Make you work on your day off???

snodgrass

I work in a care home, on nights, 4 nights(40 hours). Just lately there are a lot of people phoning in sick on the day and night shift, not just now and again, but seems to be a regular event, weekly dare I say. I have never phoned in sick may I add, in the 7 years I have been there.

Anyway, we seem to look at our rota one day and the next it has changed and we are doing different shifts. Or say you are on your day off, then at say 4pm you get a call from work saying such and such has phoned in sick, nobody else to cover, "you have to come in, you must come in, you have got to come in" words to those affects, else you know our boss can be a bit of an !!!! if you do not, make your life a bit awkward at work if you know what I mean.

Also the way our rotas are worked out half the time, it is a case of on/off on/off,so more often than not we do not get an actual whole day off as I would call them, you spend half of it in bed. Also, surely, I want a life outside of work, I make plans for my off days, surely I am not supposed to just drop everything at such short notice??

Anyway, do I have to go in to cover these shortages, can they make me, I do my hours, never have time off, helped them enough over the years, but work is taking it's toll on me, told my boss, I can just about manage my 4 shifts, any more and it does run me down and make me ill.

System

EU WTD rules specify one 24hr continuous period of uninterrupted rest per week. Do you get that?

Whether you have to go in depends entirely on what is written in your contract as long as it complies with EU WTD rules on daily and weekly rest periods.

elsien

I had an old mobile i only used for work. When on my days off, it was turned off. You do not have to do extra shifts if you do not want to. If they have to, they can get agency in. It'll cost them, but that's management's problem not yours
For as long as you keep doing it, they will keep phoning because they know you will cave in. So stop taking the calls.

snodgrass

I am contracted for 35 hours, all the staff are, but everyone does more, some of the daft !!!!!!s on days, feel obliged(well volunteer) to do 3 or 4 14 hour shifts in a week besides 2 short days, over 60 odd hours a week, because of all the shortages, surely it is the bosses responsibility to sort cover, but that costs money so they will not.

My shifts are usually say Mon-on, Tu-off, Wed-on, Thu-off, Fri-on, Sat-off,Sun-on. Silly shifts I say, because you do not get much sleep really doing nights and also, people do not seem to understand that we are up over 24 hours from one shift to the next. You get up at 8am Mon say, then do not go back to bed till the following morning, we are having this all the while just lately, so 3 times or so a week we are up 24 hours at a time. The boss does not understand this.

elsien

The boss understands it perfectly well, he is choosing not to do anything about it because it's easier for his rota. Are you opted in or out of the working time directive?
Some people will happily take all the overtime going and work silly hours given the chance because they want the money - some of my staff used to say they were ok to stick a 12 hour day shift on the end of a night shift, although I would never let them. Doesn't mean you have to do it though.

getmore4less

Tarambor wrote: »

EU WTD rules specify one 24hr continuous period of uninterrupted rest per week. Do you get that?

Whether you have to go in depends entirely on what is written in your contract as long as it complies with EU WTD rules on daily and weekly rest periods.

it does not stop there,

it can be two days in a 14 day period

in practice a continuous period of 24 days is legal under WTR.

ohreally

elsien wrote: »

If they have to, they can get agency in. It'll cost them, but that's management's problem not yours

This, and join a trade union.

so_very_confused

Unfortunately the average boss has no idea what the toll is in working nights. What may seem acceptable on days is unsustainable on nights.
I agree switch your phone off when on off days.
More importantly you are quite right, that rota is taking a toll on family life it is also taking a more serious toll on your health.
Look up the research on health issues for night workers. The rota you are working will exacerbate all of these.
I work nights and have done for several years. I have a rolling rota so it's ok. At Christmas the boss does the rota, it was so bad (much like yours) we objected and took it from him, we now do it!
Frankly I think that rota is appalling aside from the extras you are working and you should be looking for a new job.
Good luck what ever.

DCFC79

Maybe you consider looking for another job.

Valli

elsien wrote: »

I had an old mobile i only used for work. When on my days off, it was turned off. You do not have to do extra shifts if you do not want to. If they have to, they can get agency in. It'll cost them, but that's management's problem not yours
For as long as you keep doing it, they will keep phoning because they know you will cave in. So stop taking the calls.

This...

getmore4less

getmore4less wrote: »

it does not stop there,

it can be two days in a 14 day period

in practice a continuous period of 24 days is legal under WTR.

Should add there are extra rules for night workers.

this type of work(24hr cover required) will be exempt from the night hour limits but not the "compensatory rest" rules.