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Does it matter when i take my lunch break?

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  • anamenottaken
    anamenottaken Posts: 4,198 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    cord123 wrote: »
    I am trying to change my hours for when my son starts school.... I have asked my boss if I can change my current hours from Mon - Thurs 8.30 - 4.30 to Monday to Thurs 8 - 3.30 (dropping half and hour a day - 2 hours a week)

    Then whilst I am doing these hours I take my lunch break at 2.30 - 3.30 and leave then....

    I should say that he is flexible with what hours we work as long as we do the full 8 ie. 8 - 4, 8.30 - 4.30, 9 - 5 etc and we can take our lunch whenever we want to. 8.30 to 4.30 is not actually the "full eig

    So can I take my lunch at the end of the day or do I need to take it after x amoutn of hours?

    I should point out that a member of staff does already do these hours on one day but dont want to stir it up mentioning her should he come back and say no....

    Unless you are paid for your lunch break, 8.30 - 4.30 is not actually the "full 8". It is 7 hours work.

    You are proposing cutting back to 6.5 hour shifts. A shift which is expected to last more than 6 hours entitles you to a break (of 20 minutes). It is an entitlement, a right. It is not compulsory AFAIK. So if your boss agrees to the revised working hours of 8 to 3.30, then I fail to see that there is a legal problem for him or you.

    He would be sensible to have you write a letter stating that you do not want to take a break but that you understand that if you do, your request to change to 8 to 3.50 (ie with a 20-minute break within that time) would be available.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 47,314 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Actually the OP seems to want to work 8.30 am to 2.30 pm, which counting on my fingers comes out at 6 hours. Problem solved.

    The key thing is to make it clear what you are asking for. What you want is to be able to leave at 2.30 pm, so say so. Farting about with when you take your lunch hour only clouds the issue.

    With flexible working you need to make a case for how your revised hours won't adversely affect the business. If afternoons are spectacularly quiet and it would be useful to have someone NOT taking a lunch break, make that point. If you can drop 2 hours pw without anyone else needing to take up the slack, say so.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 47,314 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    BTW, I wouldn't go down the route of 'but so-and-so does this!' Boss may decide to make everyone's hours inflexible, and won't you be popular then ...

    Also btw, remember that if these new hours are agreed, then these are your new hours. You don't have the right to go back to your original hours, you'd have to make a case for that.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Savvy_Sue wrote: »
    Actually the OP seems to want to work 8.30 am to 2.30 pm, which counting on my fingers comes out at 6 hours. Problem solved.

    The OP currently does 8.30-4.30 (8hrs) lunch hour is included in their total paid hours

    They want to change to 8-3.30 (7.5hrs). take lunch at 2.30, but obviously still be paid til 3.30

    This means they are working 6.5 hrs before they take lunch, which is not allowed even if the OP wants it to. Then only way around it, would be to take statutory min lunch break of half hour, earlier in the day and then leave work at 3pm.

    Or maybe change to a 5 day week, so they can do both school runs of the day whilst still maintaining hours
  • anamenottaken
    anamenottaken Posts: 4,198 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    flea72 wrote: »
    The OP currently does 8.30-4.30 (8hrs) lunch hour is included in their total paid hours

    They want to change to 8-3.30 (7.5hrs). take lunch at 2.30, but obviously still be paid til 3.30

    This means they are working 6.5 hrs before they take lunch, which is not allowed even if the OP wants it to. ( It is allowed. The law does not insist that the rest break is taken. People should read the regulations. ) Then only way around it, would be to take statutory min lunch break of half hour (I doubt that the OP is under 18, so the statutory entitlement is 20 minutes), earlier in the day and then leave work at 3pm.

    Or maybe change to a 5 day week, so they can do both school runs of the day whilst still maintaining hours
    .......................
  • anamenottaken
    anamenottaken Posts: 4,198 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    cord123 wrote: »
    I am not paid hourly but salary paid for 32 hours a week including 1 hour for lunch per day...

    Just re-read thread to find the above.

