Can someone help me figure out if these hours are right?

[RunRocket]

Hiya,

Would appreciate if someone could some advice :)

I currently work 40 hours a week as per my contract. 10 hour shifts, four days a week with an hours lunch break. I’ve recently been told I have to move to five days a week, Monday to Friday.

I assumed, and indeed was told verbally, that it would be 9-5 but I’ve just been told it’s going to be 9-6. When I said that was 45 hours a week they told me it is in fact 40 hours a week as I will get an hour lunch break a day.

Is this right? I’m very unhappy as I’ve arranged things to work around a 9-5 work schedule and this really throws a spanner into the works.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you!

I would ask them to check that again as currently you're being paid for your lunch break (4 x 10 hour shifts including lunch)
but the new shift pattern would mean unpaid lunch. It can't be both so make sure and check your contract. Good luck.

My lunch hour is unpaid so I guess it depends on contract

Thank you for replying. I will ask. Annoyingly HR only work four days a week so I won’t get an answer for a while. I’m not getting a pay rise so effectively this means I’m getting a pay cut.

That is right. Lunch breaks are generally unpaid, whether you're hourly paid or not. For example, my contracted hours are 35 per week but the hours are 9 to 5 equalling 40 hours a week.

Check your current contract to see if it mentions paid breaks.

Thanks, do you work 45 hours as well then?

My contract just says “40 hours a week in accordance with the company rota” and “Specific details of your entitlement to a meal break and other refreshment breaks will be confirmed with your rota pattern.”

How long have you been there? Surely if you have been being paid for your lunches until now it will be a complete contract change, not just hours. They have set a precedent.

You have to take a lunch break by
Law of you work over 6 hours. You may choose to work it, but it's not usual to be paid for it.
You might be able to be negotiate a 30 min lunch break instead of an hour but your employer isn't allowed to pay you for 7 hours of non stop work (35 hrs a week or 40 if you're including unpaid lunch hours).

If you were being paid for a 40 hour week you'd actually be in the office for 45 hours (you could obvs go out for lunch but yswim).

Meant to add, are you sure you were being paid for 10 hours work and not 9 hours, but 10 hours in office to include one hour unpaid lunch?)

If you were being paid for 10 hrs and also working for 10 hours, your employer is breaking the law.

It's quite unusual in your current hours of 10 a day over 4 days to be paid for 4 non-working lunch hours a week in my experience.
This would add up to many many hours over a year!
And cost a lot of money for no return from a company perspective.

And they are implying that lunch during your new hours is definitely unpaid.
So it seems very strange that such a big change in your working conditions is proposed.