or is my work? really need some sensible advice here

[commutingnightmares]

Have name changed for this as its sensitive.

Feel free to tell me if I'm being entitled but its really starting to stress me out and make me depressed and I need some advice about whether I have any rights or whether I just need a good talking to.

I'm a few months into a new job. Generally OK, colleagues are nice, work is interesting though the pay is worse than I was on before (long story). By and large everything is OK apart from one thing.

As part of my work I'm required to do a job from home very early in the morning (from just after 5am) which takes anything from an hour 15 mins to nearly 2 hours. I took this on readily and the quid pro quo is that I get to start an hour later than my colleagues, which suits me as it helps with my childcare drop off.

After I finish this shift I then have to get my daughter up, get her ready, get myself ready and get a bus and a train to drop her off at childcare before getting to my desk. I made clear before starting that the drop-off was non-negotiable -- my DH can't do the morning drop-off. This was accepted when I took the job.

Due to transport problems I sometimes get in a few minutes after my official start time. This varies but it works out on average that I'm about 5 minutes late most days, sometimes on time, sometimes more, but never very late.

My boss is now saying that I need to get in earlier and that I have to be in by the start time or else, ideally even earlier. I've pointed out to him that due to the fact that the lateness is always accounted for by transport problems, I can't do anything about this (my train network is really rubbish and services rarely run to time). I can't get an earlier train and still get the job done in good time and then attend to all the things I need to do to get my daughter ready, its simply not possible (I've tried).

The morning job is really really stressful for me, my daughter always wakes up in the middle of it and usually gets distressed and upset that I'm working.

I've offered to drop the morning job in order to get in earlier. Boss still isn't happy. Basically the key bone of contention seems to be that I have to be in exactly at the start time on the dot or else. If I'm even a couple of minutes late this seems to be a major problem for them, even though there are other people around and its not clear to me that it makes a massive difference, its usually pretty quiet at that time of day.

I could potentially move my daughter to another childcare provider closer to my home but this would only make a marginal difference to the commute and would be quite a wrench for her as she is settled where she is so I don't want to do this unless I really have to.

To my knowledge there aren't any other issues with my work, or at least none that I've been made aware of.

This is massively impacting my quality of life upsetting my DH and my daughter and constantly in trouble at work, I feel I can't win. I'm busting a gut every morning to get everything done on time and still seem incapable of pleasing anyone. A couple of friends one of whom is a lawyer -- have said they think the boss may be on shaky ground in terms of equal ops and should watch it. I don't want to get into anything ugly, but I can't help feeling that I'm being put under pressure that's verging on being unreasonable.

Can anyone give any advice?

So they let you work from home in the morning to fit around your childcare and then allow you to start an hour later than everyone else, but you are late every day even with them making these allowances? Then yes YABU and your employer has already tried to fit around your circumstances.

You signed up to certain obligations that you now find impossible to do. So technically you are in breach of what you agreed to do. Coming in late sets a bad tone in the office in general and your boss is well within his/her entitlement to be disappointed.

I think you need to be honest and tell your boss that you now realise that you cannot meet the obligations that you previously agreed to and ask them if there is flexibility.

Can you work through your statutory coffee break/work into your lunch break or stay a little later?

You need to find solutions as this problem is caused by your lifestyle. Maybe the job isn't worth it? This is a decision you need to make.

I suspect the problem is that you've just been regularly arriving late and assumed it was ok - do you work late at the end of the day to compensate? If you'd been up front at the start you may have got a different answer. As it is you are now in the position of regularly having arrived late and having just expected your employer to put up with it - no wonder they are pissed off.

that sounds like a nightmare for you but I don't think your boss is being unreasonable. It would be nice of him to be flexible and more understanding though.

am I the only one wondering what you do at 5am...? I can't work out what it is! nosy

Further to my post above, I would suggest that you make the formal written request under the provisions of the Employment Act 2002 for flexible working. Your boss can only refuse it if it has an affect on costs, ability to meet customer demand, staff organisation, recruitment of staff, equality, performance, lack of work, or planned structural changes.

I suggest that you write a letter and go to you CAB to ask them to look it over for you.

AuntieMaggie yes but the main part of the reason I'm late is that I'm doing this job for them. Anyway as I said, forget it, I accept that I'm in the wrong, let's just drop it. Thanks for the advice all.

You must be knackered getting up at this time.

I think the main thing is: are you meeting your contractual hours? It sounds like the morning job takes longer some days- how is this compensated? If you are regularly doing extra in the early morning beyond the one hour, I would expect flexibility in the start time of 5/10 min. If you are not meeting the hours that's different.

I think a frank conversation with your boss is in order- do they know how long it takes to do the morning job? Can you demonstrate you are still meeting your hours? Is there something at a given time you need to be in for?

I work in an area which is much more flexible, I work long hours but very much not clock-watching so I would find this 5 min late thing unbearable, especially if you work very hard when you are there.

Your boss has a duty to be flexible, or provide a justifiable reason why. As your need for flexibility is directly related to duties you carry out for your employer, he would need a very substantial reason not to be.

Actually, if my understanding of your agreement is correct, I think you're putting your boss in a really difficult position.

He's already made major concession in agreeing that you can arrive an hour late, which no doubt your colleagues are not entirely happy with (I don't blame them but that's your boss' problem as he agreed the arrangements) but then you're not honouring your side by turning up even later than the agreed time.

