Work problem

I'm still f*cking fuming over work.

Since early last year, the bosses have been telling us that they may occasionally need us to do overtime, stay back an hour here or there if there's something which has to be done. And if we stay back, we can then get that time off later in the week or when things calm down. Just say it to them, and there won't be a problem.

Between September and November, I had to have done about 20 hours overtime to get a big project finished. But after we were finished that project, I had other projects to do which had been put on hold because of the bigger one. Fine. Thats alright. I'm a team player, and if the work has to be done, it has to be done. I want to keep my job, and I didn't want the business to close. So thats a sacrifice I had to make.

Just before Christmas, we were organising how many days holidays we had left to use before the end of the year. Turned out me and the other employee (the place I work has 2 bosses, and 2 employees) miscounted because we forgot Good Friday or something and booked off one extra day than we had by accident, which meant we would have had to come in for one day between Christmas and New Year. I was thinking of mentioning the time I was owed (the 20 hours) and see if I could get the day off, but the bosses decided that, because they couldn't afford to give us a Christmas bonus, they'd let us have that day off. Fair enough. Was happy with that.

Since the beginning of January, I was put on another huge project. Between January and February, I decided to take a note of my overtime hours. Because of overtime, and I even worked one saturday, I did 3 days worth of overtime. Constantly being told I'd get some time off when it was finished because of the overtime. So after I finished that project, I had a few smaller ones to do which had been put on hold, so started on them. Now, the pressure is off, so I asked for next Friday off because of my overtime. Boss said thats grand.

So we're chatting away, and he's going through what I'll be doing for the next few weeks, and he notes how I'm not too busy next week because we're waiting on some things to come through. So I say "Well, because of the *big project*, I actually have about 3 days worth of overtime done, so if I'm not busy next week maybe it'd be better if I took 2 days off next week while the opportunity is there"

He seemed a bit shocked, but said something like we may be getting new projects in, or the other boss might have something for me to do. So I said that's grand. I didn't need the second day off, just thought it'd be better to take it if things were quiet. So we continued on with the conversation.

Then yesterday morning, he called me up to his office and asked me to close the door. I didn't know what was going on. He asked how did I calculate the 3 days. I said I had been writing it in my dairy just as a rough guide, that it's not like I'm going to be picky over every 15 minutes or anything, but just that, because I knew it was such a big project, it'd be better if I kept a track of my hours on it. He asked me if I took into consideration the day off around Christmas that they gave us. I said I hadn't, I'd forgotten about that. But fair is fair, I don't mind counting the saturday I worked as the day around Christmas. Then he started on at me about how we all have to pull together, we need to do all this overtime to keep the business afloat, the business is struggling, he doesn't calculate how much overtime he puts in etc.

I told him that the reason I did the overtime in the first place was to get the project finished but I did so under the assumption that I'd get the time back when things slowed down, and the only reason I asked for the 2 days off next week was because he told me that there wasn't a lot for me to do next week. I also said that I never once complained about having to do the overtime. And again, he starts on about how we need to do the overtime in order to get invoices out etc. Then he said that the other boss has some stuff for me to do now so to go over to him.

I'm seriously still raging. I don't mind doing overtime and not getting the time back if thats what it takes, but to be treated like this is really f*cking me off. Not since I started have I complained about doing overtime, and most of the overtime I've done over the past year and a half I never asked for, because it was only bits here and there. But come on... 3 days worth of overtime in 7 weeks? I'm not out of line asking for 2 of the days off. I know I'm not. I probably wouldn't even have asked for the third day off.

And he talks to me about the sacrifices we need to make? In those 7 weeks, I went to the gym TWICE. Should have gone 28 times, went twice. Not only did I not lose a stone like I should have, I put on half a stone because I was eating sh*te the whole time and not exercising. I cannot reach the goal I set for myself, the goal that I promised myself I would reach, because of the overtime. But I did so because they told us we could get those hours back another time.

F*ck this place, and all who work in it. Including me. I'm the worst of the lot, because I actually had faith in another human being.

