Can my company do this?

NJW69

You can only do overtime if this is offered.

If the employers has no need for you to do overtime you can't choose to do it.

getmore4less

is the boss,

The real boss in the sense of ower its his money.

Or does the boss have a boss, what do they think?

paulwf

MrAverage wrote: »

The mathematics of this dont seem to add up as 4 people covering 22 days holiday = 88 days, yet they are paying someone to cover all the holidays by making them work 180 days.

It's mostly because your standard shift is 12 hours and the new employee is working 8 hour days. 88 of the 12 hour days requires 132 of the 8 hour shifts to cover them. The new employee also gets holiday which takes it close to 150 days. Add a bit more so they can provide sickness cover and a bit of rounding up so they don't have some obscure work pattern and 180 days seems reasonable cover.

OP your gripe with the company is over your standard rate of pay, you can't blame them for getting extra staff when you are sometimes working 72 hours in a shift rotation. It also doesn't matter how the new staff member was recruited, personal recommendation is a good way to recruit staff.

lucylucky

"My point is surely its down to the individual if they wish to do overtime. If the salary was better paid then overtime would not be so essential."

The need for overtime is controlled by a number of things, rarely the employee though.

If overtime is essential to you, in terms of pay, then you need to ask for a raise or move on if possible.

custardy

MrAverage wrote: »

No we dont receive a premium for covering.
The person covering is on the same salary as we are with an exception they are on a 40 hour contract.

If they cover a bank holiday they do get more, we dont as part of our contract.

My point is surely its down to the individual if they wish to do overtime. If the salary was better paid then overtime would not be so essential.

its down to the company,unless you have the OT written into your contract

liney

MrAverage wrote: »

My point is surely its down to the individual if they wish to do overtime. If the salary was better paid then overtime would not be so essential.

It's up to you to decide to do overtime if it is offered, but you cannot dictate to your employer that they must offer you overtime.

SueC_2

This move makes a lot of sense for the employer on many levels.

Four of you self-covering each others' holidays is all well and good, until one of you happens to fall sick while someone else is on Leave. How do the remaining 2 manage?

With this additional person now trained up and 'on standby' there is a lot more flexibility and lot less scope for a serious under-staffing situation.

Googlewhacker

It amazes me that the OP believes that the employer is doing something wrong.....

At the end of the day OP if you don't like the money you are on then maybe look for another job?

RobertoMoir

MrAverage wrote: »

My point is surely its down to the individual if they wish to do overtime.

Yes. IF IT IS OFFERED.
You can not bang on a supervisor's desk and say "Give me some Overtime, I demand it." and expect them to conjure work up.

You are not entitled to overtime.