If you earn around £50k how many unpaid hours extra do you put it?

[SnarkyBag]

Just trying to decide what’s just part of settling into a new role and getting to grips verses what’s reasonable long term. I’m giving it til the new year to settle but right now I’m finding I’m putting at least an extra day each week to keep on top of things.

there’s definitely a learning curve so I’m seeing some of it as professional development but longer term it’s not sustainable and to be honest I’m not really a work for free kind of person (well not for £50k a year anyway!)

obviously I know some professions such as teachers will be working crazy ridiculous hours (which I think is so wrong and insane and a culture that needs to come to an end by the way) but generally speaking how much are people working for free because of unrealistic work loads?

I earn £50k .. private sector, financial. And I work my contracted hours and that's it!

Very rarely something time sensitive may come in that requires I stay on to finish up but that is rare .

I have a colleague though who will happily reply to emails at all hours! Emails that aren't urgent and do not require a immediate response. Their choice!

Nope.

Most places only expect.overtime because that culture has been created by people willing to do it.

I earn roughly that amount and I would never stay in a job that required unpaid overtime more than once every few months max.

They can pay me more if they'd like me to work more than full time hours.

None. Zilch . Nadal.

I'm on a flexitime system so any extra hours are converted to flex leave.

I work for a very large American company (financial). Whilst overtime is expected and sometimes mandated for some departments, it's always paid at 1.5 times pay in the week and double pay at weekends. Nobody is expected to donate their time.

In our case someone on £50k a year who was working an average of 7 hours extra a week (assuming they were productive hours) - could realistically expect a bonus of £10k and at least a 10-15k promotional pay rise if they were doing a good job. So effectively £60 - £65k. The workload by nature is hard to predict hence people end up doing overtime. The profession is well known for it - don’t go into a boxing ring if you aren’t prepared to fight - go do something else..

I completely agree. I earn about £100k and I very rarely work longer than my standard 40 hours. If it's a busy time and I need to put more time in I'll finish early/take the time at a quieter time. So much of this is the industry/cultural expectations. And I'm in the US!

I earn much less than £50k and I am working much more than my contracted hours.

I'm in a new role that had a very poor induction, literally no training and the team has a massive workload. The role that I applied for and the role that I am doing is not the same. My support system is also very poor. It's all very stressful. For the first time in my life, I think I might fail my probation.

I have been making lots of noise but to no avail so I will be leaving as soon as I find something else. I'm just not interested in putting up with it all and I don't work for free.

FTE is 63k and probably nothing really, in busy periods a couple of hours a week. Also public sector, but in a place with a good culture/team. We would all go above and beyond if needed but we are also appreciated well for that, it doesn't usually go unnoticed.

When I started I was probably doing half - whole day extra. I'd not long been back from mat leave and just changed job so was a bit out of work mode generally.

For what it's worth, I think I am probably quite lucky...

Sounds like a very poor work culture. If someone in our organisation fails their probation it reflects badly on everyone, from those who were involved in the recruiting, the onboarding and the ongoing management - it's in everyone's interest to ensure it doesn't happen and when no one is bothered and the only one who gets the flack is the new employee you have a big problem.

Absolutely none! But the nature of my job means there isn't any extra work to be done outside of what I'm given that day.

I finish when my time says I do. If for any reason, I'm delayed and can't, I get paid overtime.

Thank you, it is 100% their fault. Unfortunately, my supervisor thinks she can get me sorted by kicking me up the butt a bit harder which is making things even worse.

I may be leaving without a job to go to at this rate it's that bad.

So many people on here earning decent money who don't work over and above has definitely helped to focus the mind.

So many people on here earning decent money who don't work over and above has definitely helped to focus the mind.

Same here. Plus the PPs who said that they wouldn’t expect to do overtime after they’d stopped being new in the post.
I’m in the public sector where I run a team, but my line manager (Director) agrees the work that we’ll do and holds our recruitment budget. We seem to have had a recruitment freeze for years, I have been there for too long.

I’m working an extra 8-12 hours a week extra in my PT job. It’s totally routine unpaid overtime needed just to get the work done. I don’t want to delegate more to my team because that’s not fair and will just entrench this expectation of unpaid extra work culture, but it’s killed off any pleasure I had in doing my job. I feel stressed and unhealthy and I think about leaving a lot.

