Clocking in and out for breaks,help please.

butcher

We have been told by our manager that the company wants all employees to clock in and clock out for our 15 minute morning break and our 30 min lunch break.The problem is they moved the clocking machine to the top of our work area where we must clock out then walk 2 mins to our changing room,remove all protective clothing,wash hands,use the toilet,wash hands again and walk another 2 mins back around to the canteen and do the same on the way back in just 15 mins if we are late we are docked 15 mins pay.Is this legal?

gerrycollins

a place i worked in before counted changing time as company time so we changed first then clocked. If your company requires you to wear protective clothing then why should office workers for example with no protective clothing be legally entitled to the same break periods but lose no break time.

your break should be your break end of. Have ye a union they should be fighting your corner on this.

An alternative is to allow a paid 20 mins tea break/35 min lunch to cover the changing period.

if ye never clocked for breaks before I think requesting these aditional time limits would suffice. the company get guarenteed break periods clocked which will not be abused,as now they can monitor them (ill assume the break period was been abused by some staff hence why they have enforced this ruler) and you guys get that extra few mins to change while still availing of your legal entitlement break period.

using the toilet etc should be on your own time. unless you have to disenfect yourself as part of your job role before leaving the factory floor.

seamus

Having the clocking machine at the edge of the workplace is fairly standard practice, and anywhere that operates such a system usually has strict rules prohibiting employees from clocking in before they start work or clocking out after they've got changed.

In general, the onus is on you to be in your work attire (including protective clothing) ready to work, at your scheduled time. So on the face of it, there's nothing at all wrong with what your employer is doing. Your "break" time doesn't start when you sit down to a cup of tea. It starts when you stop working.

It would be worth looking at a compromise though to a certain extent. If you are actually a butcher, then I would say there's a health issue in having you wash your hands and put on your apron before using the clocking machine, where lots of other people have been using it. Common sense would dictate that you wash your hands and remove your apron before leaving the shop floor, and again on the way back, you clock in and then wash your hands and put on your apron.

Docking 15 minutes pay is a matter of contract really. If it's in your contract, they can do it. If it's not in your contract, they can't.