Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before you go

[aircobra19]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

This is effectively working for free, only you can decide if what you get out of it, is worth what you put into it.

...Is there any way of approaching an employer with the unfairness of it? ...

Can you not just go up and ask them? Wheres the difficulty here?

..........have been advised that I have to have the work done before I go. ....

What does that mean? Who advised?

What happens if you say no can't do it? or no your not willing to do it?

 

[briancbyrne]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

The thing is that by law (regulation) my work has to be done by a certain date so there is nothing that can be left without falling behind and then basically breaking the law.

you dont work in an insurance brkerage do you??

 

[Purple]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Nobody should be expected to work for nothing. If overtime is required then it should be paid.

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Nope. We are on salary so hours worked are irrelevant.

Surely hours worked is very relevant. Is 39 not the maximum number of hours you are permitted by law?

If there are approx 50 employed over 6 offices then surely they can draft in someone from the other offices.

I know we are expected to be as uptodate as possible but when someone is off on hols everyone just mucks in to deal with the day to day stuff. We always come back to some sort of workload but the urgent/important stuff is dealt with.

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Had a re-read of your op and subsequent posts and the first thing that springs to mind is if by law you have to get whatever done surely it is up to your employer to ensure that the work gets done. You wouldn't be breaking the law it would be them. If you are physically not able to get it done then they should draft in replacement staff to handle it. Also surely there is a higher margin for error if you are tired as a result of overtime.

I don't they can "make" you do it. I'd be inclined to finish on whatever day you are due to finish with a "by the way, here is some stuff I just couldn't get through". Maybe it would be a lesson to them to treat staff a bit better.

Just my thought of course!

 

[Purple]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Surely hours worked is very relevant. Is 39 not the maximum number of hours you are permitted by law?

The working time act stipulates that no more than 48 hours can be worked, on average, each week. This is enough of a restriction on our right to freely choose how and when we work without restricting it to 39 hours!

 

[ailbhe]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Can you not just go up and ask them? Wheres the difficulty here?

Difficulty is that they do not think they are asking too much of me in order for this to be done and when I say it is unfair and I am unable to do it I am looked upon as lazy and unco-operative and made to feel as though I am being unreasonable as "everyone else has to do it".



What does that mean? Who advised?

My branch manager and my HR manager.

What happens if you say no can't do it? or no your not willing to do it?

As I said above it would not be accepted and I would be made out to be inefficient.

you dont work in an insurance brkerage do you??

Yes I do and am responsible for renewals, reminders, returns and claim cheques so it is heavily regulated and I am tied to a strict deadline.

 

[sam h]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Is it possible to split you work up as follows:
- day to day: some one else should cover this when you are on hols
- Essential reports: these will have to be done either before you go or when you come back
- Non essential reports (you know the type that managers like to have but the world won't stop if they don't!): can they do without these for the 2 weeks?

It isn't feasible for someone to be expected to ALL of their work due while on hols, but it is also not feasible for most companies to employ someone to cover all holday leave - the sheer time and effort to get them up to speed would generally not make sense (unless you have a very easy job!!).

There needs to be give and take. Employees legally have to take holidays in order to recharge the batteries & most people expect they will have to clear their desk as much as possible and have a certain amount of stuff to deal with when they get back, but it is crazy to expect everything to be done.

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Thanks for the correction Purple

 

[ailbhe]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Is it possible to split you work up as follows:
- day to day: some one else should cover this when you are on hols
- Essential reports: these will have to be done either before you go or when you come back
- Non essential reports (you know the type that managers like to have but the world won't stop if they don't!): can they do without these for the 2 weeks?

My day to day work is all I do really. There are one or two non essentail reports but I am back the week before they are due so they will be done then.

 

[briancbyrne]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

you dont work in an insurance brkerage do you??

Yes I do and am responsible for renewals, reminders, returns and claim cheques so it is heavily regulated and I am tied to a strict deadline.

Im afraid this is an industry wide problem - Im faced with it everytime I go on hols myself - and to be honest I dont see a way around it unless there is a policy brought in so that a persons section of work is spread out over everybody else when they are on hols - - unfortunately this leads to further problems down the line as the nature of the work is that you keep an eye on how certain things are progressing (e.g a claim) and you may loose track if somebody else initiates / takes over a body of work.

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

oh well ailbhe guess brians advice is enough. either change job or career

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

What firm are you with in Galway.

 

[Soldier]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

nicely said Brianne if you dont do the work will you have to do all the work when you come back anyway. if you do 300 of them in the week they will prob expect that of you all the time. isnt the point of a holiday to at least escape some of the work get off and relax. Plus how can you do work that hasnt come into you yet. Tip* use the shredder :L

 

[aircobra19]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Im afraid this is an industry wide problem - ...

Its a problem everywhere really. Across different industries and public and private sectors. I'm sure its an age old problem.

....the nature of the work is that you keep an eye on how certain things are progressing (e.g a claim) and you may loose track if somebody else initiates / takes over a body of work.

Any half decent computerised system could manage issues like that. Thats what they are for. If some one is not willing to put one in place then obviously thats it own message.

 

[harriet]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Not sure that is good advice Soldier. How legal is the shredding of documents??

Anyway that is totally off topic.

Ailbhe check your contract!!!!!! Unfortunately most don't lay down the nitty gritty so did you walk yourself into a corner willing to take salary but not knowing what was down the line??

 

[aircobra19]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Difficulty is that they do not think they are asking too much of me in order for this to be done and when I say it is unfair and I am unable to do it I am looked upon as lazy and unco-operative and made to feel as though I am being unreasonable as "everyone else has to do it".

What does that mean? Who advised?

My branch manager and my HR manager.

What happens if you say no can't do it? or no your not willing to do it?

As I said above it would not be accepted and I would be made out to be inefficient.

you dont work in an insurance brkerage do you??

Yes I do and am responsible for renewals, reminders, returns and claim cheques so it is heavily regulated and I am tied to a strict deadline.

Seem like a work culture problem in that place. I can only see one solution and thats find a better place to work.

 

[ailbhe]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Well, I made a decision which is to work like a Trojan when I am in there. I am going in about 20 mins early, taking a short lunch but leaving bang on time. I am steadily getting through the work but I know I won't get that far ahead but I don't really care tbh. I won't kill myself working for nothing. I don't even get thanks for it so why bother. It will be sitting there waiting when I get back but I might be a bit more refreshed and less stressed out by it.
The location of the job is convenient and I enjoy what I do. I'm not well paid by any means but unless I travel in and out to Galway city (hour each way if traffic is bad and it usually is) I won't find a similar position and with the way the market is at the moment I have good security in my job as it is a well established business which is expanding all the time.

So c'est la vie. Sacrifices have to be made for the job which is 5 minutes from home and suits family life. But not sacrifices to the point of insanity

 

[ailbhe]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

By the way soldier the docs that are sent in go through manager and then on to me so I couldn't (not that I would) shred them. It would be more hassle than it was worth

Harriet, I'd prefer not to say which group I work for understandably. The internet isn't as anonymous as it feels.

 

[briancbyrne]

Re: Can you be made to do the work you would be doing while on annual leave before yo

Any half decent computerised system could manage issues like that. Thats what they are for. If some one is not willing to put one in place then obviously thats it own message.

not true - the very nature of the work involves communication via fax,mail,phone,email, internet , internal and external "piped in" computer systems - unless you get nasa's supercomputers on the case Im afraid only a human is flexible enough to act as the central hub for all types of communications.