AIBU to think your start time is your actual start time?

[Katie2001]

Since starting work, many years ago, I've always believed if you start work at 9, you come in at quarter to or just before so you can be ready to start. If you are held up for any reason, or have to drop kids off or whatever of course it's different. Of the two colleagues at work on the same level as me, one starts at 9:30 so comes in at any time between that time and quarter to ten, makes her coffee, eats her breakfast and is ready to actually work about ten or quarter past. The other one starts at 9 but comes in any time between quarter past 9 and quarter to ten. Neither have school age children. Maybe I'm in the one in the wrong?

I agree. I start at nine, am always at my desk at quarter to or 10 to. I have colleagues who waltz in at 09.07 or 0910 or later, never apologise, still take a full lunch break. I said once, if you were catching a train at 9am would you get to the station at 7 minutes past? Met with a silent glare. It drives me mad.

YNBU, I hate that. I worked with a bloke who should have done the same hours as me. On salary, contracted for 37 hours per week starting @ 9.. Never, ever done that few, it's usually more like 50! Anyway, he would stroll in about 1030 making out like he'd been on a site visit, but this was every day. Eventually the team manager had a few strong words....so he started getting in at 9 but that lasted all of a week before he started taking the piss again.
Thankfully, the 'let him go'.

I don't have a problem with people getting a drink or a quick catch-up chat or whatever.

YANBU. I work with someone who is ALWAYS about fifteen minutes late. And there are no repercussions for her. It's not so bad at the beginning of the day because she's not relieving anyone, but when she has a late shift, and it happens, it takes the piss. Either someone has to stay late to wait for her, or they go and leave the department uncovered and piss off the customers.

People are becoming increasingly reluctant to cover for her, though, so I think it's finally becoming an issue amongst the managers after six months.

YANBU. It drives me nuts. I start at 9 and get to work for 830 so that I can make myself a drink and have my breakfast. Always have.

What does the boss say?

I've never been in a job role where this would be acceptable!

What sort of industry is it??

The boss said about 'start time 9:30' person that 'something would be done about it'. Nothing has been done. The other person has a different boss (but I have to cover her stuff when she's not there) and her boss has no problem with it (presumably because if he calls and she's not there, which is often, I just pick it up for him). It's the aerospace industry.

Yanbu.

I have worked with several people like this. arrive at their start time, clock in then go and have a fag/get changed/go for a wee etc and by the time.they are set up ready to go it's a good few mins after they were meant to start.

also the same.people who ask you to cover for them when you arrive 15 mins early to allow for drink making or getting yourself set up, so they can have a fag or make a phone call etc.

I hide in he staff room now and come.out five mins before my shift or I end up starting early and unpaid.

And yy to the full breaks on top of all the pissing about and fag breaks

Well, it would be impossible for me to arrive 30 minutes before my start time, but all I have to do is turn my pc on so it doesn't take me long to settle in.

I worked somewhere once where a team seemed to have a full on breakfast break every friday morning (to which a few select others were invited) all on company time.

It depends how productive they are when they start work. I've worked with a couple of people who made a massive virtue of coming in early so that they were ready to start work on the dot, but the reality was they were both pretty lazy and slow, and did half as much work as their colleagues even when those colleagues came in considerably later. I've also worked with people who maybe actually get down to work half an hour after their official start time but then invariably stay well over half an hour extra at the end of the day because that is what the work demands, whilst the 9 a.m. jobsworths were out of the door dead on 5 p.m. leaving urgent work untouched.

That's a fair point Icimoi. They are both lazy (in my opinion). They are also 'I worked through my lunch so I'm going early' smoke break takers.

Goody goody. Why do you care?

Personally I like to start work early but I don't begrudge others at what time they like to start.

or the "X is here now I don't have to do anything and can piss about on my phone for the rest of the shift and if I email a manager once or twice it looks like I've done something" people

I'm far from a 'goody goody', I couldn't give 2 shiny watsits what time people get in, so long as I'm not doing their work both ends of the day because they can't be arsed to get in on time and then bugger off early.

rebecca2014 I imagine it would be quite infuriating to actually do the hours you are paid for and earn your wage when colleagues work less than you and get away with it. V. Demoralising indeed.

I'm a little on the fence

I arrived at 8:37 this morning for a 8:30 start. I clocked in, went for a pee, had a brew, started my computer at 8:50 ish. Finish time of 4:30.

I'm now the last man standing in the office at 6:10pm, and rarely leave before 7. I don't smoke so have no fag breaks. I don't do lunch so work through.

Yet, those of my colleGues who leave at 4:30 probably whinge about my timekeeping. Thy don't know what time I do, they go for a fag break every couple of hours, and prayer breaks but that could be construed as racist if I mention that so I'll be discreet and I don't. Swings and roundabouts sometimes.

Yeah some people do just utterly take the piss. But it is possible that sometimes they make it up in other areas.

My contracted hours are 9am-5.30pm, same for my colleagues. In reality I start work any time b/w 7.30am and 10am and finish any time between 2.30pm and 9pm. This varies from day to day depending on what the job needs and what I need. My colleagues come and go similarly - the idea of tallying up their hours to check that they are pulling their weight is, frankly, weird.

If our employer insisted on 9am-5.30pm they'd probably lose dozens of working hours a week and a shitload of goodwill.

My work has a clocking in system meaning the second you log on you are working and in the call centre industry this means for the majority they are then tied to their desks until their scheduled break. If they are late it flags to their manager and it is addressed on the same day. This makes perfect sense to me. If you can't make it to the office in time to be ready to work at your start time, too bad. If you don't have time to get a coffee, oh well you'll turn up earlier tomorrow.

I start at 9, I'm always at my desk for 8.40 so that I can fill the kettle, make myself a coffee, eat my breakfast and be ready to work from 9am.

My colleague gets in at 9.03 every day because she doesn't want to get the earlier train and be "sitting around for twenty minutes"

When I worked in an office I would be switching my computer in at my start time. How long it takes to boot up is not my problem and I'd probably put the kettle on while it was booting up.

However, when i worked in a shop I'd be there ten minutes before ready to be on the sales floor serving at my start time.

My colleague gets in at 9.03 every day because she doesn't want to get the earlier train and be "sitting around for twenty minutes

oh the arrive five mins late or get there too early thing never worries me. that's fair enough.

what isn't fair is still assuming you get to still do all the "pre work faffing" instead of just getting on with it.

that's what those coffee carts at train stations were invented for. so you cab have one on the way

I am so glad I work from home.

After several months of reminding staff that the day starts at 9 and finished at x and being ignored. Management took matters into their own hands.
amazing how traffic problems and tube delays decreased once deductions were being made.
The person that is occasionally late, it's fine. Shit happens.
But late constantly pay docked.

It's all about the overall picture rather than an exclusive focus on start times. Outputs are what matter.

Some people take a bit of time to get going in the morning - and potentially come into their own later in the day/work into the evening.

In my business, people are judged on what they produce and no one gives a flying f* what time they start at.

I think my most annoying one is the "I'm going to go see if needs a hand, then I'll take my break" manovoure.

In other words ill see you in 1.5-2 hours whilst you stand and chat for a bit with someone more than capable of getting on with their job whilst leaving someone in a busier section to cope alone, by all means enjoy your extended lunch