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.

That is hard but the law is 20 minutes every 6 hrs
They can have u doing 6 hrs without a break .I know this because my son worked for a company who gave everyone 6 hr shifts so not to give anyone breaks its shit I agree but perfectly legal

I work in a call centre type set up with inbound calls only. 8 hour shifts is two ten mins and one 30 min break a ten hour shift is one 30 mins and 3 ten mins.
We do need to let others know when going to loo so as there isn't too many off the phones at one time. There is something about needing eye rest time when working with computer screen hence why so many shorter breaks.

Should add when I see how others is treated I feel very lucky ☺

Im surprised at how many people are shocked by someone having to say that they are leaving their desk for a loo... its a call centre, its not a traditional office job. If you dont let people know you are leaving your desk, then people will be sat waiting in hold queues on the phone which everyone on the planet complains about (and partly why First Direct are so highly rated, no wait times!) And depending on your line of work that can have legal, financial or even safety repurcussions.
Plus if you dont go into a code saying you're on (legally entitled to) lunch, or on 'personal' (loo) or Wrap to make notes, or Available to take calls, then the company has no data to go on to inform decisions about hiring more staff, making sure people are taking their breaks, upgrading systems because its taking too long to do X & Y etc.
(Or more likely in a lot of places, performance manage people who take a 10 minute fag break every hour or cut heads at the detriment of staff quality and wellbeing but thats for another day)

@Recycledblonde

I’m a paramedic and we get one 30 minute break in 12 hours unpaid, when I work on the phones in the control room it’s the same but we have to log comfort breaks and meal break plus any other time we are not available for calls, ie meeting, log entry etc. It’s shit but it’s legal.

Do you get to go to the toilet other than your break?

www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/workers/home.htm

HSE guidance on working with display screen equipment recommends a 5 min break away from it every hour

@Thehop
but then one of them learns something or hugs me and I know I couldn’t do anything else.

You're not an idiot at all, that was so lovely what you said😊

I’m sorry, but I’m not really buying all of this (and before you ask, I have worked at a call center).

OP, it would be rare for anyone to make you specifically state that you are going to pee. Just say ‘comfort break’ for bathroom visits, getting a drink, or any other reason you need leave your phone.

For gods sake, stand up, stretch, walk in place, squat, bend, and move while you are on the phone. Unless you’ve been provided with the shortest headset cord known to man, you have enough line to do all of those things.

Find a box to set on your desk to use as a standing desk platform and alternate between standing and sitting. Extra points if you find a box to leave on the floor so you can alternate one foot up and one on the ground.

Lastly, get out of this job and find something that gives you more autonomy... this doesn’t sound like job for you.

I worked in a call center back in the 90s. We were on an automatic dialler and allowed one 15 minute break for a 4 hour shift. The people who smoked used to slope off for an extra 15 minutes so I also made sure I took a 15 minute comfort break as well, even if I didnt need the loo. It was a chance to stretch my legs and make sure I wasnt subsidising others by my efforts just because I didnt smoke. It helped to break up the shift. I think one of the bosses realised that I was deliberately taking what was in effect a second break to keep up with the smokers. One night he said "I notice you always seem to go at around the same time" with a grin. I just smiled back and told him "Im a person of very regular habits."

What could he do? He could hardly follow me into the ladies to see what I was doing.

When you do this kind of work you devise all kinds of stratagems to break up the time and give yourself a few minutes without calls.

[quote deli00]@CherryBlossomTree7 yes that's exactly what the problem is the being chained to my desk. My back is in bits as I don't want to have to keep going on teams telling them all I'm going off for a couple of minutes . Some of the staff say things and pass it of as banter when people say they are having personal breaks for toilet stretch legs etc it's horrible [/quote]
I'm inclined to say brazen it out. A 5 min loo break every hour is not unreasonable. What do you care what they think?

This has probably been covered already, but can you invest in a cordless headset? You can wonder about, sit on the sofa, look out the window, load the washing machine...

