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Employed Full Time But Not Getting Any Hours

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  • 02-10-2012 5:43pm
    #1
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭


    I have recently started a new job. I was employed on a full time basis with the promise of 48 hours per week.

    I got 48 hours in week 1 and week 2. My last shift in week 2 finished on a Tuesday and i heard nothing from the job until the next Tuesday night. During that week i called the office several times about getting my hours, but what i got was either no answer or somebody saying they will call me back etc etc etc.

    Eight days after my last shift in week 2, i got a call saying ''i just seen your roster and noticed you have not had any hours this week and would i like to work Wednesday and Thursday''. I took those 2 days and since then i have not been given any more hours. Then on Friday, I got my payslip in the post and there was a small piece of paper in the envelope which said that there was no work scheduled for me for the next 2 weeks.

    I now have to go back to the social welfare and go on the casual dockets because i can't survive on what i am getting. This Thursday i will get paid for 1 day and if i don't get any more hours by this Thursday, i will only get paid for 1 day next week too. I am actually worse off now that I'm working than i was when i was on the dole. Its an absolute disgrace that i am been treated like this and i feel very very angry about this.

    It is not only me that is been mistreated, they took on 20 new staff because they got a 3 year contract with a big company so its the best part of the new staff that this is happening to. One fella was sent home 3 hours into his shift because his roster was changed and he was not informed about it, and other lads are ringing the office and saying the phones are been answered and hung up. Its a disgrace.

    I would like to know can anybody tell me what can be done to solve this issue? Can i report the company to anybody? I think they took on people to get this contract and since they got it they are messing people about. There is no way that this company is operating in a legal manner.

    Can somebody please advise on what i can do.
    Tagged:


Comments

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    #2
    DM addict
    Registered Users Posts: 567 ✭✭✭DM addict


    Have you checked your contract? Are your hours stated there?


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    #3
    Procrastastudy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,224 ✭✭✭Procrastastudy


    Very little you can do - they can essentially say bye bye with little or no reason until you have been there twelve months. They probably haven't started letting people go yet as they are waiting for things to settle down. Rock the boat and you can rest assured you'll be amongst them, I'm afraid.

    If you left a job with the promise of more hours and it says the number of hours in your contract then you may have recourse there, otherwise it's pretty bleak.


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    #4
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    DM addict wrote: »
    Have you checked your contract? Are your hours stated there?

    Yes but it also says that times may arise when work is not available either


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    #5
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    Procrastastudy wrote: »
    Very little you can do - they can essentially say bye bye with little or no reason until you have been there twelve months. They probably haven't started letting people go yet as they are waiting for things to settle down. Rock the boat and you can rest assured you'll be amongst them, I'm afraid.

    If you left a job with the promise of more hours and it says the number of hours in your contract then you may have recourse there, otherwise it's pretty bleak.

    The funny thing is they are still advertising for people, its ridiculous. What are they playing at.


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    #6
    Procrastastudy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,224 ✭✭✭Procrastastudy


    kilograms wrote: »
    The funny thing is they are still advertising for people, its ridiculous. What are they playing at.

    An honest and harsh answer is they may not be happy with the current batch. The optimistic answer is that they know there is more work in the pipeline and they are just waiting for it all to settle down. 48 hours a week is a very odd number of hours to be offered. All you can do is ride it out with a (bullsh*t ot not) positive attitude and team player thingie... (I so happy one day I'll be self-employed please God!)


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    #7
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    Procrastastudy wrote: »
    An honest and harsh answer is they may not be happy with the current batch. The optimistic answer is that they know there is more work in the pipeline and they are just waiting for it all to settle down. 48 hours a week is a very odd number of hours to be offered. All you can do is ride it out with a (bullsh*t ot not) positive attitude and team player thingie... (I so happy one day I'll be self-employed please God!)

    Its 4 12hour shifts that is worked to make up the 48. some people are on 36. I do have a trade and was thinking about self employment but just cant find a way of funding it


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    #8
    Procrastastudy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,224 ✭✭✭Procrastastudy


    kilograms wrote: »
    Its 4 12hour shifts that is worked to make up the 48. some people are on 36. I do have a trade and was thinking about self employment but just cant find a way of funding it

    Sorry OP that last part of my comment was aimed at my 'experience' with the corporate world not at you. Best of luck!


