Unpaid overtime
Discussion
Have been advised today that I will be moving to a different department for the next 4 months. As part of this, I will end up having to work 12 (ish) extra hours per week (my current contract is 37.5 hours)
My contract states that I will be expected to do some unpaid overtime as the business requires (which I have done) - but is 12 hours a week for 4 months seen as reasonable? Is it seen as overtime or a change of contract?
Short of negotiating more holiday/pay, is there anything I can do?
The work doesn't bother me and neither do the extra hours (to a point), but I am basically being forced into giving up a decent chunk of my home life and getting nothing back.
My contract states that I will be expected to do some unpaid overtime as the business requires (which I have done) - but is 12 hours a week for 4 months seen as reasonable? Is it seen as overtime or a change of contract?
Short of negotiating more holiday/pay, is there anything I can do?
The work doesn't bother me and neither do the extra hours (to a point), but I am basically being forced into giving up a decent chunk of my home life and getting nothing back.
Parsnip said:
Have been advised today that I will be moving to a different department for the next 4 months. As part of this, I will end up having to work 12 (ish) extra hours per week (my current contract is 37.5 hours)
My contract states that I will be expected to do some unpaid overtime as the business requires (which I have done) - but is 12 hours a week for 4 months seen as reasonable? Is it seen as overtime or a change of contract?
Short of negotiating more holiday/pay, is there anything I can do?
The work doesn't bother me and neither do the extra hours (to a point), but I am basically being forced into giving up a decent chunk of my home life and getting nothing back.
I would have thought that the "unpaid overtime" thing would be to do say a couple of extra hours once in a blue moon if the boss was stuck - or you were extremely busy or something.My contract states that I will be expected to do some unpaid overtime as the business requires (which I have done) - but is 12 hours a week for 4 months seen as reasonable? Is it seen as overtime or a change of contract?
Short of negotiating more holiday/pay, is there anything I can do?
The work doesn't bother me and neither do the extra hours (to a point), but I am basically being forced into giving up a decent chunk of my home life and getting nothing back.
Are you certain you won't be getting paid for these extra 12 hours a week for 4 months???.
Unbelievable stuff - if thats the case - im sorry to say ive no advice - except perhaps to look at future career/employment opportunities - if your company wants 12 hours unpaid work a week for 4 months - then they are a bunch of tossers imo - and the sooner you can get finished up with them - the better imo.
Best of luck - if i were in that situation - the toys would be leaving the pram - and the pram would be landing into the bosses desk with some force
Sir Fergie
KingNothing said:
Unpaid overtime? What's this then? Sometimes I get pissed off with my job, but its not that bad when looking at other people's jobs, working for free? f
k that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.
Hmm, the words of a man who is going to get far in life!k that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.garyhun said:
WhereamI said:
Hmm, the words of a man who is going to get far in life!
Although, if what the OP says is correct, the employer in this case is taking the piss.WhereamI said:
KingNothing said:
Unpaid overtime? What's this then? Sometimes I get pissed off with my job, but its not that bad when looking at other people's jobs, working for free? fk that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.
Hmm, the words of a man who is going to get far in life!k that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.WhereamI said:
KingNothing said:
Unpaid overtime? What's this then? Sometimes I get pissed off with my job, but its not that bad when looking at other people's jobs, working for free? fk that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.
Hmm, the words of a man who is going to get far in life!k that for a laugh, employers don't own people, some seem to think they do though, wkers.Flipping the original premise on it's head, if you said to an employer that every now and then you would be taking a couple of hours off outside of holiday paid because it was "important" and for the next 4 months you'd be working 12 hours a week less but still expect to be paid the same they would be showing you the door.
I think that quite a few 'professional'/white collar jobs would expect that you're being paid to 'do a job' so a certain amount of overtime will be unpaid. Whether you see this as right or not is another matter.
As I said in my example above, if I'm asked to specifically do project work outside of normal hours than it's a straight 1.5x OT. We accomodate this as much as possible, partly because of the money but mainly because it's part of my job to do this where I can.
On the other hand, a mate of mine works in a struggling manufacturing industry. If the shop-floor staff refused to do any unpaid overtime then the company would likely go under right now. The company relies on the goodwill of the staff to stay afloat and in turn, this keeps those people in a job. However, he makes sure that his staff are able to take TOIL during the quiet periods where the company can afford to not have the staff in.
Somewhere in the middle is the OP, it's wrong to be expected to do so many hours overtime. Even if they were paying you I'd say that they had an obligation to ensure you weren't exposed to doing so many additional hours as it's bad for your health.
As I said in my example above, if I'm asked to specifically do project work outside of normal hours than it's a straight 1.5x OT. We accomodate this as much as possible, partly because of the money but mainly because it's part of my job to do this where I can.
On the other hand, a mate of mine works in a struggling manufacturing industry. If the shop-floor staff refused to do any unpaid overtime then the company would likely go under right now. The company relies on the goodwill of the staff to stay afloat and in turn, this keeps those people in a job. However, he makes sure that his staff are able to take TOIL during the quiet periods where the company can afford to not have the staff in.
Somewhere in the middle is the OP, it's wrong to be expected to do so many hours overtime. Even if they were paying you I'd say that they had an obligation to ensure you weren't exposed to doing so many additional hours as it's bad for your health.
WhereamI said:
Hmm, the words of a man who is going to get far in life!
Glad I don't work for you then. If you're good at something you don't do it for free, simple as that really, expecting 12 hours free a week, middle management or not? That's a piss take.Edited by KingNothing on Friday 1st March 08:58
This always grates me, people doing overtime for nothing, to benefit the company that will be rewarded, and also management rewarded in the way of bonuses, but they expect people to do overtime for nothing.
Why should people give up their time for free? For many years now probably going back to when Thatcher was PM, the UK mind set has been live to work, not work to live
Why should people give up their time for free? For many years now probably going back to when Thatcher was PM, the UK mind set has been live to work, not work to live
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