work taking the piss. Update #3 31/7/11

[Fisty]

January last year I moved to a new job on a salary with the condition that "some unpaid overtime may be required" this will be the odd hour here and there. My basic contract is 38 hours per week.

Fast forward to this year, they win lots more work, make lots more money but hour hours go up and up with no increase in pay. Week before last I worked a 93 hour week and worked away all week. In the past 3 months I havnt done a day without doing overtime. Friday I fell asleep while driving due to the long week ( friday had been 4am till 10pm then a 180 mile drive)

I have been complaining for 3 months about the hours worked and have been met with the response "be thankful you have a job"

Anyway this week I told my director from now on I will be working my contract hours of 38 hours per week, each day I will be at his desk in the morning and at home time.

His reply is that if i do this he will fire me. This job is seriously affecting my relationship ( to the point Im too tired to have sex ) and the amount I am having to spend on expenses while working away is crippling me as it takes upto 8 weeks to get it back.

All of this has been bought up with my director and he just laughs it off and says "you know where to go if you are unhappy, the job center"

What would BCF do in this situation?
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Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[garth]

Take a shit on his desk, personally.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[cagiva gezzer]

https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029426

Have you signed to say you'll work more than 48hrs?

I've been in a similar situation dosing 80hr weeks for a month solid. I considered putting a stop to it 100% and only doing my 40 hours, but decided to try and come to a compromise.

Depends how much you like the work and if you see a future there?

Document everything.
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[mad4it028]

sounds to me like he's trying to push you out , ide be out the door in a shot i work to live not live to work!
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always looking to buy bikes crashed ,unfinished projects,none runners pm me
currently riding kawasaki z1000 only bike ive ever loved

[fatpies]

Were you smart enough to find out where the bodies are buried in this company.

Seriously in the utter cut throat businesses of today it is important to have some leverage.

What is your work area? If it is something which you can do and does not require masses of machinery then you could always play guile. Work for 2 or so more months harvesting the client list and simply steal the clients of the company, therefore work for yourself. The best thing I ever did was stand up to a boss for taking the mick, got fired and decided to work for myself.

[Fisty]

[Tarmacsurfer]

I could be wrong as I'm no HR guru but would conditions like that not come under the "constructive dismissal" tag?
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I'm immortal. Well, so far.

[sickpup]

[Fisty]

Just had a check and it is stapled to the front of the contract. If I opt in, can they sack me?
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Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[sickpup]

[Hetzer]

[Sparks!]

This is a fuckin hard one at the minute, they are definetly 100% taking the piss there's no doubt about that. You need to really check your contract and get it checked by someone in the know, as if you agreed to unpaid overtime then you might not have a leg to stand on and they *could* sack you for not fullfilling your contract (as shit as the contract may be)

If however you are well within your contract to work the stated hours then they can't sack you for it.

PROBLEM IS.

As I'm in a management role in a family business I know how hard things are at the minute. I can honestly say that all of my staff are fucking lucky to have a job. We don't take the piss like your boss is doing but we are asking for certain things to be done that we wouldn't normally ask for (like paid overtime at standard rate, not overtime rates) unpaid leave if no work on etc. We only get away with that as everyones signed to agree to it and we definetly don't take the piss.

It's the times at the minute I think, you're lucky to have a job, but that doesn't mean they can take the piss out of it. If they have enough work to make you do 96 hour weeks then they can afford to hire another employee to make up the hours over your contract.

Hope that shows you both sides... not justifying the employers at all, but times are pretty hard for most companies. Good luck sorting it out though, rock and a hard place springs to mind....
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[ms51ves3]

[GhostRider]

Well you need to figure out exactly the terms of your contract first and foremost.

I highly doubt it was written in a way that says you will work unlimited overtime unpaid as required, I just cannot see that being legal in the first place (though in this day and age.......).

Anyways, I'm pretty sure you will be well within your rights to stick to your contracted 38 hours, you've already well fulfilled your obligation to work unpaid overtime but the clocked hours you've already put in.