Quote: Tig Trager, Mar 2010

Thats the worst of it, he made me feel like a prick for daring to have the audacity to ask for the time off. Boo Hoo, your business is struggling. That doesn't give you the right to treat me like sh*t and guilt-trip me into doing more overtime

Hmmm you set the precedent by working unpaid overtime so they've accepted that you'll do it. I don't know what the legal deal is in Ireland, but I'd get onto some sort of advisory group (like CAB over here) and ask a few question.

It is common though that business' are using the recession to guilt trip people into doing more work for less under the guise of being lucky to have a job.

I don't really have any good advice. Just want to say that I agree that they're being d*cks and treating you unfairly.

Quote:

Then he started on at me about how we all have to pull together, we need to do all this overtime to keep the business afloat, the business is struggling, he doesn't calculate how much overtime he puts in etc.

If he's the boss it's his f*cking problem and there's no such thing as 'overtime' in terms of the hours he puts in, and you can bet your a*se you won't be seeing any extra cash when the jobs get done and he gets paid. You're doing the right thing keeping track - I keep a scrupulous record of all my toil and it's keeps it straight for everyone when you can show them a written record of all the extra unpaid hours you've done and when.

Phil's right as usual, there's loads of employers using the recession as an excuse to be even bigger sh*thouses than usual to their workers. It's happening to loads of people I know. If I were you I'd just can the overtime until you've sorted it with them, althugh my grandad was an old union man who was onto me about this kind of thing from a young age, so I'm stubborn as f*ck when it comes to not giving work an inch even when sometimes it may be pragmatic to do so.

Like I said, if I were you I'd either not do the overtime unless you can get some guarantee of getting the time back, or else ask to be paid for it and refuse to do it otherwise. If they don't like it it's their problem, they can't expect people to work for nothing, however much they lay down the guilt trips.

To conclude, most employers are w*nkers

Quote: the doc, Mar 2010

To offer something a little more constructive than the above, why don't you suggest that you draw up a sheet so you can keep track of it? Every time you work over, write down the date, how many minutes/hours you worked and what you were working on, and then get him to sign it every time you do it. That way there's a proper record, signed by him, and he can't be a sh*t and question your timekeeping.

Doesn't sound like the kinda guy that'd go for it, but that's the way we do it and it works out fine. I'm owed twenty odd hours at the minute but it's all there in black and white and I can take the time back whenever I want

Oh he's not disputing how many hours I've done. He knows that I put in a serious amount of hours on it and I told him I wasn't being exact with my timekeeping, just noting it if I stayed back more than half an hour. He just doesn't want to give me all the time back and, in his own words, was taken aback when I mentioned it.

Quote: the doc, Mar 2010

Quote: Tig Trager, Mar 2010

Quote: the doc, Mar 2010

To offer something a little more constructive than the above, why don't you suggest that you draw up a sheet so you can keep track of it? Every time you work over, write down the date, how many minutes/hours you worked and what you were working on, and then get him to sign it every time you do it. That way there's a proper record, signed by him, and he can't be a sh*t and question your timekeeping.

Doesn't sound like the kinda guy that'd go for it, but that's the way we do it and it works out fine. I'm owed twenty odd hours at the minute but it's all there in black and white and I can take the time back whenever I want

Oh he's not disputing how many hours I've done. He knows that I put in a serious amount of hours on it and I told him I wasn't being exact with my timekeeping, just noting it if I stayed back more than half an hour. He just doesn't want to give me all the time back and, in his own words, was taken aback when I mentioned it.

In which case, tell him to get right f*cked cos it really does add up and at the end of the day, why should you do it if the only end result is his pockets getting lined and you being p*ssed off about it? Take a hard line on this one, Baz, that's my advice anyway.

I'm going to take the middle ground I think. I'm just not going to do any overtime unless I'm specifically asked, and I'll arrange to take those hours off within a week. As the bosses, if they can't arrange that, then what the f*ck hope does the business have anyway?