Re: Contract & Job Description

xanthe <mslemming@xxxxxxxxx> posted
>Hi all,
>
>I'm hoping that someone here can advise me on a small issue with my
>job. My company have recently given us new job descriptions to sign,
>and these differ quite a lot from our existing ones.
>
>I've been told that I pretty much just have to sign the new job
>description,


Never believe anything your employer tells you about employment law.


>but my manager has agreed that we can write an addendum
>to this - apparently it will not be possible to change what has been
>issued. If I don't sign, the company can terminate me and reengage
>under the new terms. Is this correct?

That would be unfair dismissal and they would risk having to pay you
substantial compensation. It depends whether the new job description is
"reasonable" and "necessary" for some "substantial" business reason,
terms which are not defined by the law.

It is reasonable for employers to ask their employees to change their
working practices from time to time as the needs of the business change.
However, there are limits to what is acceptable.


>
>My main concern though is that they are adding some very subjective
>requirements like 'have a positive attitude' and 'must be mature'.
>I'm worried about signing a description that includes difficult to
>measure conditions like this.

I shouldn't worry about words like that. It is going to be very hard for
them to use them against you. Unless you have reason to think they have
some subtext.

>I'm concerned that I will be penalised
>for being human, especially in an organisation that has had numerous
>rounds of redundancies over the past years and is often going
>through merger / downsizing programmes.
>
>My contract of employment references my job description, so by
>signing this, I take it that I am signing a binding contract?

Yes.

>Is
>this something that I should pay a lawyer to review or am I just
>wasting my time because I have to sign it or leave?

You don't have to sign it or leave. That's just what they are telling
you. They cannot impose a new job description on you without talking to
you about it and attempting to get your consent.

If they do talk to you about it and try to reach agreement, and you
still refuse, then that's another ball game. You aren't there yet.

>
>Also, at the moment the job description is not numbered in any way -
>it's just headings and paragraphs. Is this acceptable as part of a
>legal document, or should I ask for this to be numbered? The reason
>I'm asking this is that at the moment it is difficult to accurately
>challenge items without quoting the entire paragraph.
>
>Finally, there is a clause in here to the effect that 'from time
>to time I will perform other duties as required of me'. Reading that
>as a plain-jane, that could mean anything from sweeping the floor to
>standing on a street corner to 'increase shareholder value'. Is this
>something I should challenge, or again, should I just accept this
>and spend my time updating my CV before I have to include
>intersections on my reference list :) ?

Such clauses often occur in job descriptions. If it comes to law,
tribunals always interpret them as including the word "reasonably". In
other words you can be asked to do anything reasonable, but refuse if
it's unreasonable. I know, I know ...

--
PeteM
.

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