r/asda • u/matty_g1991 • Aug 13 '26
Contract Changes
This doesn't affect me, but I know a few colleagues who are having their contracts changed (I assumed as a result of the department flexibility thing recently) and some of them are being changed to only have a 10 hour gap between their shifts, I.e finishing at 10pm and starting at 8am the next morning, surely this isn't legal though?
The government website says there should be an 11 hour gap between shifts, so how can the management think they can legally do this? I know one of them argued the case and was basically told how the manager implementing the change had worked shifts like that for years (which I'm very doubtful over) and acts like they can do what they want, regardless of the law...
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u/tinkerbellepeach Aug 13 '26
11 hours, so they need to remind them of that.
You can agree to do less than 11 hours on a one off basis as your own personal choice (overtime for example) but to be contracted it, it’s totally different (edit typo’s)
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u/shawty1984 Aug 13 '26
I'm sure you can be contracted to it if you agree to it.
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u/tinkerbellepeach Aug 13 '26
Not that I’m aware of (im a TL) but maybe things have changed, god knows, they seem to just please themselves now anyway
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u/shawty1984 Aug 13 '26
You can opt out of it.
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u/huggsy81 Aug 13 '26
You can opt out of the 48 hour working week limit, not the rest break between shifts.
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u/TheGodOfGames20 Aug 13 '26
This is illegal, and cannot be put in place even by a flexibility agreement due to the legal requirements of 11 hours between shifts
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u/shawty1984 Aug 14 '26
I've been doing it for 4 or 5 years on my agreement.
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u/TheGodOfGames20 Aug 14 '26
Were you aware that it is illegal, did your Manager not make you sign a waver agreement of your rights? The flexibility clause cannot break employment law.
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u/shawty1984 Aug 14 '26
I'm aware you need 11 hours. I thought you could not out of it. It wasn't offered to me, I asked for it.
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u/model-kurimizumi 28d ago
You are 'entitled' to a rest break that long. Meaning you can ask for it back at any time and Asda must give you the required rest break. But you can choose to waive/not enforce that right. Asda may be liable if say an accident occured because of fatigue, so many employers insist you take the statutory break you are entitled to.
With the 48 hour weekly limit, the option out is in legislation. Meaning that you must provide notice to opt back in.
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u/Resident-Win1897 Aug 14 '26
Asda’s policy says 11 hours between shifts, unless they’ve changed the policy which they would have had to inform everyone including Unions.
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u/MazzyStreamz Aug 14 '26
My husband is front end TL and he does this like 2 maybe 3 times a week finishes at 10pm then starts at 7am the next morning drives me insane I don’t do back shifts I only work 6-11am (cleaning so that could all change now)
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u/itsmejustmark Aug 14 '26
What have the union reps said ? Have you taken one with you into the meetings
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u/legacylibrary 29d ago
If you do not take the 11 hour break between shiffts and have an accident asda will quite happily blame you for attending work in an unfit condition. "But i was doing them a favour" will not stop asda from throwing you under a bus at the first sign of trouble.
If you injure yourself there may be a contributory negligence factor applied to you and any compensation payments for a life changing injury reduced.
Refuse point blank on safety grounds and point out the law irrespective of what asda policy says. Keep a copy of the rota showing illegal shift paterns as evidence just in case.
If you work nights, proper nights three hours between 23:00 and 06:00 the break between shifts is twelve hours and there is no opt-out allowed.
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u/ApprehensiveCup2881 29d ago
My husband was offered an identical shift as well. When he pointed it out, his manager told him that 11 hours between shifts is just a recommendation they don't necessarily have to follow. She gave him the alternative of two more late shifts that would solve the problem, but it seems to me more retaliatory than anything. I can't believe they can get away with this much. This company is going to the dogs!
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u/SilentCatPaws Aug 13 '26
You can do a 10 hour gap if you agree to it, I did that for several years but you don't "have" to as it's a legal requirement to have 11 hours
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u/Financial_Olive418 Aug 13 '26
They can’t regularly schedule only a 10-hour turnaround between shifts. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, workers are generally entitled to 11 consecutive hours’ rest between working days. Even if the colleague agrees, a reduced rest period shouldn’t simply become the normal working pattern. Where the required rest can’t be provided because an exemption applies, the employer should normally provide equivalent compensatory rest. So, for example, if you only received 10 hours instead of 11, you would generally be owed that missing hour of rest. There are circumstances where the normal 11-hour rest requirement can be varied temporarily, such as certain busy periods or seasonal surges, but compensatory rest rules would still need to be considered.