Working hours

[Brauny Blue]

For the first time in my working life i face the prospect of having to work on Sundays on a regular basis. My glorious leaders have decided to bully us with emotional blackmail regarding the credit crunch.
Besides the proposal of Sunday working they have also announced an whole host of other nasty little additions to our terms and conditions.The very thought of it pisses me off big time.

It seems that the basic structure of the working week and weekend are being dismantled by employers. Ever since Sunday trading more and more firms require their staff to work continental shifts, annualized hours and weekends.

I'd be interested to know what sort of hours people on here are required to do for their working week.
No offence to anyone out of work, as i'm grateful to have a job at this minute in time, but i deplore where we are going in life with this.

 

[Melton Fox]

For the first time in my working life i face the prospect of having to work on Sundays

I'm sure lots of people would beg for the chance. Likewise, employers know this and take the piss, as you point out.

I'd be interested to know what sort of hours people on here are required to do for their working week.

I'm currently doing approx 80 hours a week.

 

[Macky]

What are 'continental shifts' & 'annualised hours'?

 

[Steven]

What are 'continental shifts' & 'annualised hours'?

I think the first of those is something to do with plate tectonics?

 

[Hazzman]

Whilst not on the topic of working hours but on that of wanker employers, the current couple of sitesmy Dad's been on of late have managed and organised shoddy. Situations of there being no bricks or blocks or cement to start with, being asked to work underneath a funcitioning crane and a lazy fecker of a forklift driver.

No-one dares say anything in threat of losing their job. It appears to suit the firm to drag these jobs out because there's nothing else on for them yet at the same time they are wasting people's time. Asking them to travel to Irithlingborough for work and then not having anything to perform the work with. If a spot on the 'bus' isn't on, then a part of your wages will be going on petrol.

 

[Matt_B]

For the first time in my working life i face the prospect of having to work on Sundays on a regular basis. My glorious leaders have decided to bully us with emotional blackmail regarding the credit crunch.
Besides the proposal of Sunday working they have also announced an whole host of other nasty little additions to our terms and conditions.The very thought of it pisses me off big time.

It seems that the basic structure of the working week and weekend are being dismantled by employers. Ever since Sunday trading more and more firms require their staff to work continental shifts, annualized hours and weekends.

I'd be interested to know what sort of hours people on here are required to do for their working week.
No offence to anyone out of work, as i'm grateful to have a job at this minute in time, but i deplore where we are going in life with this.

I currently work a 40 hour week, not including lunch. Core houres 9.30-4.30 mon-fri. Overtime at time and a half if needed.

 

[Macky]

I currently work a 40 hour week, not including lunch. Core houres 9.30-4.30 mon-fri. Overtime at time and a half if needed.

40 hours???
Allowing for 1/2 hour lunch, I make that a 32.5 hour week.

 

[Boy Genius]

Welcome to the real world lads, employers have been having a credit crunch for years now and finally it has arrived at the workers.

I stopped employing people 2 years ago, too much trouble, too little help from the government, laws and regulations being brought in to protect workers and nothing to protect employers. I could not kick bad workers out without a reason that was justified, yet a worker could leave me with just 1 weeks notice. Minimum wage, what a laugh eh? You pay monkeys minimum and the other workers want a rise to keep that difference in wages going. Now the government are pushing on holiday entitlements! October 2008 it went up to 24 days and from April it's going to be 28 days. How are small businesses to pay for all this, because as sure as night follows day you cannot put your end costs up to cover.

So welcome to the real world, I suggest you take what's offered because there seems to be **** all else around to step into these days.

 

[MKFox]

My glorious leaders have decided to bully us with emotional blackmail regarding the credit crunch.

Mine decided I should do no hours a week....:icon_wink

 

[Hazzman]

I make that a 32.5 hour week.

