POLL. Is it OK - or not - for a Manager to contact an employee/shift worker, on their days off? (Not booked days, but default days off/their version of a weekend?) Especially if they have plans/a trip away?

[HeySummerWhereAreYou]

I would love some opinions on this please. And if you could vote on the poll, that would be great!

So, a worker does 4-on-4-off shift work. (10 hour shifts .) He gets 20 vacation days a year which is 5 weeks for him. When he books 4 days off, he gets a 12 day break. (The 4 days he booked off - and the 4 days before and 4 days after that he wasn't working anyway. The 'default' days off/his weekend.)

So if he books off 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of July - he will have had the previous 4 days off by default (the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th,) and he will also get the next 4 days off by default (after the 4 booked days) the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th. Due back in on 15th July. 12 days off.

So he finishes work on the 2nd, and is due back in on the 15th. As he has booked time off, he and his family book a 5 day holiday (and a meal out, along with a daytrip or two, and a visit to see family 100 miles away.)

Now the question. Is it, or is it NOT acceptable for his manager to contact him on the 'default' days off? He's off 12 days. He's booked 4 days off, but 8 of the days are not 'booked days.' They are days off though, it's like his weekend.

Is it OK (or not) for the manager to contact him on his 'default' days off/his version of a weekend, asking about work-related issues? Phoning him, and emailing him, and texting him? Asking for responses? And also expecting sometimes for him to pop into the workplace on the days he is not away on holiday? OR should the employee be left alone/left in peace for the 12 days?

I will voice my views later. Just want to put the feelers out and see what people think?

Thanks in advance for your responses. There are only 32 characters available to put in the options on the poll, so hopefully they make sense. Just 2 responses really. No or yes. Is it OK for the employer/manager to contact an employee on their days off that are not booked days, but are their days off... (Especially when they have plans/are going away for a few days.) Or should they NOT as it is the employee's time off?

I think it depends on contract, rate of pay, general expectations, whether this is regular or a one off, how urgent the query was etc.

Low pay job, regular contact would be unreasonable. Senior salaried role, urgent contact fine.

I'd say wait until they are back. Unless it is an ABSOLUTE EMERGENCY. But expect it isn't. People are entitled to be able to switch off, and presume that anything handover required has been done.

No I don't think it's OK to be contacted on booked time off or scheduled days off , On our honeymoon a few months ago my husband was getting several calls a day from the person covering his job despite knowing we were on honeymoon abroad. He had also trained her for several weeks before hand in the role. It really pissed me off.

This.

Employee doesn’t need to read any correspondence. If it’s a work phone switch it off. If it’s a personal phone why does employer have the number. Many of the scenarios can be avoided by employee knowing their own worth

There's plenty of good reasons as to why an employer has an employees contact details.

I don't think that an employee should be contacted on their days off.

Your poll oversimplifies things in my opinion and experience.

I think it’s ok to send a message saying “Sorry to bother you outside work time, but do you know where x file is?” or something like that. So messaging with a query that could be dealt with in a few minutes but would otherwise cause colleagues problems.

It’s also perfectly ok to message to clarify something either party needs to know about the first day back at work e.g. “just to let you know the location of this meeting has changed..”

It’s not ok to expect people to come into work on non-working days and it’s not ok to repeat contact several times - unless the contract specifies on-call etc.

No, unless an absolute emergency. Days off are the employees time not the employers.

Totally agree with this response.
I job share and often message my job share partner with questions about where an item might be but never with an expectation of her doing any work. She does the same with me.

Coming in? No way
Contacting Willy nilly? no
Contacting if needed? I wouldn’t mind this, I like my manager and my job and am paid quite well and she wouldn’t contact me unless needed. Also, if she did contact me it would likely be due to either me not providing a good enough hand over, which would be my fault, or not wanting to step on my toes with one of my projects or clients, which I would likely appreciate.

That's not the same scenario as a manager contacting people on their day off though. It's you and your other half of a jobshare communicating.

If the employe is happy to it, they should be charging if they doing and responding to work related things, especially if going into the workplace.

On the holiday ignore all contact. Set an OOO auto email and text response for boss. Which you can do

Wouldn’t and doesn’t bother me I pick and choose if I respond

there’s never been and expectation for a response

I think it’s totally dependent on the industry and on the reasons why they’re contacting you if the reason why they’re contacting you is because they need to clarify something or they need your input into something in order to proceed with another job then they should be able to call you because your input is needed and without it something could be a risk. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and errors or blank spaces on paperwork need to be corrected in order to release batches, release needs to continue, and if we can call someone to clarify something or to get their input or a signature then so be it, it’s a part of the job. Yes, there are measures that can’t be taken if they are abroad or if they don’t have laptop with them or in a position where they cannot answer the phone but it is a lot simpler and easier to get them to give their input as part of investigation for example than it is to summarise about it and put a batch at risk.

