Do I have to "self cover" my holidays by working an extra 28days??

ukdynamite

Hi, I currently work for a salary of around 20k a year, on a 3shift 24hr rota with another two workers. We all have to cover each others holidays, 14 for each worker, meaning we all cover 28days a year.
The reality of this situation is that I'm in effect working 13months a year. I may aswell work a year without my holidays!
My employer states I have to work this cover and that it's included in my salary (but cannot show me a breakdown of my salary) - Is this correct or is he breaking the law??

Thankyou for any help you can give me

Evilm

If you are salaried instead of hourly and that is what is on your contract then, yes I think it's legal - as long as it doesn't take you below minimum wage or break minimum break between shift rules.

What are you working? 5 X 8hr shifts? If so that's 40 hrs a week usually (assuming paid breaks). An extra 28 days a year means an effective 4.5hrs a week if its averaged out over 50 weeks.

So you are effectively being paid for 44.5hrs a week at a rate of approx £8.67ish per hour (compared to £9.65ish per hour if you weren't asked to work the extra). It doesn't bring you into below minimum wage level.

It depends on what is written on your contract. Does it state the expectation to cover the extra 28 days a year and a yearly salary? Or does it state a hourly rate?

(I think I may have made a mistake up there but I don't think its significant enough to change the situation though!)

hcb42

to counteract the prev post , which makes complete sense, a lot of companies do not realise the impact of "covering for holidays" means. I know, work for one now, and worked for others in the past, calculate your annualised hours, compare to any other Ft if there are any and see if there is a potential hole here...

ukdynamite

Thanks for your quick reply to answer you in more detail -
There is no hourly stated rate just a salary of 374.19 per week.

I work 1st week 6am-2pm mon-Fri with a 6-12 sat = 46hrs
Then 2nd week 2-10pm mon-weds 10pm-6am thurs1-pm-6am+fri 6pm-6am = 44hrs
Then 3rd week 10pm-6am sun-thurs+2-10pm thurs = 48hrs

This totals aprox 2392hrs a year plus another 224hrs cover

I'm not allowed breaks away from the workplace and have been told If I want a break I will have to work that time at the end of my shift.
My boss also stated that he doesn't have to break down my salary at all when I asked him too?

t0rt0ise

You say plus 224 hrs cover but what does this constitute? When do you do these extra hours?

ukdynamite

224hrs = 28 days cover. When one person is off the other two must work 12hr shifts to cover. one person on 12hr 6-6 days the other 6-6 nights

[Deleted User]

ukdynamite wrote: »

224hrs = 28 days cover. When one person is off the other two must work 12hr shifts to cover. one person on 12hr 6-6 days the other 6-6 nights

I don't understand what you mean? It almost sounds like your working 24 hour days when somebody is on holiday? How can you possibly cover these hours as extra hours or do you mean your shift patten changes when somebody is off?

Based on average 46 hours per week at rate above £8.14 per hour, if that is gross?

ukdynamite

Sorry perhaps I should've been clearer. When I cover my shift pattern changes, I will either work a 6am-6pm mon-fri with a 6am-12pm sat (66hrs)
Or a 10pm sun-6am monday morning, then 6pm-6am mon-sat finishing saturday 6am (68hrs)

Evilm

Yeah, recalculating that for the hours above still takes you down to £7 something per hour so its still not taking you below minimum wage.

Even rougher calculations:
374.19 /46hrs a week average = 8.13 per hour
224hrs/50weeks = 4.5hrs extra averaged out over the year
374.19/50.5hrs a week average = 7.40 per hour

The only thing I can see wrong here is that the extra hours is taking you over 48hours a week and I don't know if you've signed the Working Time opt out form. I expect however you have. I also expect that trying to recant that agreement will lose you your job.

Mrs_Arcanum

Due to the extra working hours per year your total annual leave should be around 198 hours. You seem to currently get 184 hours. They have been very clever making the job salaried.

agrinnall

So what happens when one person is on holiday and one goes off sick, is the remaining person supposed to work 24 hours a day until one of the others returns?

It's very difficult to run a shift system such as you describe with only the minimum number of people required to cover the normal hours, there should really be at least one more person on the rota to allow for absences. Your employer sounds like someone I would not want to be working for, I'd be looking for something with an employer who has more sensible policies.