I think we should listen to people who have already worked this type of system. You will get little notice of what you will be working and the way leave works at present will certainly come to an end. There will be the end of the watches as we know them and little scope to ensure that management are playing by the rules. It raises LCE issues also but these could be resolved relativle easily. Also the system for doing the rostering has to be able to cope and that is certainly not the case at present.
I'm all for empowering the staff to make choices in life BUT what is going on at LACC at present is nothing short of a disgrace. Yes bwatchbabe I DO OBJECT to having to work additional night duties so people can look after their kids. Especially as in the main it is double ATCO families who are putting the demands on the system. The present roster allows a degree of certainty months in advance and consequently makes it easier for staff with kids to plan ahead and arrange care as required. The only staff who should be exempt from nights are those in single-parent families.
Why should people have to do extra duties and in some cases move watches just to accommodate people with kids? They were fully aware of the demands of the job and should make adequate provision for childcare and if they are unable to do so then one of the partners should consider their future. After all they will have around £100K coming in between them so should be able to arrange an alternative without it impinging on other staff.
The management should be strong now and they should have the say which shifts part-timers do-just as they would for the rest of us if individual rostering were ever introduced. An over-staffed system can cope with part-time working in whatever form people want it to be-the present under-staffing situation certainly doesn't allow people to pick and choose what they want to do.