Unpaid Overtime

.Lethal said:
That's my view on it as well.
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It's my view on it too.

In my old place, people used to rely on certain people to do the longer hours because they knew they'd do them, and none of them ascended the ladder - They just did longer hours.

More to the point, they also brought people in over these peoples' heads to manage them instead of promoting who they already had.

Most of them have since left the company and are now doing well in more senior positions in other companies working normal hours. :)
 
Doing the odd bit of overtime is ok, you should however not have to do 2/3 hours every day. That means you are either rubbish at your job and need the extra time, or you are doing a far bigger job that what was originally expected.

Doing an an extra 15 hours a week unpaid takes the ****

She needs to stand up for herself and request more pay to reflect the hours she is putting in.
 
I work in the private sector and have flexi time AND overtime so no, I don't do any "unpaid" overtime.
 
i worked in the public sector for 15 years. we had a flexi system that could earn you 1 and a half days leave a month. all you need to do is make 10 and a half hours extra a month.

during the last revision of the system. the members decided to reduce the flexi leave entitlement from 1 and a half days to half a day a month. furthermore to get this half a day, you go to work 7 hours. there was nothing we could do about it. there were many people like me who worked extra hours and lost them. so this new system would screw us harder.

never worked for a private company, however every people that joins our company from a private company. says they used to put in a lot more hours unpaid, when they were working privately.

bosses do take advantage, you get the work done and they get the bonus and praise.
 
ColdAsIce said:
Doing the odd bit of overtime is ok, you should however not have to do 2/3 hours every day. That means you are either rubbish at your job and need the extra time, or you are doing a far bigger job that what was originally expected.

Doing an an extra 15 hours a week unpaid takes the ****

She needs to stand up for herself and request more pay to reflect the hours she is putting in.
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Thats another point recently her office lost 3 people to other companies and 3 new people were brought in...into a different department. As it currently stands her office now work Saturdays on a rota (although this does grant them a day in lieu) but recently two people from her office have gone abroad for the ski season to be able to deal with travel insurance claims during the season so there is only 3 of them left. My gf, her boss and the grad scheme girl.
 
It depends on the contract, if she is on a salary then it might well be that OT is already included in there.
 
If she is working perm then a few hours "here & there" is expected. It will likely be written into her contract. 15 hours a week seems like a bit much; she should probably get time in leui for that.

Im a contractor and have a zero overtime policy. If they ask me to "start early and finish late" then I will invoice them to the nearest half day
 
gropingmantis said:
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In some parts of the private sector working overtime is the norm...

To be honest I don't expect my guys to work late but when it comes to dealing out bonuses commitment to the job is something that I would consider. Nothing wrong with people that work 9 - 5 all organisations need them.. but then again work your contracted hours get your contracted remuneration.. you are never going to set the world alight doing that..
 
gropingmantis said:
Is it ok?

Have been having a few...heated debates, with my gf about this. Where I work we have flexi-time so usually if I work late one day I go home early another day and if I go over my weekly hours, which I have done a few times when I get really into a project and HAVE to complete it, I log my overtime and get extra pay at the end of the month for it.

My gf however regularly works 2-3 hours longer, per day, than her contracted hours so thats a good 10-15 extra hours she does a week but she never logs her overtime.

She says thats just not how it is done "in business" (she works in the private sector, insurance, I work in the public sector). I say that is bull**** and you should be seeking to be reimbursed for your time. I have told her a few times that if she isn't being paid to be there then why doesn't she just get in at 9 and leave at 5 like she is contracted for?

Furthermore other people in her office seem to arrive at 9 and leave at 5 so I am confused as to why my gf a) doesn't want to get paid and b) if she isn't getting paid is staying at work?

Now don't get me wrong I love my job and I will and have happily worked more than my contracted hours its just when I do I feel like I should be paid for it as it is work at the end of the day.

What do you think GD?

INB4:
"Worst I have a gf thread ever"
"Worst I have a job thread ever"
etc etc etc
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If you are paid an annual salary rather than an hourly rate there is really no such thing a overtime. In many companyies in many sectors it is just expected. And the higher up the chn you go, the more overtime is expected. Not uncommon for higher level managers to regulary work 70-80 weeks in some cases.

Saying that, I think many companies operate mroe ona kind of flexible basis. IF a deadline appraoches and the team has to do a lot of overtime, then they may provide some extra vacation, let people take a day off, allow people to come in late etc.
 
Overtime here (private sector) is just given back in lieu, so 2 hours extra I put in last week means I can leave an hour early twice or 2 hours early once in the future.

What the OP's gf is doing, based on an 8 hour working day, is taking an effective pay cut of 20-25%.
 
D.P. said:
If you are paid an annual salary rather than an hourly rate there is really no such thing a overtime. In many companyies in many sectors it is just expected. And the higher up the chn you go, the more overtime is expected. Not uncommon for higher level managers to regulary work 70-80 weeks in some cases.

Saying that, I think many companies operate mroe ona kind of flexible basis. IF a deadline appraoches and the team has to do a lot of overtime, then they may provide some extra vacation, let people take a day off, allow people to come in late etc.
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I get paid a salary but I can still claim for overtime. Also bear in mind that neither me nor my gf are high level managers. Also the deadlines are constant because she works in insurance investigating individual claims so they are coming in faster than the current team of 3 can cope with she is not getting extra holiday or time in lieu she is simply working way way way more for absolutely nothing.
 
And 2-3 hours extra a night is not an insane amount. That comes to 50-55 hours a week, which is a relatively ormal working hours for many professionals.

9-5 just doesn't exist in the real world. And be thankfukl in the UK that your 1 hour lunch is considered work. 8-5/9-6 is official working hours in most countries, and working an extra 2 hours on top is the norm in my experience..
 
Just keep track of it, i'd imagine that if once you've factored in the overtime you're sub minimum wage then the OP's gf's company will be in serious trouble.
 
I play it even,

I work in the private sector, at times I go early/come in late for the odd doctors appointment so when needed I'll stay a few hours here and there to make up the favour - it's give and take.

Still overall I do more overtime than time I take off (by a long margin) but knowing they don't give me hassle when I ask is worth me putting extra time back.

If I was expected to do 3 hours over on a daily basis I'd refuse on the grounds of poor management - somebody is clearly working with less FTE than the role requires.

They would get narky with me if I had to leave early every single day (rightly so) - so the same applies the other way around.

In short, for the odd time It's good to be flexible (if it applies both ways) - but don't get taken as a fool.
 
gropingmantis said:
I get paid a salary but I can still claim for overtime. Also bear in mind that neither me nor my gf are high level managers. Also the deadlines are constant because she works in insurance investigating individual claims so they are coming in faster than the current team of 3 can cope with she is not getting extra holiday or time in lieu she is simply working way way way more for absolutely nothing.
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If 2-3 extra hours per person is required to hit deadlines, then that's grounds for getting in another FTE (or at least a part-timer). But that means spending more money, so the company will milk this as long as they can.
 
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