Employee requesting single day shift change

Guill

I have an employee requesting a shift change from hours 4pm - 12pm to 8am - 4pm for next monday. This to me is fine because in my previous company we did it all the time! Shift changes were the norm. However, in my new company i brought this rewuest to the HR officer, he said that it cannot be done as the person whom he would change shifts with would nt get the required 11 hours rest between shifts when they change back.

Of the four people on my team, we have worked in this industry for years for various Multinational corperations and local bodies and single day shift changes were never an issue before this?

I have looked at the law and it says that exemptions can only be made for unforeseeable circumstances. Again, we would swap shifts if someone needed to tax the car or got to the bank etc, and this was common place in a factory of abot 750 people. Is there something that i am missing here or was what we were doing before illegal? I would like to facilitate the change but i can't and i told the employee that she needs to ewither get someone to swao for the week or take a days holidays.

Any ideas?

krd

Have them take an hour off and come in at 9.

The HR may be being very tight about covering their asses.

Mrs OBumble

HR are absoutely correct. The person who does the swap would only get 8 hours between shifts - during which you would expect them to travel to and from work, eat at least once, and get a night's sleep. Not a reasonable thing for the employee to be asking of a colleague, and absolutely not something that any manager worthy of the name should be approving.

Just because other companies broke the law doesn't mean this one should.

Find out why your employee wants to swap, ie needs the daytime free, and find a better soltuion. I can think of lots, depending on the situation.

Guill

JustMary wrote: »

HR are absoutely correct. The person who does the swap would only get 8 hours between shifts - during which you would expect them to travel to and from work, eat at least once, and get a night's sleep. Not a reasonable thing for the employee to be asking of a colleague, and absolutely not something that any manager worthy of the name should be approving.

Just because other companies broke the law doesn't mean this one should.

Find out why your employee wants to swap, ie needs the daytime free, and find a better soltuion. I can think of lots, depending on the situation.

All employees here want to do it. We are not allowing it though. They are upset because most of them, like me, would have worked in companies that this was common practice. I could do a shift change once i organised it with another guy, then i'd owe him one if he had something coming up.

I just couldn't figure out how other places get away with it (the comnpany i was in was highly unionised, i.e. you couldn't work there unless you joined the b*stards).

Anywho, thanks.

therecklessone

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1997/en/act/pub/0020/sec0004.html#sec4

Exemptions.

4.—(1) Without prejudice to section 6 , section 11 or 13 or, as appropriate, both these sections shall not apply, as respects a person employed in shift work, each time he or she changes shift and cannot avail himself or herself of the rest period referred to in section 11 or 13 or, as the case may be, both those sections.

Section 11 provides for 11hrs between shifts, and Section 13 provides for days off (24hr rest periods)

That what you need?