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    #9
    tatli_lokma
    Registered Users Posts: 3,332 ✭✭✭tatli_lokma


    It is unfair how they are stringing you along, but they covered themselves with the clause re: times when there might be no work
    kilograms wrote:
    Yes but it also says that times may arise when work is not available either

    As you say, you can't live on one (or none) days work per week, so you need to make sure your casual certs are up to date and I would even send in the payslip where it states there is no work for the next 2 weeks along with the cert.

    It could be as others said, they were vying for a contract. Possibly in order to get it they need to show they have the manpower to cope. Hence hiring people, having them on their books but letting them hang whilst they wait to see if the contract materialises.

    I would advise anyone coming off the dole to be sure if they have a guaranteed hours contract before doing so. OP doesn't - he has a contract of 0 up to 48 hours. In such situations it would be better to tell SW that you have some contract work with unspecified hours and go on casual certs. Even when you are getting 48 hours a week, and even if you get them every week for months, I would still send in certs because the one week you get little or no hours you will be stuck and it is a nightmare to get back on the live register and there is such a backlog it takes ages. Don't come off unless you have a definitive set number of hours guaranteed every week.

    Fingers crossed for OP that things pick up and they can get some more hours soon.


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    #10
    andrew241983
    Closed Accounts Posts: 560 ✭✭✭andrew241983


    get out of there they sound like a bunch of jokers


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    #11
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    Got a call last night saying they got the go ahead for the work and that from Monday we will be working full time again. It was even put up on the online roster. Just got a text now saying the work has been put back and we will be notified when there is more work available.

    There has to be something that can be done about this!!!!


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    #12
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    andrew241983 wrote: »
    get out of there they sound like a bunch of jokers

    I'll need them to let me go in order to get sw payments. I am better off on sw at the moment.


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    #13
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,726 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    kilograms wrote: »
    I'll need them to let me go in order to get sw payments. I am better off on sw at the moment.

    Have you actually visited Welfare to confirm this?

    The casual dockets system exists precisely to help people in your sort of situation. It lets you claim for the days when you're not working, but also work.

    Take your contract, and go and see them. If you can't get them to play ball, then go to Citizen's Information and get them to facilitate the conversation.

    It's annoying, but with that clause in your contract totally legal. And even without that clause, a new employer can let you got pretty much any time during probation.

    (Yes, IMHO Irish employment law sucks .... )


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    #14
    kilograms
    Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭kilograms


    JustMary wrote: »
    (Yes, IMHO Irish employment law sucks .... )

    It sure does!!! Disgraceful treatment.

    I going to my local welfare office tomorrow.


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    #15
    tatli_lokma
    Registered Users Posts: 3,332 ✭✭✭tatli_lokma


    kilograms wrote: »
    Got a call last night saying they got the go ahead for the work and that from Monday we will be working full time again. It was even put up on the online roster. Just got a text now saying the work has been put back and we will be notified when there is more work available.

    There has to be something that can be done about this!!!!


    there is...you are on a zero hours contract and there are specific criteria employers must adhere to when they give a zero hours contract. Basically what they are doing is misuse of the zero hours contract provision.

    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/contracts_of_employment/contracts_without_specific_working_hours_zero_hours_contracts.html
    The Act requires that an employee under a zero-hours contract who works less than 25% of their hours in any week should be compensated. The level of compensation depends on whether the employee got any work or none at all. If the employee got no work, then the compensation should be either for 25% of the possible available hours or for 15 hours, whichever is less. If the employee got some work, they should be compensated to bring them up to 25% of the possible available hours.

    For example, if you are required to be available for 20 hours per week, but you got no work, you would be entitled to be compensated for 15 hours or 25% of the 20 hours (that is, 4 hours), whichever is the less. In this case, 4 hours is the lesser amount. If, on the other hand, you got 3 hours work out of the 20, you would be entitled to be compensated by 1 hour to bring you up to 25% of the contract hours.


    Contact NERA - but you need to be aware, that in doing this you risk getting the chop altogether as within a year they have loads of lee-way for giving you the sack with no reprecussions. But at least if you get sacked you can go back on the dole easier.


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