This shouldn't be allowed & I have ruined my life

[deli00]

I work in a call centre ( currently wfh) 12.5 hours

07.45-20.15 one 30 minute break

Im allowed personal breaks but I'm expected to tell the team when I am going for a wee , poo etc and tell them when I return on teams .

I can't cope with this set up much longer :( my back and hips hurt .

Surely it's not allowed to only have one 30 min break . Also I feel I have ruined my life going into this type of work.

Not all call centres are created equally though. I’ve worked in several, for my sins, and my current one are amazing. Really caring managers, fairly interesting work, good ethics, great benefits. Three breaks in 9 hours, additional “comfort break” for toilet, getting a drink etc so you don’t have to explain yourself. Working from home implemented the week before lockdown. Honestly they couldn’t do more for us.
Have also worked in a call centre where you had to “earn” your right to have a chair... so honestly call centres are not always shit. Some of them are shocking but it CAN be easy money if repetitive (and to be honest with wfh with a child, repetitive is all I can handle at the moment).

Just for context its not all that bad everywhere

Customer service advisers in my company work 7.5 hours but have 1 hour lunch (unpaid) confort breaks as and when. Drinks when needed and no "justification" to anyone

There are better places out there to work in op

I work part time but one day a week I work 10 hrs and I get 15 minutes break in the morning 1 hours lunch and 15 minutes break in the afternoon
That sounds awful op

^I meant to write “but” honestly call centres are not always shit

Are you actually obligated to provide a reason or just to tell people you'll be away from desk for 5 minutes.

Is this actually a communicated rule or just something people have gotten used to doing based on a few doing it.

I was previously a call centre manager and if the home working phone setup doesn't give visibility then I understand the need to let people know in teams that you're away from desk but I would have been happy with a 'BRB in 5 mins' or 'AFK back in 5'. I often have 5-8 hr teams meetings and will often say I'm off for a comfort break if I need the loo, a drink or just to stretch my legs.

Perfectly legal.

I’m in my 40s and have an early years degree. I lead a baby room team in a nursery and we work 11 hour days with one 30 minute break which we often have to take in our car. We are under extreme pressure, constant, and I’m physically wrecked by it. We get minimum wage.

I have so many regrets, but then one of them learns something or hugs me and I know I couldn’t do anything else.

I’m an idiot.

Can you take a course? Apprenticeship?

My daughter had this for 6 months during the 1st lockdown. Working for Bulbs. Absolutely horrendous.

@Thehop I have a professional degree however I have taken this job as an alternative career . I could pick up the degree again

@Listener2021 did she . It's awful , what is she doing now ?

I work for myself and on a few days I have been so busy I have had to wee into a glass at my desk whilst on a conference call (not a video call) back in the day.......

@Listener2021 Bulb the energy supplier? I would have assumed they would be a good employer!

@Xenia

I work for myself and on a few days I have been so busy I have had to wee into a glass at my desk whilst on a conference call (not a video call) back in the day.......

This can't be for real

Can you adapt your desk so you can either sit or stand at it? Are you able to purchase an exercise ball to sit on at your desk? I know these aren't perfect solutions but they may ease your discomfort. Doing some gentle stretching or yoga if you're able may help with your pain.

This definitely doesn't sound legal or okay, especially that you have to say when you're going for a wee!

@Xenia absolutely no one is that busy what a bizarre boast.

Don't know why you have to announce when you're going on breaks and how long for, surely they can check how long you've been on the phone for in a day and compare it to the average/targets. Just makes things unnecessarily nightmarish

YABU to be able to poo at work

Can you call yourself or do they monitor calls? I couldn’t handle that level of supervision it’s like it switches on a naughty child in my mind and makes me want to really mess about to avoid work. Left unsupervised I just work.
Telephony skills are very transferable, could you find anywhere that’s busy at the moment? Track and trace maybe or local councils?

Yanbu.
No one should be sitting for more than an hour max.
There's an awful insurance call centre in the building I work in and they have to rush to use the toilets and get out for lunch.

@deli00 is it in something that interests you? Could you do a short course to branch out if not?

Is there something you wish you could do?

Completely legal, I work 8.30am-9.00pm with a 30 minute break. You can work 6 hrs before you are entitled to a break. I also do one short day a week 8.30-2.30 without a break as not legally entitled.

I'm sure when my husband did 12 hour shifts in a call centre he got 1 x 30 mins plus 2 or 3 15 minute breaks. Call centre work is brutal though, especially at the moment.

According to the HSE the law states that employers must plan work so that there are breaks or changes to activity for employees who are display screen equipment users. So, if you use a computer all day, whilst there is no legal guidance to how long breaks away from the screen should be, you should be taking regular breaks (HSE advise 5/10 minutes every hour). Probably won't solve the problem of having to account for your movements during those 5/10 minutes but you also shouldn't be chained to your chair for all but 30 minutes of a 12 hour shift.

If you are in an office it's only polite to mention that you're stepping away from your desk for 5 minutes. At home, you're only being asked to do the same. 'AFC for 5 minutes' or 'back in 5...' 'nipping to the loo' 'grabbing a glass of water.'