Deductions for non-existent breaks

Andy2011

Working 4.5 hours straight should not be a problem anyway? Courier drivers work up to 12 hours (and sometimes more) in the real world, taking a break means getting back even later. Just be pleased you have a paid job, lots of people don't. I am sorry, but it does annoy me when people with jobs complain all day long, if you feel that strongly about it, you should take it to a solicitor for free advice, as you are essentially saying you are being treated "unfairly". By the way, I am employed, my girlfirend however is temp-agency. And what she does to stay in work and to keep in her job is above and beyond what people need to do, but we are in a changing world, and times are hard, so man up.

HappyMJ

Andy2011 wrote: »

Working 4.5 hours straight should not be a problem anyway? Courier drivers work up to 12 hours (and sometimes more) in the real world, taking a break means getting back even later. Just be pleased you have a paid job, lots of people don't. I am sorry, but it does annoy me when people with jobs complain all day long, if you feel that strongly about it, you should take it to a solicitor for free advice, as you are essentially saying you are being treated "unfairly". By the way, I am employed, my girlfirend however is temp-agency. And what she does to stay in work and to keep in her job is above and beyond what people need to do, but we are in a changing world, and times are hard, so man up.

Cheers for that advice next time I get a full time job I'll be sure to remember what you said and I'll pass on my legally allowable breaks even though I'll probably be exhausted and make mistakes let alone be dehydrated and desperately need a drink.

Courier drivers must take breaks as well. They may be self employed but driving constantly for 12 hours is not recommended. Even just a quick pit stop at a service station to fill up get a drink and some lunch or a quick bite is enough.

OP you are entitled to the breaks take them or lose them. They are unpaid so I would always take them.

scheming_gypsy

Andy2011 wrote: »

Working 4.5 hours straight should not be a problem anyway? Courier drivers work up to 12 hours (and sometimes more) in the real world, taking a break means getting back even later. Just be pleased you have a paid job, lots of people don't. I am sorry, but it does annoy me when people with jobs complain all day long, if you feel that strongly about it, you should take it to a solicitor for free advice, as you are essentially saying you are being treated "unfairly". By the way, I am employed, my girlfirend however is temp-agency. And what she does to stay in work and to keep in her job is above and beyond what people need to do, but we are in a changing world, and times are hard, so man up.

you didn't read their post did you?

HappyMJ wrote: »

OP you are entitled to the breaks take them or lose them. They are unpaid so I would always take them.

but they only become entitled to their break once they've done the extra 1.5 hours (overtime). Their shift is 4.5 hours so they're not entitled to a break, which leads them to do overtime. Sometimes they go into the 6 hours and are entitled to a break and sometimes they don't.
If they can clock out at 12:05 then they've done over 6 hours and are deducted a break, so the only way they can take their break is to stay an extra 30 minutes unpaid
If they were contracted to do 6pm till midnight then they could take a break in the middle of their shift but as they're not they can't take a break on their 4.5 hours.

HappyMJ

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

but they only become entitled to their break once they've done the extra 1.5 hours (overtime). Their shift is 4.5 hours so they're not entitled to a break, which leads them to do overtime. Sometimes they go into the 6 hours and are entitled to a break and sometimes they don't.
If they can clock out at 12:05 then they've done over 6 hours and are deducted a break, so the only way they can take their break is to stay an extra 30 minutes unpaid
If they were contracted to do 6pm till midnight then they could take a break in the middle of their shift but as they're not they can't take a break on their 4.5 hours.

