Forcing us to do extra unpaid hours

messrs

Just got called into a team meeting this morning and were told that we need to start putting in extra hours in work (unpaid) to show we are interested in our jobs. Basically my hours at 8am - 4.30 and i was told i need to be staying till minimum 5.30 every day!
there are 5 ppl in my dept & im the only one that doesnt drive. currently i get a lift with a girl in a diff dept who lives close to me and does the same hours as me - so if i was to work these extra hours it would take me approx 3 hours to bus it home (work to city centre, then city centre to where i live plus walking from job 2 bus stop, waiting on busses, walking from where i get of in city centre up to where my other bus goes from and then walking from the bus stop to my home) so i explained this to my TL and she didnt want to know -she just said we all have to make sacrificies in work and all other companies are doing it to - i offered to give up my morning break, and only take half hour for lunch and that would be an extra hour every day but she still said no and told me i would be expected to work back every evening and said some evenings i would be expected to stay till 6.30/7pm! again i tried to reason with her and explain my concerns with her but she didnt care and didnt want to know. (also just to note i didnt always work this far from home, im with the company 4 years and we just re-located recently to the far side of the city and my TL didnt always work in my company, she only joined when we moved over there and she lives 5 mins from the job)
can anyone offer me any suggestions or advise on how i handel this? or is it just a case of put up and shut up?

sorry for such a long rant

edellc

There is no way that I would be staying late to have such a horrible commute home, I would cut my breaks if you have a clock in/out device then highlight that you have done this but really no job is worth that

I really dont understand why this recession is a reason for employers to be c**ts (yes I said it vile words for such vile times )

And another things that grinds my gears is employees crawling so far up their bosses backsides in this time of hardship nice to see that the dog eat dog attitude of the celtic tiger is still alive and well, thriving actually

bbam

Unfortunitely just as there are many bad employees out there there are many bad managers too... The current "crisis" just gives these folks another stick to beat employees with... similar to employees pretending they are snowed in when they are not...

Maybe your TL was after getting a bashing from a more senior manager, this is no excuse but I've often seen my peers run straight out and look for ways to dump on those below them :mad:

Try talking again in a day or two and see if a reasonable compromise can be reached, if not only you can decide to either put up with it or go above her head to get some common sense (presuming there is some in the company)

Mrs OBumble

What will the effect be on your hourly rate? (ie what's your gross pay / number of hours worked going to be)

Apart from that, I think I'd try to focus the discussion along the lines of finding out what goals they want you to achieve during the extra hour, and then looking for ways to get the work done during usual hours.

Of course this won't work if the aim is simply to be seen to be there.

Or another tack is to find a way to let your TL's manager know that this is what you're being forced to do, and these are the consequences. Don't just march up and tell him/her, just find a way to drop it into the conversation or even better find a spy who likes to keep him/her (the manager that is) up to date with what's going on.

And of course ... you should look for a job closer to home. Sometimes companies only get the point when staff push back.

wmpdd3

As justmary says, make sure this extra work is measurable. If you get extra work done during the breaks you are supposed to take, make sure you clock out and make a note of what you spent the extra time doing.

You could argue, nobody is going to get fired for 'not showing interest in work by working for free'. But they could make things hard for you.

To me it sound like the TL is getting it in the ear or the TL wants to make his/her mark with their managers.

messrs

JustMary wrote: »

What will the effect be on your hourly rate? (ie what's your gross pay / number of hours worked going to be)

wont have any effect on my money, im on set yearly salary (not a great one!) so i get paid once a month and its the same amount regardless of how many extra hours i do.

i did offer to work tru breaks and lunches but was told it wud still be expected of me to stay back late.

i think my next step is to speak to HR so see what they suggest .

i agree maybe she did get a bollkin and n turn is taking it out on us or is tryin to impress mangement.

28064212

What does it say in your contract OP?

It's highly unlikely you'd get fired for not working extra hours. However, you will be first up if redundancies come round, and it won't endear you to management for promotions etc. It depends on how important this position is to you. If you see yourself there long-term, it may be worth sucking it up. If not, I don't see any reason to stay there

doolox

I'd get advice from NERA, the National Employments Rights Agency and also get the advice of a solicitor who specialises in Employment legislation. You need to show that you will not be pushed over or exploited.

At the very least I'd have a talk over the head of the team leader to someone higher up to get to the root of this demand.

If you do not have a written contract regarding hours of work, get one now.

As referred to in other posts, record and keep full track of all extra work done etc...

seamus

You cannot be compelled to habitually work more hours than your contract says. Your contract must specify (legally) your hours of work. If it doesn't then your normal hours of 8.00 to 4.30 ar ede facto your hours of work and you cannot be forced to work additional hours outside of this.

There is some wiggle room in contracts that allows employers to occassionally ask you to do work outside of your standard hours, but any change in your hours of work is a change in your employment contract which you must agree to before it can be enforced.

You cannot be fired for refusing to do this extra work and you cannot be disciplined for it either. I would speak to your TL and refuse to do the additional hours after work, explaining that you are not required to do so, again re-iterating the alternative offers you've previously made.

If he/she presses the issue then make a complaint to your HR department. Encourage any colleagues who are similarly under pressure to likewise make a complaint.

The baseline is this:

Your contract of employment cannot be changed without your agreement.

This is the basis on which the Government has been telling us that they can't cancel the AIB bonusses this year, therefore you have a rock-solid example in the government that your contract of employment cannot be changed willy-nilly.

LegacyUser

Its time to leave the country me thinks,country is fcuked,employers have people by the balls and they know there's nothing we can do about it,knowing full well people wont leave,Im in a job now which i absolutely hate and would be gone long ago if it wasnt for this god damn recession planning on leave the country soon coz theres nothing out there only doom and gloom.the country maybe be fcuked but im not!!!

daithi2011

Dont do it. you need to stand up for yourself.
They cant force you to and cannot fire you for doing your normal days work.

Record any conversations you have from now on.

If you want to strengthen your case offer to work the extra hours for half pay, for say 6 months. Put a time limit on it or you'll be at it forever.
So at least you'll make a few quid extra, they will have your extra work for half price, but they wont be getting you for free. If they refuse a good offer like that then they definitely will look bad if it goes any further.

Any attempt to make like difficult for you will be seen as constructive dismissal.

Your lunch offer is reasonable but you are being too kind to them.

dan_d

Work extra hours "just to show you're interested in your job"????

Sorry, what?

It's one thing to work extra hours (paid or unpaid!) if there's actually work to do.It's a whole other thing for them to just want you to work these hours for the sake of it!

I'd have a look at NERA as suggested above. If it comes to you having to do this however, maybe see if you can arrange to stay later 2/3 nights a week, and leave at your normal time the other nights.

That sounds like one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in a long time.