Can employer keep us in the building on a night shift?

Kavanne

I work nights in a call centre and there's only about 5-10 of us in the building on a night + security guards. Security have to buzz us back into the building if we go out.

I'm concerned as we've recently been told they've had to start logging it every time we enter the building. We are worried it's a precursor to trying to limit the amount of times we leave/enter during the night. Can they do this?

Some of the team are smokers so have 4 cigarette breaks during a 12 hour shift and I sometimes pop out to grab some dinner before shops close.

Does anyone know, legally, if they have to let us come and go as we please or, if not, how badly they can restrict us?

KiKi

Kavanne wrote: »

I work nights in a call centre and there's only about 5-10 of us in the building on a night + security guards. Security have to buzz us back into the building if we go out.

I'm concerned as we've recently been told they've had to start logging it every time we enter the building. We are worried it's a precursor to trying to limit the amount of times we leave/enter during the night. Can they do this?

Some of the team are smokers so have 4 cigarette breaks during a 12 hour shift and I sometimes pop out to grab some dinner before shops close.

Does anyone know, legally, if they have to let us come and go as we please or, if not, how badly they can restrict us?

Have you asked them why? It may be for things like fire safety to know who's inside and out.

Can they legally stop you leaving and coming back? Well, they're not going to call the police if you do.

However, you are paid to be inside the building and work, and the legal requirement on a 12 hour shift is a 20 minute break. So if there no provisions for more than the legal minimum (check your contract / policies), then they can insist you stay in the building for all but 20 minutes, yes. And if you don't, they can take disciplinary action, yes.

If they suspect that people are leaving for more than that, and taking 4 breaks as well as eating etc, then I'm not all that surprised that they're recording it. Over a week that's a lot of paid work time lost.

KiKi

Hmm71

Best case scenario it's for Health and Safety reasons. I used to work in the Civil Service and if you were in the building after 6pm, when most people had gone home, you had to sign the register at reception, sign it again if you went out for a break, sign back in again and sign when you finally left for the night.
But management finally realised that people were taking the !!!! with fag breaks and coffee breaks so all breaks had to be taken out of our own time, apart from lunch, and we had to sign in and out on our time sheets.
Maybe check with the day shift? What do they have to do?

sniggings

20 minutes is a joke.

But I believe even on those 20 minutes you have to ask to leave the grounds, not 100% but I think they can make you have your break in the staff room.

As said it's a joke, 20 minutes for a 12 hour shift I bet even in the workhouse they got more than that!

As said though, it may just be they are doing this to cover themselves as they need to be able to supply the fire service in the event of a fire, who was in the building and who wasn't, it could be just as simple as that.

bryanb

sniggings wrote: »

20 minutes is a joke.

It may be a joke to you , but it's the law.

Hmm71

Strictly speaking it's 20 minutes break if you're working more than six hours at a time.

sniggings

bryanb wrote: »

It may be a joke to you , but it's the law.

really adding to the thread with that.

DVardysShadow

sniggings wrote: »

.... But I believe even on those 20 minutes you have to ask to leave the grounds, not 100% but I think they can make you have your break in the staff room.

It all hinges on whether the break is in paid time or it is unpaid.

Kavanne

bryanb wrote: »

It may be a joke to you , but it's the law.

We get an hour unpaid break and 40 mins paid break on these shifts and as it's a call centre our 'signed on' time is very easy to monitor. No one is taking the !!!!!

KiKi

Kavanne wrote: »

We get an hour unpaid break and 40 mins paid break on these shifts and as it's a call centre our 'signed on' time is very easy to monitor. No one is taking the !!!!!

Well if you're leaving during these times, then there's no reason to be worried. I really think it's worth checking the reason before jumping to any conclusions.

And as your logged on time is recorded anyway, sounds to me like a H&S thing for fire regs. Why would they need to record you in addition to being logged on?? Seriously, just ask them.

KiKi

skivenov

As I used to say to the staff in my other job.

"I can't stop you leaving, but I can stop you coming back in"