Sack For Not Doing Overtime?

[arnold cheshire]

They can't sack you for working to time and he is just waving his dick in your face in the hope you will do as he wants. That being said, if you are on a temporary/rolling contract all they have to do is refuse to renew it.

It's a shitty situation and a prime example of why RM managers love to have all these temporary contracts. It gives them the leverage to push workers into working overtime, etc. Knowing full well they have your contracts to use against you.

Definitely get your rep involved if you are a union member. Unfortunately I feel you are kinda stuck as to your options, with your type of contract. Unless of course they have made you permanent?

say i dont want overtime im on tax credits

[Carp]

At the end of the day,the dom is playing a dangerous game by this sacking.For what?
If it was me sacked for that,then simple i would take it to a unfair dismal tribunial.On the day the tribunial will look at your contract hours Weekly then daily.
Be rest assured all will be in your favour,as whatever the circumstances the royal mail may throw at them,will not brush off,cos you've worked the relevent hours and told your dom about your concerns that you don't wish too work overtime.

[hantsman]

At the end of the day,the dom is playing a dangerous game by this sacking.For what?
If it was me sacked for that,then simple i would take it to a unfair dismal tribunial.On the day the tribunial will look at your contract hours Weekly then daily.
Be rest assured all will be in your favour,as whatever the circumstances the royal mail may throw at them,will not brush off,cos you've worked the relevent hours and told your dom about your concerns that you don't wish too work overtime.

Many people quote ET's here but if you really want to keep your job, I would not be rushing to get to an ET for unfair dismissal.

I speak from experience

[fishtank]

Many people quote ET's here but if you really want to keep your job, I would not be rushing to get to an ET for unfair dismissal.

I speak from experience

Good advice.
An ET should be almost the very,very last resort.
Somewhere after attempted blackmail but before contract killing.

[Carp]

This poor laddie has been threatened to lose his job,in which thedom is preparing to breach his contract hours by forcing him to go over his contract hours.Now! If i was threatened with that,then maybe you would but i certainly would not take it lying down.
CWU,should be stepping in here,as afterall whats the point with all these talks over contracts etc.... if nothing is getting done about it

[losharapidoras]

They can't sack you for working to time and he is just waving his dick in your face in the hope you will do as he wants. That being said, if you are on a temporary/rolling contract all they have to do is refuse to renew it.

It's a shitty situation and a prime example of why RM managers love to have all these temporary contracts. It gives them the leverage to push workers into working overtime, etc. Knowing full well they have your contracts to use against you.

Definitely get your rep involved if you are a union member. Unfortunately I feel you are kinda stuck as to your options, with your type of contract. Unless of course they have made you permanent?

Thanks for all your replies guys.

Yes, I'm on a fixed-term 3 month contract, so they can theoretically get rid off me by not renewing the contract. << I already knew that, but was wondering whether they could do it in the MIDDLE of the contract simply for not doing overtime? Judging by what you've said here, looks like they can't and this guy is just trying to scare me - what a c*nt...Unbelievable.

I will definitely be taking this to my rep, because this is not the first time and I've taken too much sh!t from my DOM since I started working with RM.

With regards to cutting off this was the procedure that I was told to do by my rep:

1. Inform the management before going out that I won't be able to finish on time
2. Do whatever I can up to my time
3. Bring the rest back

Clearly, when they "suspended" me that was total bullsh!t too, because they can't do that, so I will be discussing that as well.

And the thing with overtime, I can't always refuse to do it, because I checked the contract and it says there that it's "necessary due to the nature of the business", but that doesn't mean compulsory, right? If they try to bring this up, I know what to say.

[hantsman]

As you found out the threats don't always happen. Just be careful is my advice. You are right you don't have to do overtime.

It is mentioned at the bottom of the contract but this has not stacked up in an ET. Was it Whitemoor66 on here?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

As you found out the threats don't always happen. Just be careful is my advice. You are right you don't have to do overtime.

It is mentioned at the bottom of the contract but this has not stacked up in an ET. Was it Whitemoor66 on here?

No his was the 1 hour contract and not being paid his average hours on holidays.

[whitemoor66]

As you found out the threats don't always happen. Just be careful is my advice. You are right you don't have to do overtime.

It is mentioned at the bottom of the contract but this has not stacked up in an ET. Was it Whitemoor66 on here?

No his was the 1 hour contract and not being paid his average hours on holidays.

In theory, although I was once on a 40 hour week and then on a 30 hour work, the ET judge told Tony the "Loft diver" and the Rachel the "I don't have to do that, I'm a manager" that if I worked 1 hour I could refuse to work overtime. In my case I said I would take on the extra hours as overtime so it's a bit of a grey area. Can you agree to do overtime and then change your mind? If you looked at my judgement, he stated that with regards to the contract I had it was a contradictory minefield.

[hantsman]

As you found out the threats don't always happen. Just be careful is my advice. You are right you don't have to do overtime.

It is mentioned at the bottom of the contract but this has not stacked up in an ET. Was it Whitemoor66 on here?

No his was the 1 hour contract and not being paid his average hours on holidays.

In theory, although I was once on a 40 hour week and then on a 30 hour work, the ET judge told Tony the "Loft diver" and the Rachel the "I don't have to do that, I'm a manager" that if I worked 1 hour I could refuse to work overtime. In my case I said I would take on the extra hours as overtime so it's a bit of a grey area. Can you agree to do overtime and then change your mind? If you looked at my judgement, he stated that with regards to the contract I had it was a contradictory minefield.