I've worked in 2 call centres. It was the same as you're describing. I had a short lunch and in the second job had to stop calls coming through, and explain where I was going to my supervisor!!! E.g. toilet, if I took too long, they would come over and ask, why?! That was Barclays call centre, worst place I've ever worked!!!

Can you stop saying 'Just...' when you get up to stretch your legs or take a bathroom break?

Say 'I'm taking a bathroom break', 'I'm stretching my legs/ back/ shoulders/ neck'.

When you use the word 'just' it's more like offering an explanation to someone you are afraid of than stating you are doing something.

Also, get a new job.

@purpleme12

I'm a bit shocked that people don't know the laws on breaks and 'lengths of sitting down'

There aren't any laws on 'lengths of sitting down'. If there are, post them up for all of us shocking idiots.

I sit down at my kitchen table nearly all day. I can't have video calls and write important documents lying on my bed of walking around! But that's no different to the office for me, just a different chair and desk with no adjustments.

@ILoveTeeeeeea

This has probably been covered already, but can you invest in a cordless headset? You can wonder about, sit on the sofa, look out the window, load the washing machine...

Not while you're concentrating on work you can't!

@Sunbird24

www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/workers/home.htm

HSE guidance on working with display screen equipment recommends a 5 min break away from it every hour

Yes, from THE SCREEN, not from the job. And it's only a recommendation, not mandated.

@aprilanne

That is hard but the law is 20 minutes every 6 hrs They can have u doing 6 hrs without a break .I know this because my son worked for a company who gave everyone 6 hr shifts so not to give anyone breaks its shit I agree but perfectly legal

No, not "every" six hours. After six hours. There is no provision in law for another break even six hours later. There is case law on this.

@VanGoghsDog
Yes that was my point
My point was that there are no laws for 'sitting down'
It was in reply to a previous poster who was saying she is shocked and the risk from sitting down for so long and they're abusing their human rights
However I explained all this in a previous post as well so it might be an idea to read the replies after as well and not be so disparaging

Why are people so rude

@PieInTheSky71

If they wanted me to justify my every minute, I'd be really graphic.

"Sorry, just broken wind and think I might have followed through! I just need to check. Back in a mo".

"Really heavy period today. Just leaked. Very sorry just got to wash myself and changed my underwear and trousers"

"Just sneezed and leaked urine. Just nipping upstairs to get changed. Very sorry!"

Etc etc

Now I am 40 something I would totally be doing this. If enough people did it, they would soon change the rules.

“Going for an Eartha Kitt”

“I’ve got tit ache, bloody hormones. Need some painkillers. BRB”

“Code brown in the flushing area. BRB”

It seems to me that the people putting calls through, need to check (and respect) when your phone shows as busy or away, so you can set your status and take a break fir 10 minutes, or avoid others trying to get through, when you're already on a call.

Had anyone raised this as being a problem?

[quote purpleme12]@VanGoghsDog
Yes that was my point
My point was that there are no laws for 'sitting down'
It was in reply to a previous poster who was saying she is shocked and the risk from sitting down for so long and they're abusing their human rights
However I explained all this in a previous post as well so it might be an idea to read the replies after as well and not be so disparaging[/quote]
You're the one that was rude, being shocked people "don't know the law" when there isn't a bloody law!

And why should people know all workplace law anyway?

I think it's rude to respond to someone who asks about law to say you're shocked they don't know, but not explain what is correct. That is disparaging, so you can answer your own question

Ok. Really not here to get into an argument I'm afraid

To be fair, nobody ‘expects everyone to know workplace law’ however that being said, if you don’t know it, does it make sense to comment on it?

We have bluetooth headsets, so we can answer the phone from them - means I can wander about to the kettle, go prod the printer or change the ink or whatever, but still answer the call when the phone rings and go over the niceties of the day to the customer whilst wizzing over to my desk to check the detail on the computer. If I'm in the loo, I do take it off and turn my set off so my desk doesn't ring.