Starting New Job 0 Hour Contract The Equality Act 2010

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Kasatara
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03 Sep 2014, 8:40 pm

I am 23 male living in the UK.

I have recently been offer a job which I blindly accepted the contract but there are few conditions which will reallly stress me out due to my AS,
As an aspie i really need routine it will be stressful enough accepting this massive change to my life style and i mean really stressed as in hair starts to fall our and increased blood pressure. .

"It is entirely at the Company's discretion whether to offer you work and it is under no obligation to provide work to you at anytime."

"The Company reserves the right to give or not give work to any person at any time and is under no obligation to give any reason for such decisions"

Over the phone i have been told I will only ever be offered work the evening before. The amount of stress this will cause is huge if i dont have any sort of routine such as working specific hours on specific days can I use the Equality Act 2010 to push them to make reasonable adjustments at work to give me specific hours on specific days. Would post a link to info on the act but am not allowed, google equality act disability should be easy to find.

"Reasonable adjustments in the workplace
An employer has to make ?reasonable adjustments? to avoid you being put at a disadvantage compared to non-disabled people in the workplace. For example, adjusting your working hours or providing you with a special piece of equipment to help you do the job."

At no point have I been given the equality form to sign. I am afraid that if I try they will just stop giving me work and they have no need to give a reason to, even though it would be clear discrimination they are able to not put me forward to work and give no reason which will protect them completely.

I can no longer back out due as it would make me not eligible for support.

Any help will be appreciated.

Cheers.



AspieUtah
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03 Sep 2014, 9:18 pm

The clauses that you quoted from your contract appear to be variations of saying simply that you are "employed at will." This is legalese to mean that you have agreed that your employment may be changed or terminated at the pleasure of the employer. Of course, this ability doesn't mean that your employer can violate local or national laws that protect you in the workplace. Neither employees nor employers can waive the rights and obligations that laws provide. As a practical matter, at-will employment is a way for your employer to dismiss you if and when it chooses (again, aside from any obligations that laws require). In the United States, at least, reasonable accommodations to workplace disabilities means that an employer must provide reasonable (but not extraordinary) ways for you to do your job with the least amount of disruption to the workplace. I suspect that the same is true under U.K. law. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. They can have their at-will clauses, but the clauses probably won't change anything about the U.K. Equality Act 2010 and its provisions. Just be honest and forthright with them.


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Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


Kasatara
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03 Sep 2014, 9:39 pm

Its the whole only being told if your working the next day the evening before. this is due to the Company not knowing if they have any work to give till the day before. Its just i would rather be told I'm working certain days and then be phoned up to be told there is no work to do the evening before.

Like i would like something along the lines ok you work Monday to Friday from 9am-9pm but if we have no work to do we will contact you the night before. Though I can see how this would add strain if they had to do it with everyone. This would decrease the stress on me by a huge amount.



AspieUtah
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03 Sep 2014, 9:48 pm

Kasatara wrote:
Its the whole only being told if your working the next day the evening before. this is due to the Company not knowing if they have any work to give till the day before. Its just i would rather be told I'm working certain days and then be phoned up to be told there is no work to do the evening before.

Like i would like something along the lines ok you work Monday to Friday from 9am-9pm but if we have no work to do we will contact you the night before. Though I can see how this would add strain if they had to do it with everyone. This would decrease the stress on me by a huge amount.

I have heard about this kind of work-schedule scheme at the local United Parcel Service (UPS) office where I live in the United States just in the last few months. I agree; it seems very strange and cumbersome to manage, not to mention it prevents the ability of any workers to plan their schedules.


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Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


Kasatara
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04 Sep 2014, 8:22 am

It makes it immposible to do any forward planing im forever waiting to know if im working the next day or not.



kraftiekortie
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04 Sep 2014, 10:24 am

Could you be eligible for "partial" benefits should the work you receive be limited?

We, in the US, have "partial" unemployment insurance.



Kasatara
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04 Sep 2014, 4:14 pm

Yeah if I don't exceed 36 hours of work time benefits will make up the difference.



Gita
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04 Sep 2014, 5:55 pm

If they are under no obligation to provide work, then it is not a job. Its like occasional babysitting if you have time. Why not look for another job? When and if they call, tell them you have another job, and maybe you might be free some other time. Eventually you will slip off the page.



Kasatara
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04 Sep 2014, 7:10 pm

Cheers I will keep this in mind.



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23 Sep 2014, 3:07 pm

How possible would it be for them to give their staff more notice of shifts or to offer regular hours? Is it an industry that has vastly varying staff needs.

Do you object to working irregular hours (a different number of hours and different pattern of shifts each week) or is it only the lack of notice that stresses you out.

Some industries have vastly varying staff needs depending on what business they have, so they make use of zero/low hours contracts and rely on staff being able to work more if required. They can, however, often give out the rota in advance so staff can plan their lives. There may be the occasional late notice work required if things change (or to cover staff illness etc.).

It sounds like one of the ugly examples of zero hours contracts (where the staff have to be constantly on call with no guarantee of work).