Working hours and overtime

A question about : Working hours and overtime

Hi all,
I wonder if someone could give me there take on my contract please.

My contract in connection with working hours states,

Your normal hours of work are 35 hours per week exclusive of 1 hour for lunch, and are those required to carry out your duties to the satisfaction of the company and as necessitated by the needs of the business. The core hours are from 9am to 5 pm, mon to Friday. The working hours may be flexible when attending customers sites, but time off in lieu will be given for any work which results in you arriving home later than 6 pm on Fridays

I am led to believe that I can be forced to work hours up to but not exceeding 48, for not extra pay or toil.

Maybe I'm naive on this but I just can't believe it, so I'm looking for different takes on this.

Thanks for any input

E

Best answers:

• Many thanks for the replies,
  Ambiguous wording I think is interpreted differently by both parties I think, as I interpret as the the core hours are flexible ie instead of 9-5 it might be 8-4. Not that the 35 hours are flexible.
  My employer obviously sees it as the hours and timing is flexible up to 48 hr and as you mentioned not falling below nmw.
  But does this means I am at the beck and call of my employer to work at any time of the day or night then?
  E
• Hi,
  They say they can make me work any amount of hours up to the 48 maximum without extra pay or toil.
  The reason I'm posting is that I am truly shocked that this can be true. If it is it is, but I can't believe that it correct as I interpreted as above that my hours were 35 per week and core of 9-5. The flexibility I assumed was still 35 hours but say 6am to 2pm.
  E
• Thanks again,
  Renumeration
  Your salary is currentlyЈ...... Per annum payable by monthly cheque/ standing order.
  E
• in one sense you have a "professional" persons contract - ie you are paid a lump sum to achieve a set of work outcomes, how long you take to do that is down to your discretion subject to 2 requirements: 1) you must be present between 9 - 5 (unless on a client site when these times may vary) and 2) you must remain within the 48 hour working time rule.
  ie you are not paid by the hour and you are not expected to be a clock watcher looking to claim overtime at every conceivable opportunity
  that said i have never seen a contract quite so ambiguous nor a company that apparently applies its idea of "up to 48 hours" so blatantly
  don't know what to add other than find another job??
• I think I'm painting them in a dark light and maybe doing them an injustice by doing so, as they do pay toil for hours past 5 pm and before 9am as a gesture and not by contract.
  My initial question was to ascertain if it was in fact true that they could make me work for no toil or extra pay over the 35
  E
• Yes they can, although your normal working hours are 35, you are contracted to 48 when the need arises. Because it meets the national minimum wage they are ok to do this.
• Thanks , the whole purpose was to find out if legally by contract I could be forced to work over 35 hours up to 48 without any extra pay or toil.
  My employers say they don't need to pay and can make me work for free which is what I can't believe to be true.
  So it was confirmation that they could is what I was after and I think in general the responses are yes they can although the ambiguity of the contract leads me to believe it can be perceived either way.
  Thanks for all the replies.
  E
• As your employer pays "toil for hours past 5 pm and before 9am", you may be able to argue this has become accustomed practice should they attempt to remove this type of payment in the future without your agreement.