So it's not really a few minutes is it? It's an hour plus as far as your colleagues are concerned, unless you are docked an hour's pay for the late start, in which case I have misunderstood. If you are being allowed to start and hour late for f-t pay, then you are being unbelievably unreasonable to still turn up late.

No! Don't drop it! YANBU!

I don't think you are in the wrong at all. You are getting up at 5am for them, you'd think they could be a little flexible.

Okay I am not sure what every one else had read but here is what I think based on my understanding. You start every day at 5 am and do work which should take an hour but in effect is taking up to 2 hours. This means you cannot catch an earlier train to work. The later train has you in work 5 minutes late meaning you are still between 10 minutes and 55 minutes over on the amount of work you have done and your boss is giving you hassle. I think you would have some grounds for constructive dismissal if my reading is correct. He is doing his best to make it impossible for you to do your job even though you are doing more than your contracted hours.

I don't think the fact that you do the early job is relevant TBH. You do it by choice for the benefit of starting later and they pay you for it.

I think they are being unreasonable and they should choose either you do the 5am job or you start exactly one hour after everyone else but not both. And I don't see why it's only one hour when the job seems to take you, at minimum, 15 minutes longer than that. Can you speak to HR but bei g really nice about it, as if you're seeking their advice, and ask them what you should do as you need this flexibility due to unavoidable child are issues? Frankly I think they're taking the piss and should be grateful you're willing to work from home at 5am. Perhaps your immediate boss I'd just a jerk and HR will sort him or her out.

Mumsy I am totally knackered all the time, yes.
Officially the hours are 9 to 5. I start at about 5.15, then stop at about 7, then restart around 10 (or shortly afterwards) and finish at about 10 to 5 in the evening, then occasionally work again in the evenings.

So I am doing more than my contracted hours. But I don't think the contracted hours are set in stone.

Spacecraft I accept that I may be in the wrong and maybe need to suck it up. But I think saying I'm being "unbelievably unreasonable" is a bit OTT. I do my best to get into the office on time. I literally run from the underground station to my office every day. I may be being unreasonable in my expectations, I accept that, but I'm killing myself trying to do the right thing.

It's about being grown up - turning up late most days is not on and YABU for letting the current situation carry on.

What you need to do now is manage the situation you are in, Thistledew made good points to follow further up. Speak and put in writing to your boss a reasonable suggestion re pushing back your start & finish time by 15 mins to half and hour - if it really makes no difference to productivity to slide your working hours to the right like that, then everyone can win.

Be reasonable and articulate when you suggest an alternative, and he should take you seriously - it sounds at the moment like he is exasperated with your timekeeping.

Hope you get it all sorted.

Yep OP YANBU

People seem to be thinking that the OP wants to do the early work which was not my understanding at all. From my reading it is the company that are looking for this.

But- who are they going to get to do the 5am shift for goodness sake! There are not a queue of people who would be prepared to do this- so you are in a better bargaining position.

You are being made to feel bad for having difficulties getting to work, whereas if you weren't doing their work then you would not be late (get up take child to nursery/breakfast club then head in for 9).

I would have a recorded conversation, with HR in the room (not in a nasty way, just to have another person present) to discuss your current arrangements, which seem to me that you are then overworking your contracted hours.

It is your employer who needs to make a decision- is you getting there on the dot of 10 so important that you drop the early morning work? If so that is their decision. You cannot be there on time as this is not possible.

The only thing I am thinking is that with these working hours, and the long commute you must be exhausted- this must be financially worth it right? I am surprised that a higher paid professional job is so anal about hours, especially if most people are working early mornings/extra at night.

I would not do nothing, as this will fester at work. I would do what others have suggested, have a meeting in which you lay out the options (as well as considering whether this is sustainable in the long-run, financially and energy wise- and what if your dd is ill if they are like this about 5 min in the morning?)

I think saying the OP isn't grownup is very unfair, she's up working for her family at 5am for goodness sake, plus doing over an hour commute/childcare drop off minimum all to work. Presumably not getting in til at least 6. And people wonder why many parents get a p/t job near home in school hours and claim tax credits!

I've tried to ask several time and you haven't answered OP. What are the arrangements for your pay? Are you paid for the hour that you miss by arrangement (i.e. you still take a f-t salary)? Are you paid extra for the early work from home?

If you are getting paid for both then yes, I do think you are being very unreasonable to still turn up late. Your boss has been more than (over?) reasonable in agreeing to the late start and you're making life vey difficult for him with your colleagues. How would you feel if someone else was getting paid the same as you for 5 hours less work every week?

Why do you need to run? That's not to do with the early start is it? That's to do with your childcare arrangements which are not your employer's concern but which he has already done rather a lot to accommodate.

Can you tell us what wrk you do and what you do at 5am as it's all sounding totally bizarre to me!

But the OP is not turning up late, is she? She has done nearly two hours of work before she turns up at her workplace. Presumably in the nature of things if she hadn't done this work it would be very obvious. When she took the job there was an agreement about her starting time which is not working out purely because the 5am task is taking her longer than they told her it would. This is not the OP's problem.

She is not leaving on the dot despite turning up a few minutes after the agreed time either. She is making up the time she doesn't in fact owe at the other end of the day.

OP, you should arrange a meeting with your manager and talk this through.

Spacecraft, the OP has explained all this in her 16.50 post. She is not being paid separately for the work in the early morning.

My hunch would be it's IT work. My husband used to do something similar when he made our early morning tea. It suited him and suited the workplace as it gave the earliest possible warning if the system had crashed during the night.