Made to start work 15 mins early without pay

Jboy24

Hi,
The employees where my girlfriend works and potentially at other centres in the uk is being told to get to work for team meetings starting at 8.45 even though everyone is only paid from 09:00. Most of the staff are paid hourly including my girlfriend and for the people on minimum wage this means the are being paid less than the minimum. I know this is legally unlawful but can someone advise me on any statutes or government publications about this.

Estimate cost of free labour the company is trying to get if across the whole company
Estimated 400 staff on hourly *0.25 hours = 100 hours free labour per day
Stores open 363 days a year *100 hours per day = 36300 free hours per year
Minimum wage = £7.83 * 36300 =

£ 284229 free labour per yer

That’s a healthy director payout every year.......

Thanks in advance

robpw2

Jboy24 wrote: »

Hi,
The employees where my girlfriend works and potentially at other centres in the uk is being told to get to work for team meetings starting at 8.45 even though everyone is only paid from 09:00. Most of the staff are paid hourly including my girlfriend and for the people on minimum wage this means the are being paid less than the minimum. I know this is legally unlawful but can someone advise me on any statutes or government publications about this.

Estimate cost of free labour the company is trying to get if across the whole company
Estimated 400 staff on hourly *0.25 hours = 100 hours free labour per day
Stores open 363 days a year *100 hours per day = 36300 free hours per year
Minimum wage = £7.83 * 36300 =

£ 284229 free labour per yer

That’s a healthy director payout every year.......

Thanks in advance

Theres a certain bank who also does this mind they pay a yearly salary but your expecting to be there 15 mins before shift for team meeting each day

I would ask if a team briefing is considered work ..

Because if it is then he should be paying for those 15 mins

Jboy24

The phrase is at your employers disposal.... and if you are in a meeting about work you are at their disposal.
Just found this at work smart
OUR EMPLOYER ASKS US TO TURN UP 15 MINUTES BEFORE WORK STARTS, BUT DOESN'T PAY US FOR THIS TIME. SHOULDN'T THIS COME UNDER OUR PAID TIME?
If you are an hourly-paid worker, you should be paid the agreed contractual rate (which must be at least the National Minimum Wage) for every hour you are required to work. 'Work' includes time spent at the employer's premises and at the employer's disposal, even when you are not physically engaged in any tasks yet because you are getting ready for your working day.

If it is entirely your choice whether you arrive 15 minutes early or not, and your employer cannot discipline you for not turning up until your contract start time, then this 15 minutes is unlikely to be working time for which you should be paid. However, if your employer requires you to be on the premises 15 minutes early, and could discipline you for not being there 15 minutes early, you should be paid for the extra 15 minutes and not paying you is an unlawful deduction of wages.

Jboy24

Still not a government statement....

ohreally

Jboy24 wrote: »

The employees where my girlfriend works and potentially at other centres in the uk is being told to get to work for team meetings starting at 8.45 even though everyone is only paid from 09:00. Most of the staff are paid hourly including my girlfriend and for the people on minimum wage this means the are being paid less than the minimum. I know this is legally unlawful but can someone advise me on any statutes or government publications about this.

Join a union, this would be an issue for them to organise around.

getmore4less

HMRC are responsible for the enforcement of min wage

report them

easy to find the form.

Unimaginativeusername

My place expect you to be there 10-15 minutes early to make sure you’re logged on the your computer for 8am. I just refuse, it’s not in my contract and they’re not paying us for that time so get stuffed.

sharpe106

Just tell them you can't get in for 15 minutes early and the reason you took the job was that you knew you would be unable to start any earlier.

theoretica

getmore4less wrote: »

HMRC are responsible for the enforcement of min wage

report them

easy to find the form.

Exactly this, just report it as a kindness to all your colleagues. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints

discat11

Poor attitude from the company to expect, or enforce, 15 minutes per day (a team meeting every single day? seriously?) 363 days a year doesn't take into account leave/sickness btw.

I'm sure most staff realise that a professional company will indeed expect you to be ready for work at the time they start paying you from all the way until leaving not before the paid time, that will inevitably mean getting to work before the paid time & leaving after, although not at this sort of rate I am sure.

I agree the employer cannot ask for more than this legally, although being proactive, flexible and a team worker has always been a pre requisite to any job I've had in the past 35 years and I don't suppose it'll ever change those staff who are regularly bang on time starting and leaving and never give 30 seconds to the company are usually the ones IME that whinge about being overlooked for promotion later on, that might be unfair, but it's 'normal'.

a) If you genuinely believe NMW regulations are being breached you need to report it to the HMRC.

b) Your GF needs to see if a union exists she can seek advice from or organise with other workers who aren't happy with the situation, otherwise she'll have to see her manager and make her feelings known alone.

Everyone grumbles about work occasionally but if it ever becomes a regular 'us V them' thing you really need to look for another job.

WibblyGirly

A place I used to work at did that. I didn't argue it at the time though I did use to go the loo wether I needed it or not for 5 mins peace and quiet to try claim my time back in a sneaky way.