The OT bit was what I meant, I don't think it stands up as mentioned in that Judgement

[hantsman]

This poor laddie has been threatened to lose his job,in which thedom is preparing to breach his contract hours by forcing him to go over his contract hours.Now! If i was threatened with that,then maybe you would but i certainly would not take it lying down.
CWU,should be stepping in here,as afterall whats the point with all these talks over contracts etc.... if nothing is getting done about it

In no way do I disagree Andy, but the harsh situation is you have to be so careful what you do because most RM manangers def act in complete disregard of any guide lines .

[POSTWOMAN]

its sad to see this thing happening in most offices in rm . also, most posties dun step up and let the managers abuse them cuz they fear losing job/ rollling contracts etc. if someone is brave enough he/she doesnt know the guidelines properly to fight back. even though its impractical , please dun them use u cuz u gonna get stress urself and they gonna get praise for better management performance cuz u let them screw you. i will say better lose job and work somewhere else.

lastly, before leaving office let the manager know that u cant go overtime aka ''work beyond your duty end time'' and ask him what to do with the mail. ask again & again. performance review is matter of concern but as of today and the very present moment u r informing that u cant do overtime.

Count the total number of closes u r taking and multiply them by 3 mins to get the basic minimum time to finish all mail and add 15 mins of pouching to that = total time to finish.
u can base your argument on that ''total time to finish'' if it exceeds ur duty end time.


very very sad to see young posties getting secrewed everyday by dom. with economy down the drain and so much unemployment i can see a new wave of rolling contract slavery happeing in the years to come.

thanks very much to POSTMAN for this site as well as other members who provide great answers

[jagger]

its sad to see this thing happening in most offices in rm . also, most posties dun step up and let the managers abuse them cuz they fear losing job/ rollling contracts etc. if someone is brave enough he/she doesnt know the guidelines properly to fight back. even though its impractical , please dun them use u cuz u gonna get stress urself and they gonna get praise for better management performance cuz u let them screw you. i will say better lose job and work somewhere else.

lastly, before leaving office let the manager know that u cant go overtime aka ''work beyond your duty end time'' and ask him what to do with the mail. ask again & again. performance review is matter of concern but as of today and the very present moment u r informing that u cant do overtime.

Count the total number of closes u r taking and multiply them by 3 mins to get the basic minimum time to finish all mail and add 15 mins of pouching to that = total time to finish.
u can base your argument on that ''total time to finish'' if it exceeds ur duty end time.


very very sad to see young posties getting secrewed everyday by dom. with economy down the drain and so much unemployment i can see a new wave of rolling contract slavery happeing in the years to come.

thanks very much to POSTMAN for this site as well as other members who provide great answers

Please speak english. Text speak hurts my head!

[meknoy]

Hi,
I'm in a similar situation here too!

I'm on a 6 month contract, and get asked to do overtime pretty much everyday. With the fear of not having my contract renewed I have given in and done some overtime to keep the peace.
BUT, on a couple of occasions, when the DOM says to book an hour for that bag, it does take a little longer. Especially if it is a round I don't know or the frame is incorrect to the walk (which happens a lot!)
So I end up doing more work and only getting paid an hour for it.

I'm on a 25 hour contract, which suits me fine. I don't want to do more, even though my round I am on and have been since I started takes longer than 25 hours a week. I'm doing about 32 hours. (so I am already doing overtime anyway! But I think they forget that when they ask to do more)

My question is, can they, after my 6 months not extend my contract for not doing that extra bag a day or extra half a round? I guess they can't use that excuse, but is it likely they will find another excuse or just say I'm not needed, thank you and bye bye.

As much as people moan, and complain, I have been working for RM for a couple of months now and I really enjoy it! I enjoy doing my round, but I just don't enjoy doing the extra overtime. Not when I don't need it for similar tax benefit reasons.

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

Hi,
I'm in a similar situation here too!

I'm on a 6 month contract, and get asked to do overtime pretty much everyday. With the fear of not having my contract renewed I have given in and done some overtime to keep the peace.
BUT, on a couple of occasions, when the DOM says to book an hour for that bag, it does take a little longer. Especially if it is a round I don't know or the frame is incorrect to the walk (which happens a lot!)
So I end up doing more work and only getting paid an hour for it.

I'm on a 25 hour contract, which suits me fine. I don't want to do more, even though my round I am on and have been since I started takes longer than 25 hours a week. I'm doing about 32 hours. (so I am already doing overtime anyway! But I think they forget that when they ask to do more)

My question is, can they, after my 6 months not extend my contract for not doing that extra bag a day or extra half a round? I guess they can't use that excuse, but is it likely they will find another excuse or just say I'm not needed, thank you and bye bye.

As much as people moan, and complain, I have been working for RM for a couple of months now and I really enjoy it! I enjoy doing my round, but I just don't enjoy doing the extra overtime. Not when I don't need it for similar tax benefit reasons.

I dread to ask, but I'm willing to bet you have not been claiming or using your meal relief allownace either (standard 30 minutes for a 5 hour day), including the extra 10 minutes if you do a 7 hour shift and every subsequent 2 hours.

As for the extra part-round delivery overtime, why are you agreeing to regularly do such an amount for an hour if you know it will take more (and may take you over the 7 hour mark)? You need to say you will claim what it takes you to do and fill in the docket sheet yourself when you get back from delivering, taking account of any extra meal relief entitlement.

And finally, do not be under any false illusions here regarding your temporary contract and its renewal... Agreeing to do whatever is requested of you regarding overtime is in no way going to influence whether you get a contract renewal. These temporary contracts were introduced by Royal Mail to help depots fill delivery positions until the "Park and loop" revision has taken place, at which point many temporary contracts are not extended. They are a means to an end to RM, so only do the overtime (claiming all your entitlements) if and only if it suits you.