If the employment agreement outlines what the hours of work are, then the employer cannot change them without consulting with the employee first and getting their agreement.

Employers should follow a fair process if they want to change the employee's hours of work. They should communicate as much as possible in terms of how the changes will affect the employee and allow the employee an opportunity to seek independent advice and then respond to any issues raised by the employee.

The employee can negotiate with the employer to try and explore arrangements or alternatives that would be beneficial for both parties concerned.

Some employment agreements may contain a clause allowing the employer to change an employee's hours of work. The employer must, however, still act fairly and reasonably before making such changes.

In some situations (such as genuine financial, commercial or economic problems, or genuine restructuring of the business), a reduction in hours of work may sometimes be proposed as an alternative to redundancy. In these situations, the employer must follow a fair process and give the employee an opportunity to consider and respond to the proposed change. Any change in hours of work must be made by agreement between the employee and the employer.

If the change to the hours of work is disadvantaging the employee and the employee feels the procedure that the employer followed was unfair or there were no genuine reasons for changing the hours of work, the employee should try to resolve the issue with their employer in the first instance.

If the employee is not successful, they can take the matter to mediation to help resolve the problem. Click here for information on going to mediation.