Doubling my work load. Have i any rights to reject new working load

gazzaman22

Hi, I wonder can anyone advise me on a issue i'm having with my employer.

I'm working with them now for 7 years and service a large business Print/copier machines across the site, So far i've had 20 machines to maintain, and support roughly 1000 users, A new contract has been signed and soon to be implemented, The new contract has at least 40 Machines and more users that i will have to support and maintain, basically doubling my work load.

I looked for a pay rise to as i've never had one in 5 years, they came back with a miserable 2% (and 2% of frig all is pretty shivvy) :mad:

As i've only looked after 20 machines for 5 years, does being asked to look after 40 now change my work practices, and can anyone please advise on what i should do either to get more money or be made redundant, As to have to look after so much would drive me nuts for the pittance i'm getting in the first place. All help/advice will be greatly appreciated as this situation is really bugging and annoying me to the point of distraction.

irish_goat

Are your hours changing?

gazzaman22

irish_goat wrote: »

Are your hours changing?

No hours are to remain the same...

Youngblood.III

Do you service these on different sites? Is there travel involved and is this included in your working day?

gazzaman22

Youngblood.III wrote: »

Do you service these on different sites? Is there travel involved and is this included in your working day?

No travel, they are all on the one large site, I travel to where i work and then my day starts.

Youngblood.III

A target should be mutually agreed between you and your manager...its time for a sit down with him.
Explain your concerns in a clear and level headed way, takes notes.
At least if you're struggling down the line, you can reference this meeting.

gazzaman22

Youngblood.III wrote: »

A target should be mutually agreed between you and your manager...its time for a sit down with him.
Explain your concerns in a clear and level headed way, takes notes.
At least if your struggling down the line, you can reference this meeting.

Thanks, What you mean by a target?
Currently at this point, i wouldnt want to continue in my job with a heavier work load, unless i got at least 10% more which i reckon will not come to surface...

Youngblood.III

Target; agreed output for a working day or week.

If 20 was manageable, and 40 is too much, would 30 be reasonable?

seamus

I guess what people are trying to probe here is whether your actual workload will change. If your hours aren't changing and your location isn't changing, then there's not really any justification for a massive payrise. Ultimately the amount of work you do won't change, since the amount of work you do is measured in hours. So if it's just a matter now that you'll have less downtime during the day where you surf the web and wait for tickets to come in, then so be it. Your employer is just utilising you more efficiently, they're not actually getting any more "work" out of you.

Now, obviously this has to balanced with what's reasonable. If this doubling of the contract is likely to result in significant additional stress on yourself (i.e. exhaustion or sleepless nights), or you believe that it will simply be impossible to maintain service levels with the amount of work, then that's something you need to bring up with your employer and ask them to bring a second person onsite, perhaps even just for the first half of the week.

I agree that 2% is pretty pathetic, but ultimately pay increases are at the discretion of the employer, and if you don't like it, you can go elsewhere. Being made redundant sounds like the exact opposite of the situation that you're in - your employer has more work, so they're not going to lay you off.

First off, go back to your manager and explain that 2% is too small. After tax it probably works out to just over 1%, which is basically nothing. To account for the last five years, a basic cost-of-living increase would come to at least 5%, and your value as an experienced technician is worth at least 2% per year. Assuming you've been on the same site for five years, you've built up a rapport with that company and the value of that shouldn't be underestimated.

Ask for a 20% increase. You may not get it, but they may meet you halfway at 10% or 15%. Be prepared to leave if there's no decent offer forthcoming. You don't have to come out and say it - it will be implied - but you do have to be prepared to follow through. The company has just doubled the size of the contract at the site you're in. They can afford to give you 20%. Don't let them fool you into thinking otherwise.

The vast majority of people on decent salaries get there by being ballsy and negotiating them. Companies pay you the minimum amount they can get away with, they won't voluntarily pay you more unless you tell them that you want more. You have to learn to look out for number one when it comes to pay and conditions, rather than hoping that your employer will be nice and offer it up to you.

gazzaman22

unfortunately 40 is what is coming in, Although they dont all break down at same time, i'd be expected to fix them as soon as they break/stop with an up time of over 95%.

