Month: March 2019

A recent study has found that last year employees In the UK worked the equivalent of £32 billion worth of unpaid overtime. In working hours this equates to over 2 billion hours of overtime. Whilst sitting down to write this at home after a day at work, this is hardly surprising.

Most employees appreciate that there are circumstances beyond their control that require them to work above and beyond their contracted hours, this especially case if you are a teacher, chief executive or legal professional, since according to the TUC these are the professions in which the most overtime is worked.

The growing trend of overworking

‘Overworking’ is a growing trend and there several contributing factors leading to this phenomenon. For some it just might not be possible to have a conversation with their employer about the hours they are working so they continue to work the overtime, or they might inadvertently feel that they are letting someone down by choosing to leave at the end of their contracted hours.

Is overtime unpaid?

Unless provided for in your contract, your employer doesn’t have to pay for overtime, however they do have to ensure you are paid above the national minimum wage. This means, for example, if you are paid £7.83 per hour and you are contracted to work 40 hours per week, but work 48 hours per week, it works out that your employer is actually paying you £6.53 per hour. If this figure falls below minimum wage you may be able to raise complaints to an employment tribunal. 

What are the Working Time Regulations 1998?

In some professions you are required, regardless of your contracted hours, to work more than 48 hours per week. The Working Time Regulations 1998 provide that a worker’s working time, including overtime, shall not exceed 48 hours for each seven days worked.

An employee can choose to work beyond those 48 hours by opting out, which must be done in writing and be signed by the employee. It is also important that the opt out agreement is voluntary and can be revoked at any time by the employee provided they give notice. The employee can revoke the opt out agreement even when it is provided for in the employee’s contract. There are, however, certain professions where employees can’t opt out, and certain professions that require employees to work more than 48 hours per week on average. The professions include the armed forces and the emergency services. Nevertheless, ‘working time’ will not include voluntary overtime.

Voluntary overtime is of that very nature, voluntary and covers the circumstances where you choose to stay late willingly to finish off something, for example.

The consequences of overworking

Beyond the potential legal pitfalls, employers should be aware of the overtime their employees are working, voluntarily or not. There is plenty of literature which suggests that employees who are overworked are less productive and more susceptible to stress. This can lead to sickness absences, low output, and difficulty retaining staff. A responsible employer should consider supporting their employees who have high workloads, encourage their staff to take regular, uninterrupted rest breaks, and to consider re-evaluating current staffing levels or division of responsibilities. If these factors are not taken into account, the employer may find themselves facing constructive dismissal claims from employees who felt forced to work beyond their contracted hours.

An employee may be entitled to terminate their contract where they have been forced, explicitly or otherwise, to work beyond the hours contracted. There are also numerous case examples where employees have brought breach of contract claims for stress caused by excessive workload. As a result of a successful constructive dismissal claim, an employer may face paying not only their legal costs and the amount awarded to the successful employee but also the cost of recruiting a replacement member of staff and any associated training.

Overtime from an employee perspective

As an employee, it is important to be mindful of your own health when you are next considering  working through your lunchbreak or staying behind an extra hour or two to stay on top of your work. Looming deadlines can often make these habits unavoidable, but it is worth bearing in mind the impact it can have on your overall productivity moving forward. This can quickly snowball until you find yourself in a vicious circle where you are working overtime to meet deadlines but because you are not properly rested your productivity slumps and you need to work even more overtime as a result. Keep a record of any hours you do over and above your contracted hours, and try to let your employer know if you have any concerns relating to overtime.

Overtime from an employer perspective

As an employer, it is in your best interest to ensure that your employees are well-rested and capable of completing their work within the hours they are contracted to. Overworking hurts productivity, leaves workers stressed and exhausted and eats into time that should be spent with family and friends. Your employees will become unhappy and puts them at risk of developing a number of stress-related illnesses, ranging from fatigue and exhaustion to cardiovascular diseases and depression. This could be detrimental to your business leaving you struggling to meet demands if you have employees regularly taking time off with illnesses, and even struggling with staff-shortages if employees find their employment no longer tenable. Where you as an employer know that the employee is subjected to an excessive workload, causing damage to their health and that damage was reasonably foreseeable, the employee is likely to have a claim in negligence against you as the employer and also a claim for constructive dismissal.

Legal support with overtime issues

Having read this article, if you think you there is an issue with regards to overtime in your place of work, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Please remember there are strict time limits in Employment claims, and you should take good free legal advice as soon as possible.

In addition to No Win No Fee, Lawson West solicitors act for our clients on a variety of other funding arrangements including Legal Expenses insurance funding. We can assess your case to decide which is the best funding option for you.

With offices in Leicester, Wigston and Market Harborough our employment solicitors and lawyers can discuss your employment law claim at any of our branches. In addition, we are a national provider of expert employment law advice and welcome a free discussion with you regarding your circumstances and potential claim.

If you believe you have a situation where you require free legal advice, please contact us on telephone 0116 212 1000 or 01858 445 480, alternatively fill in our Contact Us form and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given.

 

Employee wellbeing is not a new phenomenon, but the recent increase in awareness and publicity surrounding the matter has forced employers to act.  The provision of rest breaks, flexible start and finish times and working environments are all under scrutiny but what does the law state?

Why are we reluctant to take a break?

There is a growing trend for employees not to take a break whilst at work; despite this rise, it can be very counter-productive. The justification for not taking a break is usually down to time and workload, whilst others believe it creates a perception that impresses management. Ultimately it has the opposite effect.  Prolonged periods of time sat at a desk, particularly in front of a screen are proven to cause fatigue, headaches, a lack of concentration and inactivity.

Why is it important to take a break?

