Specificity of employment contracts

lunacyfoundme

Does an employment contract have to state specifically the kind of tasks you are required to do or can a contract legally be written to encompass basically anything the management tells you to do, even if it's completely unrelated to your job title?

Peregrinus

It can be written very broadly - otherwise you couldn't employ anybody in a genuinely broad and flexible role.

But the employer still has to behave reasonably in the way he operates the contract. Just because the description of your role is so broadly written that it could encompass cleaning out the toilets, it doesn't mean that it is always reasonable of the employer to ask you to do that.

Youngblood.III

When the role was advertised/ applied for surely there was a role description?
I.e. forklift operator (you would hardly expect this person to be the cleaner too)

brian_t

Youngblood.III wrote: »

I.e. forklift operator (you would hardly expect this person to be the cleaner too)

If something falls off the forklift you might be expected to pick it up and clean up a spillage if necessary ?

Youngblood.III

brian_t wrote: »

If something falls off the forklift you might be expected to pick it up and clean up a spillage if necessary ?

Of course, that is not really a comparable situation...if he drove the forklift into the racking, would he have to fix it?..no...if he drove into the roller door, would he have to fix it?...no

If a person was hired to drive a forklift in a warehouse, I'm sure he wouldn't be expected to clean the the warehouse offices and toilets before going home everyday.

whippet

Youngblood.III wrote: »

Of course, that is not really a comparable situation...if he drove the forklift into the racking, would he have to fix it?..no...if he drove into the roller door, would he have to fix it?...no

If a person was hired to drive a forklift in a warehouse, I'm sure he wouldn't be expected to clean the the warehouse offices and toilets before going home everyday.

why not? If the contract states something like 'other duties as requested by management'.

Surely the forklift driver is capable of cleaning the toilet and office? I work in an office and I am expected to keep my workplace clean and tidy.

Is it just a case of the forklift driver feeling that cleaning duties is beneath them? and they their employer should employ an dedicated cleaner to clean up the areas which the driver is using?

Youngblood.III

whippet wrote: »

why not? If the contract states something like 'other duties as requested by management'.

Surely the forklift driver is capable of cleaning the toilet and office? I work in an office and I am expected to keep my workplace clean and tidy.

Is it just a case of the forklift driver feeling that cleaning duties is beneath them? and they their employer should employ an dedicated cleaner to clean up the areas which the driver is using?

"If" its in the contract

seamus

Most broad contracts will include wordings such as "any other reasonable tasks as assigned to you in the course of employment". This means that asking the forklift guy to also sign the dockets and check incoming deliveries is fine, but as per the example above requiring him to perform maintenance work on the shutter door would not be. Though he may be responsible for calling the company to come and fix it.

Most peoples' understanding of "reasonable" tasks are tasks that you're capable/qualified to do, that are in some way related to your job description, and that don't require any additional hours outside of your core hours.

Victor

Part of it will depend on the size of the enterprise. In smaller ones, you will be expected to help out.

"Not my job" attitudes are a sure-fire way to getting negative job reviews.

whippet wrote: »

Surely the forklift driver is capable of cleaning the toilet and office? I work in an office and I am expected to keep my workplace clean and tidy.

There is a difference between a 'clean as you go' ethic and taking over someone else's job. Are you trained in the use of all the cleaning chemicals used on the premises?

No doubt, you also use:
* Telephones
* Computers
* Post
* Canteen
* Toilets
* Lift
* Air conditioning / heating
* Stationery / other stock

But it likely isn't you job to do those tasks full-time, to do the entire task or to manage those tasks.

I'm not averse to using a toilet brush, but I'm not going to use one every day. If things are so bad that one needs to be used every day, and a cleaner is employed, then one needs to have a conversation with either the cleaner or management.