Unpaid lunch hour cut short

Jessheg

I currently work 9am to 530pm
And in my contract I am entitled to an unpaid lunch hour which I normally take.
During lockdown we worked from home and I still took my hour however my employers stated we should not be taking our full hour as the business is busy and we're now working from home. I take no other breaks other than my lunch hour. Is this legal? 

Also we are now back in the office and they're regularly asking us to cut our breaks short to help with the needs of the business.

Undervalued

Jessheg said:

I currently work 9am to 530pm
And in my contract I am entitled to an unpaid lunch hour which I normally take.
During lockdown we worked from home and I still took my hour however my employers stated we should not be taking our full hour as the business is busy and we're now working from home. I take no other breaks other than my lunch hour. Is this legal? 

Also we are now back in the office and they're regularly asking us to cut our breaks short to help with the needs of the business.

Unless it takes your pay for the total hours you actually work below the national minimum wage then yes it is "legal".

It is possibly a breach of contract, depending on how your contract is actually worded. If so you could dispute it if you feel that is in your overall best interest.

It is worth noting that in many professional and higher paid jobs there is a general expectation that you will actually work far more than your basic contracted hours. Don't expect to progress very far (or at all) if you refuse!

On the other hand, with a "more ordinary" job paying a few quid over the nation minimum wage it would generally be regarded as unreasonable.

You don't say which category you are in.

TELLIT01

Ignore them.  If your contract says you can take a 1 hour break, you can take a 1 hour break.  Expecting you to put in unpaid hours simply because you are working from home is unreasonable.  That said, my wife has been working from home for over a year now and rarely takes her full hour.  As she says, there is nothing to do apart from eat her lunch.

[Deleted User]

Make sure the instruction really has come from the top brass?
I say this because I recall last spring when I received frankly pressurised messages to keep working longer.. when back in the office and then in a meeting with MD, you bet my boss sat there quiet as a mouse and let it sound like I had done it of my own back.

Could you take back the time and feel less robbed, in taking a few minutes longer to make the tea/coffee? increased toilet visits... got to have 5 minutes after a shouty customer.  Guess it depends on how well otherwise they treat you.

More UK workers are skipping lunch – and paying the price | Totaljobs

coffeehound

'Working to rule' could be career-limiting if it makes someone appear inflexible with a can't-do attitude.  It depends on if you want to progress in the company, what the management culture is and so on.  If it's just a job to pay the bills and you aren't looking to move on in the company, then insisting on your contractual rights probably won't cause you problems.

getmore4less

Salary or hourly paid?

do you stop at 5:30 and if not do you get paid if asked to stay.

hyubh

Jessheg said:

I currently work 9am to 530pm
And in my contract I am entitled to an unpaid lunch hour which I normally take.
During lockdown we worked from home and I still took my hour however my employers stated we should not be taking our full hour as the business is busy and we're now working from home.

Undervalued said:

It is worth noting that in many professional and higher paid jobs there is a general expectation that you will actually work far more than your basic contracted hours. Don't expect to progress very far (or at all) if you refuse!

coffeehound said:

'Working to rule' could be career-limiting if it makes someone appear inflexible with a can't-do attitude.  It depends on if you want to progress in the company, what the management culture is and so on.

Mickey666 said:

As above:  'job' or 'career'?   Ambition or just a clock-watcher?  Your choice.

Working more than contracted hours isn't in itself a career boosting thing - being seen as conscientious and productive is good, being seen as conscientious yet too dim witted to get things done in a normal timeframe not so much. And working all-through without a break? Will depress productivity for most people - and there's no point risking being visibly tired and irritable at the end of the working day because of not taking a break.

But assuming the 'business is busy' rationale matches reality on the ground (the 'working from home' one is just BS, ignore it), tactically it would likely be sensible to informally agree to an trimming (not cancelling) of breaks, and in particular, be seen to willingly agree to that because of business need. Or put another way: 'I'm working more hours than I usually do because business is busy' sounds conscientious and productive, 'I'm working more hours than I usually do to make up for working from home' sounds conscientious but dim witted.

coffeehound

hyubh said:

Working more than contracted hours isn't in itself a career boosting thing - being seen as conscientious and productive is good, being seen as conscientious yet too dim witted to get things done in a normal timeframe not so much. 

Do you have a link to the universal law that states "It is always possible to complete the necessary work within the normal working day"?

Thrugelmir

Jessheg said:

Also we are now back in the office and they're regularly asking us to cut our breaks short to help with the needs of the business.

How much do you value your job?

Likewise I'm sure that the management had a good idea as to who was being productive while working from home, and who was taking advantage. 

Marcon

Jessheg said:

I currently work 9am to 530pm
And in my contract I am entitled to an unpaid lunch hour which I normally take.
During lockdown we worked from home and I still took my hour however my employers stated we should not be taking our full hour as the business is busy and we're now working from home. I take no other breaks other than my lunch hour. Is this legal? 

Also we are now back in the office and they're regularly asking us to cut our breaks short to help with the needs of the business.

...which is turn helps to preserve the security of your job, so why is it such a big deal?

Marvel1

I'm my job, you can work over, but when a promotion comes up you still need to write out a personal statement etc before giving an interview, working longer is meaningless.