Leaving site on Lunch breaks

Jaydenholt123

At my place of employment I am a first aider and I am being told that as they pay me extra (£50) money I am not allowed to leave site when on the first aid rota? Is this right? Can they pay me more but take away my right to leave the building on my lunch break?

agrinnall

What makes you think you have a 'right' to leave the building at all?

DCFC79

Is your lunch break unpaid or paid ?

sangie595

Jaydenholt123 wrote: »

At my place of employment I am a first aider and I am being told that as they pay me extra (£50) money I am not allowed to leave site when on the first aid rota? Is this right? Can they pay me more but take away my right to leave the building on my lunch break?

Yes they can. A first aider who isn't present is of no use whatsoever. If you want to go your own way, then you may resign as a first aider, and they can pay someone else for the responsibility.

There is no right to leave the building anyway.

gettingtheresometime

Jaydenholt123 wrote: »

At my place of employment I am a first aider and I am being told that as they pay me extra (£50) money I am not allowed to leave site when on the first aid rota? Is this right? Can they pay me more but take away my right to leave the building on my lunch break?

Presumably every other first aider has this condition as well.

Gavin83

sangie595 wrote: »

There is no right to leave the building anyway.

I really don't see how the company has a right to dictate where you are during a period they don't pay you for. Next you'll be telling me they've the right to tell you at what time you're allowed to go shopping in the evenings and where you can spend your weekends.

TELLIT01

sangie595 wrote: »

There is no right to leave the building anyway.

If you are not paid for the lunch break what right does the employer have to tell you what to do with that time, or where to spend it?

CurlySue2017

agrinnall wrote: »

What makes you think you have a 'right' to leave the building at all?

LOL are you locked in at work then?

If they are not paid (which is not clear yet) then they can leave if they like.

Cheeky_Monkey

But the OP is being paid for it .... an extra £50 to be on-site as per the rota.

sangie595

I suggest everyone reread the OP. The OP is being paid for the "inconvenience" of being a first aider. Therefore, as I said, they are welcome to hand back the money and resign as a first aider. But they can't have it both ways. The need for a first aider on the premises isn't something that will diminish if they happen to be on a lunch break and somewhere else; and you can't instruct employees to avoid accidents when the first aider is on a lunch break!

So it was very clear that they are being paid for this responsibility - whether they get paid lunch breaks is therefore entirely irrelevant.

And actually, on a very separate basis, it is in fact quite lawful to tell employees that they cannot leave the premises during breaks, paid or not. Or, to be more precise, it is not unlawful. There are circumstances where employers must do this, for security or other reasons. Being entitled to a break is what the law says, not being entitled to take that break wherever you want to take it. The law is clear that the break must be away from your desk or workstation - not away from the premises.

So LOL, yes you can be locked in at work, and the employer has every right to tell you that you can't leave the premises. But that is irrelevant to the OP, because that isn't the issue.

sangie595

Gavin83 wrote: »

I really don't see how the company has a right to dictate where you are during a period they don't pay you for. Next you'll be telling me they've the right to tell you at what time you're allowed to go shopping in the evenings and where you can spend your weekends.

No I won't be telling you that. But I am telling you that the law allows an employer to refuse workers the right to leave the premises during breaks. Your opinion on that matter is irrelevant.