Depends on the job. For example if in the police/ army etc you can be called in anytime.

If in a factory job on minimum wage, I wouldn't be chuffed.

Is this the UK or US?
If it's UK the amount of holiday seems awfully low, and absolutely no way should the employee be contacted on their holidays.
If it's US or another country, it depends on the cultural norms there.

No. If you’re not on the clock then you should not be contacted unless you have agreed it in advance with your organisation (e.g. you’re on call or you’re doing overtime). Contrary to popular belief, organisations do not value employees more if they are ‘flexible’. They value employees who have clear boundaries and stick to them. For this reason, when I’m off I turn off my work email, put an out of office on, block the office/managers number, mute LinkedIn etc. and anything else work related. In order to do your job well and maintain your personal relationships you need to have a proper work-life balance and that means having clear bound and sticking to them.

THIS is the kind of thing I am talking about. It's my DH. He does 4 on 4 off, and is often contacted on days off for silly and trivial reasons. Things that could easily be sorted by the manager or supervisor. He is just one of the workers and should not be contacted like this IMO. It is NEVER important.

He gets contacted fairly often to come and do some overtime too. So he will do Sunday, Monday. Tuesday, and Wednesday, and have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Every other week he gets the supervisor or manager texting or whatsapping him, asking 'can you come in tomorrow/Friday on a midday to 8pm shift? XXX has rung in sick.' They do the same when he books time off. They think it's OK to contact him on ANY of the days that are not 'booked off' So 8 out of the 12 as I explained in my OP ... (And sometimes on 'booked off' days too!)

ALWAYS for stupid nonsensical reasons - and often asking him to come in to do overtime. They even asked him a couple of months ago ON HIS BIRTHDAY. We were eating at a meal out with 6 family members - incl DC, and his f*cking manager rang at 9.30pm and asked him to come in and do the 6am til 2pm shift the next day - as 'Dave' had rung in sick. It was his birthday, and was a booked day off that time! AND he had the day off after too. DH never answered, the manager left a voicemail! He did not go in and did not return the call!

He has got so pissed off with it that he has got a new phone (got it 3 weeks ago,) and has not give them his number. The supervisor and manager are now saying they want that new number and he is refusing. Manager is saying they have to have it by law which I am certain is bullshit.

So now they contact him by email. He has started ignoring them now, but still FFS! Not only to ask him to come in, but also for work related trivial shit!

AND his supervisor contacted me this morning at 9am, asking him to come in on on a 2pm to 10pm shift TODAY as some people have rung in sick. (Footie!) He is off Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday by default this weekend! They don't have my number, but his supervisor who I don't even know, and have met once in passing in town a few months ago, messaged me on FACEBOOK at 9am - (DH doesn't have Facebook,) to say 'can you ask your other half to give me a ring? We need him in tonight!' Utter cheek. I do not have them on my friends list. I just blocked them. DH told me to, but I would have anyway.

Just so sick of it now.

Glad to see so many people on here think it's pretty much out of order for employers/managers to contact workers on their days off. Thank you.

Oh and yes it is a minimum pay, unskilled labour kind of job.

Oh i definitely wouldn’t be accommodating for a low paid job

I'm senior. If I have time off, and I'm not doing anything, I'll attend the weekly management meetings. If there's an emergency or a member of staff has a question I'll answer (although maybe not for a few hours depending on when I see it)

If my staff are off though, the only reason I would contact them is if it was a drop dead emergency and no-one else could help. They need a break, and they're entitled to one.

An absolute no from me.

I never reply to any calls/messages outside my work hours.

They don't pay me or treat me well enough for me to be available in that way.

Your husband should simply stop responding though and make it clear to his manager that he is not interested in picking up extra shift when he had a day off full stop.

They are doing this because he continues to respond and do what they want him to do...

Why is your husband answering the phone to work/responding to messages on his days off?
Can he not see it's them by the number snd ignore?

Oops, fat finger moment: I voted Yes by mistake, when I meant No. Sorry op.

If my husband has a quick question during his leave, that will save his cover hours, he'll answer once and reiterate he's on leave. Doesn't answer more.

Anything else, he ignores.