i was wondering if anyone could answer this question.
If employment contract says "working week 48 hrs p/w" does it mean i have to provide my staff with 48 hours even if i dont have enough work?
I have realised i should have given 0 hours contracts as during the winter there is not much work that we have in our shop. What procedure would be to change the employees contrats from 48 hrs ot 0 hours. And what if employee does not agree to change his contract?
They are contracted to work 48 hours. You don't have to work them 48 hours, but you must pay them for 48 hours work. Employment law gets trickier and trickier, most definitely consult a an employment specialist before doing anything rash. It can get very expensive!
If you intend not to take on anyone to replace them redundancy is a good way to go. But you can't offer them redundancy and a 0 hours contract (they either work for you or they don't).
This page will give you all you need to know: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Redundancy/DG_10029832
You are only required to pay redundancy after two years continuous employment. If a position is redundant, you are not allowed to employ someone to do the same job for at least six months.
As Rob says, you are probably better off getting an agreement to change the contract of employment and change to either a part time or casual basis .
This is a nother useful link on the Business Link website
When I was employed full time, my employer decided that he wanted to slowly wind down the business. This meant that there wouldn't be enough work to keep me going full time. So he discussed it with me and both agreed on new hours (I was pregnant at the time as well so I didn't mind working less hours.) A new contract was then drawn up stating new hours. So the contract can be amended.
Definitely worth discussing it with your employees, so they know what the situation is. If they're not happy they can resign, but if your happy with their work, tell them to contact you again in a few months.
