Overtime & On-Call Issue

[Ben1989]

Good morning,

 

I have a question about the above.

 

I think I know the normal regulations but I just want advice before I start questioning managers etc.

 

Where I work at the moment I am salaried. Since August, I have worked a lot of overtime due to demand. This was arranged through an overtime rota every so many weekends (working on the Saturday and Sunday).

 

Now, they are putting in ANOTHER rota until the end of the year. However, on this rota I am required to work every one in three weekends. This will be Saturdays and on-call on the Sundays.

 

My contract is very minimal.

 

Here is what it says:

 

"Hours of Work

The working week is a nominal 39hours.

 

Days

Mon-Thurs: 7.30am - 4.30pm

Friday: 7.30am-12.30pm

 

Occasional overtime may be expected at times of very heavy workload although this is expected to be minimal"

 

 

This is extremely vague. There is no overtime document/requirement, no on-call requirement etc.

 

Now where do I stand with being paid overtime, being forced to do overtime and being on call?

 

If you could help me out that would be great.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ben

[Ben1989]

Furthermore, I signed to opt-out of the 48hours cap.

 

Can I remove this?

[scousepie]

Furthermore, I signed to opt-out of the 48hours cap.

 

Can I remove this?

 

Have a look here

http://bma.org.uk/practical-support-at-work/ewtd/ewtd-juniors/ewtd-opt-out

[Sidewinder]

You can opt back into the 48 hour rule under the Working Time Regs at any time providing that you give written notice of your intention to do so.

 

You should discuss with your employer what arrangements will be made for any overtime worked. There is a big difference between 'reasonable' overtime and an arrangement where this is expected over an extended period. The law says that any time where you are working on the employer's business and are not free to leave should be classed as working hours. Payment of an 'overtime' rate is not a requirement - merely that the employee must be paid at least the NMW for an aggregate of all hours worked. Where your salary is equivalent to you being paid this even with the additional hours then you need to look to your contract (such as it is) and hold the employer to words such as 'occasional' and 'minimal' as although these terms are not clearly defined, a reasonable person would expect these to be exactly as one would suppose - from time to time rather than over a period of months, and a very small amount. The employer may well not be able to justify any attempt to breach your contract by forcing an 'unreasonable' amount of extra work, especially where family responsibilities (for example) outside of work might be affected.