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employee's rights?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hello people, so here's my story...

Recently at work we had all clocked out and were in the process of signing out, getting bags checked etc, when the acting manager noticed that a section of one department had not been tidied. We were told that we would not be allowed to leave until after everyone sorted it. Everyone except, of course, the managers. We were allowed to leave 15 mins later than we should've. One of my collegues missed his bus and had to wait an hour for the next one. The following day we were told that this WILL happen again if necessary.

It had been a busy day and whoever was in charge of this department was stuggling and wasnt given enough help, or time, to tidy the area properly. This extra 15 minutes will go unpaid.

What i want to know is, what are my rights? Is this against the law? And can i challenge them next time this happens? I am considering complaining to the actual store manager who wasn't present that night, but im worried she'll take their side...

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When I worked at JJB this happened ALL the time! We would be there for about 30 minutes without being payed.

    They also did it if we didn't get any store cards. Everyone had to get store cards over the weekend. I hated asking and pushing them on people, especially as I didn't work on the till that much and had to do it when people were coming out of the changing rooms. If you didn't do your target we were made to stay behind for an hour unpayed for "training" :rolleyes:

    Most shops I have worked in I've been expected to stay behing 10/15 mins while we finished tidying and the tills were counted.

    I'm not sure if they have to pay you :chin: I never asked I just got on with it as I needed the job :impissed:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Normally (in the public sector anyway) your first 30 minutes of overtime are unpaid, however they're not meant to make it a common thing and afaik you're entitled to the time back.

    But, unless the entire shop asks for this collectively you won't get anywhere.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would also be interested to know the answer to this, as every retail job I had when I was younger was like this - stay behind 20 minutes to cash up, or stay behind to clean the shop, and it was never paid time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You can't beat management. The law gives you lots of rights as an employee. People at the top in organisations keep infringeing workers' rights- happens nearly everywhere. Unless something serious happens you can't go to an industrial tribunal and win. And bosses collectively in work organisations will stick together and hit back at 'noisy' employees. Needing the money from paid work, got to put up with regular small injustices. Obviously if your employment rights are broken in a major way go to a trade union and fight them!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    KiwiFruit wrote: »
    You can't beat management. The law gives you lots of rights as an employee. People at the top in organisations keep infringeing workers' rights- happens nearly everywhere. Unless something serious happens you can't go to an industrial tribunal and win. And bosses collectively in work organisations will stick together and hit back at 'noisy' employees. Needing the money from paid work, got to put up with regular small injustices. Obviously if your employment rights are broken in a major way go to a trade union and fight them!

    I have to agree with this, If you want to keep your job kicking up over 15minutes is not worth it, Its WRONG I agree, but all that will happen if you speak up is you'll get treated like shit and they may even force you out, It is funny how many "fake" excuses companies can make up to get rid of someone, I've seen it before.

    Legally I am not sure, but I would suggest it is not worth persuing, if just to keep your life happy, if you want to kick up be prepared for them to make you miserable.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hellfire wrote: »
    I have to agree with this, If you want to keep your job kicking up over 15minutes is not worth it, Its WRONG I agree, but all that will happen if you speak up is you'll get treated like shit and they may even force you out, It is funny how many "fake" excuses companies can make up to get rid of someone, I've seen it before.

    Legally I am not sure, but I would suggest it is not worth persuing, if just to keep your life happy, if you want to kick up be prepared for them to make you miserable.
    And comes to compulsory redundancies, people in control in firms will choose people they don't like- just pay them off and keep the 'good' ones

    That's what working under management means- the people who decide your 15 minutes being paid or not have the upper hand, whilst workers even if they have a say may be wasting the effort or doing so goes against them. That's why Marxists say workers are oppressed by enterpreneurs
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    KiwiFruit wrote: »
    And comes to compulsory redundancies, people in control in firms will choose people they don't like- just pay them off and keep the 'good' ones

    It's not quite as simple as all that, there are a lot of rules in place regarding redundancies and a firm could get into a lot of trouble for picking favourites. Of course the reality is that a firm could potentially invent business reasons for removing certain people, but they wouldn't be able to drop someone who they don't like.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Im sorry but a company can easily fake a "gross misconduct" to get rid of someone, I've seen it happen before, a employee made a simple mistake and they tried to class it as Gross misconduct to get rid of them, where as someone else who made a similer mistake got off scott free,

    Favourtisum is evident in alot of places, in my opinion.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hellfire wrote: »
    Im sorry but a company can easily fake a "gross misconduct" to get rid of someone, I've seen it happen before, a employee made a simple mistake and they tried to class it as Gross misconduct to get rid of them, where as someone else who made a similer mistake got off scott free,

    Favourtisum is evident in alot of places, in my opinion.
    Yeah, that's right.........
    The fact is in a lot of workplaces when managers like a rank and file worker they are treated better, more leeway is given when they do something wrong and its quickly forgotten. When management doesn't like an employee, say they're a troublemaker who stir up workers against them, then their mistakes are quoted again and again and count towards eventual disciplinary action or dismissal
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's our own fault, we have a very work orientated culture in the UK, and injustices like this is just something we have to stomach. I would have been tempted just to leave though, and if the manager kicked up a fuss say that my contracted employment hours were 9-5 and if they want me to work late they have to give me 24 hours notice or something. It depends really how much you care about the job, and how much you care about your spare time. Mostly I don't really have anything to do so can end up spending extra time at the end of work just talking to the managers - one time ended up still there at 6 just chatting away. But I certainly wouldn't like to be compelled to stay especially if I had to be somewhere - though most people I've met have had that experience, it's just cultural thing I think.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    However, Should an employer have the right to expect staff to leave the work place as tidy as it was when they came in?

    I mean looking at it from a different prespective I'd be a bit peed if someone left my office in a state.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    I think it's our own fault, we have a very work orientated culture in the UK, and injustices like this is just something we have to stomach. I would have been tempted just to leave though, and if the manager kicked up a fuss say that my contracted employment hours were 9-5 and if they want me to work late they have to give me 24 hours notice or something. It depends really how much you care about the job, and how much you care about your spare time. Mostly I don't really have anything to do so can end up spending extra time at the end of work just talking to the managers - one time ended up still there at 6 just chatting away. But I certainly wouldn't like to be compelled to stay especially if I had to be somewhere - though most people I've met have had that experience, it's just cultural thing I think.



    Shyboy's exactly right, you can leave at your contracted time but is it really worth the hassle?...

    As Hellfire says, people have been fired for less before, infact i've fired people myself in the past for causing unrest in the work place and i was getting ready to make staff redundant after xmas untill the whole company i was working for went bust.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hellfire wrote: »
    However, Should an employer have the right to expect staff to leave the work place as tidy as it was when they came in?

    I mean looking at it from a different prespective I'd be a bit peed if someone left my office in a state.

    Well it's up to management ultimately to tell the employees what they value. Do they want them on the tills for the last 15 minutes or do they want them to shut up shop? It is often a case of they want both, but don't want to pay. And I think it will continue to be that way unfortunately, unless you are fairly fortunate with your employers. Retail is a bit notorious for treating staff like shite though, I was definitely treated badly when I worked for the co op but in all my subsequent jobs managers have been lovely.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I didn't say anything to anyone. You're all probably right... I don't wanna make things harder for myself :(
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