ANNUALISED HOURS

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Found this on the ACAS site - worth a read I think:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=880

Annual hours

What is meant by annual hours?

This is a system whereby the period of time within which full time employees must work is defined over a whole year; for example, an average 38-hour week becomes 1,732 annual hours, assuming five weeks of holiday entitlement. Once the yearly hours of work have been agreed these hours are usually distributed in a schedule. Some of the hours may be held in reserve to be used when the employer and employee agree, or they may all be used within the schedule. It will also be necessary to determine the arrangements for public holidays and overtime. Annual hours can be applied to all employees, including day workers and white collar employees, but in practice the system is often restricted to shift workers.

Why introduce annual hours?

An annual hours system may be considered appropriate for one or more of the following reasons:

* to assist in the reduction of the working week
* to reduce, abolish or control overtime
* to cope with seasonal variations and/or peaks and troughs in demand
* to maximise productivity
* to help introduce technological change
* to harmonise terms and conditions of employment.

The advantages and disadvantages of annual hours

For employers annual hours can provide greater employee flexibility, reduce overtime and maximise productivity and efficiency. The benefits for employees can include improved basic pay and progress towards salaried status. Most annual hours agreements specify that employees can be asked to work extra hours at short notice which may be beneficial to employers but can reduce the freedom of employees to plan their leisure.

Introducing an annual hours system

Before introducing an annual hours system, employers should explain to employees and their representatives what is meant by the concept of annual hours and consult with them fully on any proposals. An annual work rota should be calculated and agreed before the proposals are implemented. Those groups of employees who have high overtime earnings may resist the introduction of annual hours.

[combocrasher]

Now i am really worried

[k979aaa]

Found this on the ACAS site - worth a read I think:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=880

Annual hours

What is meant by annual hours?

This is a system whereby the period of time within which full time employees must work is defined over a whole year; for example, an average 38-hour week becomes 1,732 annual hours, assuming five weeks of holiday entitlement. Once the yearly hours of work have been agreed these hours are usually distributed in a schedule. Some of the hours may be held in reserve to be used when the employer and employee agree, or they may all be used within the schedule. It will also be necessary to determine the arrangements for public holidays and overtime. Annual hours can be applied to all employees, including day workers and white collar employees, but in practice the system is often restricted to shift workers.

Why introduce annual hours?

An annual hours system may be considered appropriate for one or more of the following reasons:

* to assist in the reduction of the working week
* to reduce, abolish or control overtime
* to cope with seasonal variations and/or peaks and troughs in demand
* to maximise productivity
* to help introduce technological change
* to harmonise terms and conditions of employment.

The advantages and disadvantages of annual hours

For employers annual hours can provide greater employee flexibility, reduce overtime and maximise productivity and efficiency. The benefits for employees can include improved basic pay and progress towards salaried status. Most annual hours agreements specify that employees can be asked to work extra hours at short notice which may be beneficial to employers but can reduce the freedom of employees to plan their leisure.

Introducing an annual hours system

Before introducing an annual hours system, employers should explain to employees and their representatives what is meant by the concept of annual hours and consult with them fully on any proposals. An annual work rota should be calculated and agreed before the proposals are implemented. Those groups of employees who have high overtime earnings may resist the introduction of annual hours.

I think royalfail have already decided to intoduce this as soon as possibile and not inform us to the "benifits" if their are any!. This is phase 4 i think and with handheld's and the use of id card's to gain entree to a royalfail building may soon be in the spotlight for us now i can see big problems with this and from what i have heard you could well think you may have a day off in a few week's time only to find royalfail turn round a say no you must work it and if you are on the sick they may come after you hour's you were off for that!. And you could be told at short notice to only to work 20 hour's one week and 50 hour's the next this is not good for us!. THIS MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO BE ROLLED OUT KICK IT OUT!.

[trythat]

Someone I know works for Dairy Crest, and they went to annualized hours, and he was telling me that people were leaving because ALL overtime disappeared literally overnight. The ay they work is that they do x amount of hours per year, and something like a 10 day fortnight, and of course you have shifts built in to that as well. Didn't sound that great to me.

If RM get their way we will have annualized hours and monthly pay, which will make for a few very hard months.

[steviemac]

take your break, arrive on time, accept 1400hrs finish and the annualised hrs not a problem,leaving early and back early gives ammo to RM as they feel we don't have enough to do, getting back 1hr or so before time every day leaves no room for argument when covering walks for free arrives.

[Lounge Lizard]

"to be used when the employer and employee agree" - No, it won't work like that with Royal Mail, it will be when the employer tells the wmployee to work or not work.

[Carnoustie]

This was one of the many reasons I voted NO to the pay agreement.

In essence, annualised hours could end up like all of us being permanently 'on standby'. The idea being that at slacker times, you can finish say 30mins early and then owe that time to RM. When it gets busy (eg Xmas pressure), you will be required to pay back that time you 'owe' the company, instead of booking overtime like we do now. Hey presto - loads of overtime vanishes at a stroke

Now I could see how this might be a realistic - if deeply unpopular - concept in, say, a manufacturing environment, where if orders for the product you make are a bit thin on the ground one month, you send people home early and then get them working beyond their usual finish time 'for free' when you get a glut of orders that you can't cope with. But what the people at the top of RM fail to realise is that
1) mail volumes do not swing wildly from one extreme to another, with the possible exception of the Xmas period, and
2) less volume of mail does not necessarily mean a postie calls at fewer delivery points and will finish earlier. But those fools think it does mean that.

