Am I being unrealistic about overtime?

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How much overtime do you do, is it just a part of Work Life that I need to get used to?

Background - I started a new job about 2 months ago, it's fine. Good pay, easy but physically tiring work, fine commute. My only problem is I seem to have no finishing time! For example say my working hours are 9-5. I was told upon hiring that we will have x amount of things to do each day, and we can only leave when they're done. X amount changes everyday. I assumed this meant that on a busy saturday to have to stay 30 minutes longer, which is fine.

But no, it's 8 out of 10 shifts that overrun by a long time, mainly because they haven't put enough people on the that shift. There's no way of knowing how long for until it happens. I have a toddler who is currently looked after by family so it's not a major problem right now, but in the future, when she's at nursery I can't see how it would work?

Yesterday I left 3 hours after "finishing time" pissed off and thinking I will look for a new job. But is long overtime just the way it works now?

Do you have a written contract and what does it say about overtime?

Have you been logging all these extra hours in writing, as it's essential you keep a record of the extra to give your employer facts and numbers.

It really does boil down to what your contract stated and also to some extent your level of seniority. Reality is if you are paid a fair manager's salary, then doing some additional time as part of your job is part and parcel.

If you are on an hourly wage, and you're not at the senior level, then they are exploiting you no doubt, especially if this is a continuous problem that isn't gong away.

Very often, rather than paid overtime, staff who work longer hours than they are paid for are given time off in lieu (TOIL), but it normally gets recorded on a system and line manager will approve the equivalent worked hours with a day or half a day off. It doesn't sound like they are set up with that and just expect you to work beyond your hours.

Try writing down the hours you've done for the past 2 weeks (hopefully you can remember), and do another 2 weeks, then you will have a month's worth of data you can take to your manager and discuss the problem.

I do an extra shift a month on average as paid overtime, but overruns are not paid as extra and most days will start early and finish late. That is however the nature of the job and an expectation for the field which is reflected in the pay.

I wouldn’t quit before raising it with my manager.
It’s important to show willing with overtime but if it’s that often they simply don’t want to hire the right amount of staff for the workload.

I don't and have never done overtime unless arranged in advance.
I would speak to your line manager and say as you have a child you need to know in advance if overtime is required. Check your contract too. Are you being paid properly for this overtime?

Are you still being paid above minimum wage once overtime is accounted for?

It really depends on your level - if you’re around min wage supermarket worker, I wouldn’t expect you to do any unpaid overtime. If you’re a manager and paid a wage to get the job done, that’s pretty normal

What sort of work is it, OP, and how much do you get per hour?