Forget that I ever existed

ushjr

Forget that I ever existed

GrumpyDil

Certainly in the call centre in my office  your work time starts from when you are at your desk. For other roles it's arguably a little more fluid as e.g. I might well end up discussing something with other staff on the way to my desk (which is about as far from the entrance as possible😄) 

Brie

Call centres often say that you have to be at your desk and logged on at your start time.  Shops say you have to be ready at your till.  So getting from the door, up the lift, hang up your coat, adjust your chair, ensure your coffee is to hand etc etc all has to be done before you are officially at work.  

Sandtree

ushjr said:

Unfortunately it's highly unlikely we'd get paid for our commute time as well as our time at work. If we did I'd try to get a job 4 hours away so that it would be time to go home as soon as I got there.

And that is exactly why they never will pay you to commute. I suspect if they paid you from the front door you'd be pressing every button on the lift and a long comfort break before going in, forgetting your password every day etc.

motorguy

I think i've only ever worked somewhere where theres a reasonable amount of flexible start / finishing.  In pre covid days i'd be in around 08:30, try to round up by around 17:30.

If i was on a strict 9 to 5 i'd aim to be in around 08:45 and leave probably about ten past five.

Sandtree

ushjr said:
You can easily do all that in the middle of the day though. In fact I'd say one is more likely to be pressing every button on the lift in the middle of the day because they'd be more likely to be in the lift on their own as opposed to first thing in the morning when they'd likely to be sharing it with other colleagues just arriving at work.

And if you want to spend your lunch break riding the lift you are free to do so.


You didn't suggest however that your lunch break ends at the point that you start heading back to your desk and so the normal standards prevail that by the end of your break/lunch etc you must be back at your desk ready to work not just leaving the canteen.

Dakta

"Why not arrive at 9 and finish at 5?"

Few reasons I can think of - one would be that you'd be cutting it close to the wire, you'd need barely anything to happen on the way in to be late, then there;s the fact that business needs don't always just exist 9-5 - almost every place I've worked has that strict 'not a second out of my contracted hours' person which the rest of the workforce tend to tidy up around because finishing tasks directly on time isn't as easy or as likely as it sounds (unless you deliberately hold off picking up tasks on the lead up to finish - which again everyone else ends up covering for).

I generally work strict hours but on a secondment to a dept thats quite flexible, even when I decide what hours to suit me I'm always a bit early - so i.e this morning im starting at 8, I'm getting logged in now, but we're ramping into it with a coffee admittedly and I'll probably scope things out before picking up the first task.

Soot2006

At my office, pre-Covid, people seem to take the moment of walking past reception as the start and end time, so in reality the 9-5ers are only "working" from 9.05 (9.10 with coffee!) to 4.55. This culture seems to have translated online since no one ever books meetings before 9.30! On the other hand, we often work late and weekends so in the end the little minutes here and there and the extra time worked probably cancel each other out. There's generally a "if the work is done it's done" attitude which doesn't suit everyone but people who abuse the flexibility don't last long.

GeordieGeorge

Since there’s no legislation on this it comes down to what’s reasonable.

My brother had a twenty minute walk from the factory entrance to his desk in a previous job, and his employer reasonably paid him from when he clocked in at the main entrance.

It’s also perfectly reasonable in many jobs to be paid when your shift starts but for you to have to be at your position ready to start for that time.

In most professional jobs you’re expected to routinely be in early and leave late. I’m in a job like this, and do over fifty hours per week despite my contract being for forty.

I’m fine with this, as the pay is very good and no-one’s going to mind if I take a half day, or go out to do some shopping in the work day.

Thrugelmir

GeordieGeorge said:

I’m fine with this, as the pay is very good and no-one’s going to mind if I take a half day, or go out to do some shopping in the work day.

Flexibility is key. When there's a need for time to deal with a personal matter. Management will be far more accommodating. Play the game to the wire expect little sympathy. More like a suggestion to take holiday. 

TheSpiddalKid

There was until about 10 years ago a tower block in the centre of Rochdale, above the old bus station, which housed part of the council staff. It was i think built in the early 70's at which time there was agreement with the unions that staff officially started at 0908 and finished work at 16:22 to account for the calculated 8 minutes it took to get from the front door to the furthest desk on the top floor but still got paid from 9:00 - 16:30. the rule was famously done away with when the tower block was demolished in the mid 2000's and staff moved to other premises with less floors.