Overwork

This is illegal, if you actually worked that many hours and you're not including annual leave and such in that total. That works out to an average of 57 hours a week, far more than the 48 hours a week maximum defined in the law.

You need to start setting firm boundaries on your working time and sticking to them. You don't have to be entirely unreasonable about it and go tools down at 17:00:00 on the dot every day or anything, but you must stop working excessive hours as a matter of course. Your employer keeps assigning you more and more work because that work is getting done, so as far as they're concerned, it's not an issue. They're only going to care when the work stops getting done.

You should start by working out how long your normal tasks take to do, and then when your employer assigns you something new, figure out how long it'll take and what you'll be able to do within your normal contracted working hours each week. Take that to your manager and say (in writing) "I've been asked to do A, B, and C this week, but I'll only have time to do two of those tasks. Which ones do you want to prioritise?" If your manager refuses to answer or insists that you must complete them all, then you should use your own best judgement, get the tasks completed that you think are most important and that you can complete during your normal hours, and let the rest go unfinished and let the chips fall where they may. Keep your manager informed; send them an email along the lines of "I'll be working on A and B this week, and as such I won't have time to complete C until <date>." If they try to throw you under the bus by pulling some "Well, KI2013 said they were going to do all of that this week!" shite on you later, you'll have your emails as evidence that they were well aware of the situation.

It's going to be very painful for your employer, who has grown accustomed to you doing the work of two or three employees yourself. There will no doubt be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and possibly some harsh (and entirely unfounded) words from them about your performance or work ethic, but you need to ignore it and don't let yourself get bullied into overworking again. Don't allow them to make you feel bad about setting reasonable boundaries, either. You are not "letting them down" by refusing to work an unreasonable number of hours a week; they are letting you down by making unreasonable demands, and letting themselves down by failing to hire the necessary staff to operate their business properly. The fault lies entirely with them, not with you.

60 hour weeks is not unusual in law or financial firms … and in many IT project teams also! Push-back could be career limiting. Not saying this is how it should be but it’s reality!

I don't know anything about the legal sector but could you take on the work with a proviso that someone else will take it over if your other project requires more attention?

I think we're actually agreeing with each other. OP does have capacity right now but believes he may not in the future. So your "I'm sorry I have no capacity as present..." Statement is what they can say to their manager at the point they have no capacity.

There is also an opportunity here. They are relying on them so much, so turn it into a positive for the OP.

Can they co-op additional resources in to look after day to day stuff, so they can look after more important stuff. "Ki2013 is looking after a priority project, we need support for them so they add extra value to our customers"(you need your managers buy in on this). Sounds like bs and I don't know your seniority, but try it out. Make yourself look more important, not necessarily can't be replaced in your role.

Yep … there too!

I also work in financial services and at least two departments in the company I’m with routinely work 60 hour weeks.

I can’t imagine too many people are happy to work 60 hour weeks but these guys are very well paid!

What good is a fat bank account if you've no life and high blood pressure. It's the same reason why finance and law is a man's game. It was never that women were overlooked, it's that they can't be kept. They won't tolerate the demands.

Once children arrive, priorities become a lot clearer and women move on elsewhere for more balance. This notion of women being able to have it all is for me a big lie pedalled around to induce guilt.

This is it OP. I had a feeling you meant 3000 chargeable hours which is to say this doesn't include all the nonsense general work that you have to do that isn't billed. And there's always a lot of that.

I think you need to look after yourself OP. 3000 chargeable is going to burn you out and all in all it's probably 4000 total which is insane. You need to have a chat, maybe a group call with your bosses and say look these are the projects I'm doing right now. If I also take this and this also on, there's a good chance I won't be able to prioritise my work in the way it needs to be done because I'm on these other deals.

It's their problem then. They need to have a conversation among themselves. It doesn't fall on you to decide these things but it will if you accept everything and other works lapses. Ultimately, you have to realise you aren't special to these people. They burn through people year after year and they've seen you x100 times over the years.

If you like the job give yourself a chance. It's a show of strength despite it seeming like a difficult conversation to have. If they aren't able to address these issues in a way in which you can then help them, that's on them and you should consider your options. But it's hard to accept that when you're doing the hours you're doing.

If you get sick or unwell due to work they will toss you aside and forget about you. And you'll feel even worse then. Remember only the company and the £££ matters, nothing else.

Its about being tactful in how you approach. It's not a push back, it's saying Nigel, this is what's on my plate. I'm doing this for Boris and this for Frederick. I can take this on for you but only if I'm taken off something else because I've committed to these projects and they will take ally capacity.

Respect your time and you will get respect. Let them bury you and they will. And they'll make you feel bad in yourself doing do.

This is Ireland, not the UK; there is no provision to opt out of the weekly working hours regulations of the Organisation of Working Time Act. There are conditions under which it might be possible to use a different period than the standard four month one for calculating average weekly hours, but even with a Labour Court approved collective bargaining agreement, the maximum calculation period is still 12 months, and if you've worked 3000 hours in a year, you're well over the 48-hour limit even for a 12-month period. Unless they're going with the "Well, we're a big important LAW FIRM and therefore the LAW doesn't apply to us..." argument, in which case I'm sure the WRC will be happy to explain to them why that isn't the case.

That is how it is because employees are allowing themselves to be exploited. The law is on your side and you shouldn't be afraid to stand up for your rights and push back on your employer's unreasonable demands.

:) It's how many people live you know. Better than sitting on yer ass on the dole or arguably expecting the state or some other business to fund your life :)