Being asked to get to work before start time

[TooBored1]

I'm being asked to get to work earlier than my start time, to set up for the day. Is this legal?

I'm salaried, with set working hours, eg 8.30 to 4.30 with 30 mins for lunch. I work physically in an office.

We hot desk and, at our managers insistance, have to take our laptops home every night.

Our line manager is expecting us to arrive at 8.15 every day, to set up desk, turn laptop on etc before 8.30. This isn't about taking off coats/putting lunch in fridge/ making coffee, literally about physically setting up for work

And ditto re going home. We should pack up our desk in our own time.

Does anyone else's boss make them do this?

I guess with contracted/salaried if your start time is 8.30 then you need to be able to work from that time so computer/laptop needs to be up and running. I can see both sides, legal or not I'd say it was from a HR perspective.

I'm thinking of an environment where comms (web chat, phone, email) are publicly listed.

No, as a senior manager, I think that's unreasonable. Fair enough to say that you can't get to work and then faff around making coffee etc, but you shouldn't have to be in the office to switch on your laptop until you are ready to actually start work.

As an aside, does it really take 15 mins to boot up your laptop? They might want to invest in some new tech...

Yes, large global company, you are expected to be online and available AT your start time.

(All laptop workers here too - mix of office and remote.)

15 mins is a bit much though - we do not dictate that. The above is just the intention.

Yes, if they simply said that you need to be ready to start work at 8.30, that would be more reasonable. It only takes a minute to start a computer though.

I'm curious about the "packing up" at the end of the day, OP, and what is involved in this. Again, it's surely just a question of shutting down your computer, which doesn't take long at all.

I'm wondering if people are taking the piss a bit by dragging out these tasks for more time than is actually needed?

Don't those actions count as work? If you're at your desk and turning on your Pc/Laptop then you're working.
It's not your fault if it takes five minutes to reboot etc.
Are you in a union? If do, what's their take on this?
I'm sure factory workers, machine minders and the like get to work by their start time and then turn on any machines or equipment needed,

If your start time is 8.30 then you need to be actually ready to work by 8.30
So if that means coming in earlier than 8.30 then that is reasonable

And yes that's been the same at all my jobs

I'd expect people to be at their desk ready to work at start time, so PC on and ready to go.

I also hate being late so would always be there early with plenty of time to be ready and have a cup of tea made before a gentle start to the day.

I'm the same whether in the office or working from home, always there and ready to go well before start

I think specifying a time is odd though, surely plugging and and starting a laptop doesn't take 15mins.

Have people been arriving at start time and missing beginnings of meetings/call due to not being ready to work?

so they are only asking you to fulfil your actual contractual obligations of working from x time to y time, where you are ready to go at x and start packing up after y?

Yes, that is absolutely normal, reasonable and any adult should know that.

I'm thinking more of a comms line opens at 8.30 so the worker needs to be at their desk and available. Customers shouldn't have to be on hold/awaiting an advisor because they have only just clocked in at 8.30.

I think it's important to remember what the role actually is.

And factory workers etc, have to be ready to go and stand on their machine when work commences so it's not uncommon to arrive 15 mins early, clock in, put personal stuff in lockers and be ready to rock and roll at 8.30.

I can't wrap my head around this mentality but then I'm regularly at my desk for 15 mins longer than my contracted hours and the construction industry would fall apart if everyone worked to rule.

I don't think they can reasonably specify being there 15 minutes ahead of the start time, and if they do, it should be paid. There's also an issue if the effect of that additional time every day effectively takes pay rate below the national minimum wage.

I work in a GP surgery. Our phone lines open at 8am and most Receptionists start work at 8am. Would you think it acceptable for nobody to answer the phone until 8.05am because they were still logging in?

In every job I’ve had the expectation has been to be ready to start work at your start time.

Surely the receptionists should start work and be paid from 7.55

edited to correct spelling

I think it entirely depends on your line of work etc…I’m in a large global company and this is not an expectation. But then again we have flexi time so that’s probably why. But in roles that have no flexi time then you arrive at start time.

I agree that the phone lines should be open at 8am, but if it takes 15 mins to get things set up, then I also think that employers should pay people to start early enough to ensure that this is done.

In most healthy workplaces, though, I think there is give and take on both sides. Decent employers usually know that micromanaging every second of an employee's day is unlikely to lead to a positive working environment. Decent employees usually know that they need to not take the piss.

If stuff like this becomes an issue, I would say that something has gone wrong with the working relationships.

You should start work at your work time. If you are unable to do this because you have not prepared for that, then you need to get there earlier.

Why does it take 15 mins to turn on a laptop?

I think it's completely unreasonable. If they want you to start at 8.30 and set up time takes 15 minutes they should pay you from 8.15.
It's not that you are putting your lunch in the fridge, making coffee etc you are doing something they want you to do because they are saving money by insisting on hit dealing and not having fixed pcs, phone lines etc

I cannot imagine how it can take 15 mins to set up TBH, unless you are making cups of tea etc too which you say this isn't about. So long as you are ready to start work at 8.30 it ought to be up to you to judge how much earlier you need to arrive to achieve this and build in a few extra minutes in case your laptop throws a wobble. Going home should be even quicker, although I know when I am shutting down that tends to be when the laptop decides to update so I leave it while I go to the loo and wash my cup.

In that case the receptionist should be paid from 7.55 or whenever she needs to be there to log into the system because that is work

No in our company your start time start when you clock in. You clock in at the door and have to walk up a few flights of stairs to get to my desk, so it could be 15 mins before you sitting at your desk and laptop on. It is quite common for people to stop off at the canteen to get coffee ect on way up. We have flexi time so if you start at 8:15 you finish at 4:45. If you have TIL you can finish early and if you do o/t its banked. Our office doesn't work how you describe and i wouldnt like it either. We are trusted to do our work and mange our time correctly

No, setting up the lap top is the first work task of the day. If they need that doing before the official start time they need pay for a slightly longer day. The same as packing up.

You should be at your desk available to work from 08.30. Whether it takes you 15 mins or 5 that’s up to you.

Depends on the company I'd say. One job I had to be present in the office at 8.30am and could start setting up from 8.30am. Whereas in my new job I have to be set up online and ready to work, so I set up 15 minutes before I start.

Hmm I think we are on grey area territory tbh. I'm not disagreeing with you. If my start is 8.30 that's when I would expect to arrive, sadly with more and more functions going online and with my examples given that's the conditions of the job.