13 May 2009
Dear Member,
You will be aware from recent Staff Council notes that Totesport are proposing to stop paying premium time for Bank Holiday working from 1 May 2009. The company has used the increase in the statutory holiday entitlement from 4.8 weeks to 5.6 weeks as a gimmick to impose less favourable terms and conditions to the detriment of staff working on Bank Holidays. Currently, staff are entitled to be paid double time if they work a Bank Holiday.
Community Union believes that this is not the action of a reasonable employer and that this is designed to mislead members into accepting less favourable terms and conditions.
Community believes that the proposal to remove premium time for Bank Holiday working without your agreement is unlawful and will constitute a breach of contract. This is because there is no variation clause in your contract permitting such a change. Not paying you premium time will also constitute an unlawful deduction from wages.
Community Union has issued the following advice to our members on this subject:
- Totesport are legally obliged to increase your holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid holiday from April 2009. This is a minimum of 28 days for someone working a 5-day week. The company are in fact giving all workers 29 days which is in excess of the minimum holiday entitlement.
- If you accept the proposal to only pay single time for Bank Holiday working after 1 May you will have accepted the changes by performance.
- If you disagree with this proposal, you will need to submit a grievance letter and object to the changes in writing. If you do not submit a complaint then the law interprets your failure to complain as an acceptance of the change.
Below is a pro-forma letter for you to adapt. The more members that raise this issue, the greater the chance that Totesport will review this proposal.
- If the Company do not pay you premium time after you have worked a Bank Holiday and you have objected to the changes, you will need to submit a further letter requesting the full payment. Again, contact the union immediately if this happens. The company will invite you to a meeting to which you have the right to be accompanied by a Community Union representative. You will need to contact us to make arrangements for representation.
- If you are still not paid you then the issue becomes a matter for an Employment Tribunal and as a Community Union member, you have the full resources of the union supporting you if you choose to take this route. There are a number of extremely strict rules governing tribunals and Community will ensure that members are kept right up to date with information and guidance on this issue.
All of this clearly demonstrates why betting shop workers need to be unionised and it also highlights the perils of working in non-unionised workplaces. As such, 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.
Letter to Totesport refusing changes to contract (Word)