10:30am Thursday 11th March 2010
By Simon Carr
STAFF at a Hampshire retail giant claim it is “robbing workers of time with their families” in a shake up of bank holiday hours.
Workers at Marks and Spencer have accused bosses of changing the rules on bank holidays to save cash.
The retailer insists it has not changed workers contracts or terms and conditions but some Hedge End staff say they have been told they will have to work almost all bank holidays.
Staff claim previously they had to work just two of these Mondays with the shortfall being met by volunteers.
They claim they will now have to work seven out of eight bank holidays.
The Daily Echo understands this new policy is already part of the contract for new starters but will now affect long-term workers.
One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This doesn’t seem to be the case at other stores and I wonder if its something the Hedge End managers have come up with themselves to meet their quotas.”
Another said: “People want to be able to spend time together as a family, I cannot tell you how upset staff here are.”
Union bosses are urging more people to sign up to give them more power to fight the alleged plans.
An M&S spokesman said: “We are in the process of working with our colleagues to assess the staffing levels required for bank holidays at the store.
“There have been no changes to contracts or terms and conditions at the store.”
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