Being forced to work weekends and extra hours for no pay!

pmel64

My DH started his job in September 2008 after being made redundant 18 months earlier. In his contact it stated that they HAD to sign the opt-out 48 hours agreement as on occasions being in a manufacturing industry they have to meet orders. There is no recognized Trade Union and the company is located in a former mining pit village. They don't get paid for these hours, they are put into a time bank and for every 25 hours worked they are able to receive one day off (this works out at less than the NWM for him but that is another story). There have been a couple of periods when the extra hours has been put into force and he has worked considerable extra hours - albeit over a 3 month time period and has then gone back to some normality where he is only working over a few extra per week.

However since the Summer he has had to do a lot of hours working from 7am - 6pm (1/2 hour lunch break) and then also weekends. We can add travelling time on to that of over 1 hour per day and in effect he pays to work weekends in petrol and running costs. Initially they said it was because they were chasing a contract in which they subsequently lost.

It is now the New Year and bang! - there is a problem (not his) and he has to work all these weekends plus extra after work again. I have asked him what will happen to all these extra hours as he has no time to take them off and they now go towards his notice for when he eventually leaves the company (90 days notice he has to give).

He is a good worker, no spring chicken, no time taken off since starting the job, suffers with epilepsy (well managed - no attacks since 1995) hides stress well but it is starting to show (tiredness brings on the attacks) and we have got a not too young family - ages DD 11 & DS 14 that miss out. When he tried to explain that he had too much work he was fobbed off and told "Well there is always the weekend to do it". Please help. Where does he stand?

Thank you for your comments.

19lottie82

If it works out at less than NMW overall the yes, they are breaking the law, but if not, then although it is outrageous, there isn't a lot you husband can do apart from vote with his feet I'm afraid. Is he looking for another job?

pmel64

Hi 19Lottie82 - thank you for your prompt reply.

It took him long enough to get this job after redundancy. I have also done the calculations of 25 hours work in exchange for 7 and a half hours for him and it definitely works out under minimum wage. Afraid that as each week goes by he will eventually break down. I work albeit part time so that we can maintain some equilibrium for family life.

pmel64

I have just dug out the last payslip and those extra hours work out at the equivalent of £3.63 per hour! - and that's if he can even take the time off! I have just told him this and he has gone in a right strop with me. Don't want to do this as he has enough pressure without getting it in the neck from me but family life suffers badly as well as being detrimental to his health.

Takeaway_Addict

pmel64 wrote: »

I have just dug out the last payslip and those extra hours work out at the equivalent of £3.63 per hour! - and that's if he can even take the time off! I have just told him this and he has gone in a right strop with me. Don't want to do this as he has enough pressure without getting it in the neck from me but family life suffers badly as well as being detrimental to his health.

You should calculate it on all hours, not just the extra hours to see if this takes him under NMW.

Either way, there seems to be some shoddy practises at best happening and you seem to have this fear of getting a new job, your partner has been there for 5 years plus which shows alot in his favour.

I can't guarantee that the next job he gets won't end in months but maybe now whislt the signs are there that this one is getting to him that he might want to start looking again, whilst he can choose what to take?

pmel64

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

You should calculate it on all hours, not just the extra hours to see if this takes him under NMW.

Either way, there seems to be some shoddy practises at best happening and you seem to have this fear of getting a new job, your partner has been there for 5 years plus which shows alot in his favour.

I can't guarantee that the next job he gets won't end in months but maybe now whislt the signs are there that this one is getting to him that he might want to start looking again, whilst he can choose what to take?

Thanks for your reply. It is a bit difficult to work out how many hours he has done over and above but put that way it isn't under the NMW assuming a 60 hour week (But not far off it)! Thankfully the ones on NMW do at least get paid OT for every hour they work.

DaveTheMus

Get him to invite a trade union into the work place.....GMB or something,

Takeaway_Addict

DaveTheMus wrote: »

Get him to invite a trade union into the work place.....GMB or something,

What would be the point? Unless I am wrong the employer can just refuse them to set foot on the shop floor (unless recognised)

Spirit_2

pmel64 wrote: »

My DH started his job in September 2008 after being made redundant 18 months earlier. In his contact it stated that they HAD to sign the opt-out 48 hours agreement as on occasions being in a manufacturing industry they have to meet orders.

He can rescind the opt out at any time, his choice.

The NMW is averaged over all hours worked.

This needs a discussion with his manager or more senior in that the requirement is not sustainable - in earnings and health terms and ask them what they will do to help him. He is also protected under disability legislation.

I suggest he tries this than more confrontational approaches. If there is no solution he either needs to take action - withdraw his consent, decline teh additional work, or find a new role.

Southend1

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

What would be the point? Unless I am wrong the employer can just refuse them to set foot on the shop floor (unless recognised)

He should join a union anyway, they would be able to advise on matters like this. If enough of his colleagues join too there is a statutory recognition procedure. Having said that a good employer would recognise the benefits of a constructive relationship with a union so may well be happy to recognise one voluntarily.

DaveTheMus

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

What would be the point? Unless I am wrong the employer can just refuse them to set foot on the shop floor (unless recognised)

Fiction: Unions aren’t formally recognised in my workplace so I can’t join

FACT: Anybody has the right to join a union regardless of whether their employer formally recognises trade unions or a union organises within their workplace.
When you sign up you should be given information about which branch you belong to (this could be for a local
area if there’s not one in your workplace). Unions also have contact numbers and/or helplines for members to access legal advice.
You can also get more active in your union by getting involved with campaigns and other activity/events.


Legislation means a trade union has the right to be recognised where the majority of the workforce wants it. Recognition can be a voluntary agreement or can be imposed via a legal process:

Voluntary agreement
Unite would always favour entering into a voluntary recognition agreement rather than using the statutory process, and the overwhelming majority of our recognition agreements have been agreed voluntarily.

There is no minimum number of members required to begin discussions with the management about union recognition. However, a typical situation would be that a group of staff will join the union and then the membership would begin to grow by those members encouraging more staff to join. Once a significant number of members have joined, the union will begin discussions with the management about recognition.

Legal rights
If 50 per cent plus one of a workforce in a company are members of the union we can automatically obtain recognition. However, if membership numbers fall short of this but a significant amount of the workforce is in the union then we can make a claim to a body called the CAC (Central Arbitration Committee). This body will then examine if we have enough membership and support for the workforce to be balloted on whether they want the union to be recognised.

The key to getting union recognition is getting your colleagues to join the union and support your efforts. If you want to further discuss union recognition and how to go about it we can put you in touch with one of our officers or organisers who specialise in this area.