Can anybody advise me?

[pluto]

I'm in need of advice re my part time job and as being a carer for my mum.
To cut a long story short, I work 3 days per week,and with my managers aggreement work wed/thur/fri, (I have worked these hours/days for 12 years, but in different teams over the years) the rest of the team provide a service 9am -9pm weekdays and 10am -6pm sat and sun. The team is being moved and staff moved around too meaning I might move base and in a different team with similar unsocial hours. The days I don't work I care for my mum, which means taking her to all her hosp app (managed to get them all on a mon/tues, currently she has appointments every week for 3 different problems ) clean, take her shopping and at times my mum has an emergency increase my input to provide meals and limited personal care.
I would like to continue these hours/days as I am her main carer, my uncle does provide some support but it is very limited to just once every couple of weeks. Is there anything I can say/do for when I meet my managers that will support my caring role in keeping my current hours/days of work, is there anything legal etc

Thankyou in anticipation as worrying who would do my role for my mum if my days changed. Also am I asking too much of my employers?

[michael parker]

Not at all sure about legal situation,but the fact that you have been a reliable employee for so long should count in your favour.I would talk to them and see how understanding they are.CAB will be able to inform you of legal situation if nobody here can.Good luck.

[The Green Archer]

i think its worth talking to your manger, i work at waitrose and they are really good, i think you have a right to care for some one and most company will try there best to work around you, i change my job title about 6 month ago, i work from anything from 6.30am to 10pm, not all on one day, i work 4 days a week, so i know how it is juggling hospitals and doctors, shopping and cleaning, yes well the cleaning doesn't always get done, i do micro cleans, i find that works well, don't do all the bathroom but when you have the time clean the sink then next time clean the bath etc. but do talk i'm sure you can sort something out. but i'm sure someone will know the law. hope this hopes a little.

[Jane:-)]

I would expect that they value you as a loyal employee, so hopefully the meeting will go well.

However, if not - they know you are a carer and understand your family commitments (else they wouldn't had sorted your hours differently from the rest of the team) therefore if they offer you new hours that are impossible to meet then it would be 'unfair dismissal' - not sure that's the right legal terminology but they'd be forcing you to either accept what they're offering or quit the job - which is definitely wrong. You can obviously do the job well so they'd be discriminating against you as you are a carer.

If you want to go into the meeting armed with information I suggest you speak to CAB but I would be careful not to go "with all guns blazing" your employers might just want to let you know what they've arranged for you. Whatever happens remember you don't need to make any decisions at that meeting, don't sign anything - just thank them for keeping you informed and that you need time to think of the implications and that you'll let them know your decision soon.

Good luck

[charles47]

This might help:

Working and Caring

[Anne001]

Hi Pluto, I am in a similar situation as I work full-time. I try to juggle my mum's hospital appts with a combination of working from home / annual leave; again she has appts for 3 different things. I would proceed with caution and hopefully someone more knowledgeable than myself can inform you on the legal position. My employer has just joined this organisation, http://www.employersforcarers.org/, which has lots of useful info including benefits to employers of supporting carers. Maybe you could quote them?? I am part of a group at work (a large investment bank) to see whether it is just lip-service or they really will listen to what we need. However, we are encountering problems whereby carers do not want to identify themselves for fear of jeopardising their jobs or their promotion prospects. Good luck with your battles; hopefully they will be understanding, Anne x

[pluto]

Thankyou for your replies,
I do worry, too much, as she is so dependant on me. So thankyou again.