Employment Law - unpaid overtime

NikNox

justanopinion wrote: »

I think it's a beautiful email. You could even throw in the fact should any such deduction take place, you will seek legal remedy for the unpaid wages.

Oh, and you could also throw in that anyone has the right to opt back into the working time directive with notice and therefore he cannot work more than 48 hours a week.

Presuming he made them opt out of in the first place?

:-)

I don't think he's even heard of the Working Time Directive, let alone give staff the opportunity to opt out of it! We have policies for absolutely everything where I work, and I have often asked my husband what their company policy is on certain things. He says they don't have any, it's just what the Boss says goes!

justanopinion

Ha ha, I would go...

Let's see the silly man do a round with an HR manager.:rotfl:

Nicki

NikNox wrote: »

Thank you for that, VERY useful!! So, I was thinking about an email my husband could send:-

Dear Boss

Because of the comments you made about my wife and I, which we both found offensive, we do not wish to attend your Christmas party this year. You have already informed me that you would deduct the sum of £120 from my salary should we not attend, but as this contravenes Section 513 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, I would sincerely hope that you will not pursue this course of action.

Yours sincerely

Are you sure it's not you driving this whole thing? Left to his own devices would your husband not just go to the party for a quiet life. It's entirely up to you of course but personally I wouldn't dignify the !!!!! whipping comment with a reaction. If your OH is to send an email in these terms I imagine the working relationship with his boss will rapidly descend to the completely untenable and he will look back to the current position with regret. Surely if he's looking for another job, the best thing he can do is to make his day to day working life as bearable as possible and try to ensure that when he does get a new job offer his boss is inclined to give him a decent reference.

If you don't want to go to the party, then simply say something has come up and if the boss mentions again a financial penalty then tell him then that this would be unlawful. Anything else is really pouring petrol on what's only a tiny spark at the moment.

DVardysShadow

NikNox wrote: »

Thank you for that, VERY useful!! So, I was thinking about an email my husband could send:-

Dear Boss

Because of the comments you made about my wife and I, which we both found offensive, we do not wish to attend your Christmas party this year. You have already informed me that you would deduct the sum of £120 from my salary should we not attend, but as this contravenes Section 513 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, I would sincerely hope that you will not pursue this course of action.

Yours sincerely

Leave out the reason. Really, strip it down to the minimum.

Dear <A55h0l3 boss>

I do not wish to attend your [STRIKE]self aggrandising[/STRIKE] Christmas do. I do not consent to money being deducted from my pay

Yours sincerely

Mr NixNox



Leave out the legal reason, it serves no purpose now and it won't damage you case if you need to claim the money. But if you must sate a reason, then "Because of the comments you made about my wife and me," - don't trip up on the grammar, you don't know where it might take you

NikNox

Nicki wrote: »

Are you sure it's not you driving this whole thing? Left to his own devices would your husband not just go to the party for a quiet life. It's entirely up to you of course but personally I wouldn't dignify the !!!!! whipping comment with a reaction. If your OH is to send an email in these terms I imagine the working relationship with his boss will rapidly descend to the completely untenable and he will look back to the current position with regret. Surely if he's looking for another job, the best thing he can do is to make his day to day working life as bearable as possible and try to ensure that when he does get a new job offer his boss is inclined to give him a decent reference.

If you don't want to go to the party, then simply say something has come up and if the boss mentions again a financial penalty then tell him then that this would be unlawful. Anything else is really pouring petrol on what's only a tiny spark at the moment.

I see your point, but I'm not driving this. My husband and his colleagues are treated very poorly, and having a stressed, depressed husband coming home every night isn't very nice, so the situation cannot get any worse. This man needs putting in his place and his staff need to stand up to him and stand up for their rights. It's simply not acceptable.

getmore4less

NikNox wrote: »

It probably boils down to the fact that some members of staff spend all day on Facebook and Ebay, and although the boss says he's monitoring internet usage, nothing ever gets done.

There is no need to monitor this

The person that looks after the internet can stop this at the router.

Ok they can get round this but how many of them are smart enough to know how?

Nicki

NikNox wrote: »

I see your point, but I'm not driving this. My husband and his colleagues are treated very poorly, and having a stressed, depressed husband coming home every night isn't very nice, so the situation cannot get any worse. This man needs putting in his place and his staff need to stand up to him and stand up for their rights. It's simply not acceptable.

I'm just not sure your proposed email does put him in his place, and would be worried it would make your oh the sole target of the boss's rough treatment rather than one of many, or put his entire bonus at risk. You've already said the rest of the staff won't stand up and be counted. If your oh is constructively or actually dismissed the payout won't be very much on 5 years service and a lowish salary, so in his place I'd pick my battles. I also personally think it's inappropriate for anyone, irrespective of the comments made in the workplace, to complain to their boss that their spouse is offended! The only relationship which matters is between boss and employee

NikNox

Nicki wrote: »

I'm just not sure your proposed email does put him in his place, and would be worried it would make your oh the sole target of the boss's rough treatment rather than one of many, or put his entire bonus at risk. You've already said the rest of the staff won't stand up and be counted. If your oh is constructively or actually dismissed the payout won't be very much on 5 years service and a lowish salary, so in his place I'd pick my battles. I also personally think it's inappropriate for anyone, irrespective of the comments made in the workplace, to complain to their boss that their spouse is offended! The only relationship which matters is between boss and employee

If my boss made offensive comments about my husband then I would certainly complain to our Practice Manager. It may be their working relationship, but you don't go around making offensive comments about your employee's spouse. Sorry, but that's just not on, and doesn't make for a happy working relationship aside from everything else that's going on.

Maybe the email won't put him in his place, but at least he'll know that we're offended enough not to attend the Christmas meal, which is on a Saturday, out of work time and certainly not obligatory.

getmore4less

OK we have had a bit of fun but this is serious if he needs to keep the job.

Looks to me the others have just gone along with the must work longer hours so they make the work last that long.

The current approach, I have finished so I am going home now is reasonable but perhaps a new stratagy might help.

Who deals directly with the customers.

How about picking if possible the most important tasks from a business point of view and making sure that all these get done well and on time and that the customers/key people get to know it is hubby delivering.

Start being the most important part of the team when it comes to interactions with other teams, easy if every one else is fed up and taking time over work you are the one with time during the day to do this, leave the less important stuff for the forced overtime.

If the guys in his department are lazy is there another department that needs help do some work for them to help out.

Identify the key guys other than the boss.

Make yourself important, even start doing the bosses work if possible


Then watch the potential mess that happens when he has a weeks holiday.

lucylucky

Do not go to the meal.

Get your husband to see a lawyer who specialises in employment law - sooner rather than later.

This is ridiculous.