Taking a break whilst at work is essential, there is evidence that shows they are good for our health, wellbeing as well as our ability to work more effectively. There is a common misconception that taking a break will disrupt your day and you won’t get through all of you work, when in fact breaks improve productivity and increase efficiency.

Employers should actively encourage their employees to take regular breaks because they can the reap the rewards of a refreshed and more relaxed workforce.

What does the law say about taking breaks whilst at work?

In the UK, the Working Time Regulations set out the law regarding breaks. By law workers who work more than 6 hours a day are entitled to one twenty-minute uninterrupted rest break, however there are exceptions to this rule. The nature of some jobs does not allow such periods of time to be taken whilst on shift and this was exactly the issue in a recent case.  The regulations state that those in jobs of this nature are instead allowed to take an equivalent period of compensatory rest.

Crawford v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd

In this recent case, the claimant was a relief cover signalman for network rail who worked in single manned signal boxes. His role required him to be on-call for the entirety of his 8-hour shift, monitoring the trains and carrying out any other ad-hoc activities.

The claimant raised a grievance over the employer’s failure to allow him to exercise his right to an uninterrupted twenty-minute break. The grievance was dismissed and an appeal against this decision was unsuccessful, his claim to the Employment Tribunal was also dismissed. It was found that the employer had met their obligations because they had internal documents that outlined rest break entitlements for signalling and crossing keeper employees, who due to the nature of their role were exempt from standard rules. The document stated employees should take “naturally occurring breaks” when the opportunity arose at single manned locations. It also stated employees could take their 20-minute rest break by adding up shorter breaks over a period of 3-4 hours, so long as there was at least one longer break which allowed the worker to take refreshments and meet personal needs. This constitutes as compensatory rest and is entirely lawful.

Employment law support from Lawson West Solicitors

Having read this article, if you think you are experiencing any work related issues, in particular rest breaks, we can help. Please remember there are strict time limits in Employment claims, and you should take good free legal advice as soon as possible.

In addition to No Win No Fee, Lawson West solicitors act for our clients on a variety of other funding arrangements including Legal Expenses insurance funding. We can assess your case to decide which is the best funding option for you.

With offices in Leicester, Wigston and Market Harborough our employment solicitors and lawyers can discuss your employment law claim at any of our branches. In addition, we are a national provider of expert employment law advice and welcome a free discussion with you regarding your circumstances and potential claim.

If you believe you have a situation where you require free legal advice, please contact us on telephone 0116 212 1000 or 01858 445 480, alternatively fill in our Contact Us form and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given.

Managers are often promoted because they are excelling in their role. It may be argued that excelling within a role does not automatically make you an excellent leader. In fact, when managers are promoted without correct training and development being provided, it may be argued that issues of people management are compounded.

In numerous cases recently reported, discrimination based on sex and an unfair dismissal claim could possibly have been avoided had effective management training and Human Resources training been provided.

In one such case, a female economist for the Office of National Statistics has been awarded a £19,000 sum after being denied promotion due to her sex.

Olwen Renowden brought claim against the ONS stating that she had not been interviewed for a senior economist role at the government organisation based on the fact that she was a woman. Despite 20-years’ experience and having previously worked at the grade for which the interviews were being conducted, Renowden was rejected on two occasions without being given an explanation as to why.

The Employment Tribunal in Cardiff heard that both roles were given to younger men who had not previously had any experience at ‘grade six’ roles and who had no specialist knowledge in macro-economics. A third role was subsequently created, which was also given to a male employee. This third role was filled by a man with less than six-years’ experience, in comparison to her 20-years. When asking for feedback as to why her application had been unsuccessful, instead of providing an opportunity for learning and personal development, Ronowden was simply told to contact HR.

Renowden resigned in 2018, bringing forth an Employment Tribunal claim against her previous employer. During hearing in January 2019, Employment Judge Wayne Beard said that there was favouritism towards male staff and that the gender balance was ‘not properly understood.’

The ruling of the tribunal, published last week, found that an improper process led to male employees receiving temporary promotions via an informal process which provided more opportunities for male than female employees. The ONS agreed that the gender balance within the organisation was ‘out of kilter.’

Equal Opportunities

Perhaps more salient here is the informality of the promotion process. Arguably due to a lack of knowledge, employees in many organisations are given opportunities that are not provided to all. All opportunities must be offered with a fair and just process, providing equal opportunities to all employees. What is vital is to have a due process and to be able to provide detailed feedback based upon a specific list of criteria. If an applicant falls short of these criteria, the interviewer must be able to provide feedback as to why one applicant was deemed more appropriate than another. In this situation, best practice would also provide a development plan for the unsuccessful applicant with an opportunity for continuous professional development and a timeline for progression. To be rejected for a role and then not to be told why leaves questions open in the mind of the applicant.

Responding to the outcome of the judgement, Renowden stated that at least five other female colleagues would also be able to bring similar claims against the ONS, but their lack of trade association membership removed their support to make claims possible.

Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of Prospect, the union that supported the claim, concluded that: “this case reveals a shocking lack of diversity among economists at ONS and what seems like the deliberate overlooking of female candidates in favour of men.” In a statement, the ONS said: “THE ONS values the contributions of all its people and is continually working to support everyone in progressing their careers. We are considering the ruling in this case very carefully.”

Although the overall HR strategy of an organisation may set out clear guidelines, if managers have not been provided with appropriate training and development and knowledge of the fair promotion process, issues can and do arise.

If you would like an overview of your recruitment practices or feel that you may fall short in your policies, please contact our employment team. To speak to member of the team in Market Harborough please call 01858 445 480, to speak to a member of the based in Leicester please call 0116 212 1000. Alternatively, you can complete our online contact form.

 

This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given.