Should I be Paid for Staying Late?

Q.

My work shift ends at 10, however I have now been told that I have to wait for the managers to leave the store. This takes 15 minutes usually. I work 6 days a week so this is a total of 1 hour 45 mins a week. Should I be paid for this extra time?

A.

The short answer is that you almost certainly should be paid extra money for extra hours, but it depends on a lot of factors and actually getting it might not be so easy.

Your rights as a worker are different depending on the type of relationship you have with your employer. If you are a contract or agency worker, you do not have so many rights and you would have to deal with the agency you are working through, rather than the store.

Your Employment Contract is the Key

But assuming that's not the case, and you are working directly for the store (they pay your wages direct to you PAYE) then you have more rights. The first step is to look at your Employment Contract to see if there is anything in there regarding extra periods of work without pay. If the contract is too confusingly worded, as many are, take it to someone else you trust to look through it for you.

There may be a clause in the contract that states that you may be required to stay on after the shift for short periods as and when requested by managers, that's not unusual. But what you are talking about appears to be a permanent change in your hours, not just the odd occasion. This should be accompanied with a change in your contract, which means you need to be consulted and should agree with the change.

Tackle Management About a New Contract

If you haven't already spoken to the management, ask them about this. Ask if a new contract will be issued and whether or not it will involve increased pay to cater for the new hours. If they don’t respond well to that, try asking if you can start turning up 15 minutes later than your current start time to make up for the extra 15 minutes at the end.

If they aren't receptive to any of your questions or suggestions, ask them to put this new demand for extra time in writing, and explain in the letter that you won’t be paid extra for it, and why. It's important to keep a diary of any conversations with the management, write the details down as quickly as possible before you forget them.

Look to the Citizens Advice Bureau for Help

Then take the letter to the Citizens Advice Bureau, with your contract and diary notes. They will help you decide if there are further steps you can take. If you are sacked after all of this, it is likely that you will have a good claim for unfair dismissal, but it is vital that you take legal advice before going down that road. If you haven't worked there for long, for example, you have fewer rights.

But in the end, you may decide that it's more important to keep your job than fight for your rights – that choice is yours.