Being asked to work 26 extra days a year...for free
Discussion
I wonder if this is allowed?
I started this job over 2 years ago. 7 day fortnight shift pattern 9am to 8pm, thus equivalent to 38.5 hours a week.
All good.
Then Covid hit and they dropped the hours in order to have staff on the premises for as little time as possible.
So then down to 10am to 5pm, only 7 hours a day over a 7 day fortnight. Thus only 24.5 hours a week.
Soon we go back to normal time, so we thought. Management are saying that we are only needed for 10 hours a day thus now 35 hours a week.
But as our contracts say we should be on a 40 hour week, we the staff, owe them a day's work per fortnight.
So each employee will have a banked 26 days a year which they can use up by covering colleague illness or holiday.
The company want to cut their freelance budget so use the staff for 'free'.
I've been freelance all my life and this is my first full-time job at the ripe old age of 59. Is this usual and allowable?
I wish I had a decent pension as this has fekked me and all the other staff right off!
I started this job over 2 years ago. 7 day fortnight shift pattern 9am to 8pm, thus equivalent to 38.5 hours a week.
All good.
Then Covid hit and they dropped the hours in order to have staff on the premises for as little time as possible.
So then down to 10am to 5pm, only 7 hours a day over a 7 day fortnight. Thus only 24.5 hours a week.
Soon we go back to normal time, so we thought. Management are saying that we are only needed for 10 hours a day thus now 35 hours a week.
But as our contracts say we should be on a 40 hour week, we the staff, owe them a day's work per fortnight.
So each employee will have a banked 26 days a year which they can use up by covering colleague illness or holiday.
The company want to cut their freelance budget so use the staff for 'free'.
I've been freelance all my life and this is my first full-time job at the ripe old age of 59. Is this usual and allowable?
I wish I had a decent pension as this has fekked me and all the other staff right off!
So (pre-COVID) you were paid for 40 hours per week but only working 38.5 and the new rota means you would only be working 35 hours per week? And now the Employers are expecting you to work the extra hours per week by way o a bank system?
if that’s the case I can see why you’re upset but it doesn’t seem unfair to me.
if that’s the case I can see why you’re upset but it doesn’t seem unfair to me.
Countdown said:
So (pre-COVID) you were paid for 40 hours per week but only working 38.5 and the new rota means you would only be working 35 hours per week? And now the Employers are expecting you to work the extra hours per week by way o a bank system?
if that’s the case I can see why you’re upset but it doesn’t seem unfair to me.
Cheersif that’s the case I can see why you’re upset but it doesn’t seem unfair to me.
I'm just looking to see if this is usual.
I joined as I like the 7 day fortnight shift and it seems through no fault of mine that this is going to change, so I guess it's my choice, stay or leave.
I'm quite unique in my role there. Leaving will cause them a lot of problems but then I may well be shooting myself in the foot.
megaphone said:
What's a 7 day fortnight shift?
Sounds like it’s 7x 11 hour days on, 7 days off. That doesn’t take into account meal breaks, so the actual number of worked hours will be less that 37.5.
This sounds like something that needs proper legal advice to sort out.
Edited by Alex Z on Sunday 24th October 08:03
There are different patterns but I do Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat and Sun one week then only Wed and Thurs the next.
Other places the day is normally 12 hours long.
Ours was 12 but now saying they only have work for 10 thus want us in for extra days over the year.
Seems management have been told to save money so want to cut freelancers and overtime.
So with a banked 26 days each employee will have to cover colleagues sickness and holidays.
We all have different skillsets so we are all being asked to learn other skills in our own time.
I'm a cameraman have been for 30 odd years. I'm an old dog and don't want to learn new tricks, especially in my own time
Other places the day is normally 12 hours long.
Ours was 12 but now saying they only have work for 10 thus want us in for extra days over the year.
Seems management have been told to save money so want to cut freelancers and overtime.
So with a banked 26 days each employee will have to cover colleagues sickness and holidays.
We all have different skillsets so we are all being asked to learn other skills in our own time.
I'm a cameraman have been for 30 odd years. I'm an old dog and don't want to learn new tricks, especially in my own time
Is the other option to reduce your salary to reflect the revised hours, not ideal, so there is no debt to the employer?
If additional work is required this is then paid from the savings?
On the face of it, it looks as if the employer is trying to find a best compromise to the current situations?
If additional work is required this is then paid from the savings?
On the face of it, it looks as if the employer is trying to find a best compromise to the current situations?
I've worked for the same organisation for 16 years near enough and I've been through at least 3 full 9rganisation shift changes in that time.
My experience for all the talk about staff consultations etc the senior management come up with is that they basically end up doing what they want and we either accept it or leave following the usual union consultations.
I've managed each time to move roles sooner or later where shift changes haven't been favourable to get roles and hours that work for me.
Unfortunately I suspect what is being proposed is legal, I dont know the industry you work in OP but the current shift pattern sounds very good so if you did leave could you get something similar elsewhere?
My experience for all the talk about staff consultations etc the senior management come up with is that they basically end up doing what they want and we either accept it or leave following the usual union consultations.
I've managed each time to move roles sooner or later where shift changes haven't been favourable to get roles and hours that work for me.
Unfortunately I suspect what is being proposed is legal, I dont know the industry you work in OP but the current shift pattern sounds very good so if you did leave could you get something similar elsewhere?
The thread title seems bit misleading.
Based on what you have posted, what they are asking you to do is now work the hours you are being paid to work, but spread over a different work pattern.
They are not asking you to work those extra hours/days for free, and based on what you have said you and others have been paid for hours you haven't actually worked over the last two years anyway.
