More and more, clients and customers are expecting round the clock service and shift work in organisations is increasing. For lots of employees, this is a positive step that allows them more freedom of choice and flexibility to fit in with family life. But as your business develops, you may need to change shift patterns to cope with the demands of your customers.

You may also get requests to change shift patterns from your employees who now have children or differing family/child care needs.

Can you refuse to change your employees’ shift patterns or can your employees refuse to accept your changes?

Employees have two sets of rights – their contractual rights (set down in the contract of employment) and their statutory rights. Whether an employee can ask to change their shift patterns depends on whether their contract allows this. Generally, shift workers’ contracts set out a minimum number of hours they have to work, so the shift patterns can be changed provided they are still being asked to work the same number of hours.

But your employees are also protected by their statutory rights. These give your employees the right to request a change to their shift patterns to allow them to work in a way that better suits their lifestyle and family commitments. Since 30 June 2014, this right isn’t limited to just those employees with childcare or other carer responsibilities but applies to all employees.

If an employee asks to change their shift patterns, you must give it appropriate consideration and handle it in a reasonable way. Legitimate reasons to refuse the shift pattern change could be:

• it would have a detrimental impact on the business
• you might not be able to meet your customers’/clients’ demands
• there won’t be enough work for the employee at the time that they want to work
• it may affect the quality and performance of your services/products

Are there any exceptions?

Yes! Working mothers are protected by anti-discrimination legislation and if you decide to refuse a request for a change in working hours, this may be classed as indirect discrimination. Although this is most likely to happen when you want to implement a change in shift patterns and it would have a detrimental impact on a particular woman or any women who are main carers.

You would have to justify that you can’t achieve your business aims in a less discriminatory way. For example, changing shift patterns to better meet the needs of your customers is a legitimate business reason. The key thing to consider is, is there a better way of achieving this? Does your employee have to work a particular shift pattern to achieve this? If there is a less discriminatory way to achieve the end result then trying to change shift patterns may be interpreted as sex discrimination.

There is always a solution – so talk to your employees informally. Consider why you need to change the shift pattern, can you justify the change and have you considered all the options. As an employer you must get an employee’s agreement to any changes to their contract, so make sure you consult with them (and include any union representatives if you have them), explain clearly the reasons for the change and always be willing to listen to alternative ideas.

For more help and guidance, you can visit the Government’s website https://www.gov.uk/your-employment-contract-how-it-can-be-changed/getting-agreement

And if you need candidates to cover shift patterns, you can request them directly from us at http://pps4jobs.com/employers/#employers-request or call us on 01782 717007.