My employer has changed my schedule, and my Saturday might be ruined.

Treeloot

I do customer service for a credit card company over the phone for a summer job at the moment. Normally I work from 9:30 AM- 6:00 PM with Saturday and Tuesday off. This Saturday I had planned on grabbing the Harry Potter book at midnight and finishing it the same day, mowing a lawn (that has to be mowed Saturday), and going fishing with some friends. These things had been scheduled for quite some time.

Today my supervisor and the director of human resources told me they were changing my schedule, effective immediately. Now I have Sunday and Tuesday off. I told them I could start working Saturdays, but I had plans for this Saturday already scheduled. I tried to work out an agreement with my bosses, but they wouldn't give me the day off or let me work some other days to make up for it.

A few questions,

Is it legal for employers to immediately change schedules without a heads up?
How much trouble will I be in if I call in sick? I could afford a few regular sick days, but I have a feeling I could get in some trouble if I call in sick on a day I already said I didn't want to work.
Do you guys have any suggestions for getting my way out of working on Saturday?

cytorak

My $0.02.

1. Most places, upon taking a job, you and the employer enter an "at-will" contract, meaning that either party can terminate the agreement (the job) at any time. Extrapolating that, your boss can fuck your schedule, just as you can "call in sick" and go dick around instead of going into work, thus boning him/her. However, both parties have to live with the consequences (getting fired or an even worse schedule/being short-handed). Unless you're in a union, and then you can talk to your union rep about what can be done.

2. Again, it depends on the employer. If it's a summer gig, and you could still eat if you missed a day, you might be able to get away with it.

3. Are you the only one that can do your position, or could you "trade" a shift with someone else?

Target Practice

Cytorak's pretty much covered everything I was going to say, though I would add that I doubt any union rep is going to go to bat for you because you want the day off to go get some book. (Besides, I highly doubt any job like that has a union.)

The thing about calling in sick: Your supervisor is not an idiot. At least, I presume he isn't. You already told him you had plans this Saturday. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on in that situation. Whether or not you'll get in trouble depends on how much they need people and how much he gives a fuck.

Sanders

Just call in sick, or better yet, tell them earlier this week that you are not going to show up.
If you wait till that day they'll be pissed because they will be understaffed.

If they do fire you for not going, maybe you are better off. Telling you 3 days in advance your schedule is changed and nothing you can do about it? screw that.

Rhino

What where his/her reasons for not giving you day's notice? Maybe you can try to talk to them again. Basically go at it with a freindly attutude of "yes, I would love to help you; but unfortunatly I need more notice. I would love to work next saturday!"

also yes, they are right; most jobs are 'at-will' meaning that you can quite or they can fire you at any time... for pretty much any reason. Actucally, you are more "free" in why you quit... you can just get up in middle of your shift and walk out. for them to fire you they have to have a good "reason" (but it's stupid simple to come up with reasons to fireyou).

If you just call in 'sick' that is pretty poor "sportsmanship"... sure they fucked you over, but just because they are dicks doesn't mean you should be.

I would talk to them again and see if you can work something out.

Iceman.USAF

I dunno, being unsportsman to me would be calling in sick NEXT Saturday.

This Saturday would....would just be fair to me.

I guess I'd be a more lenient boss. Then again I have no idea why he switched your schedule. I feel like if you found out why he needed YOU specifically you might be more able to help yourself out of this situation.

Cycophant

Seeing how you were given 3 days to adjust to your new schedule, unless your boss had a really pressing reason to do it so quickly (some sort of situation came up unexpectedly, and he's asking you to start this quickly as a favor), I would suggest this:

Walk in tomorrow, meet with said boss. Don't ask him, tell him that you'll be taking this Saturday off. If you come in looking to humm and haw about it, he's not going to budge. Tell him you've had these plans for quite some time, and you would have booked it off, but you'd never needed to work a Saturday before now. Tell him you'll be in next Saturday.

You have no reason not to act like this. In my mind, it works like this: let's say your boss has always requested two weeks advanced notice of any days-off request. If he told you of this schedule change two weeks ahead of the change, you'd have no choice. But since he's changing it well within the period where you cannot request it off, he's the one in the wrong. Unless you feel like doing him a huge favor and coming in, you'd be totally in the right not to come in.

Disclaimer: This doesn't stop him from firing you, but I can't see this happening unless he's a jerk already.

Treeloot

Good news everyone, I actually found someone to work my shift. Finding somebody to work a shift for you is usually damn near impossible at my job (since everybody is a full time employee, and nobody can work more than 40 hours per week), but I found someone who'd taken a day off this week who was willing to work it.