overtime query

kathryn_1

Hi, I was wondering if someone can help me. My son is at uni and recently got a job working in a local shop. The job was advertised at working 10 hours a week which was great for him because he could fit it in around his studies whilst earning a bit of extra cash.

On the application form he was asked to state his availability and the maximum amount of hours he could work in a week ( he stated 10). During the interview he was asked if needed would he be available to work overtime to which he answered yes. Last week he was put down to work 23 hours on the rota which he did because he was receiving training and he naturally thought that's why he was required to do the extra hours. On next weeks rota he is put down for working 25 hours. When he questioned this because it it well over the 10 hours a week, he was told that he is working his contracted 10 hours plus overtime because this is what he had agreed. I always thought that working overtime was optional and that a person should be asked to do it first without it being taken for granted.

My son is quite upset about this. He dosen't mind doing the occasional bit of overtime but the way it is looking is that this is going to be a regular thing. He doesn't want to rock the boat as this is his first job but I was wondering if someone can tell me can an employer make someone work overtime without prior consultation. I want my son to work and pay his on way but not at the expense of his education.

LeeSouthEast

What does his contract say?

Oldernotwiser

kathryn_1 wrote: »

During the interview he was asked if needed would he be available to work overtime to which he answered yes. .

Don't you think that this may be the reason that they're putting him down to do overtime?

kathryn_1

Thank you for the replies. I have talked to my son and he doesn't recall signing a contract. I've told him to discuss this with his employer the next time he goes into work.

Oldernotwiser I understand what you're saying. It's just I thought that it is usual to ask someone if they are available to do the overtime before automatically giving them extra hours. I know this is the case where I work. Perhaps I've just got the wrong end of the stick.

Absinthe_Fairy

When they asked him if he could do overtime, did he just say "yes" or did he say "yes, occasionally, so long as it doesn't interfere with uni"?

dtc04

my overtime has never been optional it is just put on the rota

borders_dude

On the subject of over time I have a working day of 9.5 hours overtime on xmas day for which I get time, plus double time, plus a shift bonus. woo hoo.

borders_dude

As his name was put down for overtime is it mandatory for him to do it, or did he just presume it was and done it rather than raising the matter with his employer!

Oldernotwiser

kathryn_1 wrote: »

Thank you for the replies. I have talked to my son and he doesn't recall signing a contract. I've told him to discuss this with his employer the next time he goes into work.

Oldernotwiser I understand what you're saying. It's just I thought that it is usual to ask someone if they are available to do the overtime before automatically giving them extra hours. I know this is the case where I work. Perhaps I've just got the wrong end of the stick.

I think that this is going to vary between employers. If they do the hours on a weekly rota it may be difficult for them to check who can do what on a weekly basis and they just assume that someone who's said "yes" to overtime will want as many hours as they can get.

wontfallforit

kathryn_1 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if someone can help me. My son is at uni and recently got a job working in a local shop. The job was advertised at working 10 hours a week which was great for him because he could fit it in around his studies whilst earning a bit of extra cash.

On the application form he was asked to state his availability and the maximum amount of hours he could work in a week ( he stated 10). During the interview he was asked if needed would he be available to work overtime to which he answered yes. Last week he was put down to work 23 hours on the rota which he did because he was receiving training and he naturally thought that's why he was required to do the extra hours. On next weeks rota he is put down for working 25 hours. When he questioned this because it it well over the 10 hours a week, he was told that he is working his contracted 10 hours plus overtime because this is what he had agreed. I always thought that working overtime was optional and that a person should be asked to do it first without it being taken for granted.

My son is quite upset about this. He dosen't mind doing the occasional bit of overtime but the way it is looking is that this is going to be a regular thing. He doesn't want to rock the boat as this is his first job but I was wondering if someone can tell me can an employer make someone work overtime without prior consultation. I want my son to work and pay his on way but not at the expense of his education.

I used to work in a shop, and would regularly do overtime that ran to up to 3-4 times my contracted hours. I was glad of it as I needed the money, but it wasn't optional.

My contract stated that I must work "reasonable" overtime. What constituted "reasonable" was never confirmed (i.e. employee must work a certain % of overtime during a specific period), it was very much as and when, and amounts varied according to the whim of the manager.

I probably refused less than 5 shifts over a 3 year period, when I really couldn't work because of uni/other commitments. Sometimes this caused a scene, sometimes it was just accepted. Because I willingly worked a lot of overtime pretty much every week (I never did one single week of my standard hours during the 3 years I worked there), I could usually get away with refusing shifts if I really had to.

Other employees who put in minimal overtime (such as mandatory cover for other staff's holidays, i.e. 2 or 3 shifts every few months) would get into pretty deep trouble when they tried to put their foot down in regards to overtime, as they simply hadn't shown any previous willingness and flexibility.

It was never a major issue for me, but I did always wish overtime was either capped, or was a lot more rigid in regards to its frequency (personally, I always wanted more!). Your son's boss is obviously aware that he's at uni, so they'll need to get together and discuss some appropriate overtime boundaries, agreeing not to go over a certain level, or making sure that overtime is designated to more manageable slots that he can fit around uni lectures, as well as the great deal of private study he should be doing.

safesound

Its very complicated where I work (in retail btw). Every 3-6 months everyone is asked how many hours they are prepared to do (regardless of contracted hours). Rotas are generated three weeks in advance. On the first week its put up if you have been given too many hours or you cant do a specific shift you can speak to a manager and get it amended. If you don't notice or your situations changed the second week you can put it up on the board as a free for all (so someone else who wants it can claim it) but if it doesn't get picked up by someone else you have to do it yourself. On the third week (the week of the actual shift) no changes can be made you have to do the shift yourself.
Overtime is not mandatory (in the first week the rota is posted) but if you refuse it too often you wont get given it and then when you do want it you cant complain you aren't getting any.