Phil

iTrader: (1)

When I started my job we wern't required to be on call, although in my contract it states "You may be required to be 'On-Call' Defined as being contactable by telephone and within one hour of a work location.'

In the last month to meet contractual obligations they have put us 'on-call' from 5pm to 8pm and we get £25 tax free for doing so. We take it in turns and have to do it once a week so it is all good at the moment. But now they want us to cover 5pm until 8am for the same £25 and as it is in our contract we cannot say no.

My question is, can they do this legally? It is worth noting that the 'on-call' is not for emergancies only but ANY question/issue that comes in outside of normal working hours and being on call we are doing exactly as we do in our normal jobs but at home with a mobile and laptop. They want us to have resolved any issue within 15 minutes of a call out of hours.

AlexF

tell them to fluck off... and see what happens!


Alex


DISCLAIMER: Following this action might get your fired

JohnnyB

I am on call almost all the time and get fook all for it

your doing well

Dan B

I'm on-call for emergencies, out of hours (ie. 5pm - 9am), and it's rota'd for one week in every five weeks (five of us on the rota, for the moment).

We get £150 flat-rate for that week (just over £21 per day), and then £16/hour for any issues dealt with (first hour paid per incident, then at 15-minute intervals afterwards).

roybacer

Im on call for work out of hours.

Get paid fuck all unless i actually have to go into work, in which case i get paid at my normal overtime rate and can claim expenses for travelling into work.

So u sound like ur doing alrite outa it

neilm

This is just a simple negotiation.

They were paying you £25... how that can be tax free I dont know as its earning... or do you mean they actually pay you £45 but you end up with £25 in your hand ?

Anyway, thats by the by.

You are paid £8.33 an hour to do the three hours cover from 5:00pm - 8m


If they increase your hours then you should at least be paid the same £8.33 per hour, especially as it goes past midnight.

Do you get any additional payments if you are called ?


I guess its up to you what you want to do and how much you like the job, as your contract doesnt state any specifics of the out of hours working that doesnt mean your employer has a free hand to employ you from 5:30 pm - 8:59am the following day.

He employs you he doesnt own you.


You need to have a meeting and say you'd like to formalise the out of hours arrangements as they are currently unacceptable and ask for what you want, and £8.33 an hour up to midnight and then £12 an hour between midnight and 6:00am then £8.33 from 6-9am would seem a fair deal to me, its one thing to be called when you are sitting watching eastenders... its a different matter to be called at 3:00 am


OR... you have a lower hourly rate for being on call and then additional money when you are called.

Like I said its a negotiation, without a union to advise you and help you with the negotiation process you are on your own.

Think about what you would like, and write it down, then think about what you would be prepared to accept and at least then you can negotiate.


What I would say, is if you work these conditions for 6 weeks, without raising a greivance your are deemed to have accepted them by default. So make your feelings known sooner rather than later.

dbuckle1

we get a stat payment for being on-call but then get paid overtime and also time back if we get called in so not too bad at all.

think you will find that if your contract does not state on call hours they can get you to do the hours they need in increase a service

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

I work for a large truck main dealer,we are on call 1 wk out of 4,we get £100 stand by money,and a minimum of 3 hr at double time,so if i answer the pager and then job is cancelled i still get 3 hrs double time ,also free private use of the van all week,it's how we make our money

cheeRS stu

Cola

Just mailed my mate. She has a degree in employment law. WIll find out the score for you.

Smiggy

I'm on call 24/7 and get absolutely hee-haw for it. It's actually a touchy subject at my work at the moment as we've just brought a union in and we're trying to get something sorted out.

I work for a transport company and without a lie I will be woken from my bed in the early hours 3 days from 7. Got to the stage now that I'm ready for giving them an ultimatum - either I get paid for being on call or I'm off. Would like to see what the legalities are first though before I start burning bridges.

Also don't get paid for overtime either, my contract says 37.5hrs but I regularly work over 60. Fukin nitemare but gotta mortgage to pay and these fukers know it.

SMG

Cola

Lorna says:

Hmm, a tricky one as it depends on whether they've said what hours are "on call" in the contract - it would be unreasonable to be on call and contactable 24/7. What about time off in lieu if they've been up all night working? And I'm not sure, but I think the change of times is changing the T&C's of the contract, so the company is obliged to consult the employees (which is probably what this is) before changing them.

Yes the employer can ask them to cover those hours, but it seems like they are going about it in a bad way. Sounds like a small company that isn't very good with HR issues to me! I would suggest that if he isn't happy, to team up with others that will be on call too and complain as one - they aren't going to sack everyone in one go are they?

One thing I would definitely say to him is, if he doesn't want to do those hours of cover he needs to raise the objection now. If he works one of those shifts he is automatically accepting the new terms of his contract and so damages any future unfair dismissal/breach of contract type claims he can make.

HTH dude

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

yep .. we do a saturday as call out only .. it is paid as overtime ..

check your contract to see how many hours you are actually contracted to work each week .. not forgetting that the uk law only allows you the max of 48 hours per week (taken over a 17 week period)
unless you contract out of this...

may be required and are required are 2 totally different things.
i would contact the local citizens advice bureau .. take your contract with you so they can have alook at it tho

Phil

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies everyone, especially Cola (Although its not exactly a small company )

We have told them we don't want to do it and my direct manager doesn't want to do it either, but his boss is pushing it. We have talked about getting unions involved (although one of us will have to join one first ) and Employee Relations said it was all above board when it was questioned but I don't think they understood it is normal work and not emergencies only.

Eagle, my contract states 37.5 hours per week but I don't think that is relevant for on call time.

Eagle

iTrader: (2)

if you are contracted to do 37.5 hours a week then why are you even thinking of working more ??? as even on call this adds up... you should be paid overtime rates for any extra time worked over your contracted time..

Dan B

If it's for normal calls re-routed from the office, and not just for emergencies, then I'm pretty sure it is covered under the "48 hours per week" part of the Working Time Directive (it's worked out over a 13-week average, from memory).

My old workplace tried to introduce an "on-call" mobile, which all of the Support office-numbers would route normal calls through to outside of hours (8pm-8am). 11 out of 13 of us refused to take part, and they eventually pushed it through as part of our contract (after the 2 people who agreed to do it started to complain), by which time I'd already given my notice in anyway.

R4N SS

iTrader: (6)

we are currently getting screwed at my work place. Means I gotta do more shifts including weekends than we currently do.

Will be getting double time for night shifts tho but still dont want to do it.



Also, Im sure they have to give you 12/13weeks formal notice of change of contract.

M Brian

if thats the only definition in your contract...

set your mobile answer phone to say...
hello...
yes Phil here....
good evening....
I am at home in bed...
within an hour of workplace....
but AM I Fook coming in...
deal with it in my absence thanks...

should fulfill all of your obligations I feel :cry:


I think legally they are entitled to change your contract and give the accept or fk off with 30 days notice?