A thought occurs to me regarding sickness under any annualised hours scheme. If they argue that you are now on a contract requiring you to work 1,880 hours per annum (assuming 47wks x 40hours), surely they can't have an Attendance Procedure that is based on number of days absent ? Wouldn't they have to count hours that have been missed ?

So, for example, to trigger a Stage 1, you'd need to have missed more than 104 hours of work (on the basis that you'd missed more than 13 old-fashioned '8hr days'). So, wouldn't that then mean if you are off sick at a busy time, when people are being asked to work 'longs', they could count you as being absent for 8.5hrs or 9hrs each day you are off, and thus get you on a Stage 1 after less actual days off than under the current arrangements ??

So, the moral of this tale is ....

If they bring in annualised hours, try your best to only be sick in the summer months. You'll take longer to reach the 104-hour trigger point, and the weather's warmer then

[k979aaa]

"to be used when the employer and employee agree" - No, it won't work like that with Royal Mail, it will be when the employer tells the wmployee to work or not work.

You hit the nail on the head for the only way to get time off if you need too is to have your tounge so far up the gaffa's ass you could speek for him!.

[lovejoy]

I think posting this and then relating it to how annualized hours may be used in Royal Mail is wrong. The trials haven't taken place, no agreement has been negotiated and no members have had a vote so how do we know it will look anything like what is on the acas site???

The only committment the CWU (and members in the form of a yes vote) have given is to look at annulized hours and a number of other things!!

It is worth noting that ACAS have no real power and can only offer advice! - For example their guidance for appeals says that the appeals manager should always be senior to the dismissing manager. Royal Mail have been ignoring this for years and have gained the backing of Tribunals on the matter.

I understand this will be yet another emotive subject but lets wait and see the outcome of future negotiations before we all go mad

[k979aaa]

I think posting this and then relating it to how annualized hours may be used in Royal Mail is wrong. The trials haven't taken place, no agreement has been negotiated and no members have had a vote so how do we know it will look anything like what is on the acas site???

The only committment the CWU (and members in the form of a yes vote) have given is to look at annulized hours and a number of other things!!

It is worth noting that ACAS have no real power and can only offer advice! - For example their guidance for appeals says that the appeals manager should always be senior to the dismissing manager. Royal Mail have been ignoring this for years and have gained the backing of Tribunals on the matter.

I understand this will be yet another emotive subject but lets wait and see the outcome of future negotiations before we all go mad

Yes i agree on some points but it is a discussion fourm and these things need too be addressed but mind full of that manager's maybe watching us!.

[AndyK]

It is worth noting that ACAS have no real power and can only offer advice! - For example their guidance for appeals says that the appeals manager should always be senior to the dismissing manager. Royal Mail have been ignoring this for years and have gained the backing of Tribunals on the matter

So Royal mail ignore minium ACAS guide lines, that fills me with joy

[Broxi51]

All annualised hours will do is make posties work properly. There would be even less incentive to rush round. No point in using your car (Which you shouldnt be doing anyway) & having your proper meal breaks. When it comes to the last month, RM, will be bending over backwards to us and shelling out OT all over the shop. The last month of their year will prove to be a nightmare as more and more posties who dont want OT will not be bothered about going to work or especially working past their time to clear. Bring on the headache for RM

[k979aaa]

All annualised hours will do is make posties work properly. There would be even less incentive to rush round. No point in using your car (Which you shouldnt be doing anyway) & having your proper meal breaks. When it comes to the last month, RM, will be bending over backwards to us and shelling out OT all over the shop. The last month of their year will prove to be a nightmare as more and more posties who dont want OT will not be bothered about going to work or especially working past their time to clear. Bring on the headache for RM

No my friend for the headache will be all our's you will not no how many hour's you will work for on the day you turn up for work and that is a fact!. :cfo & :lfo

[lovejoy]

All annualised hours will do is make posties work properly. There would be even less incentive to rush round. No point in using your car (Which you shouldnt be doing anyway) & having your proper meal breaks. When it comes to the last month, RM, will be bending over backwards to us and shelling out OT all over the shop. The last month of their year will prove to be a nightmare as more and more posties who dont want OT will not be bothered about going to work or especially working past their time to clear. Bring on the headache for RM

No my friend for the headache will be all our's you will not no how many hour's you will work for on the day you turn up for work and that is a fact!. :cfo & :lfo

Is it a fact?? Do you have advance information on the national level negotiations that haven't even started yet??

If a proposal or agreement is on the table then fair enough lets have an educated debate! Just putting our own spin on things that haven't even taken place yet serves no purpose!

The negotiations will take place, the PEC will look at document and as annualized hours would be a change in terms and conditions we will get a vote. Until then nothing is concrete

[Broxi51]

So you turn up for work and they say it is quiet so we will only need you for 7 hours today. Okay, do the job properly and cut off. They are still under the illusion that when it was job & go that we did the job properly. They fail to realise that we were our own worst enemies and ran around like headless chickens. It can be used against them but we all have to be honest in our approach. No running, no cars, check vehicles if you are rurals, proper bag weights, meal reliefs. It will be their headache.