To think that a salary of £35-40k a year ....

[Doowta]

... doesn't seem all that much when your contracted working hours are Monday to Friday, 09:30 - 17:30; yet:

1. You never work those hours
2. In fact, you frequently work 60-70+ hours between Monday and Friday
3. When working outside of these contracted hours, you never get time back in lieu
4. You have to work erratic but frequent weekends on little to no notice (and no, you don't get time back in lieu for this either)
5. You have your booked leave cancelled due to work "emergencies"
6. You have a work phone which enables you to work "flexibly"; however, it simply means that you are on call permanently/have to check and answer emails/make conference calls

etc

So ...

if a salary of £35-40k a year doesn't make such a job worth it, what kind of salary would?

None, IMO. I would look for a new job. But then quality of life has always been more important than money to me. Which is why I'm in a sector that pays shit but has reasonable hours.

My DB works well, well into a six-figure salary and doesn't have to deal with that.

No way would i do that for £40K. I used to earn more than than and do shite all.

are you in education?

it sounds similar, although you obviously have more flexibility

What's the job? A salary isn't just about hours, it'll reflect qualifications, experiences etc as well.

Sounds like higher education to me... sigh.

No it doesn't seem very much for that

But no doubt someone will come along later telling you to quit moaning because anyone earning over about 20k is rolling in it, no matter what your rent/childcare/ bills costs, and no matter how many hours you put in!

More fool the person doing this. They should switch off the work mObile when they finish work and put it in a drawer, for a start.

I've been up since 5:30 writing a lecture for tomorrow and may get no sleep at all overnight. With a vomiting child.

Ni, I don't think YABU at all. Sounds hellish to me.

But like Mrs above, just wait for the posts flaming you for being so ungrateful because you will be deemed by some to be loaded.

But it's nit about how much you earn at the end of the day well it is really but about quality of life/work balance which seems very skewed at the moment for you.

I thought teacher until I got to number 6!

YABU - it's well over the national average, and many jobs have long hours.

That is not said to flame - it's a statement of fact.

If the holder of this job is discontented, then they are free to resign and seek a post they prefer.

< guess at job - Captain or Warrant Officer in the British Army? Ranks lower than that also face a demanding working pattern and inroads on wider life; which can be sometimes be significantly more extensive than those in OP, but of course they get paid rather less >

Wouldn't the contracted hours for a higher ed job start earlier than 9.30am? The contracted hours the OP mentions are unusual- 9.30 is a late start (though obviously the OP adds that there are a lot of hours outside that)

I would guess that you are a mid ranking civil servant?

Job Guess: Junior lawyer in City firm

However, if that's the case then the employee shd have realised that contracted hours mean js.

No it doesn't.

Although I have yet to meet anyone on a salary (as opposed to an hourly rate) who gets either paid overtime or works their contracted hours.

I realise there are some that do but the vast majority of jobe require people to work more hours than they are contracted without reward. It is all very well saying "switch your phone off" but back in the real world that is not how it works.

Sounds like my company except they increased contracted hours to 40 this year - even though most staff do well in excess of this. It's a landscape and engineering firm. And is why I'm not keen to return post maternity leave despite the salary being adequate for only one of us to need to work.

2nd vote for junior lawyer (or senior lawyer in the regions).

I guess it depends whether there is an end in sight that you consider worthwhile? Eg, if you are a lawyer, do you want to be a partner? Or, are you setting yourself up for financial security in old age? If so, you might decide to put up with the rubbish hours etc now for the long term gains. If not, you need to evaluate where you are going and whether there is a better way of getting there that doesn't involve your current job.

Agree with Pip that location on career arc is critical to YABU/YANBU decision. More details please OP

my guess is that you are in IT. Did you opt out of the EU working time directive? DO you have an HR department? I think Id be having a quiet chat with them. Because if you have to do all that regularly, then the company are really taking the piss. You would be in your rights to refuse to do this amount of work without time off in lieu. Especially the weekends. Switch off your phone. Tell them you are going to switch off your phone if you are not formally "on call" - and then do it.

Id also check your contract and the fine print in it and Id speak to management about what they are expecting you to do.

And Id be looking for a new job.

Civil servant? Hubby gets that much, he works more hours than contracted, not as much as 60 hours, but his hours are 5-14.00 or 13-22.00 including 5 saturdays / sundays in 7, used to be 24 hours a day, NO extra money for the privilege of crap hours and a complete weekend off once every 3 months. He is also on call often too. He has also been refused permission to take the leave he is entitled too cos David Cameron told this government department to shed 25% of jobs, so already understaffed has now become skeleton staff, it's shocking the staff left are being refused their leave, and NO leave at all next year in the months around the Olympics. Yes work conditions suck in many jobs, you are made to think yourself lucky you have a job. You are not alone.

Agree sounds like civil service, seems exactly like the situation when I was at the DoH. It was such a pressurised environment when I worked there a few years ago that everyone was doing crazy hours and getting burnt out.