50k is a junior to mid level (non-professional) staff in my organisation. They can get away with 9-5 but not if they want to progress in which case I would expect an hour extra a day otherwise it would be obvious they work to rule.

I fundamentally don't understand this. If I was paid to rule (i.e. wasn't paid any overtime), I'd work to rule too. Why should people work for nothing? I could spend 10 extra hours at work per week and do less work than if I just worked my standard hours. I really appreciate that my employer is reasonable, and pays overtime when needed.

I am in the private sector, service industry. In my field, only junior staff get overtime. Once you get to managerial level, you don't get overtime. You get paid more (which makes up for the lack of overtime) but once you are senior, you do what it takes and use or advocate for whatever resources are needed to get the job done.

Hence someone who leaves at 5.30 on the dot with no flex, is considered to be someone who wants to stay at their staff/junior level. That is fine, no judgment on them but it is assumed they don't want to get promoted because they are not prepared to go the extra mile. As a manager, I arrange cover for the people who want to leave at 5.30 on the dot or who take time off etc. I get paid more and get no overtime and it is just my job to still deliver the service even if means me mucking in after hours or on a weekend.

You could see it as an investment - their employer knows when the chips are down x employee will work to fix things. Employees in turn expect a bonus and a promotion. So it’s not really working for nothing.
On the other hand a friend used to work in a company that had paid overtime - the team was slack and messed around all day to gain overtime payments. She worked hard and left on time but she was called a shirker - she exposed their very poor productivity and that is one of the reasons company’s will not pay overtime.

Yes @Firethrice, I do see what you mean. I've already invested in my career to get here though - I've completed 3 degrees followed by comprehensive training in my role, and I've built experience over a decade plus. I prefer knowing that I'm paid x amount to work y hours, and that I'll be paid overtime if I choose to work any extra hours.

@Firethrice agree with what you wrote. So true about people messing around during the day to get overtime. My firm is quite restrictive about overtime for that reason. The reward for putting in extra hours is promotion, bonus and higher increments. It is also better experience for the employee because they get pulled into the juicer deals and get exposure with the seniors to learn from them.

It is a question of how ambitious the individual is, especially in the junior ranks. People can rise quite quickly. Some of these posters really pulled themselves up.

Great thread:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4680763-if-you-started-in-a-mediocre-low-paid-job-tell-me-your-success-stories-and-how-you-got-to-your-current-job?reply=121650561

Public sector, none, it’s either TOIL or overtime pay.

@TheFarawayNearby you would be considered to have plateaued. Reached cruising height I would say. I am not knocking it. That is going to be my next job.

I've been where you are, and I felt similar.

I retrained and have now found a niche where I can work flexitime for the same salary. Some weeks may be busy and require overtime, but I can always take the time back.

I'm on £40k and unless shit has hit a fan, which it does from time to time, I don't do more than my (37.5) hours.

Our MD is on upwards of £150k and he doesn't either.

It's thankfully not the culture of our workplace - getting stuck in during times of crisis is par for the course but is rewarded. Being a martyr is not.

😄 Yes, @blueshoes, perhaps you're right. I still see things that I want to achieve within my role, but I don't want to progress to the next role because it wouldn't match my skill set or aspirations at all. So, I'll either stay within my role at my current workplace, or I'll move into the same role elsewhere.

In the civil service I feel my "overtime" is the fact I have far too much responsibility for my pay and grade, happy to do as I want to progress, but that's where I draw the line, I will claim back for the extra hours I do. Of course I will work more when required, but I will take it back. I feel a bit awkward because my manager doesn't, but I'm determined to stick to that, I have done all my career, it's been a real mainstay for managing a career with a young family, and hasn't held me back thus far (I don't think I will be able to do if I choose to go for SCS). I don't want it to change just because my kids are now older, that only perpetuates the problem for others.

Of course, it's fine to go above and beyond when it's needed. It's when it becomes modus operandi that it becomes a problem. If you're continually working over then you are either rubbish at time management or you've got too much work. For the majority, it's the latter.

Surely your employer is paying you more for your experience/knowledge rather than having unlimited 24/7 access to you?