Work weekends for no pay?

LegacyUser

I am currently in a graduate position for an investment bank. It says in my contract that I am not paid overtime but my work regularly requires me to work 2 hours more a day then what I am paid as does everyone in my team and none of them get overtime.

When we want to make a change to the system it has to be done out of business hours so we need to come in on a Saturday but no one gets any extra pay or do we get an extra day off for coming in.

I am not in a position to say anything as I need the experience but are they allowed to ask me to come in on my days off for no extra pay or no extra days holidays? Even though no one does?

Its annoying as people from my intake did all the same training as me just went into a different dept and they all have 9-5 jobs with a full hour lunch (I have half hour) and never have to work weekends (even some who went into the same dept as me dont have to either). But we are all paid the same money.

Also people from my course in college are on a lot more money then I am for doing the same job and doing a lot less hours.

Just feel like I am getting a raw deal.

Mrs OBumble

It probably comes down to how your contract is worded: does it say "extra hours as required"?

TBH, if you're getting into a professional role, you need to stop thinking about the hours you are paid for, and focus on the results you achieve. Clockwatching is normal in low wage jobs, but more and more inappropriate the higher up you get, or the more potential a role has to grow.

If it upsets you that others from your course are getting more money for the same hours, then why don't you apply for a job where they are working?

LegacyUser

Dont have the contract in hand atm but I know it says something a long the lines are to work "35 hour week". There was something else that I had to sign saying to work more hours then this but I didnt sign it.

I can handle the extra hours during the week but the weekend work is what gets me as I lose day and get nothing in return.

I plan to move after I get some experience under my belt.

murphym7

I don't want to sound harsh, but it will probably come across that way.

Get over it, this is the big world you are in now. Working over your contracted hours is par for the course, expected and looked badly upon if you don't do it. Weekend work, occasionaly, may be called for to finish a project or whatever.

You are in the enviable postion of being a graduate and getting paid experience - there are countless thousands of graduates out there that would kill to have your problem.

Stick with it, get your experience and move on if you feel that is right for you. Do not complain and bitch and moan about it to your manager, this will reflect badly on you - and remember, you may need this person to be on the other end of a phone one day giving you a reference.

In every company I have been with, the average hours worked per week is around 45, guys that don't do this do not get the tasty projects or the promotions. This is unfair, but its the culture we are working within. Wait until you are a manager and you might be able to change this!:)

As the previous poster said - stop thinking of being paid per hour.

Irish_Elect_Eng

murphym7 wrote: »

Wait until you are a manager and you might be able to change this!:).

Unfortunately, it only gets worse the higher up that you go :-)

But I echo the previous posters, it is all about the results, I am lucky to be the manager of a generally good and effective team, I expect the team to deliver results the hours are a secondary concern.

On average: the team members that are ambitious work extra hours, usually on projects to demonstrate that they want to exceed my expectations. Other team members that deliver the same results often do it in different manners, some burn the midnight oil, others work smart and efficiently, some others deliver by persuading other to do their tasks for them. Different strokes for different folks.

Most of my team get their work done 9-5, but I expect them to be flexible when the 'excrement strikes the rotating blades". I treat them well when they need changes to their work hours and they respond well when I need them to put in the extra hours, attend late night meeting, work weekends or indeed in one case fly to the far east for a week with one day's notice.

But make no mistake, as a graduate/junior member of staff, if you get a reputation as difficult, a clockwatcher and a whiner, your career in the company will be over before you even realise it. The best projects will go to others as will promotions and perks. At worst your manager will probably quietly "manage you out" of his team.

Jim2007

Cantheydothis wrote: »

When we want to make a change to the system it has to be done out of business hours so we need to come in on a Saturday but no one gets any extra pay or do we get an extra day off for coming in.

It is normal that we have to do system changes at the weekends, but it is only in Ireland/UK/USA that employees are expected to work for free!!!

I hold a senior IT position at a major Swiss bank and it is always same story when we need to do a big roll out - the boys and girls in Dublin/London/New York are expected to do it for free, while their counter parts in mainland Europe are either going to be off on the Mon/Tues or are being paid 150% instead and that goes for management too. The proof comes in the following week, the support calls from mainland Europe only start late Tues or early Wed, because the staff have been off on Mon/Tues :cool:

Another typical example is meet requests, you'll only ever get conference calls scheduled for 5:00pm or later from Dublin/London. These never happen because most of the other European locations will blow them off unless there is a real emergency.

So you have a choice, either put with the nonsense that goes on in places like Dublin or move to mainland Europe and achieve a better work-life balance.

Good luck with that,

Jim (Switzerland)

HerbSimpson

I think occasionally working late or coming in an extra day is fine but if it's every night and every weekend then I think that's not fair. Management either don't have the number of staff they require or they are not managing them correctly.

I can understand labeling someone a clock-watcher if they are out the door everyday at 5.30 but calling them a clock-watcher if they don't work an extra 10-15 hours per week is crazy.

I'd say stick with it for the moment but once you have some decent experience start looking for a company that treats it's staff better.