Reduction in hours. Overtime rates.

dcukhunter

I don't know if anyone has any information or can point me to where to get the information. I have tried search online but couldn't find anything.

We were given a reduction in hours at work from 40 hrs to 32 hrs because of covid. Now work seems to be picking up again and we are working 40hr plus 10 hrs or more overtime to get the work out. The company is still officially keeping us on a 32 hr week and said this won't change until at least the end of Janurary. Can they keep us on a 32 hr week? Also should overtime rates start after our new weekly 32 hrs or after 40 hrs as would be the case during a normal working week.


Thanks for the help.

dennyk

There's no statutory entitlement to overtime, so your contract would govern. What does it say about overtime rates and when (or if) they begin?

Similarly, what do you mean by "keeping you on a 32 hour week"? If your current contract only guarantees you 32 hours, your employer doesn't need to change that in order to schedule you for more hours from time to time. If it goes on regularly for a year or more, though, you might be able to ask the employer to change your contract to reflect 36 hours, based on the banded hours rules.

If by "keeping you on a 32 hour week" you mean you are on an hourly wage, but your employer is only paying you for 32 hours a week instead of paying you for the hours you are actually working, that is illegal. If you are on an hourly wage, you must be paid that wage for all hours worked. You can [contact the WRC](https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/complaints_disputes/making_a_complaint/) to make a complaint.

If you mean that you are paid on a salary basis and your salary and contracted working hours were both reduced, but now your employer is demanding that you work more than your contracted hours, that could possibly be an issue. Most contracts usually have a clause stating that your contracted working hours might vary from time to time due to business needs, however. Unless your contract says otherwise, you wouldn't generally have to be paid more for working extra hours if you are paid on a salary basis, unless those extra hours would put your effective hourly pay below the National Minimum Wage.

dcukhunter

Thanks for the reply Denny.

As far as I know overtime would be after working 40 hrs but I'd have to double check the contract to be sure. We are getting paid for all our hours worked so there's no problem there. The main issue is our hours were changed from a 40 hr week to 32 hr week because of covid and a reduction of work coming in. Now work has picked up again we are working 40+ hrs in all but one section (which is a bit unfair on them). We are getting paid for all the hours worked. The question is can the company keep us on the new 32 hr week indefinitely even though our contracts are for 40 hr weeks. The only reason I see for this is if work quietens down again they can put us back onto a 32 hr week instead of our contracted 40hr week.

dennyk

What do you mean by "keep you on a 32-hour week" exactly? Does your current contract say 32 hours, or 40 hours?

If your contract is for 40 hours, then your employer can't unilaterally reduce your hours in the first place. They could propose a change in your hours due to business needs, and they might make you redundant if you declined to accept a new contract with fewer hours, but they can't just up and change it without your agreement.

At this point, though, if your current contract says 40 hours and you are actually working 40+ hours again now, then it sounds like there's currently no issue. If they try to reduce your hours in the future without your agreement, however, you can push back at that point. See this page for some advice:

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/contracts_of_employment/being_asked_to_reduce_your_hours_of_work.html

If your employer did change your contract to 32 hours and you agreed to the change, then they aren't under any obligation to change it back to 40 hours. If you work more than 36 hours a week on average over the course of a full year despite being contracted for 32 hours, you could request a banded hours contract for 36 hours at that point, though.

Mrs OBumble

dennyk wrote: »

What do you mean by "keep you on a 32-hour week" exactly? Does your current contract say 32 hours, or 40 hours?

If your contract is for 40 hours, then your employer can't unilaterally reduce your hours in the first place. They could propose a change in your hours due to business needs, and they might make you redundant if you declined to accept a new contract with fewer hours, but they can't just up and change it without your agreement.

There's a bit more to it, though.

Some contracts do allow for changes to hours. Some workplaces have them as custom and practise.

And due to Covid, your ability to claim redundancy if you don't agree to a proposal has been suspended for a while yet.

More here: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/redundancy/lay_off_short_time_working_and_redundancy.html#l3acfe

dennyk

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

There's a bit more to it, though.

Some contracts do allow for changes to hours. Some workplaces have them as custom and practise.

And due to Covid, your ability to claim redundancy if you don't agree to a proposal has been suspended for a while yet.

More here: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/redundancy/lay_off_short_time_working_and_redundancy.html#l3acfe

Yes, if the contract allows for a reduction of hours, that would be a different case. The OP referred to their "contracted 40 hours", though.

A reduction from 40 hours to 32 hours wouldn't fall under "short time" in any case, as it isn't a significant enough reduction, so the OP wouldn't have been able to claim redundancy due to such a change no matter how long it lasted, even under the pre-COVID rules. However, if their employer proposes a reduction in their contracted hours from 40 to 32 and the OP declines, then the employer might make them redundant as an alternative, if the business can't continue to support employing them for the originally agreed 40 hours.

dcukhunter

Thank you Mrs OBumble and Denny for the replies and the information.

Looks like there's not much we can do about it so with the new covid rules that are in place until the end of March.

*Admin you can close thread my questions have been answered.