Can my boss change my day off?

Questioner

Can my boss force me to change my part-time day because my colleague insists on making that day her part-time day? This is the situation: In the department where I work, there are three of us. Lady No. 1 has a permanent contract, two young children and always has Wednesdays and Fridays off. Lady no. 2 has a one-year contract and works full-time. She is pregnant and will soon be working three days. She also wants Wednesdays off. I myself also have a year contract (started 2 months later than lady no. 2), and have had every Wednesday off since April this year. This is also stated in my (year) contract. I myself don't have children (and always fill in on Wednesdays when necessary), but I really want to keep Wednesdays as a day off. This suits me best. Could my boss force me to give up Wednesday and swap it with another day because my colleague wants that Wednesday off?

Lawyer

If the working hours are set out in your contract and Wednesday is stipulated as a day off, then that is not possible. The wording is important. Usually the working hours are formulated positively along the lines of: 'works 4 days a week for eight hours; these days are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday' This is different from: Employee can be deployed on all days of the week, including Saturdays if these are part of the opening hours of the establishment. Working and free days are determined in consultation, whereby the employee's wish to have Wednesdays off is taken into account as much as possible. In the latter case, it is easier for your employer to change your schedule by appealing to the company's interests.

Questioner

Thank you very much for your quick reply! In my contract it says “Wednesday is your day off”. But this is only a one year contract, and I am worried that they will change it when it is renewed. That is probably possible?

Lawyer

No, I advise you to show your employer the contract. Then you are sure that you can continue working on Wednesday. If you wish, you can contact us without any obligation.

Lawyer

If your contract expires by operation of law, your employer can make you a new proposal that has a different content, indeed. If your contract has an extension clause or is automatically converted into a permanent contract in case of sufficient performance, then that is not possible.

Questioner

Thanks for the answers! I appreciate the time you put into this!

Lawyer

You're welcome, I hope you can work it out together.