Dd just started a new job, is this normal

[Weezyi]

Housekeeping. She worked 3 days then had 2 off and she just got her schedule and it says she is in for 9 days straight before her next 2 days off

Is that normal? I would be exhausted doing 9 days straight :(

I knew one of the 'I worked 96 hours a week and I was still full of beans, went out clubbing 3 times a week, and did a marathon every Sunday' brigade would appear. As sure as the Sun rises in the east! 🙄 Did you walk 10 miles to work, in 3 feet of snow too?

@Weezyi Absolutely not normal and not acceptable. Health and Safety would have kittens if they got wind of this. She needs to tell them to cancel 2 or 3 of the days, and start looking for something with a set amount of hours/days.

It’s not normal but not illegal. When I was 20 I worked an apprenticeship 5 days a week then a weekend job in retail. DH sometimes works 7-10 days straight 7am-7pm if it suits him and it means that he gets 5 days off after. I would question why she only gets 2 days off after working 9 days straight though.

The second job wasn’t office based and was very physical.

It’s not breaching any H+S laws……..

Yes. Why should she do a low paying job working for 9 days in a row. A job that she didnt want to do - the job centre pushed her into.

Maybe she can try and do what she actually wants to work at

I was a chambermaid at that age, 6 day weeks, 6:30 am start. Best thing I ever did as it propelled me to get a decent and well paid career so I didn’t have to do it for ever.
And I always generously tip housekeeping in hotels now, knowing the realities of what you find in hotel rooms and bathrooms. It was a five star hotel too!

I didn’t know I was ND at 20, no.

Now in my 40s I do and I still work a lot in high intensity work.

if she can support herself without needing public funds, she can be whatever she wants to be.

but the jobs market is hard right now. So maybe she should be a bit careful about being so fussy.

Not normal in housekeeping, is what I think needs emphasising.

Totally normal

But there is absolutely nothing stopping her. She's not a slave, she can quit. She doesn't even need to take it in the first place.

Or do you mean she should continue to get benefits while she finds herself? Because that's a joke

I think it is quite normal in housekeeping.

Definitely long hours and strange shift patterns are normal

She cant really just quit. I think the job centre will stop her benefits wont they

It’s a means to an end she’s 20 she’s doing it for cash not a career
please please don’t be telling her it’s ridiculous ,beyond her or she’ll be exhausted
just tell her to crack on and see how it goes get some experience and look for something else if it doesn’t work out

At 20 with no responsibilities she should be more than capable of working 9 days a week in a row

I don’t disagree but as it’s UC that have forced this, she clearly does need money to live. If you believe this isn’t right for her then can you finance her yourself? If not, and she needs UC to survive, then she needs to play by their rules.

So you think she should get benefits to sit at home while she's young and healthy and has had a perfectly fine job offer? Benefits are there to fall back on in hard times.

I'll save my sympathy for those who are sick and cannot get work.

Eh i didnt say that all.

I said she can't quit because they will stop her benefits.

Where in that sentence - does it say that i think she should sit at home on benefits.

I think she should get a differenr job

Fine. But in the meantime, she works here, earning money, getting physically tired, fit and strong, keeping her mind active, distracting from her MH issues, meeting new people, developing new skills, developing resilience and better self esteem, she doesn't quit and go back on benefits because her mum thinks it's a bit too hard for her!

it will be easier to get something she wants when she has some work experience and it is generally easier to get a job from a job. 9 days is a stretch but I do think that most people have to take a job that isn’t ideal at some stage just to keep a roof over your head etc. but hopefully the job is a stepping stone. When I worked in a hotel I was very tired at first but built up my physical fitness. I do also think that we have responsibility to each other to work if we can, it isn’t‘government money’ that pays benefits, it’s largely a lot of ordinary people’s hard-earned money used to pay taxes. If it is too much maybe encourage her to ask for a different shift pattern as a reasonable adjustment to her disability/autism.

I hope she thrives, as long as it’s not too overwhelming, work and physical exercise are good for mental health.

Wrong.

No, it's not.

https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours

So?

That link you posted states hours, not days in a row.

The OP is asking how many days can we work in a row.

Under UK Law, companies can make you work 12 days in a row and then have the next two days off.

That is legal

Her UC account will be shutting now that she is in fulltime work, as she has no children or housing needs. If she quit she wouldn't be entitled to recieve basic, out of work UC/old jobsekeers (which is £300 a month btw) until I think 6 months.

She started claiming UC not for the 300 a month but for the help in searching for a job. To be fair they did help her with lots of things like interview prep, her CV, basic customer service courses etc, but kept sending her to the most random interviews that she was in no way suited for and this one she got.

She is happy to be employed and I am proud of her for it too but given her MH issues and autism I really am not sure such an intense, physical work schedule is going to be feasible long term for her.

Of course I want her in employment, full time, but from past experience I know that her burnout leads to mental breakdown (she was sectioned during college for her own safety) and I'm just aware of that.

She didn't have the choice of turning the job down and didn't know shenwould be doing 9 days straight.

Not every job is suitable for every person but there is a job out there for everyon

Let her get her feet in the door and see how she copes. If she can't manage, she can ask for reasonable adjustments and if the employer won't accommodate then she should be able to resume her UC claim on the basis that the job was not compatible with her needs under the equality act. But wait and see how she does. Of course you're anxious for her but you don't know yet how she will cope. I enjoyed housekeeping when I was her age as it was solitary work and I could listen to music while I worked (the radios in the rooms rather than on AirPods given it was 1998 but same principle applies!) looking back the head housekeeper was almost certainly autistic and she was amazing at the job, very organised, very fast and efficient, and she certainly appreciated the solitary nature of the work. You get your list of rooms and you crack on. If you work fast you get to sit and rest because nobody is watching you. It was great!