Work Question Regarding Call Back and Overtime.

[ultrarunner]

Yep... but it would be more convenient to schedule Mom's appointments with a more fixed schedule... almost all of the OT happens nights and weekends... very rare I have to go in after a shift because I can talk someone through what they need over the phone... not an option when the area is shut down with no one there.

If the second option would be a shorter day the next shift WITH a later start time it would work better... at least time to go home get cleaned up and catch a few Z's...

Being up most of the night and starting at 5 am can take a toll... besides it looks like you just got up!

The longest shift I have worked was 27 hours... of course being salaried then I took a bunch of half days over the following weeks.

The last thing I want to do is make things difficult for my boss... told her flatly at the end of our meeting to just take the OT off my card and I will approve my card without the OT and everyone should be happy...

We have to digitally affirm our time cards within 48 hours from the end of pay period... it is a big deal and clicking provides a digital signature.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ True enough...

 

[bcp]

Bruce

 

[3930dave]

The last thing I want to do is make things difficult for my boss... told her flatly at the end of our meeting to just take the OT off my card and I will approve my card without the OT and everyone should be happy...

We have to digitally affirm our time cards within 48 hours from the end of pay period... it is a big deal and clicking provides a digital signature.

For a smart guy, you seem to be having trouble grasping the concept of Hourly .

I love Scott Adams, thanks for that.

Unfortunately ur, you'd be better off working for drunken lemurs than attempting to use situational logic with a corp accting dept.

Rgds, D.

 

[two_bit_score]

Take "Ownership" is a concept repeatedly ingrained before the sale... the CEO said publicly several times back in the day that she never wanted to hear "Not my Job" referencing Doctors and Patients that may need assistance... to picking up trash in the parking lot because it was "Our" Hospital.

The disparity for me post sale is the conflict between how we function as my boss sees it and how corp sees it... with after hour Call Back being an example.

On site management is happy with what I do but following HR rules I must be paid a 2 hour minimum for Call Back plus OT (If applicable) but when it shows up on my time card it is flagged from Corp putting pressure on my Boss... if that makes sense?

The complication is that my Boss is not initiating the Call Back but it is either the Alarm Company, Police/Fire or Internal Alarm... such as the Tissue Bank Cryogenic Freezer Alarm... you don't want to lose tens of thousands of dollars of Human Tissue because some forgot to secure a freezer!

My Admin is not a person to go around Corporate and Corporate has set me up as Hourly so OT and Call Back must be paid when due which creates a problem from Corporate for her as to why am I getting Called Back?

I'm going to suggest I reduce my shift by 30 minutes each day making it 7.5 work plus the mandatory Meal Break of 30 minutes... this way when I get Called Back there will be 5 hours each pay period to play with and at the end of the pay period "Back Fill" with Vacation hours any shortfall to make 80 hours...

Seems logical unless I'm overlooking something?

Your BOSS is the BOSS. Her failure to plan and budget for some reasonable OT for you is not your problem. It’s her’s but you are allowing her to make it your problem by putting up with it. So, the conclusion someone looking in from the outside might come to is that you don’t mind adapting to that situation because you are getting some benefit from it in some way. Could be the flexibility in regular duty hours, extremely good pay that you don’t want to lose, prestige of some sort, great benefits of some kind, etc, etc.

This seems very clear cut. But most things which appear clear cut to outsiders aren’t that way to the person involved.

BOSS should be including in her budget legit expense for your OT. She refuses because she can get away with working you essentially 24/7.

IF you are serious about not being dominated by BOSS you could draft a budget for your OT based on the last couple years, projected problems, etc. sit down with her and go over it and try to get across the point that you cannot continue on a 24/7 schedule and only getting paid for 40 per week.

IF she refuses to budget accordingly, which she probably will, then document it all and request a memo of understanding that you have presented a situation that needs to be corrected and presented a solution and that you want it documented that you were refused and that you are required to adhere to the HR rule. Then DO IT. Turn your phone off when you leave work. Don’t be available for a call back.

BOSS is weighing the problems she would get from HR against the problems she would have is she had to address the call backs with other resources and realizes it’s in her interest to abuse your good nature for as long as she can.

You are weighting the benefits of the job against the cost of an unpredictable work schedule without OT, being taken for granted, etc.

It all comes down to what you are willing to accept in exchange for whatever positives you are getting from the job.

 

[tcreeley]

My guess is that all of the old employees know exactly what is going on. And the vendors do to. People call you because they are used to doing it, and it is easier than working out other solutions for them. Part of the old network that everyone understands.
Your boss is getting it easy. You are saving her. If the two of you can work out a creative way to buck the corporation- go for it - but make it good!

