If you start work at 9am, should you arrive at 8.50am?

[pontipinemum]

I watched a video recently where people were complaining that if they started work at 9am, 3pm what ever it might be that they will turn up on the dot if their boss expects them to be there earlier they need to pay them more.

I do agree, as apparently some places ask you to arrive 15mins early for a seamless cross over. Which could actually work out at nearly 60 unpaid hours over the year.

I have been bang on time arriving to work and would not consider myself late but I had 1 boss who would consider that late and she made sure I knew.

But if you want to get in, get a cuppa tea, say hi to people you aren't arriving 10 mins early to actually start work. I have worked with people who come in at 9am on the dot, then go to the kitchen for 20 mins before even turning on the computer.

I wfh now so I do tend to start a bit earlier then my official start time

Depends on the job.

@Nicetobenice67 when we had no projects on - waiting for a new one to start. A manager cornered and really dressed down my friend for 'swaning in at 5 to 9 and pissing off just gone 5.30" they were her work hours and during those hours she was going around asking people for filing/ shredding/ anything to fill the day before her next project started. I've worked with some people who like to be seen to be at their desk.

In the office I would usually arrive 10 mins before to make a cuppa tea/ settle. But wouldn't consider myself late if I arrived just on time and didn't make a drink just sat straight to work.

When I worked in shops/ restaurants/ pubs I was usually 5 mins before my shift since I only needed to take off my coat

You should be at the exact place you work at by the designated time. If it's office work, youd be turning on your computer at 9am. I work in a shop, so we should be on the shop floor or at the checkout etc at the exact time I always come in 10 mins early cause I like to get my head together, may make a cuppa, go to the loo etc.

We did have a member pf staff that walked in 1 or 2 mins late then faffed about for over 5 minutes before slowly making her way to the shop floor. Not acceptable, she was told off and is now on time thankfully. Leaving often means waiting for someone to take you off on checkouts, so that means they needs to be on time, so you can finish on time.

If I start at 9am, I'd be walking in the building for 9am, not a second earlier haha

Whether I work at 7am or 14.00 hrs I like to arrive at least 5 minutes before in fact that is quite late for me! I either do a handover with a porter or other receptionist so need to get in before the dot of. Plus I like to settle into my job with a cuppa, perhaps visit to the loo etc..

I now work in an industry where every minute is logged via timesheet to a client or task. It's rigid. So if you start at 9am, you start exactly then.

However I also don't give an extra minute. Lately I am being kept back with urgent last minute jobs, but I can't log extra time past my finish time because it has to be approved (painful process). So I claw it back at breaks or putting lunch in the microwave etc.

In my last job it was much more flexible & I was paid substantially more, so I didn't clock watch at all. So how you're treated & paid has a LOT to do with it.

pressing the start up button on the computer at 9. If it takes a lifetime to get going, that’s still classed as work time with a rubbish computer

There’s case law that actually
logging in time should be on your employers time not yours.
So as long as you are sat at your desk with your finger on the “on” button at 0900 you’re in the clear.

When employed I usually turned up15 mins early to allow tim to start up computer,brush hair,check lippy,make a coffee
I don’t really think anyone would have cared if I hadn’t but it just suited me

Depends on my start time as this can vary. I can arrive pretty much on the dot and get on with things ar certain start times but if I'm opening up or doing a school run then I will try to be there 10mins earlier.

20 years ago I worked for a well known department store. I worked FT and shifts were generally based upon opening times so my shift would be 9-6 but I had to be on the shop floor at 8.50am and leave at 6.10 (to tidy up). I wasn't paid for those 20 minutes. I was once 'late' (arrived at 8.55) and was given a warning. It was a huge amount of free labour the retailer was getting. I don't see why we couldn't be on the shop floor at 9.00 and leave at 6 (the store was generally dead for last 15 mins so all tidying could be done during our paid hours) .

But if you want to get in, get a cuppa tea, say hi to people you aren't arriving 10 mins early to actually start work. I have worked with people who come in at 9am on the dot, then go to the kitchen for 20 mins before even turning on the computer.

