work expects me to work through unpaid dinner hour

Money_Grabber13579

I know if it was me, I wouldn't be pursuing this one, as in the current climate, there's plenty of people who can do your job as well as you can and would be grateful to get the money.

moneysavingexpert79

Rockporkchop wrote: »

Er, no it doesn't.

Are you currently employed, if you don't mind me asking? I must tell you how completely frustrating and annoying it is to work with people like yourself. All firms are struggling at the moment, and a bit of give and take is hardly taking a mile, as you describe it. Your attitude does nothing but promote bad feeling and misery, which is especially unhelpful in the current climate.

Also, I vaguely recall your sage wisdom on another thread where you said you pretended to be mentally ill when the debt collectors called. I was just wondering whether you are also doing the same thing on this thread?

Yes, I am currently employed, 30 hours a week. If you get frustrated and annoyed by a thread of this website then I'm guessing you're some kind of junior manager. I could quite easily bend over and take whatever my employer is willing to administer, or alternatively I could give him what for. I choose the latter. Like another person said, employees are feeling the recession too, and this kind of treatment just promotes resentfulness in the long run. Why doesn't the senior management dock their own wages to pay the employees for this hour? FAT CHANCE.

With regards to me pretending to be mentally ill when a persistent debt collector called over the phone (not for me, just confirm) I can honestly say I'd recommend it to anyone. They haven't phoned back. Come to think of it, they haven't even sent another one of their annoying letters.

Finally, I can honestly say what a bain in my life it is to work with butt-munchers like yourself, AKA Waylon Smithers. Pay people for what they work, and treat people how they deserve to be treated, and there won't be a problem. It's when people like YOU rally on the side of management that causes tension, not vice versa.

moneysavingexpert79

Rockporkchop wrote: »

And you honestly believe that this particular company is being unreasonable by asking employees to spend just one isolated lunch hour on a coach eating a free lunch and chatting to the very same people they would usually be sharing their lunch hour in the break room with?

If it became a regular occurrence then that would be unreasonable but as a one off I don't think it is too much to ask.

I can bet I know what the meeting is about anyway.

I don't believe the company is being unreasonable by asking employees to spend their lunch hour on a coach eating a free lunch. I do believe they are being unreasonable by not paying them for it. It's in company time, therefore the company should pay.

If it became a regular occurence then I would be expecting a review of the T&C's of employment and a salary to match.

If you can guess what the meeting is about (redundancy) then you should be on the side of the employees and trying to get as much £££ out of them before they are shown the door.

Oldernotwiser

BootyBabe18 wrote: »

How on earth do people who whinge and moan about such petite things, especially 1-offs manage to get and keep jobs??!

!

Frequently they don't! If you were deciding who to lay off, who do you think would be at the top of the list?

SandC

It's a one off. You are spending the morning listening to a speech or daydreaming, instead of answering calls and listening to people whinge on the phones. You lose one lunch break but you get a free sarnie.

Just what is the point in being awkward and drawing attention to yourself in this time of huge uncertainty for pretty much all businesses?

wontfallforit

pinkkiss wrote: »

Wondering if anyone can give me advice. Im thinking of taking my dinner hour anyway but just want to make sure i cant get a diciplinary for it !

i work in a call centre for a major insurence company (not sure if im allowed to post their name)
On mondays i normally work between 8 - 5, with an unpaid dinner hour at 1:30 (and a paid 20 min break at 11:15).
Tomorrow, i am bein sent to hear a 'speach' by one of the main bosses, along with a few hundred other employees, all from different areas of the company. Its being held at a venue 45 mins from my normal place of work.
They are providing a coach, picking us up at 8:30 and will be dropped back off at work at 1:30.

Now we were told on friday that instead of getting a dinner hour on this day, we will be given a sandwich and bag of crisps to eat on the coach on the way back.
Is this legal?
I asked our union rep and she said its illegal but its too short notice for them to do anything about it.
It doesnt seem fair, since the dinner hour is unpaid
Also dont appreciate having to work 9 hours on just a sandwich and bag of crisps!

Also the part time people who normally finish at 12:30 are getting paid for an extra hour because they wont get back until 1:30.

