To think employers are taking the piss? Extended working hours.

[FrostyNethers]

Looking for a new job in admin.

Many jobs are being advertised with working hours of 8am-5pm, 9am-6pm, 8.30am-5pm or even 8am-6pm!

Where are all the 9-5s which you used to see?

Its not like the pay is higher for these jobs, it’s actually low in the region of £20-25k.

I though we worked the longest hours in Europe already!

AIBU to think this is a piss take?

Mine is 9.30-6, FT is 40hrs

830-5 is standard?

8.30-5 with an hour for lunch is 37.5 hours
Hardly extended and quite normal

I've not had a 9 to 5. I think it's means 9 to 5 and extra for lunch break. So in reality it's either 8 to 5 or 9 to 5.30 depending on your start time and how long it takes to lunch.

NHS is 8-4, 9-5 etc. Half hour unpaid lunch break. Full time 37.5 hours

37 hours is usual in my experience.

FT can mean anything from 35+ hours, up to 40+.

Well, on a 9-5 job, an hour may be counted as luuch but you don't usually get paid for lunchbreak, so to put in 8 hours actual work a day, you'd need to be available 8am to 5pm or similar.

Ignoring the fact that that many people work through lunch break of course! Perhaps that can't be officially acknowledged due to employment law.

It did used to be 9-5 or 930-530, which included an hour for lunch but I've noticed with my DC that their jobs are 9-6 as standard. The 40 hours used to include a lunch break. It seems to have changed in the last 5 years or so.

*lunch of course

Fairly standard.

Have you been out of work a while or are you new to the job market?

Your general tone and thinking employees are taking the "piss" right from the start suggests you might want to re-evaluate your attitude to work.

YANBU I interviewed last week for an 8-6 at £26000 in outer London. Obviously they wanted at least 4 years' experience in the field as well.
Bunch of jokers.

• employers not employees

Excuse the typo

Think you interviewed me last week?
FYI I took better hours for £42k for an identical job.
😂

God that’s awful but it’s been my experience too.

I’ve been in the workplace for many years and I can say back in the early 2000’s 9-5 was pretty standard.

Bet they'll be wondering why they can't get anyone decent.

I have noticed that when some of my friends and my DH have got new jobs, over the past 10 years or so 9-5:30 or similar seems to be the “norm” whereas my contracted hours are 9-5 and as far as I’m aware that is the case across all depts in my workplace. I started working for this company 15 years ago. I feel very fortunate because I work a compressed week for childcare reasons so have a long day anyway just based on 35 hours.

I see all the indoctrinated work slaves are on this thread already. 9-5 definitely used to include up to an hours lunch. Now as you say it's stupidly long hours with a half hour break if you're lucky!! I refuse to work any job more than 37 hours, life is short enough as it is. Working over 40 hours per week doesn't increase your salary so what's the point?

It is a slow creep of extended hours. For those saying "oh it's the norm" it wasn't, even 5/6 years ago. I think in some ways, working from home may have contributed as people don't have to waste hours of their day on commuting.

You could apply and see if you could negotiate a reduction in hours by e.g. working for most of your lunch break etc?

I'm also finding this.

I had a 35 hour a week 9-5 with hour for lunch job. Now I'm looking for work and everything seems to be 40 hours a week 8.30-5.30 or 9-6.

I could stretch to 37.5 hours, 9-5 with 30mins lunch.

But anything more doesn't leave me enough time for childcare drop offs and commute.

It's so frustrating. Especially when the adverts have a whole load of spiel about being flexible but won't make any accommodations.

I'm a trainee professional but still doing an admin based role for a lot of the time I'm at work. I, along with everyone else in my office, do 9-5.30 for 5 days per week with an hour for lunch. The extra half an hour beyond 5pm drags the most. I'm below the £20k annual salary but the admin in the office are on above £20k but below £25k depending on their role and the general consensus from what they've said is that they don't feel they're fairly compensated for the hours they work. It's longer than a 9-5 (albeit by 2.5 hours per week, but still) and they have an ever-increasing workload and the responsibility that comes with it.

The parents in the firm also have to pay for wraparound care as at least two of them use an after school club that finishes at 5, so one has to pay for a childminder (possibly, can't remember the exact term) to pick her child up from the club and the other lady has her mother collect her child from the club.

My DM's role as what started as a secretary in a different company has, over two decades, developed and morphed into about 4 people's roles, with ridiculous amounts of responsibility and work. Her pay during that time has not increased anywhere near enough to reflect the fact that she now does the jobs of three other employees, all of whom were made redundant and not replaced so their responsibilities were passed to my DM. Her hours have also steadily increased but as she's not always given a pay increase when her hours increase, it actually decreases her hourly rate as she's getting the same annual salary for more hours.

I’ve not been working outside the home since going on maternity in 2005 but back then, lunch was included in the 40 hour working week, so it was 35+5. Now people seem to be expected to do longer hours with an unpaid lunch hour… it’s not very appealing for going back to work. I suppose younger people don’t know any different 😢

“Re-evaluate your attitude to work” because she doesn’t want a 9-6pm job!! Never mind it’s close to a day a week above traditional 9-5 hours and would be difficult for childcare as many nurseries close at 6.

I work 9-5 and wouldn’t like the idea of a new place demanding an extra hour a day for barely any money.

It's an employees market now. I hope people whose employers take the piss can look into voting with their feet.

I work 35 hour week on flexi time. I do take a half hour morning break too though so technically 32.5 hours a week. Full time wage. No, I'm not going to leave!