    Do your written particulars of employment actually say that your hours are 32 a week and that 4 of them are for paid breaks?
    If so, does it say where (physical location, not time) the breaks have to be taken?
  • scooo
    scooo Posts: 35 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    edited 10 July 2013 at 8:50PM
    cord123 wrote: »
    I have just had to explain all my childcare arrangements etc to him - i dont feel i should hav eto do this but if it helps sway him i dont mind.... it was the suggestion that I 'get a friend or someone' to collect him from school that got my back up! Especially as he wont allow anyone other than his driver, himself or wife to drive his children anywhere!


    I can't believe what I am reading!
    Firstly, it's his Company, if you are asking him to do something special for you that he has no obligation to do, of course he has every right to ask you for an explanation, if nothing else so that he can make an informed decision and not fall foul of some employment law. He has many, many legal obligations that he has to meet, not just your own personal circumstances.

    Secondly, HE IS PAYING YOU .. not the other way round. He owns the company, he takes all the legal responsibilities, he has an obligation to pay you regardless of whether he makes a profit or not, and so on. YOU on the other hand have no such obligations to him, you can do what you want regardless of how he feels about it, like quit for example.
    HE is perfectly entitled to do what he wants, it's his company - not yours. Do you know for sure what hours he works including away from the workplace to make such a sweeping claim of unfairness?
    If you think it's unfair then fine, leave and start your own company, no one is stopping you.
    Then you can risk your own money, work whatever hours you want to and live a charmed life ... supposedly.

    Blimey!
    No offence intended but that just made me :mad:

    The facts have been given to you. Not his choices but the law of the land. You cannot take a break at the end of a day, it has to be somewhere in the middle.
    The reason for this is to stop people, primarily employers, from circumventing the laws and making people work long hours with no break and they are there to protect people as a whole, it would be impossible to tailor laws to every individual.
    Sorry if that's not what you want to hear.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 47,314 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    flea72 wrote: »
    The OP currently does 8.30-4.30 (8hrs) lunch hour is included in their total paid hours

    They want to change to 8-3.30 (7.5hrs). take lunch at 2.30, but obviously still be paid til 3.30

    This means they are working 6.5 hrs before they take lunch, which is not allowed even if the OP wants it to. Then only way around it, would be to take statutory min lunch break of half hour, earlier in the day and then leave work at 3pm.
    Ah, I missed the earlier start - and I'm also hoping the OP will clarify whether or not it is definitely a paid lunch hour - I USED to have one, many years ago, but it's quite rare these days, I find ...
    flea72 wrote: »
    Or maybe change to a 5 day week, so they can do both school runs of the day whilst still maintaining hours
    That would certainly be another way round the problem.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • cord123
    cord123 Posts: 644 Forumite
    I have looked at my contract and it says I get paid £x annually for 32 hours work a week..... each day we get an our lunch break (i work 8.30 - 4.30) so i take it that my lunch break is a paid one?

    I'm not sure what the sweeping statement was that I said - but yes, i know for a fact he will not allow anyone else to drive his children.

    I cant work fridays because my son is registered disalbled and has hospital around every 5 weeks so I need to keep this day free for his appointments - also it would mean more childcare cost during the holidays.

    I still dont feel that I have a solid answer - some people say i can take a 'lunch break' at the end of the day, some say I cant....

    I spoke to an HR friend and apparently because my son is registered disabled it could possible change things. I will regularly need meetings with the teacher after school.

    I think I am just fustrated. I know I have no right at all to change my hours but I do think that if the only person affected by it is my manager and that she agrees then I cant see the problem.

    I cant see other people asking for this as no other staff members have children (many are youngsters and have no desire for children in the next 5 years!) and the only other person with a child already does these hours.
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    cord123 wrote: »
    I have looked at my contract and it says I get paid £x annually for 32 hours work a week..... each day we get an our lunch break (i work 8.30 - 4.30) so i take it that my lunch break is a paid one?

    Hmm its still a but ambiguous. to me that reads you should be working 32hrs a week, so excluding lunch

    Have you always worked 8.30-4.30 or was that a change of hours once you had your son? If so, could it be that they havent realised you are working 32hrs including lunch?

    You really need to get this clarified, but just be prepared for it to not go in your favour and you owe them any overpayment.
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