I asked my manager if i could meet my collegue (who is also going) at 9 o clock near her house so she could drive us to the place where the speach is being held (it doesnt start until half 10). My manager said no, because my shift starts at 8 o clock, i have to come and take calls for the 1st half an hour.
If im spending a hour of my time travelling to my normal place of work, surely if they want me to travel to another place it should be done in their time ??

Personally, I love it when things like this happen at work. Yes, you're losing your normal lunch hour, but 5 hours away from work, not doing much of anything, is an easy ride! Id' swap my lunch hour for that any day.

If you get back at 1:30 (bearing in mind that these things tend to run on for longer than expected ), you'll have a mere 3 1/2 hours of work to do. If food is the issue, pack something extra to eat.

I recently attended a meeting in work, which was advertised at being 30 mins long...it ran into 2hrs+, all of which we were paid to listen to somebody else talk about things we already knew. Small pleasures...:o

If you do decide to take your normal lunch hour, be careful about it. Also, be wary of other colleagues who swear they'll support you in your actions, and will take the break with you. Many won't.

cazziebo

If the company were to not organise such an event, would you be complaining about the poor communication, and how no one tells you what is going on? My employer finances my life. If anything is happening I want to know about it.

Also, can you say with all honesty that you apply every second of every minute of every hour to your job? I know I get distracted all the time with non work stuff. Surely it's not too much of a hardship to give your employer an hour? (And as other posters have said, it's an hour off the phones, on a bus, probably chatting about X factor)

DVardysShadow

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Frequently they don't! If you were deciding who to lay off, who do you think would be at the top of the list?

Therein lies the problem. It is those who stand up for themselves, leaving the ones who allow themselves to be bullied behind. And the bullied ones then take it out on the customer, leading to Britain's terrible call centre culture.

The people who stand up for themselves are often the ones who contribute to a good ethos in a company and are the ones who dare to tell superiors if something will not work. Only fools get rid of these people. You are better off out of it in a company like that.

Oldernotwiser

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Therein lies the problem. It is those who stand up for themselves, leaving the ones who allow themselves to be bullied behind. And the bullied ones then take it out on the customer, leading to Britain's terrible call centre culture.

The people who stand up for themselves are often the ones who contribute to a good ethos in a company and are the ones who dare to tell superiors if something will not work. Only fools get rid of these people. You are better off out of it in a company like that.

You've obviously never worked in a call centre!

The OP has involved his/her union in it and they're not prepared to take it up; I think that rather indicates the level of importance of the issue, don't you?

Zazen999

pinkkiss wrote: »

Wondering if anyone can give me advice. Im thinking of taking my dinner hour anyway but just want to make sure i cant get a diciplinary for it !

i work in a call centre for a major insurence company (not sure if im allowed to post their name)
On mondays i normally work between 8 - 5, with an unpaid dinner hour at 1:30 (and a paid 20 min break at 11:15).
Tomorrow, i am bein sent to hear a 'speach' by one of the main bosses, along with a few hundred other employees, all from different areas of the company. Its being held at a venue 45 mins from my normal place of work.
They are providing a coach, picking us up at 8:30 and will be dropped back off at work at 1:30.

Now we were told on friday that instead of getting a dinner hour on this day, we will be given a sandwich and bag of crisps to eat on the coach on the way back.
Is this legal?
I asked our union rep and she said its illegal but its too short notice for them to do anything about it.
It doesnt seem fair, since the dinner hour is unpaid
Also dont appreciate having to work 9 hours on just a sandwich and bag of crisps!

Also the part time people who normally finish at 12:30 are getting paid for an extra hour because they wont get back until 1:30.

I asked my manager if i could meet my collegue (who is also going) at 9 o clock near her house so she could drive us to the place where the speach is being held (it doesnt start until half 10). My manager said no, because my shift starts at 8 o clock, i have to come and take calls for the 1st half an hour.
If im spending a hour of my time travelling to my normal place of work, surely if they want me to travel to another place it should be done in their time ??

No offence; but there are other things to waste the prospect of a disciplinary for. You will be doing no actual work, and are getting some actual lunch.

Pick your fights very carefully, esp these days - is my advice.