Suppose to be honest i was going to ask for more money, but i cant see that coming so(if i got it i prop would stay), i'm thinking of getting out of the hassle of the place, Do you think there could be a case for redundancy?

seamus

gazzaman22 wrote: »

Do you think there could be a case for redundancy?

No. Redundancy arises where the company doesn't have enough work for its existing workforce and so needs to cut staff numbers to reduce costs.

This is the exact opposite - the company has more work than its existing workforce can handle. The only options are to pay more or hire more.

Some companies will negotiate a golden handshake agreement with key employees to incentivise them to work a long notice period and to not sit on their arse during it, but for a standard situation where someone's unhappy and wants to leave, they'll just accept your notice and let you go.

Mrs OBumble

OP, have you been looking for jobs elsewhere? How much money is any other job offering you?

If not, then what statistics do you have about how long each fix takes, and how often machines break? Are there going to be any changes in the age profile of the machines (new ones generally have less breakdowns than old ones)?

gazzaman22

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP, have you been looking for jobs elsewhere? How much money is any other job offering you?

If not, then what statistics do you have about how long each fix takes, and how often machines break? Are there going to be any changes in the age profile of the machines (new ones generally have less breakdowns than old ones)?

I havent really been looking, but 2 years ago i could off taken a job with a good raise 12%, but it didnt suit at the time...

The machines will be new.

K.Flyer

gazzaman22 wrote: »

Hi, I wonder can anyone advise me on a issue i'm having with my employer.

I'm working with them now for 7 years and service a large business Print/copier machines across the site, So far i've had 20 machines to maintain, and support roughly 1000 users, A new contract has been signed and soon to be implemented, The new contract has at least 40 Machines and more users that i will have to support and maintain, basically doubling my work load.

I looked for a pay rise to as i've never had one in 5 years, they came back with a miserable 2% (and 2% of frig all is pretty shivvy) :mad:

As i've only looked after 20 machines for 5 years, does being asked to look after 40 now change my work practices, and can anyone please advise on what i should do either to get more money or be made redundant, As to have to look after so much would drive me nuts for the pittance i'm getting in the first place. All help/advice will be greatly appreciated as this situation is really bugging and annoying me to the point of distraction.

A couple of questions come to mind..

How many hours per day are you employed?

Of the 20 machines, on average how many of these machines would you attend to on a daily basis?

What is the average amount of time you would spend attending to 1 (one) machine.

Each time you go to a machine, is the job logged?

Are the machines old and prone to breaking down more regularly due to their age?

Stheno

I don't think you can currently make any case for your workload being doubled.

All you know is that the amount of machines you will support is doubling. The additional machines are new so will be less prone to breaking down.

I think until you are able to demonstrate a clear increase in the amount of tickets you are managing that you'll have no case.

Certainly not one for redundancy

Lux23

The way I see it, you won't really be doing any more work. The changes just mean that there will probably be more of a delay getting to the next job? I don't see how you're expected to manage twice as much work in the same amount of time.

gazzaman22

K.Flyer wrote: »

A couple of questions come to mind..

How many hours per day are you employed?

Of the 20 machines, on average how many of these machines would you attend to on a daily basis?

What is the average amount of time you would spend attending to 1 (one) machine.

Each time you go to a machine, is the job logged?

Are the machines old and prone to breaking down more regularly due to their age?

39 hour week
check, refill, test each machine every day
time varies, dependant on problems,
Jobs not logged,
The new machines will be brand new.
I also have to deal with alot of end user questions/queries , show them best practice, how to use machines, lots of fiddly stuff...

28064212

It doesn't sound like your workload is increasing at all tbh. It sounds like your backlog and response times are about to get an awful lot longer, but that's not really your problem, that's the company's problem. I would definitely highlight it to management (in writing) that you don't have the time to provide the same level of service to double the number of machines, just to cover your ass.

The fact that they moved at all on the salary means there's probably a bit more wiggle room, maybe 5% or even 10%, but if they say no, there's not a whole lot you can do other than leave.

