Unpaid Overtime - Not a lot, but enough!

Conor_3

Yes you do have to pay them, CFC. Minimum Wage covers that.

I work in a job where overtime is pretty much part of the job and there's nothing you can do about it as it is in transport so what time you finish is dictated by traffic and times taken to unload so I do about 15-20hrs a week under the "needs of the business" section. And I get paid for every one of them.

Going on your stupid half baked notion, with the average working week in haulage being 55 hrs, every haulage company could just class overtime as "needs of the business" and get away with not paying 15hrs overtime per week.

CFC

Conor, let's just agree to disagree, rather than being rude. I doubt I would be managing over 100 people if I really laboured under half baked notions. My employer employs thousands of people in this country, with a lot of different contract wordings. I understand that your employer pays you for time that you work over. Many companies do not. All contracts differ. I shan't argue the point with you any further.

me_and_me_monkeys

At one place I worked all engineering staff were expected to attend a meeting out of office hours once a week unpaid. I wasn't told at interview nor was it in my contract. After I pointed this out (a new manager took over and I couldn't stand him and refused to do him any favours) it was agreed that I could save up my hours and have an extra day off when I had enough hours.

Conor_3

CFC wrote: »

Conor, let's just agree to disagree, rather than being rude. I doubt I would be managing over 100 people if I really laboured under half baked notions. My employer employs thousands of people in this country, with a lot of different contract wordings. I understand that your employer pays you for time that you work over. Many companies do not. All contracts differ. I shan't argue the point with you any further.

They can word a contract however they like but it doesn't make it legal and doesn't absolve them from their responsibilities and duties under UK Employment Law.

The NHS, the UK's largest employer, has been found to fall foul of UK Employment law so what makes you think your company can't?

SteveClarkson_2

OK OK - let's not fall out!

Thank you everyone again for your comments - I just need to wait for an "opportune moment" to approach the subject with my boss ;-)


Thanks again

CFC

Conor wrote: »

They can word a contract however they like but it doesn't make it legal and doesn't absolve them from their responsibilities and duties under UK Employment Law.

The NHS, the UK's largest employer, has been found to fall foul of UK Employment law so what makes you think your company can't?

Not discussing it with you, Conor, as I said. We must agree to differ.

Steve, update us when there is news.

smogzy

Conor wrote: »

Speak for yourself Timbenella. I've never done so much as a minutes unpaid overtime. No pay = no play.

People who do unpaid overtime are mugs and it is precisely because so many are prepared to roll over and accept it "as part of the job" that employers think they can get away with it.

Easyt way to raise it. At clocking off time, go home. Don't work the extra half hour. When they call you in about it, tell them that you're not being paid.

When they then bang on about it, point out the Minimum Wage entitles you to a minimum of £5.35 FOR EVERY HOUR WORKED and by not paying you for these half hours, they're actually breaking the law.

Amen to that!!:beer:

I am salaried and do not get paid overtime. It's in my contract that I am expected to do overtime as part of an extension to the working day and as callout.

I'm on call out which stated 1 week in 5 and now is 1 week in 3.

I'm expected to stay in and by the phone when I'm on call out. I'm not paid a retainer to do this.

I regulary work 5-10+ hours a week unpaid overtime over my 39 hour week.

I started on a salary 2k a year more than someone doing the same job who was with the company for 3 years, who is much more experienced and at the start regulary called for advice.

The same position in the company in another area has been advertised recently for 4K a year more than me. Same job, same amount of work.

People doing the same job in different areas get time owing back from there weekend overtime, we don't. Same company ..just a another area.

We recently took over another company and 20% of their workforce have left already as they will no longer get overtime.

I'm expected to do electrical work for which I'm not qualified to do and would get my !!!! reamed by the HSE if they found out.

I've been asked to do numerous unsafe things like working at heights without a harness, which like a mug I do.

My fellow workers just shrug their shoulders and accept it. No one want to rock the boat.

My managers attitude is "if you don't like it you know what you can do".

Well yes I know what I can do...I'm getting a new job and I so look forward to the day when I hand my notice in.

ohreally

smogzy wrote: »

I'm expected to do electrical work for which I'm not qualified to do and would get my !!!! reamed by the HSE if they found out.

I've been asked to do numerous unsafe things like working at heights without a harness, which like a mug I do.

Contact the HSE yourself...http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/index.htm they will treat your call seriously.
Have a look and see if your employer has attracted an HSE interest in the past...http://www.hse.gov.uk/notices/search/simple/default.asp

smogzy

ohreally wrote: »

Contact the HSE yourself...http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/index.htm they will treat your call seriously.
Have a look and see if your employer has attracted an HSE interest in the past...http://www.hse.gov.uk/notices/search/simple/default.asp

Thanks for that.

That is something I will certainly do as soon as I've secured a new job. I can't really risk doing it now. I'm assuming that the HSE wouldn't divulge my details to the company but it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it was me that grassed them up.

I'll also bring up the issue of Working Time Directive section 10 as I'm often not given 11 consecutive hours rest between shifts.

I searched the HSE site and low and behold...

"No suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk to the safety of employees of falling from a height of 2 metres or more has been made to identify the preventive and protective measures needed to ensure their safety so far as is reasonably practicable. COMPLIED"

ohreally

The HSE will treat your call in strict confidence plus bear in mind they don't need an "invitation" to visit your workplace, they have a statutory right of access and it may be they intend to carry out a visit whether you contact them or not.
Be aware that if you break H&S law, it's not just the employer who is in the firing line but you as an individual as well....don't wait until someone is injured or worse, contact them on Monday.

The one thing i would say to others reading is the HSE have limited resources and are unable to gallop around the country investigating every single report...a complaint should be of a serious nature to warrant further investigation.