Overtime and Employee rights.

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Maz2408

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My Husband a Head Chef has been employed in the same post for 15 years. He is and always has been employed on initially a 42 hour week then later an 84 hour a fortnight basis. He very rarely works less than 50 hours a week, and often works 55-60 hours over 6 days. He has only taken 2 days sick leave in the 15 years he has worked there.

When he first accepted the job the business was just starting up and it was agreed that any overtime time worked over a 5 day week would be compensated with time in lieu, but overtime that would require him giving up 1 of his 2 rest days per week would be paid overtime. He has never been compensated with the time in lieu as there is never enough cover for him to take anything more than his anual 4 weeks holiday, we have even cancelled a Holiday we had paid for in full a few years ago booked well in advance for a time in the year when it is usually manageable to take a break but because it became busy closer to the time of the Holiday he was unable to go, there was no compensation offered for loss of paid holiday.

He did get paid for working a 6th day for a few years but then employee contracts were introduced by the Business and all overtime was going to be compensated with time in lieu, my Husband never agreed to this and has never signed or returned an employee contract which are handed out every year, but paid overtime ended a long time ago whether he agreed to it or not.

He accepts working overtime is part of the job and doesn't mind doing extra hours on his 5 rota'd shifts, but there is a constant shortage of Chefs mainly because the business is so successful that Chefs hired leave to work somewhere less busy, recruitment attempts by HR are pretty much non existent. The business has become extremely successful and my Husband has made a major contribrution to that success and several prestigious awards and glowing reviews.

The pressure is becoming unbareable for him. He can't have a day off without a call saying someone has phoned in sick, he regularly works 14 hours without stopping for food, recently he was so exhausted that when a call came to say someone had phoned in sick he said he couldn't come in because he was away visiting Family.

A few days later he was called in to the office and accused by the Owner and General manager of not being dedicated enough.

It wasn't a diciplinary hearing, just a chat. He is in his 50s, does a fantastic job for this business and doesn't want to leave and start again.

Does he have any rights or does he just have to do what they demand or leave.
 
The law is clear and more the 48 hours a week averaged over the years is breaking the law.

Sound like he has a boss who is using him and maybe your husband needs to speak up for himself.

If he documents all his hours and list how he has help above what is expected of him. Bring this to his boss and professional ask how can things be improved here?

Working for free in my eyes should never be expected and time off or payment is his right!!!

I know changing job can be very stressful but a stand should be taken and if your husband can prove the extra hours he has done over the years he would have a case for compensation for this.

I would think a quite talk with the boss pointing out the issue is the 1st step.

I wish you and your husband luck and please fight for your rights here as what has happened is unlawful and not fair at all.
 
This is both shocking and not surprising at the same time - I believe similar stories are not uncommon in the industry.

I think there's a few options:

- Do nothing, and carry on as-is: not really an option is it?
- Leave. Good news is that there's such a shortage of chefs and head chefs in particular, I don't think age would be a barrier, plus would it be so terrible to start somewhere new?
- Fight tooth and nail for his rights (as already pointed out, the behaviour is illegal), taking a case etc. Stressful, and this is a small country, and confrontation is really a last resort.
- Try and improve his lot by negotiation. Stressful, too.

Personally, I'd look for another position to the point of getting an offer for somewhere that looks attractive (if it's very attractive, then just take it). Before accepting, and assuming his preference is to remain where he is, I'd approach his current manager to say he'd like to discuss terms and conditions, knowing he has an offer in the bag. This makes any negotiation much easier to handle, knowing there's a fall-back to hand. No need to disclose the offer initially. Take it from there. Disclose the fact of the alternative offer existing if you want, depending on how the initial interaction goes, but the danger is it will be seen as a threat to leave (which it is!), so needs phrasing carefully.

No harm in reading up on the following if you haven't already: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/
 
There is such a thing as dignity. Your husband has been driven to the point of exploding. If he loses his temper, he loses his job. This is the classic Catch-22 situation. There is a game of poker going on between the ownership and your husband and probably others in the restaurant too.

Your husband can approach management. Good chefs are not available on demand. There is nothing worse than a person's dignity being stolen. I don't know if your husband is a member of a trade union. But, it is time for him to stand up for his rights or lose his mind.
 
As the business has become more successful the demands have increased, the availability of staff has decreased as the economy has improved.

The boss has simply transferred some of this pressure to the staff.

Your husband has taken on this load. I do not understand the point about dignity being stolen. A person that works hard for an employer has great dignity in my eyes.

What starts out as an extra effort to cover a particular difficulty, becomes the expected and new pressures require further extra efforts. This has gone on too long and the situation is now intolerable.

Your husband should sit down and have a talk with himself, what does he want to offer this business, what does he not want to offer. What is he prepared to do and what is he not prepared to do. When he has made his decision he should write it all down. He should then go to the boss and say, that he is not happy with the current situation, outlining why, and exactly what he is doing on a week to week basis, and that there must be some changes with the current arrangements. Do not press for an immediate response, leave it at that for a day or so, let the boss reflect in his own time.

Then meet with the boss again and see what can be agreed. Maybe an agreement cannot be reached, then it is time to start looking for a new job.

Maybe all kinds of things will be agreed and then not delivered, again if that happens, look for a new job. That may be the hard bit, but if things are promised and not delivered or only partially delivered your husband is back on the slippery slope. The delivery is partly up to your husband, if he is called in on a day he is supposed to be off, and he goes in then he can hardly blame the boss for going back to the old ways. He should practice saying, "I'm sorry its not convenient" in front of the mirror. No explanation, no discussion, just a polite refusal.

Sure the boss will blow his top the first few times, so what? Your husband has been acting one way for 15 years, of course the boss will be surprised, when that changes.

This is based on your saying that your husband does not want to change jobs.

If he does change jobs, he can then think about putting in a claim for all the unpaid overtime.
 
The willing horse gets the heavy load. Unless he is a shareholder he should not be expected to take on the stress of ownership. That's not his job. Every hour he works for free is an hour where his boss takes what your husband should be paid and puts it in his pocket. It's not like the business is struggling.

Newtothis gives excellent advise above.
 
Thank you everyone for your advice, in a way the boss has done us a favour. After a lot of talking about what's really most important, we have decided to sell up, downsize, reduce financial pressure of a large mortgage to decrease the need for the level of pay he's currently recieving and move on to better things for both of us, which will include looking for a less stressful job and being closer to Grandchildren, win win.
 
Maz2408 said:
Thank you everyone for your advice, in a way the boss has done us a favour. After a lot of talking about what's really most important, we have decided to sell up, downsize, reduce financial pressure of a large mortgage to decrease the need for the level of pay he's currently recieving and move on to better things for both of us, which will include looking for a less stressful job and being closer to Grandchildren, win win.
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That sounds like the best advice of all! It's something of a cliché, but no doubt completely true that nobody ends their days wishing they’d spent more time at the office (or in this case, a stressful kitchen). An experienced head chef should easily be able to find a position more suitable in terms of hours and pay. Best of luck!
 
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