Is it fair to change an employee’s job role and reduce their working days after returning from travelling? #jobrole #reducedworkingdays #fairness
Background:
My family owns a business with around 15 employees, including my best friend of 13 years who has been with us for 3 years. She recently went traveling for 6 weeks.
Situation:
– Her role became redundant while she was away, and now we have found a different job role for her.
– The salary for the new role is lower compared to her previous position.
– We plan to bring her back on 3 days a week initially, with the possibility of transitioning to 5 days if needed.
Concerns:
– Is it fair to make these changes without prior discussion?
– Are we allowed to alter her job role and working schedule in this manner?
Overall, the question remains – is this a fair and permissible action to take in light of the circumstances? #fairness #jobtransition #travelreturn.
Do people in the UK get to leave their jobs for 6 weeks and then just take them back?
What’s in her contract?
So you let her take a looooong vacation and now want to fire her?
If she’s been there 3 years, I’m going to assume she’s a full time employee on a permanent contract of employment.
You can’t just change someone’s T&Cs without their agreement. Here’s a link about it: [https://www.acas.org.uk/changing-an-employment-contract/employer-responsibilities](https://www.acas.org.uk/changing-an-employment-contract/employer-responsibilities)
Here’s also a link about dealing with redundancy. [https://www.acas.org.uk/manage-staff-redundancies](https://www.acas.org.uk/manage-staff-redundancies)
If her role is similar to the others, then you might need to consider putting the whole team at risk and selecting 1 person. You may not need to pay redundancy if you can offer her a ‘suitable alternative’ role, but if it’s fewer hours and less pay this wouldn’t meet the definition.
Either way, you need to consult with her before making any changes. If you don’t, you risk her taking legal action for unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages, and/or constructive dismissal.
Something to consider… the team she left behind is obviously highly capable.
To what extent might that be due to all the seen and unseen things she brought to the role?
Sure, they have split her ‘functional duties’ successfully, knowing it was for a finite time. In all probability a relatively smooth time.
That’s no guarantee team performance and morale will continue in the longer term in her absence… or during future tough times.
Two more:
How might the other team members feel if they see her treated so ‘poorly’, with you going-back on your promise and her demotion?
And how confident are you that the team can sustain the increased workload/responsibilities beyond the 6 weeks they thought they were signing-off on? It’s one thing to ask/expect people to step up for a month and a half, how confident are you they’ll be as happy/willing to keep working at that level indefinitely?