Part-timer. :icon_roll

 

[spionfox]

I could not kick bad workers out without a reason that was justified

If you identify 'bad' workers before they have got 12 months service then yes, you can get shot of the feckers. (Subject to it being performance related of course and not discrimination of any kind.)

Now the government are pushing on holiday entitlements! October 2008 it went up to 24 days and from April it's going to be 28 days.

But that includes the statutory Bank Holidays so it isn't as bad as you make out.

 

[Dour]

What are 'continental shifts' & 'annualised hours'?

Continental shifts are often 4x12 hours, followed by 4 days off. Annualised hours means working out how many hours you work in a year and then letting your boss largely work out how they're allocated. Combined, your working life could be really, really shit - so I have to sympathise with BB.

 

[beaumontfox]

7.30-4pm mon-thurs. 7.30-1pm fri.

Overtime as and when asked at time and half.

We don't get asked very often! Normally get between 5 and 10 hours a month. Overtime can be any extra time worked between 6am and 5pm after the normal working shift. Also satdees between 3 and 6 hours. IF I do a satdee, and it's not often! I work 6am-9am so I can get down the shop and do a couple of hours before going football.

 

[Boy Genius]

If you identify 'bad' workers before they have got 12 months service then yes, you can get shot of the feckers. (Subject to it being performance related of course and not discrimination of any kind.)



But that includes the statutory Bank Holidays so it isn't as bad as you make out.

The bad wood usually shows after 12 months as you know, but an employer should have the same rights as a worker. Why should a worker give a weeks notice and go elsewhere, but the employer cannot?

As for the second part, I am well aware it includes bank holidays. But 28 days for somebody on £400 a week the employer now has to find over two grand a year to pay for his holiday. The last couple of years it has added nearly 10 extra days or 2 working weeks. And again the people who were on more holiday pay want that differential to be maintained, they are now looking at 30 days plus.
The next in line is pensions, I have been told the government is looking at the employee has to save 5% of his gross. Broken down to employee saving 1%, government matching his 1% and the ****ing employer stumping up the other 3%.
No wonder companies are falling fast.

 

[Hector]

I work about 100 hours a year (well that's what most people think anyway).

 

[Matt_B]

40 hours???
Allowing for 1/2 hour lunch, I make that a 32.5 hour week.

I meant it the other way, I work 40 hours, then add lunch on top of that, so if I have a 1/2 hour break a day then i will be in the office for 42.5 hours (40 hours of working and 2.5 hours of lunch) a week. Not sure how the 1/2 hour lunch over a week led you to take off 7.5 hours though?

Edit: Ok I take it you took the core hours. Those are the hours I need to be in the office, but I have to make up 40 working hours a week. So I can effectively do 8.30-4.30 or 9.30 - 5.30 etc so long as I do the hours. They class it as flexi time, but I don't really think it is.

 

[WALSHIESTACKLE]

I work for a heating company that has contracts for housing associations and I do 16 hour shifts 4 days on and 4 days off. I work 17:00 -09:00. If I work a weekend day then I am on for a full 24 hours. I have been on a new structure of pay for 3 months now and the thick ****wits in payroll have mucked up my wages every pay day since. Unsurprising too they never seem to overpay me!!

On the plus side I get to work from home and sleep while getting paid. Fooking busy in the winter but can go 2 days without a call in the summer. It's a hard job but somebodies got to do it.

 

[Darth Vodka]

is the UK still opting out of the European Working Time Directive?

i thought they were removeing the opt out for the UK?

it limits workers to a 48 hour week in a rolling 17 week average...

hmm seems we still can opt out

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

 

[Biff]

Whats work

 

[pork pie fox]

What are 'continental shifts' & 'annualised hours'?

My mate was (until recently) on continental shifts, his shift pattern was on a rota of days for 2 weeks followed by nights for the next 2 weeks. He worked Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday one week followed by Wednesday and Thursday the next week (this pattern then repeating for nights) on 12 hour shifts

No idea how this benefits either employers or employees but hope it might answer your question