Being contacted by work whilst on holiday/term time etc

quietriot

sinizterguy wrote: »

I am an employer.

We may need to contact employees while on holiday / maternity leave / hangover to arrange / re-arrange work rota, cover for when they return or in some cases, to know when they are returning.

There may be other communication which need to sent to all employees, etc.

While I will give leeway to when they reply depending on circumstances - if they decide that they will not entertain any communication from me when they are off on holiday / maternity leave / hangover, I will not be entertaining being employer for very long.

Do you pay them for the time spent being in contact with you over work-related matters?

ERICS_MUM

When I managed a department of 30 people there was the rare occasion when I had to call someone on their time off for an urgent matter. But all my staff knew that this was balanced out by me being relaxed about them making short personal phone calls at their desks, the occasional extra 10 mins at lunchtime etc. they also knew that if I was on holiday they were welcome to contact me if they were worried about something urgent.

I wasn't a sloppy manager, my staff were mature and cheerful and funnily enough they "policed" themselves - if they thought someone was taking advantage of them or me they'd sort it.

We were a lovely team. I appreciated them and they supported me.

robin58

I always used to say ' I get paid 48 weeks to worry about it, and 4 weeks not to.'

I have always thought if the company has to ring you up for a minor problem that cannot be managed by another member of the staff, it is not a good place to work at.

They do because they know they can.:o

I know how bad it can be as I used to work for a boss who would make the 'Horrible Bosses' in that Hollywood film look like bunch of amateurs.

She was so bad that we used to joke that she would scare of the monster off in 'Alien'.:rotfl::rotfl:

Rosemary7391

I wouldn't worry about it - if I noticed and could respond I would, and if I didn't or couldn't then it would have to wait! I might start thinking about turning my phone off if it became annoying, but once in a while wouldn't bother me. I'd also generally check work emails the day before I'm due back just so I'm up to speed when I get in.

TELLIT01

Unless you are in a very senior position there should be no reason to be contacted outside contracted working hours apart from dire emergency. It certainly shouldn't be the norm that people are contacted - that does indicate poor management.
I did work at one place where they had refused to pay staff to be on call, but expected to be able to call in the middle of the night and for somebody to respond. This was in the days before mobile phones and most of us simply unplugged the phone at night. Certainly not ideal as it obviously meant that nobody could get hold of us in a family emergency for example.
My view is that when I'm not at work it's my time, not company time. If I was contacted I would respond when and if I chose to do so. If paid for being on-call it's a different situation entirely.

dori2o

Alter_ego wrote: »

This sounds like a school job to me. Do you really think you are not being paid during school holidays?

I don't work in a school, although I am a public servant.

I requested that I be able to work term time as managing my disability is getting harder and this seemed to be the easiest way to be able to provide myself with regular rest periods and hopefully therefore reduce the effects of my disability and the associated problems that go with it. It should also reduce time off I need from work.

I don't get paid for the weeks I don't work, therefore as I don't work for 14 weeks of the year I only get paid for 38 weeks ut f 52.

This however is averaged across the full 12 months so that I get the same money each month rather than having months where I get less, or nothing. It makes budgeting easier.

Just t add however, a teachers salary is calculated based on the number of weeks a year that they work. I know as I have friends who are teachers, both in schools and lecturers in colleges.

Like me they have their salary averaged over the year so they are paid the same every month. It means that fr some months they get less than the value of the work they have done, but this is made up for when they get paid during periods when they are not in work.

So to answer your question in regards to teachers, they don't think they are not being paid during the holidays, they know they are not being paid during the holidays.

Polarbeary

I do have a work Blackberry. I check it one in the evening and once in the morning before work but not during annual leave! Unless you have a really senior role I don't see why anyone needs to be contactable outside work constantly. Even less so if you have a poorly paid job.

dori2o

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

I work in the public sector and when we have approved alternative working patterns we always insert a clause that there may be an occasion where contact is made in normal working hours even when it is outside of the person's alternative working hours. We also stipulate that there may be occasions where attendance may be required for training etc which falls outside of their normal hours.

Sometimes it takes give and take on both sides. It's called being in a team.

Really, is one email asking for a phone call at your leisure really that bad? Not everything your employer does is designed to be confrontational or to annoy you.

I've never done term time before so I'm not sure what the situation is, plus this is the first non-working week I've had since I started the Term Time working on 5 January this year. It may be a coincidence but I found it rather odd that the first time I am off they decide to contact me about something quite trivial that can be dealt with next week when I'm back 'on the clock'.

Undervalued

dori2o wrote: »

I've never done term time before so I'm not sure what the situation is, plus this is the first non-working week I've had since I started the Term Time working on 5 January this year. It may be a coincidence but I found it rather odd that the first time I am off they decide to contact me about something quite trivial that can be dealt with next week when I'm back 'on the clock'.

There has be a bit of give and take.

Can you honestly say that every moment you are at work is spent working as hard and efficiently as you can and that your thoughts never stray to any private matters, let alone make a personal phone call or look at something on the internet? If so, you are one of the very few!

Charlotte17

Undervalued wrote: »

There has be a bit of give and take.

Can you honestly say that every moment you are at work is spent working as hard and efficiently as you can and that your thoughts never stray to any private matters, let alone make a personal phone call or look at something on the internet? If so, you are one of the very few!

There are lots of places including where I have worked where the internet was banned and no access to it unless you were on your lunch break which was unpaid so we couldn't look at the net in paid company time. The same goes for calls out for personal reasons.

Some companies only work one way so there is no give or take.