Shift work legal type question...

Got a sort of general question here.

Two weeks out of four I work paid as an EMT for a large metropolitan ambulance service and the other two I am unpaid but am either in the training school or on supervised practice.

During my paid time I'm contracted to work an average of 37.5 hours/week and paid pro-rata (i.e. 50% of 75% or peanuts in any other language). My next roster has me working 72 hours one week and 30 something the next (average of 51 hours)? This is not unusual and we often find ourselves working 120 hours in any 2 week period.

Aside from the fact that you (should) get your extra hours back as adjustments i.e. extra time off every three months or so and the European Working Time Directive seems to be so full of exploitable holes as to be useless, it seems to me if you sign a contract saying 37.5 hours/week it is a little harsh to be expected to routinely work 60-70. It's no consolation knowing you will get your time back in August if you're trying to stay awake in June...

Trying to find anyone in the resource area who knows how the system works is proving pretty difficult and you get constantly passed around.

Anyone else out there have any similar issues and were they resolved?

[Biker Biggles]

As you probably already know the WTD hours are averaged over (I think)3 months,but to work 72 hours in a week seems a bit odd.There should be limits as to how many 12 hour shifts you can do in a row(?5)and a minimum time off in between shifts(From memory 11 hours).Do keep detailed records of your hours though as when it comes to getting your due time off in August there will be an issue and you will need to show that you are right and they are wrong.
Just remember,you cant do enough for a good guvnor.Let me know when you find one.

[Ch00]

How many weeks are in your rota? As a shift worker myself I have an 8 week pattern some weeks i work more some weeks i work less hours but over the 8 weeks it all evens out.

Ch00

Originally Posted by Ch00

How many weeks are in your rota? As a shift worker myself I have an 8 week pattern some weeks i work more some weeks i work less hours but over the 8 weeks it all evens out.

Ch00

My shift pattern is a bit odd. I'm technically on a part time contract i.e. 2 weeks out of 4 but my cohort is the first to actually work it; there's still more than a few bugs to work out. I have a suspicion that the resourcing system sees us working 2 weeks then sees 14 "rest" days and using the law of averages crams all the work into the first 2 weeks of the cycle... I'm trying to find out if this is actually the case; we are not paid for the rest days so if this is happening then it's wrong.

As to how many weeks, that is unclear, it could be a 10 week cycle or 17 weeks depending on who you speak to . At the end are adjustment days which are either extra shifts or time off depending on how many hours you do. In my group's case they can be adjustment weeks!

...when it comes to getting your due time off in August there will be an issue and you will need to show that you are right and they are wrong.
Just remember,you cant do enough for a good guvnor.Let me know when you find one

... There's such an animal?

Time off in August? What's that

Actually it's not so bad, get 2 weeks (although unpaid) in September as part of the programme.

[Biker Biggles]

Still keep a record of all your hours.They will rip you off.Believe me I know.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Still keep a record of all your hours.They will rip you off.Believe me I know.

In triplicate!

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

As you probably already know the WTD hours are averaged over (I think)3 months,but to work 72 hours in a week seems a bit odd.There should be limits as to how many 12 hour shifts you can do in a row(?5)and a minimum time off in between shifts(From memory 11 hours).Do keep detailed records of your hours though as when it comes to getting your due time off in August there will be an issue and you will need to show that you are right and they are wrong.
Just remember,you cant do enough for a good guvnor.Let me know when you find one.

Depends when the week starts though for the 72 hours bit. I've done 7 12 hour shifts in a row and our weeks end on a saturday so working monday to sunday is only a 60 week and 12 towarsds the next week

This is all I know from when I did shift work and it might have changed, Now if I remember correctly there is a max number of hours you can work per week, evened out over a period like said over 3 months. If your average goes over that then you can choose to opt out, this includes overtime, so if your doing alot then it can count. You will need to sign some paper work to opt out, and the employers need to give you this option and can't force you into it. I never bothered as I didn't do enough overtime and my shift patterns evened themselves out.

If your doing more then 8 hours then you need a half hour break for each 4 hour period, so 12 hours means you need a hour break, plus you must have a 11 break between shifts. You can't work 2, 7 day periods continuously with out a 2 day break, so if you did Monday to Friday and overtime Sat and Sun, then back to work Monday Friday, you can't work that Sat or Sun as you need at least 2 days off.

[Biker Biggles]

Not quite correct about the breaks.Believe it or not you are only entitled to a 20 minute break after six hours work.Thats it,and if you work 12 hour shifts you still are only entitled to one 20 minute break under the WTD.The average hours per week over the reference period must not exceed 48 and I dont think you can legally opt out of that these days.