Request for change of work hours help

[Arcanegirl]

My husband will be putting in a request to change his work hours when I go on mat leave on the 1st of June. He currently works 4 backshifts 2-10pm and one day shift 7am-2.30pm. He also works all weekends every weekend and he is the only person in his department that does this, everyone else gets some point of the weekend off (some Saturdays every week!)

With LO#1 going to nursery in August, LO#2 due end of June, it would be much better for us if DH can go completley dayshift so that we can do the nursery run (and eventually school run) between us and aswell as having some time each to spend with the kids and supporting me in the evenings. It would also help that when I return to work after mat leave, I wont need to change the majority of my shifts, if any at all.

What are his rights to request the change of work pattern?

 

[Dinah93]

He has the right to request it, and they have to consider it, however they are not obligated to grant it. They can refuse it if they believe it can not be accommodated within the business requirements of the company ie if his shifts are written into his contract and no one else is available to cover them. A lot of companies seem to resist change if at all possible, as there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of comeback for the employee if their request is refused, and I think the company only has to consider one request a year.