Unpaid over time over Christmas

MalMonroe

I was going to ask the same question as DCFC79, above. If unpaid overtime is covered then she agreed to it when she started her job.

But as others have said, it didn't seem to bother your wife much. If she's happy to do it and it helps her to keep on top of her work then it doesn't seem to be a problem. If she did have a problem, surely she would do or say something about it. 

I no longer have a spouse but if I did and they were working a few hours on a bank holiday I'd make the most of my 'alone' time, to be honest. Watch the movies they didn't like but I did, listen to my own music (with earbuds of course), pootle about on the internet, read a book, phone a friend, go for a walk - oh so many things to do. I do value my alone time. I'm not married any more but don't live alone and I do appreciate time just to be myself. Maybe you could do that too? I realise that your wife's been doing bits of work throughout the holiday but New Years Day is usually a time to get over all the celebrations of New Year's eve and Christmas, so it's not as if much exciting would be happening?

The main question really is - what does your wife think? She may just be happy to have a job which you say is decent and well paid. But if she herself ever does feel taken advantage of, then she could always contact acas for a bit of advice because she may not want to start taking legal action against her employer. 

Puddings

I can't see this has been answered, the days the office is closed are they taken from your wife's holiday entitlement?

Smithcom

There's been some pretty decent balanced responses given.

It does sound like the OP needs to have a discussion with his wife and if she is not happy with the arrangements, perhaps it's time for her to look for a role which is more geared to 9-5.  Possibly the OP has more issues with the arrangements that his wife!!

Not all roles will lend themselves to a strict 9-5.  However, there will always be people who will work religiously to those hours, which is fine, but there are others who feel that additional time is required to accomplish their work.   That is a matter of personal choice.    Could be bad management that necessitates those extra hours, but could be raw ambition or desire to climb the career ladder, or earn more money, or job satisfaction.   Or a combination of these reasons.

In life, there's a price to be paid for everything.   Woking those extra hours may buy a nicer car or bigger house, but the price to be paid could be time spent away from family or health detriment.     

However, what I would say is, to some extent, the 9-5 concept is a con and those who simply work within those rigid hours, in my experience, will only get so far in their career.    Sure, some people may be mega-efficient and organised, and become CEO of UKPLC by working 9-5, but I would suggest that they are in the minority.

As I say, in life there's a price to be paid for everything, and there's no right or wrong as to how much effort or how many hours (not mutually exclusive) somebody wants to do.

SC