Taking the piss - Lunch break

[DeedlessIndeed]

Okay, so work for an organisation where contracted for 37.5 hours a week + a 30 minute, unpaid lunch break each day.

Everyone works remotely, but visits clients etc in pairs most days.

A couple of members of the team have started to take extended lunch breaks together, when they are working together. This isn't everyday, but fairly routine.

Other team members annoyed. Nothing has been formally raised to management and due to nature of role its easy to falsify timesheets to say a client visit ran over etc.

Today it happened again, it was noted that they took at least a 1hr 30 lunch break.

The staff are mixed, one is a great worker, great attitude etc and gets job done. One has got good experience but hit and miss when it comes to hitting targets. The other is in probation, but has shown good promise.

If report to management likely result is cracking down on flexibility to role, which would impact whole team.

The AIBU (i know, not really an AIBU)

1. Should team report to management?

1. What is likely outcome to the staff? Only can prove most recent incident.

1. Should all staff members involved be treated the same?

Just want to say, I've been in the post far longer than any of these three! One is still in probation and the other two have only been in post about a year.

But I do take your point that we need to look after our own mental health. We all manage this differently. I think that there are more honest ways of doing this, but it is important nevertheless.

When you see her buying gifts out of her own money for a child in care's birthday or taking time out of her evening to watch a child's sports match or attend a show they are in. When she cancels annual leave because there is literally nobody to look after a child between placements on a particular day - suddenly taking a longer lunch or finishing early doesn't seem dishonest.

I don't think she would worry about people with little experience or people on probation tbh. She's quite sure they won't be there long anyway as they will all find work with better benefits and less responsibility. If you are in social work, don't make an already difficult job even harder by being a difficult colleague.

Your colleague sounds wonderful. However, from what you describe the situations are not comparable.

I might come across like a bit of a twat, but i do have a reasonable baseline EQ. I work with people who go above and beyond, but they aren't the people having long lunches week in week out. They take their role seriously and care about our work.

I've worked with all of these colleagues and know what does / does not go on, what hours are put in. Out of the three: One member is very hit and miss with targets. Often unprepared. Can be great at times, but other times is a let down.

One completes the job well whenever I'm on visits but doesn't go above and beyond what is their duty. Nothing wrong with that, it's a healthy balance. They are competent and a good person for the team.

One is still very new, but seems capable.

From my POV we fought so hard to get funding for this group of service users. It's from a government pot of money, from the public purse. We could have funding stopped as there is never enough support to go around. And it's wasting our resources!

I accept I'm overinvested, and that it is not my place, and i won't raise it further. But I wouldn't do this job if I wasn't massively passionate about the work and support we provide.

I accept IABU, and whilst I can't change my opinion, I can accept where my opinion isn't right or valid.

DeedlessIndeed

I understand where you are coming from. At one stage I thought similarly to you. It was only with age tbh that I began to appreciate that people work differently. And while I thought that I was going more than some of my colleagues, they brought other things to the role - improvements, good ideas, team spirit. An employee isn’t measured solely on output. I honestly don’t think you should be assessing them saying things such as ‘seems capable’ ‘doesn’t go above and beyond’. This simply isn’t the role of a colleague. You never clarified if you are their manager which of course may change things?