract. If so, she should decline the significant amount of overtime and refer to her contract. If they got a rid of her for not wanting to risk her health due to overwork that is not in her contract, you’d likely have a legal case.
For the time being, contact a GP and see if they can give her a note regarding not working long hours due to her health.
Forced overtime is illegal.
https://www.gov.uk/overtime-your-rights/compulsory-overtime
Does she want to leave, or are the pressures of the workplace “encouraging” her to leave?
Is the workplace aware of her protected characteristic ( disability)?
A possible way forward would be to remind the employer of the protected characteristic under the Equality act, and that she needs to work no more than her contracted hours and as such working the contracted hours with no overtime is a reasonable adjustment for her disability, and from then on just work the contracted hours
If this is a big company with a HR department, they should also be copied in on this. HR departments are not for the employees ( workers) benefit, more to stop the workplace from doing something that could cost them money/poor reputation.
Being encourages to leave could be seen as constructive dismissal with an equality act ( disability discrimination) angle as well
See what the contract says. It’s possible her contract will say her basic contracted hours but that the company can require up to x amount of overtime.
Steps going forward would be to get a doctors note to state she can’t do the hours, and see if her company has any kind of occupational health service she can request a referral to as they can help advise both parties on how to manage her illness.
If the contract says its four hours but more if the company requires it then she can just flatly refuse and there is nothing they can do about it.
Contact ACAS as they will be able to give more accurate advice.
What does her contract say about her hours of work?
Most, if not all, contracts have a ‘reasonable amount of overtime’ written into them but her health will dictate what is a reasonable amount, not her managers..
Doctors note, maybe get the company to refer to occ health, which will also back her up and limit the amount of overtime the company ask her to do.
They can’t sack her for not being able to work more than her contracted hours and whatever is deemed by a medical professional to be a reasonable amount of overtime.
If they do it is wrongful dismissal, if they start making things awkward for her and it feels like they are forcing her to resign that is constructive dismissal.
Make sure she is documenting every conversation and meeting she has from now on.
Check the terms of her contract and talk to Citizens Advice and possibly a solicitor.
If she told them during the hiring process that her epilepsy would limit the hours she can do, that may constitute disclosing a disability. If she hasn’t used the word disability before, she could use it now. They seem to be moving towards pushing her out, so she may have a case against them for discrimination against a protected characteristic. If she successfully takes them to a tribunal, payments for that are unlimited.
If she’s planning to move and change jobs soon, I suggest doesn’t say so but gives them plenty of rope. She could play along with it but not feel pressured to take on more hours than she can safely do.
She should just stick to the contract