No lunch break. No overtime pay. 45 hour week with expected overtime. WWYD

[Goandplay]

Interviewed for a job paying 10k over the going rate. Negotiated another 5k.

From what I was told on the interview the current team rarely take their annual leave entitlement and work late most nights, with senior members working till 10pm sometimes. Senior members also work most weekends and never take two days off at the weekend.

I was told there was no lunch break but can eat and drink at desk.

The role will stretch me professionally which would be good, giving me experience and a step up.

The office didn’t feel friendly and I was told there is not much chatting on the interview when I asked if I could meet the person I would be working with - which I thought was a strange remark.

Is the additional pay worth the conditions.

K

Nope, no amount of money is worth that. Mind you I accept getting paid less than market rate because I can do my hours and leave and if I do want to do overtime it's paid, if I do other team members are happy to as it's paid. This is unusual in my industry but not to that extent.

No.
For a salary that is ok, just no. You want that particular experience, to put on your CV, but can you not get it elsewhere? Because this firm is shit. It would grind you down and make you miserable. Their whole ethos and working environment is nasty.

Plus once you divide the salary by the number of hours you will be actually working, is doesn't seem so attractive. Say £48k. /52 weeks and 37.5 hours = £24.62. But once you add in : no lunch = 2.5 hours, a couple of 10pm's (5+5=10) and a Saturday (say 6 hrs) it becomes 56 hours = £16.48. Not so attractive.

I worked at an Pharmaceutical office for one of the richest men. It was horrible. He was so mean he cut corners at every stage. The atmosphere was horrid, I would go as far as saying toxic. many were European and many worked very long hours all week, but weren't allowed to leave 1/2 an hour early to catch their flight home on a Friday afternoon. It grinds you down.

No. Turn it down. You have primary school children - there will be events you will want to attend. It goes so fast and life is short as it is. You work to live not the other way around.

As a pp said. They want your soul!

This sounds like teaching - except it's better paid.

If they’re paying 30%-50% above market rate, it’s because they have to because they’d get nobody otherwise.

I work freelance and am currently on a 3 month project where standard working hours are 50 hours per week.
But reality is that I generally work longer. I knew this before I signed up (have done this project quite a few times).
The team is lovely and the job is generally a lot of fun (it's a well known TV show), but I think this time will be my last one.
It just doesn't leave time to live - and I say that with a hands on husband and two daughters (18 and 20) who help at home.
There is no way I would be able to do a role like this permanently.

No OP it isn’t worth the money. Don’t take the job. Been there and done that. When you work out your hourly rate it won’t be worth the extra time you put in.

No way.

They are breaking health and safety law and I'd be reporting them.

It sounds like running a small care home, except OPs hours would be shorter and her pay substantially more.

Absolutely not. If you cant take holiday and are expected to work weekends, when will you see your kids? How many extra hours per month will you be expected to do, will your hourly rate actually be much more if you're working loads of overtime and don't get a break?

Don't underestimate how difficult that might be when no one else does. You'll very likely find it difficult to get sign off in the first place in an environment like that and if you managed to and took it could feel completely out of the loop on return. Is it a Japanese company by any chance? All those presence related things are so very like working in Japan but would still be very surprising in the UK given labour laws.

The money is not worth it. You will be miserable as will your DC.

I'd do it for 6m to gain the experience and salary starting point for next job and then move on.

For the money they're offering you'd be mad to consider it I think.

I work in law and we do occasionally get people leaving our team to go work at US law firms where they will be paid £££ (typically £150k+ for even very junior lawyers) in return for every second of every day. Everyone knows what the deal is and for some people it's a trade they're prepared to make - I can see that as a very junior lawyer, if you were single and childless it might be a thing to do for a year or two to really rake in the cash, but I think you always need an exit strategy as it is highly unlikely to be sustainable long term. There's no way on God's green earth I'd consider doing it given where I'm at (mid-30s with a 9 month old baby), no amount of money is worth the damage that the job would do to my relationships and my health.

Mmmmm DH works in a similar industry, container transport. The OP said shipping.

the hours are very long, on call on an evening and weekend not uncommon, working hours are vague, 8:30-5 on paper, the reality is 8-6:30 Plus one Saturday morning in 3. No overtime is paid. No lunch other than eating your (paid for) Nando’s at your desk

The benefits are it’s extremely well paid, the annual bonus is outstanding, holidays are 5 weeks plus BH but you do get to take every single one, and the career prospects are brilliant.

% wise lots don’t make it, but those that do go on to good things. I think it takes a certain kind of person that can work like this.

So they people a little bit more to get the work of 2 people out if you - that's a no from me!

Absolutely not worth it.

If you were in your 20s, no dc and no outside commitments then I'd go for it for a foot in the door / experience / a springboard to something better. .
In your situation absolutely not, you'd never see your dc and you'd probably burn out.
Don't be blinded by the money, no job is worth the risk to your family life or mental health.
Look around for something else.

I earn about that on a 38.5 hour week. Optional OT. Generous AL. Breaks are strictly observed. My work/life balance is a bit rubbish but only because it's shift work. If I had been offered the OPs potential role I'd have said NO THANK YOU. Even in my job there's been burnout and we have it good compared to other parts of the industry. You're no good to your kids with a mental health issue, or being largely absent altogether. F* that!

I think you’ve all verbalised my feelings.

My DP is pushing me to take it for the money and thinks I’m being unreasonable saying the hours are too much. He thinks I just don’t want to work. He won’t understand that the hourly rate is diminished by the unpaid overtime and the long hours to start with.
He only can see the amount they’ll be paying every month.

I would never expect him to work these hours and would actively discourage it.

I just needed to know I was being lazy and unreasonable.

I’ll keep looking.

It’s effected my mental health already as I’ve been really sad about missing the kids during the week.

I am a people pleaser - this job would take advantage of that.

Sounds awful

Has your DH worked out he'll effectively be doing solo parenting most of the time - including weekends, holidays and evenings - if you take this role ?

Plus he'll need to do all the housework and shopping, because you simply won't have enough hours to do it.

Ask him how keen he is to take that on, as I bet you do more of all of it than him currently.

You've described my job in investment banking. The pay was fantastic but they owned you.

It was doable when I didn't have kids but it involved a lot of sacrifice in terms of spending time with family and friends. For whatever reason, it really didn't appeal to women - of 100 fee earners in our department, there were two women (of which I was one).

Sounds like my new job! And I wasn’t pre-warned about it either. Having said that, I like the people and we are allowed to have a giggle. That’s the bit about your scenario that would send me running