Hours of work

LegacyUser

Hi

I work in a call centre.My hours of work are from 8:45-18:00. We get paid only for working them hours but the employer expects us to be on the phone talking to customers at exactly 8:45 on the dot, problem with this is that it takes AT LEAST 10 mins to get the computer on and all necessary system running, so really to talk to customers at 8:45 we would want to be in work for 8:30 in order to get the system started up in time to talk to clients, thats 15 mins of non paid work.If we're not on the phone at 8:45 we are giving out To by supervisors who say we are late even though we are at our desks by 8:45.

Secondly, we are told to take inbound calls right up until 18:00, problem with this is that you take a call at 18:00 you could be on the phone anywhere from 13 mins to an hour in some cases and that's without been paid!

Is it in my right if I take a call at say 17:55 and then it hits 18:00 could I advise the client that we are closed and arrange a call back the following day or can I simply refuse to take a call at 18:00?

I'd like to hear peoples opinions on this...thanks for any advise on the matter in advance.

Bepolite

If you're salaried, and you salary is above minimum wage there is little you can do. You're employer is within their rights to ask you for a bit of flexibility in that sort of environment.

Hourly above minimum wage, again probably less in the employers favour but I wouldn't like to be trying this one on at EAT.

Hourly or if this results in the salary dropping below minimum wage then you may have a point.

Nody

They can't ask you to be on the phone at 08:45 if your starting time is 08:45 and it takes you 10 min to set up (note setting up does not include going taking a piss or grabbing a coffee). Your starting time is 08:45 that's the time you need to be through the door and at your desk; not the time you can be expected to start taking phone calls.

Leaving late happens and no you can't really tell the customer to sod off because you want to go home but they should schedule for some people to be staying a bit later in general (i.e. if they need to schedule you in 15 min early to be ready at 08:45 then they need some to come in later to cover the 15 min gap at the end which can be asked to start at 09:00 instead to give 15 min cover).

LadyBetty

Firstly I hear what you're saying, if I am unhappy in a workplace I begrudge giving them any extra minutes, but if I like the place it's not an issue.

Any job where you use a computer requires a few minutes to get set up in the mornings. From my experience in various offices, when an employee quibbles over coming in to work 10 minutes early for setting up, this makes them look inflexible & immature. It creates a poor impression on the powers-that-be.

Technically yes, you may be giving the employer 10 minutes of unpaid time in the morning...but you're not exactly working for those 10 minutes, just being professional enough to show up in time to be productive from 8.45am.

Taking calls so close to finishing time, well that is dicey, I never liked being delayed in work too often, occasionally it's fine but if it's a regular occurrence, well that is unfair. The difference between that extra 10 minutes post 6pm and the 10 minutes in the morning is that you are really working for free after 6pm!

Agent_99

All call centers are the same, if the lines open at 8.45 then you have to be ready to take the call, and it is the same in all customer service jobs, if you worked in a bar or restaurant and your shift started at 6pm you are expected to be on the floor already changed into your uniform and ready to go.

If you sat down to a family meal in a restaurant and arrived on time you would not be impressed if you were told that your server does start til 6 and it will be 10 or qtr past before they can take your order because they are getting changed.

as for calls coming in late i am sure that you are aware of all the tricks in order for you to log out at your finish time bumping yourself back to the bottom of the que etc and there is always the possibility to get a call 10 minutes before you finish and still being on that call for over a half hour, so were do you have the cut off not take anymore calls after 5.45 just in case. play the game and do your work and try to get promoted to team lead so you won't have to take any more call.

stevenmu

Most PCs can be configured to turn on at a certain time. It might be worth talking to your tech support, either directly or through your supervisor, to see if they could be set to come on at 8:30. That could reduce your setup time a bit, you'd then only need to login.

Mrs OBumble

I stopped turning my PC off overnight when my gig bought in PC-based timeclocking. Now I just lock the pc overnight (windows L), and switch the monitor off.

Bepolite

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I stopped turning my PC off overnight when my gig bought in PC-based timeclocking. Now I just lock the pc overnight (windows L), and switch the monitor off.

Your fault the world is ending :pac:

Stheno

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I stopped turning my PC off overnight when my gig bought in PC-based timeclocking. Now I just lock the pc overnight (windows L), and switch the monitor off.

Any call centre I worked in, multiple staff used the same pc especially if it was an open office where you took the free desk.

It was normal to be in early to get set up, and if you got stuck on a call at the end of the day, you were expected to finish the call.

Ah_Yeah

IMO it's not a big deal to come in 10 minutes early. My job requires me to be at my desk working by 9am, and this means I need to come in early to get my PC up and running. I take that time to make myself a cup of coffee. It's not that big a deal.

On the other side of the coin, staying past 6pm means you are working outside of your hours. Your company should have a scheme where they allow you to bank any overtime more than 10 minutes and take it in lieu. I would bank all those extra 15-30 mins and use it to run my errands when I needed to.

Honestly though, I've worked in a lot of call centres in my time, and when it comes to doing a job that you enjoy, you won't quibble about that bit of extra time. And if you do, you're showing no motivation to excel. Do your time and move on to a job you enjoy.

Stheno

Ah_Yeah wrote: »

IMO it's not a big deal to come in 10 minutes early. My job requires me to be at my desk working by 9am, and this means I need to come in early to get my PC up and running. I take that time to make myself a cup of coffee. It's not that big a deal.

On the other side of the coin, staying past 6pm means you are working outside of your hours. Your company should have a scheme where they allow you to bank any overtime more than 10 minutes and take it in lieu. I would bank all those extra 15-30 mins and use it to run my errands when I needed to.

Honestly though, I've worked in a lot of call centres in my time, and when it comes to doing a job that you enjoy, you won't quibble about that bit of extra time. And if you do, you're showing no motivation to excel. Do your time and move on to a job you enjoy.

This, I work in a job which has specific hours.


I regularly have to in up to half an hour early to be ready to do that job.

I just do it, it's work and has to be done.