Overtime queries

[m4dh4tt3r]

Hi Mybb'ers.

have a question or 2 about working overtime,

At the moment my work is trying to force us to work one weekend a month (from home). Basically they need us to monitor clients mail servers over the weekends incase the mail servers go down then there is atleast 1 tech on standby for weekends. The shift will start at friday as work finishes 5pm until sunday 6pm. The rest of the time you are on standby. On top of it all they do not want to pay us for this over time, they are basically trying to brush it off as "you will probably hardly ever get a call on the weekend" and only if you need to go to the clients site will we stand a chance on earning any form of cash. also they have mentioned to the clients that this will be a free service to the client so thats also why they dont want to pay us.

The chances of us going to the site is very slim considering more than 90% of our clients dont work on weekends.

What i want to know is can the company force you to work overtime? If i dont want to work overtime am i obliged to work overtime if the employer needs me to? Obviously the employer HAS to pay us and I intend on fighting them regarding the no pay if they want it to go that way but honestly if it lands up that way then it's not going to be a very pleasant environment to work in going forward.

What are my options?

Madh4tt3r

[Moosedrool]

No, they'll have to pay a standby fee. Overtime only gets paid when actual work is done. I believe a call logging process is in place or some form of reference system which you'll use for the overtime itself capturing.

I used to make the excuse in 2007 as a server tech that when they phone asking for assistance and didn't want to pay standby, I'll say I'm at a wedding, funeral or I'll act completely drunk or something to give them the perspective that this is my time.

Edit: Did they even equip all the employees with the required tools in order to work from home? VPN, laptops etc...?

[ambroseg1]

Hi Mybb'ers.

have a question or 2 about working overtime,

At the moment my work is trying to force us to work one weekend a month (from home). Basically they need us to monitor clients mail servers over the weekends incase the mail servers go down then there is atleast 1 tech on standby for weekends. The shift will start at friday as work finishes 5pm until sunday 6pm. The rest of the time you are on standby. On top of it all they do not want to pay us for this over time, they are basically trying to brush it off as "you will probably hardly ever get a call on the weekend" and only if you need to go to the clients site will we stand a chance on earning any form of cash. also they have mentioned to the clients that this will be a free service to the client so thats also why they dont want to pay us.

The chances of us going to the site is very slim considering more than 90% of our clients dont work on weekends.

What i want to know is can the company force you to work overtime? If i dont want to work overtime am i obliged to work overtime if the employer needs me to? Obviously the employer HAS to pay us and I intend on fighting them regarding the no pay if they want it to go that way but honestly if it lands up that way then it's not going to be a very pleasant environment to work in going forward.

What are my options?

Madh4tt3r

its not fair but rather do what you are told. I have seen and experienced this many times before. You are just asking for trouble making a fuss of this.

[Moosedrool]

its not fair but rather do what you are told. I have seen and experienced this many times before. You are just asking for trouble making a fuss of this.

The type of thinking that makes companies get away with ****ing their employees. Trust me they'll have to pay you a standby fee. It's usually a very tiny amount but that fee is the insurance that you'll be available. They are also able to negotiate time off for overtime but unfortunately standby is just standby. I would recommend asking your HR representative.

[Garyvdh]

What is the maximum amount of overtime any one person can work in a month?

[vangend]

The type of thinking that makes companies get away with ****ing their employees. Trust me they'll have to pay you a standby fee. It's usually a very tiny amount but that fee is the insurance that you'll be available. They are also able to negotiate time off for overtime but unfortunately standby is just standby. I would recommend asking your HR representative.

True, but I know of a company that also did not want to pay standby for the technicians and after lots of complaining etc the company started paying a standby allowance. Then in December the company said that they will not be giving the people a bonus because they wanted a standby allowance.