You hate getting up- go in later an hour a day, not just a 1/2 hour! Every pay period make up the unused schedule time!
Good luck- they are lucky to have you on staff!

 

[MossRoad]

........

I'm going to suggest I reduce my shift by 30 minutes each day making it 7.5 work plus the mandatory Meal Break of 30 minutes... this way when I get Called Back there will be 5 hours each pay period to play with and at the end of the pay period "Back Fill" with Vacation hours any shortfall to make 80 hours...

Seems logical unless I'm overlooking something?

No, it does not seem logical. You should not have to cut your hours in advance in anticipation of maybe some overtime coming along. You should work your scheduled 40 hours as planned. IF some overtime occurs, you go in and take care of business. You collect your 2hr minimum of time-and-a-half (3hrs). Then, IF your boss tells you to take 3 hours off in the following week, go fishing.

If corporate is all over your boss for some piddley overtime each pay period, that's your boss's dilemma to deal with, not yours. As long as your hourly per year works out to little to no OT, then they should be good.

Again, speaking to my last job, I had about 2 hours of overtime in 3 years total. I was paid $50 each time I was on call, and I was paid time-and-a-half if I got called in, 2 hour minimum (3 hours regular). So I'd either come in late or take off early on nights when production was slow. Sometimes I'd split it up between two or three days. In the end, I'd end up with 80 hours on my two-week timecard.

For that matter, working 7pm to 3am, we had a 1 hour meeting on Thursday afternoons. That's the only time I'd see my boss or coworkers. So to offset that 60 minutes of OT, I'd actually punch in at 7:12 each night.... 12 X 5 = 60 minutes! hahahaha

It was kind of nice. My wife would get home from work around 5:20, I'd have dinner on the table. We'd eat dinner together, talk about our days, and then watch the local and national news. I'd leave the house at 7. It's an 8-9 minute drive to work. I'd walk in the door at 7:12 and punch in.

Before I switched to nights, my wife and I worked just two blocks apart and we had the same 8-5 hours. So, for about 25 years, we were able to eat lunch together at least 4 times a week. To say I had it good was an understatement. We could leave the house at 7:30, drop the kids at school, drop wife off at work, she got free parking in a garage between our two works. I'd park the car, walk a block to work and be there at 7:55. We each had an hour lunch, so lunch, shopping, but most days, we'd just sit by the river, eat our lunch, and watch the wildlife. Return home at 5 was just in reverse order. Kids stayed at a latchkey program at their school, so we'd pick em up at 5:20 and that was that.

Anyhow, you get used to how things are, and hope they never change, but they do. It's how you deal with the changes that makes your quality of life better or worse. It's hard to let things go when you have your life's work seemingly yanked out from under you. That's the way I felt at first when I lost my job. But I lost my job due to the actions of others that were out of my control. I gave them a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. I owed them nothing at the end, and they owed me nothing in return.

Now I'm working facilities maintenance at another place..... flush valves and lightbulbs, baby! That's where its at! :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Did not know you switched companies... your a very smart guy with a great temperament... I would wager to say similar to my friend with 30 Telco years in... her took the buy out at 52 and then did contract consulting for 2 after... nice package offered for the buy out...

Nice that you got credit for the unused sick time... I did the math and the dollar value of my sick leave equals almost 7 years of 403B match..

Had dinner at my brothers... he said he is looking for a ranch foreman... I always help when I can and especially during Christmas Tree season but ranch work can be very physical... he is a key VP at the firm he works for... and decided time was more lucratively spent getting a W2 right now...

Could be wrong but one day I will probably have to cut back to help Mom... so this is always in the back of my mind.

Yep. My plan was 42 and out. I made 30. :laughing:

I wondered about how you'll handle helping your mom in the future. Right after I switched to nights, my wife's folks (mine are long gone) started needing a little assistance. It was nice being off days. I could help them days, and my wife could help nights. Now that I'm back on days, they kind of have to wait until evenings for assistance. Fortunately, they have a great neighbor that I get along with well, too, and he's retired and helps them during the day if needed. He's their "other good son". And my new employer has assured me that I can take incidental time if I need to deal with emergencies such as my in-laws if that should occur. I took a major pay-cut, but have the opportunity to get back to about 85% of my last job pay within a year. So while I am currently getting payed "kid wages", we've always budgeted on getting paid kid wages. We haven't noticed a hit in our budget at all.

Those are some thing's you'll have to consider if you think about switching careers.

 

[2458n]

My local Business agent gave me great advice as a apprentice - if you are not happy quit. And this was the guy that settled contracts with major companies, the state and in the end international disputes. He ended up as 12th international vice president. He would always take my phone call though.