I'm one of these, but I'm not a clock watcher. I used to arrive when my transport got me there. Whether that was 1/2 hour early or 5 mins late and I'd log on, get a cup of tea, do the morning pleasantries then start work. I didn't sit and watch the clock and start dead on 8. BUT I would make sure that anything that could be completed, had been, before I left, so it was swings and roundabouts.

Now I WFH and log on early if i'm back earlier from the gym, I do sometimes get house things done in that half hour between getting back & 9 if I haven't spent too long chatting but usually i just have enough time to get in, sort my dogs out their breakfast, get changed, make a tea then log on. And I'm more stringent with being logged on for my times now though as we have very good flexibility so I don't want to take the piss. I was a huge pisstaker when I commuted to London before though.

I think you should be at your desk ready to switch on computer at your start time. My workplace introduced Teams after COVID which seemed to triple the wait for everything to start up. So I wouldn't have wanted to get in early to account for that.

If you want to get in earlier to make a cuppa, chat to colleagues, etc great! It can make transition into work mode easier.

Surely though if you turn up on the dot then assuming you take your coat off, maybe grab a coffee while your pc gets running - YOU are benefitting from 5/10 minutes pay for nothing each day?

Surely it's give and take, being flexible and hopefully most decent employers can give that flexibility back?

Yes sorry I totally agree depends what job

Yes I get that sorry

You're ready to work, ie sat your desk putting computer , at tills ready to serve/tidy etc. You should not be taking coat off, chatting or making coffee. Obviously if you're on time, ideally you should be able to leave on time.

I agree that you should be at your desk/computer/work station/till ready to start at 9am or whatever your allotted time is. Any making a cup of tea, chatting or going to the loo should happen before hand.

However, I fully support a movement coming from Japan/Korea called quiet quitting. This is only working the hours you are paid for. No working loads of unpaid overtime.

I should of started work at 9 this morning...

I bet anyone ringing our office when the phone lines opened at 9am would be mightily pissed off if our ancient computers were still warming up and we couldn't possibly have answered their query about their account. This is all work dependent. If you don't take phone calls from the public then you are probably fine with the whole logging on at precisely 9am.

I have friends who work a "professional day" but they are financially compensated for this. They know the deal before they take the job. It can involve leaving "on time" to collect your child from nursery but logging on later from home. They also have on call financial compensation too which is extra and more if you are actually needed to be working at 3am when the phone rings. Some companies never sleep like the NHS, round the clock.

I think having a wee, hanging your coat and getting a drink should be in your own time. But handovers should be paid time - especially if you’re on an hourly wage. And time to get equipment up and running should also be paid. You wouldn’t expect kitchen staff to warm the ovens and fryers etc in their own time and only be paid when the first order comes in!!

I worked for a multi national for many years. In one of my early rotations I was sent to work at their uk manufacturing plant. The staff there were generally hourly paid/ shift workers, and they were imo, treated like shit.

They were invariably docked 15 minutes pay if they started their shift 5 minutes late, and the office staff were expected to stay up to an hour after finish time before overtime payments kicked in. Standard working week was 40 hours. So paid for 40 hours but often expected to work 45. Admin/ accounting type roles.

Needless to say, the staff were rigid with their break times. Whole departments stopped for a 15 minute tea break, and forget about asking them a question in that time.

It made for a very ‘us/them’ atmosphere. But management brought it on themselves.

Surely that's illegal what your DH work is doing? Or it should be!!!

I usually arrive 10 minutes early to get coffee and log on if I have a 9am meeting but on days I don’t I rush less and sometimes “swan in” at 8.58am or even 9.05am… but I should finish at 5pm and rarely do. My manager knows I go above and beyond at other times so it’s not an issue.
My colleague travels in once a week and started rocking up at 10:55 in time for the 11am team meeting. That’s been stopped. We’re usually pretty chilled but there’s always one who takes it too far.

Why is teams so slow to open! It stops me trying to open anything else while it does it's thing setting up.