On-call outside of office hours, no payment?

rparley

Is my employer within their rights to insist on me being on-call to take support calls at the weekends off a work phone (provided only for this purpose). This was not the case when I was originally employed and became part of the job around 12 months ago. They have made it clear no additional money will be paid for any work done outside of office hours (9-5 Monday to Friday, on call phone support 7 days a week from 8AM to 8PM).

skivenov

There's a minimum wage implication.

martinthebandit

skivenov wrote: »

There's a minimum wage implication.

If it was me there would be a 'lack of phone signal' implication as well,

no payey no workey

Owain_Moneysaver

rparley wrote: »

Is my employer within their rights to insist on me being on-call to take support calls at the weekends off a work phone (provided only for this purpose). This was not the case when I was originally employed and became part of the job around 12 months ago.

Ignoring the possible minimum wage implication, if you have not contested this change to your contract, after 12 months you are probably deemed to have accepted by conduct this arrangement so the employer can insist on it.

rparley

The issue there is whether the time spent where you potentially may have to take a phone call counts as working hours. Obviously based on that you'd be talking 84 hours a week meaning I'd be earning less than minimum wage. In actual fact only a couple of extra hours may be spent on the phone/doing remote support, in which case the average hourly rate is above minimum wage.

It's more the inconvenience of having my weekends interrupted and my employers attitude that it's just part of the job and therefore no overtime will be paid.

ohreally

rparley wrote: »

They have made it clear no additional money will be paid for any work done outside of office hours

Have they made clear how a refusal will be met.

If management are so keen to implement this, let them be the ones to take up on-call provision, after all they are employees as well. Let them get on with it for no pay.

Union?

Andy_L

rparley wrote: »

The issue there is whether the time spent where you potentially may have to take a phone call counts as working hours. Obviously based on that you'd be talking 84 hours a week meaning I'd be earning less than minimum wage. In actual fact only a couple of extra hours may be spent on the phone/doing remote support, in which case the average hourly rate is above minimum wage.

Unless you are constrained to being close to the workplace time spent on-call doesn't count for NMW or the working-time directive.

dacouch

Remote assistance from someone whose had a good few drinks at the weekend would be amusing

rparley

In terms of refusing to do it that wouldn't go down well at all, their stance being "We're giving you this phone, if it rings you must answer it". Best case scenario it would make thing very awkward, worst case scenario they sack me without reason since I've been employed there less than two years.

To quote a company director who earns almost 10x my salary "I can't have the phone at weekends because the signal isn't very good where I live, you'll have to have it".

And yeah, a customer got a very hungover bit of remote support this morning.

skintpaul

do you get time off, in lieu?

Otherwise, tell them not available.

vegasvisitor

Sort of depends if you are 'salaried' in that overtime is expected within your salary. Are you contracted to be paid or not for overtime? I'm guessing you don't feel you're paid enough to be expected to do this.