Down tools at 5 hours 40 minutes then take 20 minutes break. They have now done 6 hours and entitled to the break they just had. They can then work another 10 minutes or whatever then go home.

scheming_gypsy

haha, it's a way around it i suppose.

or clock out at 11:59pm and then finish up.

rdr

If your pay is low the deducted time could take you below the minimum wage, that would be a legal breach and give plenty of leverage.

scheming_gypsy

i thought that first but they knock the half hour off. So their payslip will show that they've worked 5.30 hours at £x.xx rather than 6 hours at £below.minimum

Andy2011

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

you didn't read their post did you?





but they only become entitled to their break once they've done the extra 1.5 hours (overtime). Their shift is 4.5 hours so they're not entitled to a break, which leads them to do overtime. Sometimes they go into the 6 hours and are entitled to a break and sometimes they don't.
If they can clock out at 12:05 then they've done over 6 hours and are deducted a break, so the only way they can take their break is to stay an extra 30 minutes unpaid
If they were contracted to do 6pm till midnight then they could take a break in the middle of their shift but as they're not they can't take a break on their 4.5 hours.

I did, it just sounds like someone complaining over not a lot to be fair! Maybe, the post should have read, I am typically asked to work 4.5 hours straight, with no break (which is obviously not an illegal request). Sometimes though, I work 6 hours, and I get my break deducted - instead of all the complaining, insist on working the hours you have been asked to work. And when you are asked to work 6 hours or more, ensure you get your break half way through the shift. It's not rocket science! Maybe I am still missing something. If I worked 6 hours, and start at 6, (I therefore finish at 12) I would expect to be there 6.5 hours, and my break would be shown as a deduction. 12.30 would be the time I leave. If I turned up to work 4.5 hours, I would work 4.5 hours and go home. I wouldn't hang on unless my contract stipulated otherwise.

Andy2011

HappyMJ wrote: »

Cheers for that advice next time I get a full time job I'll be sure to remember what you said and I'll pass on my legally allowable breaks even though I'll probably be exhausted and make mistakes let alone be dehydrated and desperately need a drink.

Courier drivers must take breaks as well. They may be self employed but driving constantly for 12 hours is not recommended. Even just a quick pit stop at a service station to fill up get a drink and some lunch or a quick bite is enough.

OP you are entitled to the breaks take them or lose them. They are unpaid so I would always take them.

No worries With 4 out of 5 companies in the private sector not employing at the moment, or at least, not expecting to employ anyone in the near future, the liklihood of finding a job decreases rapidly. Assuming you can hold onto that job for 6 months to a full year, you then can consider yourself fully protected, and if you then feel you are being shafted, you will have more ammunition. Oh and I don't know where you work, but if I need the drink or toilet, I get a drink, and go to the toilet. Not sure how many of us work in a sweatshop.

If my employer asked me to work 4.5 hours straight without a break, I wouldn't think twice about it. If they asked me to work 6 hours, I would insist on getting some lunch or something, but I'd expect to be there for 6.5 hours, as my breaks aren't paid. And couriers obviously do stop and petrol stations etc, but when your miles and miles from home, the tendency is to complete the run, finish the job and go home. And, the other thing too to compare, is couriers can do 12, 14 hour days, and get paid for only 8, or 10 hours. Seems slightly more unfair than this situation, don't you think?

scheming_gypsy

Andy2011 wrote: »

I did, it just sounds like someone complaining over not a lot to be fair! Maybe, the post should have read, I am typically asked to work 4.5 hours straight, with no break (which is obviously not an illegal request). Sometimes though, I work 6 hours, and I get my break deducted - instead of all the complaining, insist on working the hours you have been asked to work. And when you are asked to work 6 hours or more, ensure you get your break half way through the shift. It's not rocket science!

but they're only finding out they're working 6 hours when it goes past 12am. The additional is overtime if and when it happens so if they took a break half way through their shift they wouldn't have earned it some days. There's the chance they could be out at 11:55pm

Maybe I am still missing something. If I worked 6 hours, and start at 6, (I therefore finish at 12) I would expect to be there 6.5 hours, and my break would be shown as a deduction. 12.30 would be the time I leave. If I turned up to work 4.5 hours, I would work 4.5 hours and go home. I wouldn't hang on unless my contract stipulated otherwise.

they're on a zero hours contract, so not sure how that would work.