Custom & Practice....

I am a nurse & have been employed at the NHS hospital where I work since 1989. For the past 3-4years (maybe even 5years) I have been working a 'non standard' shift rota, essentially meaning I work more night shifts than usual. The request to work more nights came from my nurse manager but I have nothing in writing. The area where I work has now been informed of changes that mean that 'non standard' shift patterns will no longer be allowed & staff will need to return to a standard rota. I am now concerned that I am going to be forced back on to the standard rota, this would mean a large drop in salary (£5k per annum). In addition since I will soon be approaching my last few years of employment before I retire if my salary is dramatically reduced it will affect my final salary pension lump sum pay out. Can anyone tell me if I there is any legislation such as Custom & Practice that will protect my current working rota? There are also a number of other staff working extra night duty like myself, without any formal written contract for this. Please help, I am very upset about the matter!

• | Post Points: 70

hello

Custom and Practice sets in where you have been doing something different to your contract which essentially overrides your contract and is your established terms and conditions. There is no real judgment for how long the working practice, whatever it may be, has to be in place before custom and practice sets in, but i would say that after 5 years it probably has.

That being said, even if custom and practice has set in, your manager can still consult with you to change your working pattern. You should raise your concerns around pay and benefits during this period, and depending on whether they have a genuine business rationale, it may be that it can be enforced.

 

 

 

 

 

• | Post Points: 70

Thank you for the information, most interesting........however, I have been informed today that the proposed plan to alter the night shift rota of both myself and a number of other people has been scrapped by managment.

There was no financial gain by introducing the changes as the night shifts I was going to 'lose' would have to have been 'covered' by another person of an equal grade in order to ensure the skill mix remained at the agreed standard, the same applies to all the other staff threatened with the change. We would have been replaced 'like for like' so there was no cost saving advantage.

The 'replacements' would have come from a number of nurses either not working any night shifts or very small amounts of night shifts largely due to the fact that working night shifts makes them physically unwell due to the very unsocial hours/longer shift times & lack of sleep.

I think Management finally woke up & realised that they would be taking staff off nights who cope ok with the hours & are quite happy running about at 4am & be replacing them with nurses who are made ill by the lack of sleep & would possibly be calling in sick meaning the need to use overtime/bank/agency staff at extra cost........it made no sense financially or from a staff motivation/moral perspective.

 

• | Post Points: 5