35 Hour Week

[SW Postie]

Good morning all, I’m on a 35 hour contract (7 hours per day, 5 days a week). I understand my break entitlement is 30 minutes per day. Does this have to be taken as 2 x 15 minutes or can I tag it all on to the end? The sheet I’ve seen floating about re breaks has 20 and 20 for above 35 hours and 35 hours just states 30!!

TIA

[TheoF95]

I always add it on to the end of my shift and claim it as OT if i go over.

[worktotime]

its up to you how you want to take it , 15 - 15 or 30 mins when you need it , im f/t and i take my 40 mins about halfway round before we start the second part of our delivery , its nice to hear that other postie are taking there breaks .

[SpacePhoenix]

Bit risky taking it all at the end, higher up might just see it as easy pickings to remove a few hours out of the office. They're not going to care whether you was on your break or not. Fairly sure it's illegal to take all your break at the end of a shift anyway.

Break allowances are by how long a shift is, not how many hours your contract is. I don't have a copy of the chart to hand which shows the break allowances for different length shifts

[grchpo]

I always add it on to the end of my shift and claim it as OT if i go over.

Don't think you are able to do this, do you sit around until finish time or go home 30/ 40 mins early, either way it's not a good idea. The PDA will show you are stopped or logged out..

[TheoF95]

I always add it on to the end of my shift and claim it as OT if i go over.

Don't think you are able to do this, do you sit around until finish time or go home 30/ 40 mins early, either way it's not a good idea. The PDA will show you are stopped or logged out..

I go home and my managers have no problems with it, as long as you have not actually taken your break on delivery... they can see this on your PDA actuals. I work in rurals and we rarely see management but they are aware of it and everybody i work with does the same.

[grchpo]

They may be aware of it but as soon as the sh_t hits the fan they will deny all knowledge.

[yellowbelly]

I always add it on to the end of my shift and claim it as OT if i go over.

Don't think you are able to do this, do you sit around until finish time or go home 30/ 40 mins early, either way it's not a good idea. The PDA will show you are stopped or logged out..

I go home and my managers have no problems with it, as long as you have not actually taken your break on delivery... they can see this on your PDA actuals. I work in rurals and we rarely see management but they are aware of it and everybody i work with does the same.

The algorithms that process your PDA office data will see your return to office and logoff - as stated by other posters, it's a potential
area for RM to take hours out of the office or adjust who does what indoor work if you take all your break at end of duty. RM are not going to pay some paper shuffler to check through literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of paper or ring up individual managers to see if Postman Pat in Greendale took all his break at end of duty - they'll look at your start duty time and PDA return to office and assume break was all taken before going out and/or mid duty.

[picture123]

Under the working time directive your break Must be taken during your shift, not at the start or end. Your manager can also specify when and how you take it.

[TheoF95]

I always add it on to the end of my shift and claim it as OT if i go over.

Don't think you are able to do this, do you sit around until finish time or go home 30/ 40 mins early, either way it's not a good idea. The PDA will show you are stopped or logged out..

I go home and my managers have no problems with it, as long as you have not actually taken your break on delivery... they can see this on your PDA actuals. I work in rurals and we rarely see management but they are aware of it and everybody i work with does the same.

The algorithms that process your PDA office data will see your return to office and logoff - as stated by other posters, it's a potential
area for RM to take hours out of the office or adjust who does what indoor work if you take all your break at end of duty. RM are not going to pay some paper shuffler to check through literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of paper or ring up individual managers to see if Postman Pat in Greendale took all his break at end of duty - they'll look at your start duty time and PDA return to office and assume break was all taken before going out and/or mid duty.

They do try every year to change things but it normally lasts a day as the office cuts off and leaves tracked and specials. The only thing they can do is make our rounds big enough so we hardly ever finish early which they have done. All rural offices i cover are run on the goodwill of the staff, everyone i know claims OT daily to clear and that's all year round (pre covid). In the office i cover the most it never gets asked to lapse as we have no time. So i don't think they will take any more hours out of an office that needs them put back in! But yes officially you are not supposed to take your break at the end

[grchpo]

40 minutes x how ever many postmen = hours taken out of office

[Cluaran]

In our office they don't care if we have enough time to do the lapsing, It has to get done, the specials and tracked anyway which adds an hour onto our already hectic day!

[Ren Hoëk]

In our office they don't care if we have enough time to do the lapsing, It has to get done, the specials and tracked anyway which adds an hour onto our already hectic day!

No it doesn't. If you run out of time you run out of time. They can ask you to make sure tracked and SD's get delivered or even ask you to prioritise certain streets within you time but they cant make you go over. Bring back what ever is left.

[HTPostman]

The DOM here has been known to knock off the break at the end if you take it then. I don’t risk it and make sure I take it on delivery without fail.

Which leads into the following story, and this to me sums up RM. one Saturday I agreed to do extra. Our office shuts at 4pm on a Saturday but there’s one guy who locks up and has to wait regardless of if you’re back on time or not. His finish time is 4pm and he wants to be done then, but if not he has to wait and book it as OT. On the aforementioned Saturday I was all set to be back at 4pm only I’d not taken my 20 min outdoor break so I parked up half a mile from the depot and took it. Result? I got back at 4.20pm, he was unhappy and RM had to pay 20mins extra to him for no reason other than these stupid games played by management.

[NewPostieUK]

Good morning all, I’m on a 35 hour contract (7 hours per day, 5 days a week). I understand my break entitlement is 30 minutes per day.

Don't forget, it's not contracted hours, it's hours worked. If you work 7hrs and 5 mins you get 40 mins break.