They may well fire you, or at least attempt to, but I'm sure a tribunal would rape their mothers mouths so hard their grandkids will taste the jizz. This would all be with help from the CAB I'm sure, but I think you'd then be able to sue for loss of earnings, psychological distress etc etc. I have a mate who works in management for Virgin Media and he tells me that every now and then you get temp staff come in, hang around a few weeks, then sue the company for racism off some bullshit that they make up - and they payout, last one was about £30k IIRC (they subsequently found out this particular person had pulled the same stunt with 3-4 other companies over the past couple of years). Anyway, my point is if some chancer can score £30k out of a company like Virgin Media and get away with it, then I think there's a realistic chance you could come out on top with whatever company you're working for now.

One things for sure you can't go on doing what you're doing, they are plain and simple taking you for a cunt and they know it........and you do too obviously.

GhostRider
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I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

[multijoy]

[MarJay]

I've been thinking about this thread for a couple of hours now, and originally I had decided not to respond, but it nagged at me so much that I felt that it was necessary to put forward my opinion on this.

My feeling is that the 'current economic circumstances' is now being used as a stick to beat people with. The economy is certainly not in the same poor state it was back in 2008 for example. With regard to the company I work for, orders are up and we're doing pretty well.

I'm not saying that everything is rosy in the garden, but what I am saying is that I don't think the job market is SO bad as to require one to stay at a job which makes you do 96hrs a week, mostly unpaid.

If I were you, I wouldn't threaten working to rule. It just makes you look petty. I'd ask instead to come to some sort of compromise. If they do not do so, then I'd threaten to leave and then take them to an industrial tribunal for constructive dismissal. Yes, it is very hard to prove, but what have you got to lose? You're either going to put up with it, or you're going to leave one way or another, so why prolong it?

There ARE jobs out there, but it might require you to go further afield to find them. Would this be such a bad thing, because you're travelling so much anyway and working 96hrs, so you wouldn't be losing out.

As I said, companies are now starting to use the "current economic circumstances" line as a stick to beat you with. To some extent it isn't true. So why let them?
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Smash]

Give Acas a call and discuss the situation, see what your options are.

Also, as a previous poster said, keep a document of your hours/dates/times worked just in case you end up having to go to a tribunal for constructive dismissal. If your contract states "occasional, unpaid overtime" then it is up to a tribunal judge to quantify "occasional" but if it's happening all the time, there is little doubt that he would find in your favour, though the exact circumstances would also have to be looked into if/when you were dimissed.

If you feel like doing so, also write some bullet points down as to how the additional overtime is impinging on your "work/life balance" such as being tired, it's detrimental to your relationship/health issues, etc. That will also come in useful should you need take the matter further.

Hope that helps a little, and good luck.

[Phoenix]

[Stacey]

I cannot imagine how frustrated you must feel. I get so angry with my work, it is expected that I arrive half an hour early, without pay to clean the place before we open. Then at night I very rarely get out on time, usually am about an hour late, once in a while I don't mind but when it is every single day and I am not getting paid, you just get fed up. I dared to start signing out at the times I was actually arriving and leaving, and got the biggest rolloking of my life.

I only work for an independent company, and I do understand times have been hard, but for us they most certainly are not right now.l When I consider the amount of time my boss spends down the beauty spa, out shopping, paying someone to clean her mansion, going on holidays..... while I am scrimping to pay my rent. It isn't fair, I know dam well they could afford to pay me.

You must really be so frustrated, I know I would be. I would stand your ground, don't be like me and be walked all over

[ZRX61]

[J0Al1]

The problem with this 'your lucky to have a job' (I get the same ref my por wages). . . . . . Wil it ever change? I don't think so, there are too many people in the UK and not enough jobs because of bloody computers.

Mr F, I feel sorry for you, your prob too tired to search for another job? I think you should formally write to your manager about the difference between whats stated in your contract (a few hrs) and the extra hours you have actually been doing. . . . Get their response on paper and take it form there.

[skatefreak]

If you have evidence of the hours worked, take them to court for royaly taking the piss and abusing you...

Get to a no win no fee lawyer and have a chat.

If there is a way i'm sure they will find it and yr boss can have a heart attack when the call/paper work comes through

It sounds pretty rough, i used to do up to 75-80 hours a week working over the holidays at a coffee shop and night shift pay had a £5 "insentive pay" feature... Saying that, overtime was still at the standard rate so i think you should look to find another job and or look for compensation for the abuse thats taking place

-Jvr

[MarJay]

[J0Al1]

[DrDonnyBrago]