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Paid Overtime or Not

sparkiemike

I am looking for some information on standard practice in the UK for a non-management role.

Having been self employed for over 20 year as an electrician working mainly on commercial and domestic work I have been offered a full time job in a new warehouse as facilities and maintenance technician.

I think it is great opportunity for me, as the company say there will be many opportunities for training/ CPD and the salary is good. Its a new role in the company.

The job description states that there will be a "requirement for out-of-hours working for site call-outs, emergency equipment repairs and scheduled maintenance requirements outside of operational hours".

The job ad said "possibility of over-time".

The standard contract that has been sent out states "Your normal working hours are set out in schedule 1. You may be required to vary your normal hours of attendance or to work additional hours from time to time, whether on weekdays, weekends or public holidays, according to the needs of the business. You will not be entitled to any additional remuneration for such additional hours or days worked"

I can't get a direct answer out of HR on the way overtime will work and what the rate will be. I am aware that in the UK there is no legal requirement for paid overtime. I am also OK with the idea that overtime will not be guaranteed but will be mandatory if asked (within reason). I suspect because this is a new role for the company the detail has not been worked out.

Because of my self-employment status I have no real experience of overtime other than the more I worked the more I earned. So my questions would be..

1. What is normal practice in the UK for non-management technician role in terms of overtime?

2. Would the detail of overtime (requirements and rate) be stated in the contract, job description or other policy.

I really want the job and am not sure how hard to push HR for a definitive answer.

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  • 0

    my experience has generally been that if you're paid an hourly rate you get overtime, if you're paid at a monthly rate you don't.

    That's generally been my experience too - either you're paid for your time (waged) or paid to get the job done (salaried) - but with the latter there's usually some flexibility in that you should have had some initial say in what was reasonably achievable in a given time before you start a particular task and if you'd worked extra one week you should be able to work fewer hours later on - after all if the monthly (or whatever) timesheet has the requisite number of hours on it, and the job was done, there shouldn't be any grounds for complaint.

       - Andy.

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  • 0

    my experience has generally been that if you're paid an hourly rate you get overtime, if you're paid at a monthly rate you don't.

    That's generally been my experience too - either you're paid for your time (waged) or paid to get the job done (salaried) - but with the latter there's usually some flexibility in that you should have had some initial say in what was reasonably achievable in a given time before you start a particular task and if you'd worked extra one week you should be able to work fewer hours later on - after all if the monthly (or whatever) timesheet has the requisite number of hours on it, and the job was done, there shouldn't be any grounds for complaint.

       - Andy.

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  • 0 in reply to AJJewsbury

    I'd go along with that, but it is all a matter of contract. Employment law, however, restricts to some extent what can be in the contract: it tends to protect workers. That was the case especially when we were in the EU.

    So the company has made you an offer. Read the small print! If the offer is what you want, accept it, but don't complain later.

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