Based on what you have posted, what they are asking you to do is now work the hours you are being paid to work, but spread over a different work pattern.
They are not asking you to work those extra hours/days for free, and based on what you have said you and others have been paid for hours you haven't actually worked over the last two years anyway.
True.
Our dept came in all through Covid whilst all other depts worked from home.
We were on reduced hours as the boss was terrified we'd get closed down due to the lurgy.
What is being proposed now is we work one hour less each shift and work that one hour bunched into 26 days a year.
Seems petty to me especially as I tend to work longer hours. I won't now. I'll leave as soon as finish time occurs.
I think management has told our manager to save tons thus he has come up with this idea out of desperation.
The alternative may mean redundancy.
My personal feeling is that if a high tech foreign government funded company is having money troubles it maybe time for me to jump.
I can see your point and if they want to change our days according to exactly what hours we are contracted to work, then so be it.
Our dept came in all through Covid whilst all other depts worked from home.
We were on reduced hours as the boss was terrified we'd get closed down due to the lurgy.
What is being proposed now is we work one hour less each shift and work that one hour bunched into 26 days a year.
Seems petty to me especially as I tend to work longer hours. I won't now. I'll leave as soon as finish time occurs.
I think management has told our manager to save tons thus he has come up with this idea out of desperation.
The alternative may mean redundancy.
My personal feeling is that if a high tech foreign government funded company is having money troubles it maybe time for me to jump.
I can see your point and if they want to change our days according to exactly what hours we are contracted to work, then so be it.
Edited by croyde on Sunday 24th October 09:26
To be fair they only seem to asking for what they are paying you for already.
If they were suddenly asking you all to do extra hours for no additional remuneration that would be something different. I can understand the reluctance to move away from your current shift pattern, but times change and unfortunately we often have to move with it.
It depends how much you want to hang on to your current job I suppose. There seem to be plenty of other jobs out there but sometimes better the devil you know.
If they were suddenly asking you all to do extra hours for no additional remuneration that would be something different. I can understand the reluctance to move away from your current shift pattern, but times change and unfortunately we often have to move with it.
It depends how much you want to hang on to your current job I suppose. There seem to be plenty of other jobs out there but sometimes better the devil you know.
It might be a start to understand how many of these extra days will be used up with the appropriate training to be able to cover other roles
I’d also want to understand what the minimum legal notice period an employer can give to call you in on a scheduled day off
If also want to understand how any days ‘on call’ waiting for a call to cover will be handled e.g. 2 or 3 days on call waiting = 1 work day
The devil is always in the detail
I’d also want to understand what the minimum legal notice period an employer can give to call you in on a scheduled day off
If also want to understand how any days ‘on call’ waiting for a call to cover will be handled e.g. 2 or 3 days on call waiting = 1 work day
The devil is always in the detail
Thanks to you all.
Looking at my contract it appears I signed a pact with a Devil I didn't know
At work now, as someone else here has just pointed out, an extra 26 days means added expense for the employee.
Some live over 100 miles away, luckily I don't, and would have accepted the original shift 2.5 years ago whilst working out train and or petrol budgets, plus hotels and parking.
Funnily enough up to this happening, I was looking at fleeing the Capital City.
Looking at my contract it appears I signed a pact with a Devil I didn't know
At work now, as someone else here has just pointed out, an extra 26 days means added expense for the employee.
Some live over 100 miles away, luckily I don't, and would have accepted the original shift 2.5 years ago whilst working out train and or petrol budgets, plus hotels and parking.
Funnily enough up to this happening, I was looking at fleeing the Capital City.
Tell you employer slavery was abolished in 1833 in the UK.
Honestly do they think people are stupid, any work you do should be paid, nobody should have to work any hours extra for free. I know a few people that are on fixed wages of well under £30k but their employer always has them doing other tasks so they worked well over the 5pm contracted time. A few times they worked until 3am.
Honestly do they think people are stupid, any work you do should be paid, nobody should have to work any hours extra for free. I know a few people that are on fixed wages of well under £30k but their employer always has them doing other tasks so they worked well over the 5pm contracted time. A few times they worked until 3am.
So in a nutshell they are shortening each one of your working days by an hour, but still require you and will still pay you for 40 ish hours a week or whatever the figure is? But you've got to make these hours up by doing an extra day per fortnight?
Unless there is something concrete in your contract I can't see that you have much of a leg to stand on. Nobody is having to work to work for 'free' as you put it.
Unless there is something concrete in your contract I can't see that you have much of a leg to stand on. Nobody is having to work to work for 'free' as you put it.
sutoka said:
Tell you employer slavery was abolished in 1833 in the UK.
Honestly do they think people are stupid, any work you do should be paid, nobody should have to work any hours extra for free. I know a few people that are on fixed wages of well under £30k but their employer always has them doing other tasks so they worked well over the 5pm contracted time. A few times they worked until 3am.
Except he's not being asked to work extra hours for free, merely the same hours but spread over more days.Honestly do they think people are stupid, any work you do should be paid, nobody should have to work any hours extra for free. I know a few people that are on fixed wages of well under £30k but their employer always has them doing other tasks so they worked well over the 5pm contracted time. A few times they worked until 3am.
I'd not be happy about it but I guess my response would be tempered by how much I wanted/needed the job
Where they are likely to run into problems is that TV and Film production often runs over on filming days.... and this may work for you OP.
You're likely to burn through your extra hours just from dat to day production overruns. Just be a stickler in recording them.
It's way cheaper for them to accept that than to have an entire crew on set/location for an extra day.
You're likely to burn through your extra hours just from dat to day production overruns. Just be a stickler in recording them.
It's way cheaper for them to accept that than to have an entire crew on set/location for an extra day.
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