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

You'd like to think most large retailers are more aware of the rules around NMW but I suspect not all. You only have to look at the recent NMW naming and shaming lists to see that many aren't, it's not like lots of the names at the top of those lists ever set out to pay less than NMW.

To be clear though, it does all depend on your rate of pay. If you're paid say £13 an hour, then there's often enough of a buffer to include a 10 minute handover time or for people to get changed into the right gear. The problems arise when people are being paid at or very close to NMW

Actually I'm not a manager and I do have a job. I just have a good work ethic.

I agree that I'd be there early to get a drink and be at my desk a few minutes before 9. Never managed to leave dead on time though!

Stop shilling for the capitalists. They'd fire you in a heartbeat if they deemed you to no longer be useful. Don't give them a second more than they pay you for.

This in spades. So many people tie themselves up in knots over a job.

Agree with those who say ready to work at the start time, so on the premises beforehand.

Though prefer one where there is some flexibility as long as no-one is using that to dodge something less desirable about a job.

totally job dependent
In dentistry we have to arrive 10-15 min early to switch on and get set up - and no I don’t get paid for that
first appt is 8am there would be massive complaints if I arrived at 8am and spent 10 mins setting up before seeing the first person
likewise at end of day - last appt ends at 5.30pm then I have to close down clean up and finish writing notes - I don’t get paid for that either

Our staff (small business) start at 8am but most are there by 7.15am for parking reasons as we're on a small industrial estate. They all get their stuff ready, make a few mugs of tea and have a natter. Some make extra time up and start at 7.30am, the others start at 8am. I like that they all seem to enjoy having that natter together in the morning even if it does cost me extra heating and electricity! One guy always clocks in at 8am though and then takes 10 minutes to sort himself out but he has a child with SEN and mornings are tough in their household. I don't like adding to that.

I work at a desk job/wfh and thankfully the company is very flexible about making tea and chats as long as you get all your work done.
So typical day is log on, pull through my workload for the day, as that programme is running go make a cuppa.
When I have come back it's finished running and I sit down ready to start my work.
As long as everything is done by the end of the day they don't mind.

I think you should get in earlier for your own benefit - it makes you look better. To manager and other anal clock watchers in the wider team.

Is that fair, perhaps not. Should you be assessed on your quality and output of work, yes. But sometimes appearance matters.

If you start work at 09:00 then that is what you should be doing. If you work in an office, for instance, you should be sitting at your desk ready to work at 09:00.

I used to work with somebody who was senior to me and never let me forget it. I started work at 08:30, her start time was 09:00. She used to get in for 09:00 then take time to take off her coat, tidy her hair, get out her little pots of breakfast, talk (loudly) about what happened on Strictly last night, then finally sit down and switch her computer on. All that took about 10 minutes. Then she would eat her breakfast while looking at her emails, and once she had finished she had to take time to redo her lipstick.

We were not friends, but I knew a LOT about what she watched on television, where she was going on holiday, where she got her nails done, her home renovations, her grandchildren etc. all from her loud conversations with other people in the office. She also used to use hairspray while at her desk.

And what if there is a traffic jam, your bus is late etc? You leave no margin for error?

I used to be a hospital cleaner. We had to be changed and on the ward for the start of our shift. When I was a porter, one of my colleagues would take the piss and think just being there was enough. He would arrive on time, then go to the canteen for breakfast for 20 minutes.

To me, the start of work is when you should be starting work. Getting changed etc is not work.

Well, it can be if you're the NMW enforcement team

I had a care job where our official start time was 7am but the night staff finish time was 7am. And there had to be a handover- both in terms of policy but also in terms of safety of the children we cared for so it really was essential. The unwritten agreement was we came in 10mins early for handover and the night staff left on time and at the other end of the day the opposite occurred so the day staff left on time. Problem was of course not everyone did it and we used agency staff who obviously didn't know.
So eventually they changed all our contracts to include 15mins more a shift to ensure the handover was still happening properly.

True but if they had to fire one person out of two who would they pick? The hard worker who goes above and beyond or the person to works to rule?

My exes Dad worked in a factory and was a creature of habit - always at least 15 mins early to make tea etc. And start work at 9am on the dot (you couldn't actually start early)

If you clock in more than 3 mins late you get docked 15 mins. One morning he was 4 mins late, went and made tea and sat down to drink it. His supervisor was furious and asked him WTF he was doing. He said if you're not paying me I'm not working. He started at 9.15 on the dot.

At the time I remember thinking he was petty, but as I've got older I think he was right. If your employer is going to he petty about 4 mins for someone who had never been late, then they deserve pettiness back.

Sometimes I'm early for work, sometimes I'm late. I luckily don't work for the kind of employer that clock watches. It makes for a much nicer life. You'll always get people that take the piss though.

I expect people to be working from their start time and finishing at their finish time. I have been known to unsubtly remind people their shift finished and perhaps they should consider leaving the building.

If you're routinely expecting your staff who are efficient to work over their core hours you've got a resourcing issue.

If you regularly work overtime I'll be asking you if you need some more staff to support you with your workload. Being in the office just to be in the office doesn't impress me.

Depends on the job I suppose. If it’s a career where you’re being paid properly and valued and progressed, then it’s reasonable to arrive ten minutes early. But if it’s a shitty job where they’re paying you as little as possible and depriving you of basic entitlements like sick pay, they can go and fuck themselves.

Doesn't impress me either.

But I learned the hard way that some people really do think that is an indicator of job performance. So I guess my advice is really - pay close attention to the culture of your workplace and conform to unspoken rules.

if you have ever worked on a production line, you will know what the start time is, for sure😂

My OH and I have both done a stink on a proddution line when we were yong, just married - the foreman or supersior as they were later called would by on your case A-sap and you'd get a damn good bolloxing😂

I jest you not, at times when i am seriously stressed i still get the odd nightmare re missing my job, bits i did non a production line

Exploitation through fear - good old capitalism at its best.

I work to rule but let me tell you I work damn hard and I’m sick of being unappreciated used to start work half hr early yet ppl come in late make tea have a chat for :20mins so I wised up 🤬it

If you start work at 9 then you need to be ready to work at 9. Not in and going to get your cuppa. I have a colleague who does this and everyone has noticed.