At What Point Are You At Work?

seadee

andy46 wrote: »

The issue was that I had to be at work at 7.35 AM to start work at 8.00 A.M

I assume you no longer work there?

duchy

I find that because I am flexible and don't nit pick TO my employer-they don't nitpick back either-I've covered shifts for sickness etc -so when I had some issues that meant I waslate/had to leave early my boss was more flexible about it -simply because he didn't see me as one of the staff who "try it on"

It's a two way street

CCFC_80

seadee wrote: »

I assume you no longer work there?

Too right ! I did not like working in a unnecessery competitive and stressful working environment, working along side people who would willingly stab their own grandmothers in the back for a 50 pence piece to further their careers.

CCFC_80

cattie wrote: »

But surely it's your choice to drive to work? If you have the choice to drive & use the carpark or using public transport, you have made a decision on which way to travel & evaluated how long it will take you to reach the place at which you do your actual job, ie desk, workbench or whatever.

The carpark isn't the place where your job is carried out so I'm confused why you consider reaching the carpark is when you officially start work?
When you started the job did they tell you that reaching the carpark would count as your actual start time?

It's a bit like when you have an appointment, be it for a new job, medical appointment, or whatever, it's no good giving the opinion that you arrived at the carpark on time, but it took you so many minutes to walk to the designated place, so feel that you are not in fact late for the appointment.

The initial question in this thread is when do you actually start work.
The place of work where I was employed was in the middle of nowhere so public transport was not an option as you had to have your own transport or share a lift.
The fact is as already explained that I had to log into my PC at 8.00 AM or face disciplinery action which meant I had to be at the company carpark by at least 7.35 AM. If I did not have to log on then I could have arrived at the car park at 7.50 A.m and it would have been 8.00 A.M when I got through the company doors and was in a position to start work.

greenbee

duchy wrote: »

I find that because I am flexible and don't nit pick TO my employer-they don't nitpick back either-I've covered shifts for sickness etc -so when I had some issues that meant I waslate/had to leave early my boss was more flexible about it -simply because he didn't see me as one of the staff who "try it on"

It's a two way street

Absolutely. One of my team wasn't feeling well today - rather than making her take sick leave, we discussed it, and she has worked from home doing what she needs to in order not to have a backlog to deal with tomorrow. She's flexible and hard working, so I'm not that concerned that she probably did less than half a day's actual work today, as at the end of the day the work will be done... and she had still had her phone on when I called her as I left the office (6.30pm) to check that she was OK.

I realise that not everyone has the flexibility to work from home, so may be obliged either to bring germs to work or to take sick leave, but I know that my team are dedicated, hardworking and flexible. They will work late in the event of a crisis, and although they generally work 8-4ish (so that they can get a space in the company car park), they know I work 6-10 or later and will usually answer the phone/return my calls outside their normal working hours. In return, as long as they get their work done and don't cancel meetings at short notice, I am happy for them to work round deliveries/doctors appointments/shared travel arrangements/family commitments etc.

As you say, it's a two-way street. And if you're flexible, you may also find that you pick up the interesting work and are seen as a high-performer with development potential.

Incidentally - I think you're at work when you are in a position to actually fulfill the tasks you are employed to do. So my team are at work when they are either logged on or in a meeting - the fact that our employer is able to provide a car park means that they are able (if they get in on time to find a space) park closer than if they had to park in a public car park (and it's free). We also provide a company shuttle bus from the railway station - and that's certainly not the workplace either, it's something we do to make life easier for our employees.

ceridwen

I would disagree myself with the concept of expecting an employer to "cover" time from a carpark to their front door. Every single step from one's own front door to just inside the work front door is clearly taken in one's own time. The "clock starts ticking" immediately inside that front door and I do think employers are "taking the michael" expecting people to be treating time spent sitting at desks waiting for a computer to "log on" as their own time - though I suppose one could even that out a bit by telling employers one wasnt going to "stand guard" sitting at ones computer whilst it "gets its act together" and would instead be elsewhere in the building making coffee/having a chat (as one is perfectly entitled to do in ones own time after all). So if they wanted you to sit "standing guard" over it - then that was a work instruction - so it was work time being used for that.

Magnolia

I consider myself at work when I am at my desk ready to perform the daily tasks. I might not be logged in to the network as sometimes I am interrupted by clients and it would be rude to say - hang on while I log on - not all my work is computer related but if it was then logging on would be part of the working day. I get paid from 8.30 so I would expect to be ready at my desk at that time and not getting out of the car in the car park!

mttylad

If your normal work requires you to turn on & log onto a PC/heat up a beauty wax pot/open window shutters or whatever, then these are tasks that you are doing for your employer and the law requires that you are paid to do these tasks.

As such if your working hours are from 8:00 then it is at 8:00 onwards only that you can be required to do them. That is the law.
(Although I cannot remember which specific one, I have read it in legal documents).

There is an allowance for a short period that allows you to take your coat off etc although I cannot remember if that is written in law though it is usually written into company procedures.

If when walking through the building to your place of work you are normaly stopped & asked to do work maters then yes you are legaly "at work" and need to be paid for this time.
However, you are able to say to them that you are not yet at work & will they wait until you have taken your coat off etc. You only need to do this a few times to make a point & they should


RE the walk into work, you are at work when you arrive at your normal place of work - ready to work, if that is your desk then when you get to your desk ready to work you are considered to be at work.
This does not mean you have to be sat at your desk having already turned on PC's etc but at your desk ready to turn them on.

Your employers may feel differently about it though and in todays climate it is wise to give up a few minutes to appease them & keep your job.

As for the walk from the car park etc this is not part of your employment it is part of your journey to your workplace even though it may be on company premises.
Although while on company premises you will be covered by the companies legally required insurance as they have a duty of care towards you while on their premises. This does not include parts of the journey that are not on company premises.

That is a separate issue to the one about when you are at work though.

IANAL.