Mrs OBumble

gazzaman22 wrote: »

39 hour week
check, refill, test each machine every day
time varies, dependant on problems,
Jobs not logged,
The new machines will be brand new.
I also have to deal with alot of end user questions/queries , show them best practice, how to use machines, lots of fiddly stuff...

If you think there is going to be an issue, then start logging your time.

Also, consider whether you really need to be doing the re-filling: what happens if a machine runs out of paper in between your refills?

Arciphel

The main thing you need to weigh up is the negotiation process - and I don't think it's been mentioned yet - is how easily replaceable are your skills? Is there a long training in time to perform your job? This really determined how much leverage you have to discuss a raise. Are there other people who could be put into your role straight away (like from another site) if you handed in your notice in the morning?

gazzaman22

Arciphel wrote: »

The main thing you need to weigh up is the negotiation process - and I don't think it's been mentioned yet - is how easily replaceable are your skills? Is there a long training in time to perform your job? This really determined how much leverage you have to discuss a raise. Are there other people who could be put into your role straight away (like from another site) if you handed in your notice in the morning?

So, Yeah i am replaceable. It might not count for much(i'll delude my self ) But i am really "well got/liked" in the place where i work. I get on with everyone, and do my job well and professionally, Have had only 2 sick days in 7 years. They guy who has my company in here has alot of time for me, and is extremely happy with me in my role.

I know we actually short of engineers, so loosing one would put pressure on the others
A replacement would have to be put in place straight away.

BizzyC

If you're still going to be on 39 hours a week, effectively creating a backlog of work, paying you more money fixes nothing.
The only way they can resolve the issue by spending more money is by making another hire to help with the workload.

Cushie Butterfield

You may want to approach this from a slightly different angle: increased responsibility & increased workload resulting in the need to reassess & reorganise your work routine/schedule. Approaching your manager/employer with a problem is always greeted better if you have a potential solution to the problem & also demonstrates that you know exactly what you're doing as regards potential problems & how to solve them. It also demonstrates how valuable you are as an employee.

So, before you approach the matter again have a think about how best you can continue to maintain the machines & manage your workload. It will more than likely involve a bit of trial & error, but obviously something has to change in order for everything to run smoothly.

You're the best person to come up with solutions - be they checking the macines every second day or just on a constant systematic rota of checking each one from the first to the last, allowing for delays due to dealing with employee queries & issues out of the norm. Ask your manager how they'd like you to prioritise the work e.g. isthere any section/area/individual machine that must be working all the time (such as personnel dept, accounts dept, managing director or whatever). Make it clear that there is an extreme likelihood that there will now be a backlog, that you are concerned about this & are anxious to manage your increased responsibility as best as possible. This will demononstrate that you are a competent forward thinking employee who takes pride in their work & strives for excellence, as well as being responsible enough to not only detect a potential problem but more importantly can come up with a solution to solve it.

After the meeting send an email to him outlining what your suggestions were & what (if any) chabges in your work practices that you agreed, or that he has to come back to you on. You can tell him that you're going to do this 'just so as you're both singing from the same hymn sheet' - that way you can start the email with 'as agreed & further to our earlier meeting.....' Who wouldn't value an employee like this, & of course the only way to demonstrate that your employer values you is more often than not is by monetary compensation.

So don't focus on money or let it be the highlight of any discussions. At the end of your meeting you could say something like 'as a result of the increased responsibilty I'd appreciate it if you'd consider a payrise now to be reviewed after 3 months along with any other problems or solutions to any problems that may have arisen in the meantime. So now you'd have done his job for him or at least made it easier, while at the same time letting him have important input of deciding how to prioritise anything that needs prioritising - that way you won't have gone in with financial demands, or with all guns blazing & he should appreciate you all the more, which should stick in his head & perhaps work to your advantage after a few months when you have another meeting to review how things are going & when you then ask for a further payrise.

The last thing you want is for it to look like you are able to do twice the amount of work & that your only problem is that you want twice the amount of pay, as that could result in how cost effective it has been up to this to have you as an employee & have they been paying you to swing the lead 50% of the time for the last so many years!

Of course the above is all easier said than done given that your particular situation isn't as easy or straightforward as I make out, but allowing for that I think that may be how you should approach the matter & tailor it to your particular situation.