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

I've been in organisations where there's no give from the employer but they'd always be flexible with me because I gave them more than they asked for.

@HunterHearstHelmsley

A few years ago, when I commuted and worked in an office, I would regularly get in an hour early, this was due to trains and station parking. A few times, I turned up on time for whatever reasons. I had some staff going bonkers because they had officially changed their hours based on me, as a keyholder, being there early. They expected I would be there come what may, even though they weren't my hours, so they could come in earlier and leave earlier. They were furious when their flexible working trials couldn't continue. I have no idea what anyone was thinking.

Cheeky beggars - not checked first with you that you were happy with that. Including HR it seems. 🌹

I work in childcare and my employer doesn't schedule anyone in before the children arrive so my shift starts at 7.45 and the nursery doors also open at that time. We obviously need to be on the floor for that time. But then we are expected to set up and risk assess while children are arriving when it should be done beforehand.
But then my employer often expects you to give up your free time for them - unpaid staff meetings, unpaid for parents night, few hours at the weekend to move the room around...
If my employer was appreciative then I'd be more inclined to put in the extra effort but sadly they aren't.

@ShowOfHands

Of course he's missing out but such is the nature of his job and precisely why he's just ended up in hospital for the best part of 8 days.

I'm so sorry to hear this. Hope things improve in the future for you, DH and your family. 🌹

computer log in
changing into work mandated clothing
work required security checks
commuting if work mandates travel between locations

should be on work time

My shop opens at 9 so I'm there by 8.45 so I can use the loo make a coffee and be ready .

If you start work at 9 that means ready to work. I usually arrive 5-10 mins early ( I only have a short drive so don't need coffee/loo etc just coat/bag away).

Those who are answering public calls at 9am and are expected to have their computer systems on/logged in etc should surely be paid from 8.50 or whatever necessary?

This!

I mean technically I could walk in and grab my headset, log into one system and start taking calls at 9 so 2 mins maybe?
But if there's an issue/laptop has shut down etc and I'm not logged in for 9 then I'm late
3 unauthorised lates in a month means no commission so I won't risk it
Can log into everything else after starting but I need the VPN and the online phone system

I was part of a team where some of us started at 9am and the others started at 8:45. But we all had to attend the same handover meeting. So the ones who started at 8:45 sat around having tea, and the ones who were supposed to finish at 9am couldn't start the meeting until 9am, which meant they never got out on time nor got paid for the extra time. There was a lot of pressure and attitude put on the 9am-starts to come in early and be ready for 8:45, instead of pushing management to pay them from 8:45 like everyone else.

I mainly wfh so rock up at my laptop around 8:58!
If I go in I tend to just get in a couple of mins early!

I used to be a social worker. We had a pretty relaxed attitude at the start of the day with time for coffee and and a chat But as soon as we got going we would be very busy all day, often having to work over our finish time as you can't just leave children at risk because it's 5 o'clock.

Hair salon stylist ! Have to be in early to get everything set up !
lights on heating on ! Towels all dry and washed make sure kettle is on music is on blinds have been opened !
then my station is set up and ready for my first client !
And always leave late !!!
what pisses me off the most thou is when I haven’t had a scheduled lunch and think ill go a tad early ( no paid breaks )
someone will pop another client in at the end of the day even thou I have a scheduled it to be closed for a missed lunch !! That to me is taking the piss and being made to stay after 5pm on a Saturday for team meetings !!!!

But that's actually incorrect for National Minimum Wage purposes. If, for example, you clock in and then have a 5 minute walk to the changing room, and then need to get changed into protective clothing, then all of that walk (and certainly the time to get changed) will count as working time for NMW purposes.

Of course it then depends on what you're being paid - but if it's base NMW rate then if you need to get there in early to incorporate changing time, then your employer will be committing a breach

Depends entirely on type of job, wage and your contract.

If you start at 09:00 then you should be ready to work at the strike of the hour, not take your coat off, go to the loo and make tea. The same with finishing time, you don't stop before to get your coat or go to the loo.

Depends on your job. If you’re paid shifts/hourly or your job is task based then yes you should be ready to start your job ie at desk with computer on at 9am. If your work is more project based ie the work takes as long as it takes then no. I’m a slow start in the morning person but will work through lunch or work late (sometimes hours of unpaid overtime) to get projects done and meet deadlines. Whether I start at 9 or 9:10 is irrelevant.

Yes but employers take the piss aswell especially in retail, in my old job few years ago for a huge employer the shop doors could not be closed until 11pm. This would mean we can then only start all our lock up and closing process after this time, usually 15 minutes if we rush never gets paid. If a customer comes in at 10:59 we have to wait to serve them which could take us way past the time we’re contracted to be paid.

Also, in the shop had to be “one in one out” minimum of 2 employees in the building otherwise the shop must close. I would finish at 3pm and could not leave until the next person took over, they were of the mindset that they stroll in at 3pm so by the time they sort themselves out and come down it’s 3:10pm. Those 10 minutes felt like a lifetime and a would be fuming, managers wouldn’t do anything as “she was clocking in on time”

On time is late. If I start at 9am, I’m ready to start my job at 9am, not walking in the door.

I start work at 9am and only arrive generally around 2 minutes before (due to school drop off). Even if I didn’t have that, I doubt I would be expected to be in before 9am as I log on straight away and get straight into it.

If someone was to turn up at 9am, start eating breakfast, make a coffee, have a chat, then I think that person needs to arrive 15-20 minutes early. I dont have a coffee till mid-morning, even then takes me a minute to make and straight back to work.

I suppose it depends on the individual and their attitude to work.

In my work place there are a few colleges who rock in late then proceed to make tea for the boss and himself chat for a while then maybe start work 20 mins later …but hey when your friends with the boss it’s excepted….where as if your not you so much as take your lunch 2 mins early your called out …how does that work

It depends on the job.

I used to work in a supermarket where you could only clock in 3 minutes before you started work at the earliest. When I worked for the council, our full-time contract had us starting at 8.48am so we were settled before doors opened at 9am. It was custom and practice for us to switch the computers/printers/photocopiers on, sign in, then go and make a hot drink/instant porridge etc whilst they started up, then be back at our desks for 9am because there wasn't anything else to do. The office job I am in currently I start at 9.30am and that's when I'm at my desk switching the computer on.

Any employer asking someone to be in work before their shift starts needs to be paying them otherwise it's an unlawful deduction of wages.

In my workplace, people get in between 8.30-9.30am and no one bats an eyelid. If you got in earlier, you leave earlier and vice versa.
No one is keeping score though, no one is timing your tea breaks. It’s a small business and generally we all have our own projects to work on.

I think it’s really dependant on your job.