The union for Betting Shop workers

Please keep Community Member Service Centre informed of any developments, including the date your current contract comes to an end. We need to keep a record of those members who will require further assistance. Contact us on the number below and select option 1. Alternatively email servicecentre@community-tu.org be sure to include your membership number, name and address and telephone contact number.

Please feel free to pass this information amongst your colleagues. Although you may wish to make it clear that any further advice or support is only available to existing members. If there are any of your colleagues that aren’t members of Community it would be a good idea for them to join us to benefit from the free and confidential employment law advice regarding this and many other workplace issues that affect betting shop workers throughout the UK.

May 2009

Community has received a considerable number of enquiries from members at Betfred who received a telephone call from their Area or Regional Manager on 30^th April or 1^st May informing them that they were being given statutory notice to amend their terms and conditions of employment removing Sunday, Bank Holiday & overtime premiums.

We consider the “notification of changes” to in fact be notification of termination of your current terms and conditions with re-employment under new terms which do not include premium time. An employer can give verbal notice to terminate a contract of employment and this will be effective, although for the avoidance of any misunderstanding this should be provided in writing.

• For someone who has been employed for more than one month but less than two years this is one week’s notice.
• It is then one week’s notice for each complete year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks notice for someone employed for 12 years or more.
• If you worked for another company which was bought out by Betfred your continuity of employment is preserved and your previous employment has to be considered when calculating your notice entitlement.

Community Union believes that this is not the action of a reasonable Employer.

There is downloadable letter available for members to send to their employer if they believe you have been given verbal notification of the ending or premium time payments.

Betfred pro-forma letter (Word)

We would recommend that you send this before the end of your applicable notice period. If you start to work under the new terms without objecting to them in writing Betfred can argue that you have accepted them.

28 April 2009

Dear Member,

You will probably have received a letter from Betfred which offers upfront compensation for the proposed loss of your Sunday, Bank Holiday & overtime premiums.

Betfred gave less than ten days for employees to decide on a course of action. This deadline has now been extended to 30 April. We are also receiving a number of enquiries from our Betfred members who have just been informed that if they have not accepted the offer of “compensation” by this date their contract of employment will be terminated by the required statutory notice. For someone who has been employed for more than one month but less than two years this is one week’s notice. It is then one week’s notice for each complete year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks notice for someone employed for 12 years or more.

Community Union believes that this is not the action of a reasonable Employer and this is designed to scare members into signing away their terms and conditions.

The Community Union has issued some advice to our members on this subject.

• If you believe the offer is reasonable it is your decision whether or not to accept it. However, speaking to our Betfred members there seems to be no logic or consistency in the amount offered to each individual. Community believes that this offer is unfair and unjust.
• 
  
• You could write to the company informing them that you do not agree with the proposed change and request Betfred enters into meaningful consultations with their Employees. The more members that raise this issue, the greater the chance that Betfred will review this proposal.
• If you do not accept the offer, and the company terminate your current contract of employment with notice offering you the new terms and conditions without the premium time element, you will need to object to the new terms and conditions in writing as soon as they take effect.
• 
  
• You will need to make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal within 3 months minus one day of the date of termination of your current terms and conditions of employment. Community Union will support our members in making a claim to an Employment Tribunal.
• 
  
• As a Community Union member, you have the full resources of the union supporting you if you choose to take this route. The tribunal will then make a decision on the fairness of the termination. The decision will hinge on the business case for imposing the reduction and the numbers of staff accepting/rejecting the offer. The more staff rejecting the proposal the greater the likelihood of a positive outcome for members.
• 
  
• The company may still take the view that if a significant number of staff do not accept the offer; the current offer may be improved as it will minimise any litigation costs.

At the end of the day the choice has to be yours. If you choose not to accept the offer you will remain on the same terms and conditions until such time that Betfred decide on what they wish to do to bring in the change. This will mean that you will continue to benefit from earning premium time pay for working Sundays and Bank Holidays right up until the new contract is offered following the required notice period.

Please feel free to pass this information amongst your colleagues. If there are any of your colleagues that aren’t members of Community it would be a good idea for them to join us to benefit from the free and confidential employment law advice regarding this and many other workplace issues that affect betting shop workers throughout the UK.

Those wishing to join should call 0800 389 6332 selecting option 2 to speak with a membership advisor.

Alternatively they can join via our website at http://www.community-tu.org/ by clicking on the ‘Join Online’ link on the front page.