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Know Your

Rights at
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s colleagues frequently contact
their Usdaw reps, either in store or in
union offices with questions regarding
various aspects of their employment with
the company. Here are some of the more
frequently asked questions. All of the
answers have been taken from company
policy. You may find it useful to keep
this booklet for future reference.

1
I’ve been told by some of my
workmates that Sainsbury’s don’t
like staff joining the Union and I’ll
never get on with the company if
it’s known I’m a member.

2
Sainsbury’s and Usdaw have a long standing
relationship based on mutual respect. There
is a recognition from the company that a
constructive industrial relationship with
an independent trade union adds value to
the business in an increasingly competitive
market. Many active Usdaw members have
gone on to forge careers with Sainsbury’s.

3
I have been told that I will have
to work the next Bank Holiday as
I haven’t done one this year yet.

4
Bank Holiday working is voluntary for all
colleagues on a Rewarding Great Service
(RGS) contract or a Non RGS fixed contract.
Colleagues on the old Flexi contract are
required to work Bank/Customary Holidays
where necessary.

5
It seems harsh that I have to ring
in every day if I am off sick.

6
The simple answer is that you don’t! You
should follow the correct absence reporting
procedures on the first day of your absence
– call on the absence line at least one hour
before your shift is due to start, call in person
whenever this is possible and explain why
you cannot attend work. From this point
on you need to keep the store informed of
what is happening regarding your absence
so if, for example, you have made a doctor’s
appointment, call the store afterwards and let
the manager know if the doctor has signed
you off and for how long and make sure you
send your certificate to the store.
If the doctor says you need another day or
two off and then you should be okay to return
to work, tell the manager this then you won’t
need to call again unless you take a turn for
the worse. Sainsbury’s does not expect sick
colleagues to call every day.

7
One of my children was ill
recently and could not go to
school. I didn’t have anyone else
to care for them so I had to ring
the store and take a day off work.
At my Return To Work meeting I
was told that this would be added
to my own absence record and
I’m now worried that if I have
any sickness myself I could get
disciplined.

8
The simple answer is that this has been
wrongly recorded. The law allows workers
to take time off to deal with an emergency
situation when they are the only person
who could reasonably have been expected
to deal with the event. This would cover
issues such as a child’s sickness, partner’s
sickness, unexpected breakdown in childcare
arrangements etc. As long as you let the store
know what the problem is, as soon as it is
practicable to do so, you can take a day or
two to deal with the emergency. When you
come back to the store, you will have a Return
To Work meeting to discuss what happened
and if there are any alternative arrangements
you could make should such a situation occur
again. The time off given in these situations is
unpaid BUT the absence must not be added to
your own sickness absence record. The law is
very clear on this.

9
I was 30 minutes late for work
because the bus broke down. I
called from my mobile to explain
what was happening, but when
I arrived in work, my manager
told me that I would lose half an
hour’s pay and the lateness would
be added to my absence record.
This seems harsh.

10
It’s also wrong! It is everyone’s responsibility
to get to work on time, however, sometimes
things go wrong which are outside of our control.
Good managers understand this and will make
allowances for colleagues who are usually on
time for their shift but are late in circumstances
such as you describe. If an individual has a poor
timekeeping record this is a conduct matter and
should be dealt with accordingly, but not through
the absence procedure. If you are significantly late
for work, you will lose pay unless your manager
agrees that you can make the time up.

11
I came into work the other day
to find that my schedule had
been changed. I had arranged
a personal appointment for my
day off and now find this has
been altered to a different day.
Changing the appointment is
going to cause me problems.

12
For colleagues on RGS contracts, your
schedules should be available three weeks in
advance. Any changes must be agreed with
the individual colleague and signed by both
the colleague and the manager to indicate a
discussion has taken place and the change(s)
agreed to.

13
I have received a letter from the
hospital to say that I have an
appointment on a day when I am
due to work. My manager has
told me to either book the day as
holiday or it will be unpaid.

14
The policy on this is very clear and has been
in place for many years. All colleagues should
try to make medical appointments outside of
their working hours, however, with the best
will in the world, this is not always possible.
As long as you take your letter or appointment
card into work so that a copy can be placed
on your personal file, you will be paid in full
for the time away from work. This applies
whether you are full or part-time.

15
I agreed to change my hours a
few months ago and now my
manager is asking me to change
again. He says if I don’t agree, I’ll
just get notice and have to leave.
This is so unfair.

16
Yes it is and it’s wrong. An employer has the
right to ask its employees to make changes
to working hours for business needs, however,
the law expects the changes to be reasonable
and agreed by both parties. Of course,
what is reasonable to one person may be
unreasonable to another but to expect you to
change so soon after the previous change is
unlikely to be seen as reasonable.
There is a procedure which every store has
to follow to change a colleague’s hours
and this clearly instructs managers to take
into consideration an individual colleague’s
personal circumstances. Sainsbury Store
Support Centre has communicated with all
stores and asked for assurance that ‘we really
are treating our colleagues with respect when
changing their hours’. If you feel this isn’t
happening in your case, do speak to your
Usdaw rep.

17
I have received an invitation to a
disciplinary hearing but it is going
to be held by the same manager
that did the investigation. Is this
right?

18
Absolutely not. An independent manager
should hold the disciplinary hearing or there is
a risk that the outcome will be pre-judged.

19
I asked to have my Usdaw rep
at my disciplinary, but it was his
day off so I had to go in on my
own as the manager refused to
re-schedule the meeting. I don’t
think this was fair.

20
It wasn’t! If your rep is not available on the
day of your hearing, it can be postponed for
up to seven days. Day one being the first day
after the original date given. If your meeting is
an investigation and your rep is not available,
that can be postponed for up to three days.

21
I suffered a bereavement and
I was the one responsible for
organising the funeral. My
manager said I’m only entitled to
a couple of days off around the
funeral but I was hoping for some
more understanding.

22
And that’s completely reasonable. When
someone suffers a bereavement they are
entitled to support at what is a very difficult
time. Company policy says colleagues should
normally get three days’ paid leave where
the deceased is a close blood relative of the
employee or alternatively, if the deceased
was a guardian or substitute parental figure.
If the employee is the main organiser of the
funeral arrangements, paid leave of up to one
week may be granted – any additional time
off is judged on its merits and may be taken
as unpaid leave or holiday. A member of staff
may also be granted one day’s paid leave to
attend the funeral of their partner’s parent.

23
Rights at work
This is not a comprehensive list of your rights
at work but we hope that you are now better
informed. Don’t simply accept what you are
told as necessarily being the company’s
official policy.
The information in this booklet is based on
written replies from senior management to the
Union, or from information contained within
your Contract of Employment, Staff Handbook
and various directives to management from
Head Office.
Stand up for your rights at work – better still,
join Usdaw and we will do it for you.

24
Your right to join a trade union
In the UK every person has the legal right
to join a trade union.
In Sainsbury’s, that right is written into the
Joint Company and Union Agreement.
Usdaw is recognised by the company as the
appropriate union for its retail staff and we
are given to facilities to recruit new members
in the stores. This facility enables us to
distribute our leaflets and talk with staff
about the benefits of joining the Union. We
are also given the facility of talking to new
staff during their induction.
If you join Usdaw today you will add your
membership to the growing number of people
who want the Union to fully represent them.
There is information on the back of this
booklet about how to join Usdaw.

25
For more information
about Usdaw or to join
call 0800 030 80 30
or visit www.usdaw.org.uk

Improving workers’ lives


– Winning for members

Published by Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers


188 Wilmslow Road, Manchester M14 6LJ August 2017

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