[flashsa]

The type of thinking that makes companies get away with ****ing their employees. Trust me they'll have to pay you a standby fee. It's usually a very tiny amount but that fee is the insurance that you'll be available. They are also able to negotiate time off for overtime but unfortunately standby is just standby. I would recommend asking your HR representative.

+1

4 years ago I remember receiving just over a grand a weekend as standby.... then if I had to come to the office to fix something I would still put in for overtime......

That was BCX... they knew how to play fair with staff.

[Garyvdh]

I found these documents and pages....
http://www.breedevallei.gov.za/bvmwe...0allowance.pdf
http://www.endumeni.gov.za/Uploads/b...y%20Policy.pdf
https://www.labour.gov.za/downloads/...ngineering.pdf

[SoulTax]

Ya don't listen to ambrose, Companies have to pay you a standbye rate if you are on standbye. Simple as that. Then if a call comes in you log x amount of time to that call and they pay you an agreed upon rate. If they told the client that it would be a free service, then it is their choice, and they need to take the financial hit that this brings.

Do not bend to this, don't sign anything either. They will try to make you sign something, but remember, that you cannot be forced to sign anything. Make sure that all of your objections are in writing. Emails and CC's are your friends. Make sure that your emails are worded in such a way that you express your willingness to participate as a standbye worker, but that you require the industry standard standbye and overtime rates for it to be fair.

SA companies screw you because they know they can.

To give you an idea, I am in the UK working standbye 2 weeks out of 5. Including weekends. They pay us a tiny £15.50 per work day. (Standbye is from 6pm to 8am next day.) And £35.50 for the weekend. That weekday rate is not even equal to my standard hourly rate. So standbye is not a large amount of money, but it still needs to be paid.
The actual work rate is between 35 and 75 pounds an hour if we get a call, depending on the time of day etc.... Which they charge to the customer at a higher rate than that anyway, so they end up making their money back quite quickly.

Again, if your company has promised a free service, that is on them, you should not have to take a financial and time and lifestyle knock because of it.

[MickZA]

Been years since I worked for someone else but, back then, you got paid a standby allowance per hour which turned into overtime @ standard rates if you were called out.

Don't forget you can't party or drink when you're on standby so they're paying you for the inconvenience of being available.

[ponder]

Basically they need us to monitor clients mail servers over the weekends...

Do you actually have to monitor things or just be available for a call?

If you have to monitor things then that is considered work which you must get paid overtime for.

If you must just be available then they must pay you a standby allowance and overtime when you are required to work.

This thing about working for free is bs is you ask me.

[cbrunsdonza]

It all has to do with your salary, if you earn more than R14K per month then you can forget about overtime, only those earning less than R14K qualify for overtime.

Consult the BCE

[flashsa]

It all has to do with your salary, if you earn more than R14K per month then you can forget about overtime, only those earning less than R14K qualify for overtime.

Eh?? Where do you see this?

Our country works on "basic conditions of employment act" and it has no mention of who is entitled to overtime and who isn't.

Only exclusion is if the employee has signed a contract waiving overtime.

[MickZA]

It all has to do with your salary, if you earn more than R14K per month then you can forget about overtime, only those earning less than R14K qualify for overtime.

Consult the BCE

I call BS - with this philosophy you are available to your employer 24/7/365 - think that's called slavery

[Garyvdh]

Eh?? Where do you see this?
Our country works on "basic conditions of employment act" and it has no mention of who is entitled to overtime and who isn't.
Only exclusion is if the employee has signed a contract waiving overtime.

See here...

Employees who earn in excess of the present threshold amount are not subject to the provisions of section 10 (overtime) of The Basic Conditions of Employment Act. This means that such employees cannot demand to be paid for overtime worked, nor can they demand to be granted paid time off in view of payment.

The section of the Act that regulate working hours does not apply to:
workers in senior management
sales staff who travel and regulate their own working hours
workers who work less than 24 hours in a month
workers who earn more than R115 572 per year
workers engaged in emergency work are excluded from certain provisions.