No Overtime

9

90210

Registered User
Messages
149
What is everyone's reaction to this:


Mr Smith works full time and has done for the last three years for company A.
He works 5 over 7 days , nothing extra for Sat, Sunday or Bank Hoildays.
His official hours are 8 / 5 but is expected to work from 7.30 to six with no overtime.

He clocks in and out , works mostly weekends and get no overtime at all despite physically doing the overtime. No contract exists between him and his employer.
 
90210 said:
What is everyone's reaction to this:


Mr Smith works full time and has done for the last three years for company A.
He works 5 over 7 days , nothing extra for Sat, Sunday or Bank Hoildays.
His official hours are 8 / 5 but is expected to work from 7.30 to six with no overtime.

He clocks in and out , works mostly weekends and get no overtime at all despite physically doing the overtime. No contract exists between him and his employer.
Click to expand...

if he gets paid for 8am to 5pm , then turn up at 8 , leave at 5 and dare them to sack him....
 
if he gets paid for 8am to 5pm , then turn up at 8 , leave at 5 and dare them to sack him....
Click to expand...

This seems a very simplistic approach imho.

- Is he the only person working these hours for no overtime?
- Is he a member of a union?
- Has he a supervisor that he could clarify this with or HR dept?
- How long has he worked these hours as if these are new requirements he may have a better case than if these were always the hours for a long time.
- Is he on an hourly rate , if so he should get paid per hour for the hours he is clocked in for. Whether he gets overtime usually depends if working sat/sun are outside the normal hours for the week (i.e over 39 hours)
- Does he receive a payslip with the hours worked on it to match what he is clocked in for or is he on a salary?
 
He is a member of 5 people who are full time out of 15 who are on temporary contracts.
No Union is in place , small retailer.
Their is no HR department or Supervisor , just a Director who lays down the rules of the house.
We has worked these hours for 2 years ish , but the fear of being let go is stopping him from taking action.
He gets a slip with the standard 40 hours , however he may have worked 60 some weeks but he does not get paid for the overtime nor any allowance for working weekends, just a basic weeks wages. Dreadful isnt it , but it seems that these guys are desperate for a job so they will accpet these conditions.
 
Many years ago I worked for a retailer from 9-5 however I would end up finishing at 5.30 or later most days, one day I was late, I came in at 9.15 and he pulled me into his office and told me not to be late again. I told him he was being unreasonable because I worked after 5 most days. he told me that he only paid me to work from 9-5, he expected me in at 9 and what i did after 5 was my own business. I made sure to be in at 9 from then on but left at 5 leaving him in the lurch at times....in the end he offered me (and others) overtime.

My advice is, depsite the sick feeling in your stomach, come in at 8 and leave at 5, he will get the hint soon enough, you cant sack someone for working the agreed hours
 
you cant sack someone for working the agreed hours
Click to expand...

The problem here seems to be that there are NO agreed hours or contract of employment. If you work the same hours for 2 years can you suddenly decide to stop without recourse? (I don't know the correct answer here)

Also if the employee is paid a salary rather than being paid an hourly rate then is he entitled to overtime? Would the other employees in this situation be in agreement on the situation and would they approach the management together?

If they lay it on the line their concerns to management maybe they can be addressed?
 
90210, you pose an interesting question.

You say the 'official hours' are 8-5 but this employee is expected to work from 7:30am to 6 pm each day. What do you mean by 'official hours'?

(a) those agreed with the employer when commencing the job?
(b) hours worked initially but which have now increased?
(c) the opening hours of this retailer?

The fact that this employee has been working these extended hours for some time, could be construed that they have accepted this change to their original terms of employment. However, the next bit is important.

Section 15 of the Organisation of Working Hours Act 1997 sets down the maximum working hours per week for employees (48) and from your posting, this employee appears to be working in excess of this.

Secondly, while this employer is not obliged to provide a contract in writing, the law (Terms of Employment Act 1994 and 2001) provides that certain aspects of their terms of employment must be provided in writing within 2 months of commencement. This means that details of their hours of work, rest periods, breaks must be provided to them in writing within 2 months of commencement of work. Again, it's an offence if this hasn't occurred.

Finally, work carried out on public holidays (forget the term 'bank holiday' as it's meaningless in law) give the employee an entitlement to time off in lieu. Work carried out over official working hours also attracts pay and employees have a right to this. Again, this doesn't seem to be happening in either of these instances - again an offence in law.

I could go on here - but basically the fact the employees are clocking-in and out means that this employer has largely hanged themselves. Since the hours worked are being recorded, the next step is easy.

I would recommend this employee gets in touch with the Employment Rights Unit at the Dept. Enterprise, Trade and Employment. They will put them in touch with the Labour Inspectorate who have a team of Inspectors. These Inspectors carry out random on-the-spot checks of employers to ensure compliance with the Organisation of Working Time (Records) Act 2001, etc. and to investigate breaches of employment rights in the workplace. The fact this employee has complained will not be revealed to the employer and the employer will be told it's a routine inspection. The extent of the breaches should then become obvious.

Option 2, is for this employee to take a case to the Labour Court. Option 3, is to speak to someone in your nearest Free Legal Advice Centre for free legal advice on what to do next.

I hope this has been of assistance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top