To leave my 9-5 job at 2pm if I finish my final meeting of the day early

[lindoee]

I've never given this much thought. I've got a decent job. I earn 36k a year. I often have to attend meetings. I never have to stay at work later than 15 mins past 5 but usually you are expected not to leave the building any earlier than 5.

I have two meetings a week that have an estimated end time of 5pm. One usually finishes around 4pm and I head home after that (by the time I got back to the office it would already be 5 anyway).

The other can finish any time from 2-4pm. I have always understood that after the final meeting of the day, I can finish for the day. Everyone else does and it seems to be the norm around here. We are pretty much flexible workers but I am wondering if the expectation is to work the final hours from home.

I live just with my son so I have never discussed this with anyone before but I told my parents today and they were shocked I left at 2pm. A full 3 hours earlier than I am paid for. I don't work from home after the meeting.

AIBU to not return to my office after this meeting? This particular meeting is a 5 minute walk away from my office. The meeting that finishes around 4pm is almost an hour drive away from the office.

If a member of my team paid that much money finished work at 2 and was only 5 minutes walk from the office, I would be seriously questioning their work ethic.

4pm and hour away is completely different.

I’m flexible, but my general rule is “don’t take the piss” and that is...

If you finish as early as 2pm I'd say you should go back to the office, especially if it's just a short walk away. The other that finishes at 4pm an hour away that's understandable

Yes, I think it's dodgy to leave 3 hours early. It think it's more excusable for the meeting that finishes at 4pm that's an hour's drive from your office.

The 4pm one is perfectly reasonable but the 2pm one? That's three hours of work a week - basically every three weeks you're doing one less day than you should be.

As a one-off, fine, but on a regular basis it's pretty cheeky tbh.

I'm a hard worker. I don't take long lunches or sit chatting all day. I work hard when in work.
I don't intentionally skive off. In fact I have never even thought about it as skiving before. It never crossed my mind. It just seemed the 'done thing'.

I'd go straight home after a meeting that ended at 4 or later but would feel very cheeky if it ended any earlier

My DH would totally go home, and has arranged meetings like this to get home early. Unless I knew for definite others were doing the same, or that was the expectation, I don't think I would go home if it's only 5 mins from the office... but would anyone from your office know what time your meeting finished??

If it's only 5 minutes away of course you should go back to work.

If the meeting finished at 2 and the office is 5 minutes away then yes, I would absolutely do another 3 hour's work, either in the office or at home.

If it finishes at 4 and would take an extra hour to get back, then I wouldn't- if I had work I needed to do I'd log on at home but wouldn't go back to the office for the sake of it.

I am not sure why you'd do anything else really?

A meeting that finishes at 4 and is an hour away? Fine to go straight home. A meeting that finishes at 2 and is a 5 min walk from your office? I’d think you were taking the piss, however flexible your work place is. You are essentially getting an afternoon off, fully paid.
Would it kill you to log on from home?

God i would and do definitely shoot off after the end of the last meeting as do most people I know. Believe me companies get their money’s worth from me as i’m sure they do from you.

If you often stayed late it may be different...but you just seen to be taking the mick

No one knows when my meeting actually finishes. The meeting has a four hour time frame booked in as very occasionally it does go on until 5pm. No one, not even my manager is informed what time it actually does finish on a day to day basis.

If it is against policy then everyone is breaking the rules as I am pretty sure everyone does it.

Far too early to be going home esp as you are 5 minutes from your office. If you were always staying late/going in early then I would say every now and again it would be fine but you're not.

4pm finish an hour away from the office is fine as you’d be finished by the time you got back anyway.

If you finish at 2pm and your office is a 5 minute walk away you’d be back for 2.05 and still have almost 3hrs left, I’m struggling to think you anyone would think this is ok tbh, you’re taking the piss imo.

If they decide that they want rid of you for any reason this would provide the ammunition they needed to do it, regardless of 'everyone else does it'.

2pm and 5mins from the office and I'd think you were taking the piss really. 4pm and an hour away, legitimate.

4pm and 5mins from the office - depends if you're a person who works your hours and goes home or does more when it's required I think?

If you regularly worked beyond 5pm then I would say it's fine, so you can take back the time that is "owed" (especially if you don't get paid overtime or TOIL) I have done this in the past, no questions asked.

In this instance, I would head back to the office and finish up the last 3 hours.

Finishing work at 2pm when you’re paid til 5pm would be grounds for gross misconduct at my work, if done on a regular basis

Agree - if you often stayed late or worked at home that would be different, but I'd see it as taking it a bit far. I often say to my team to knock off after lunch on a slow day, but that's because our busy times can mean late nights or early mornings, so it all balances.

Not sure how you justify it tbh

Flexible working doesn’t mean taking the piss though. Once every few weeks I work on another site and sometimes finish at about 2. It would take me half an hour to get back to the office and at that time of day I’d struggle to find somewhere to park so I usually go home and call it a 2.30 finish rather than my usual 4.30 but I will make up those two hours during the next week, anything else is fraudulent surely?

I used to work in a fairly senior role where I was often in the office very early or very late. In that role I would absolutely manage my time in this way, and go straight home after the meeting if it was suitable to do so. I’d still be working at least the hours I was paid for. However as you say you never work extra hours I think you (and everyone else doing it) are taking the piss.

Do you do a 'professional' job? (Hate that phrase). By that I mean one where you're paid for your overall contribution in a year (best way o can describe it) rather than a more junior/admin job where although you receive an annual salary, it's more about the amount of work that gets done?
Based on the salary I'm assuming either junior/admin in London or maybe slightly more senior elsewhere?

If 'professional' then I'd say fine to leave if you're performing and doing your role as expected. If not I'd say you should go back to the office.

Definite piss take, and probably disciplinary worthy