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Recently my boss' boss (We shall call them X) held a meeting with my whole department, he does this about once a month. During this meeting the clarified that our contracted hours were 9.00 until 16.30.

However, I work in a manufacturing facility and production runs 8.00 until 16.00 and our department MUST support production, that is what our department does. So, X told us during the same meeting that we must be in during all hours of production so 8.00 until 16.00.

To add to this, X said no one in the department should be leaving at 16.00 meaning he wants us all to work extra everyday.

There was probably about 10 or so people in this meeting, I am the youngest and I am an apprentice so have the least amount of workplace experience compared to everyone else, they are all at least 10 years my senior.

I've worked at this place for 2 years and I have always been told to be in from 8:00 until 16:00, and I always have been.

All of these times and working hours confused me, but no one else said anything and I didn't want to be the one to ask the question about what time we should be in work.

Couple of points

  • I arrive for work 20-30 minutes early everyday without fail.
  • I currently continue to leave work at 16:00.
  • Most others in the department start after me and therefore leave after me, I am usually the first leave but got there the earliest.
  • We get paid no overtime, so I do not get paid extra for working an extra 30 minutes everyday.

My issue is, if I am already technically working an extra 30 minutes (not including the time of me arriving early for work) and I have been for 2 years:

  1. Can X make me stay even later and work more?
  2. Is it wrong of me to continue to leave at 16:00?
  3. Who should I go to for clarification? (X is not an approachable person).
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    If your contracted hours are till 16.30 and you leave at 16 then how is it that employer is asking you to stay later than contracted hours? – Prison Mike Apr 30 at 17:44
  • Clarify whether you are paid for the total hours or for the shift and overtime. All these things are usually mentioned in the contract that you sign before joining. – Prison Mike Apr 30 at 17:48
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    @noob Because he's now starting at 0800 rather than his contracted 0900, and being told not to leave at 1600. – Philip Kendall Apr 30 at 17:50
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    Where in the world are you? – nvoigt Apr 30 at 17:50
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    @noob I get salaried paid not hourly. I believe I technically get paid for 9:00 - 4:30. So 7.5 hours. – Jaun892 Apr 30 at 17:59
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The first thing you need to do is to dig up your contract and see what you actually agreed to. Even though X stated 9 - 16:30, you need to verify what is on your contract.

Next, you need to speak to your boss ( not X ), regarding any discrepancies between what he expects of you and what is on your contract. If you are going to be working an extra 30 minutes each day, then that needs to be reflected in your contract and you need to be compensated accordingly.

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    @Jaun892 should also bear in mind that if you simply go ahead and work according to a new arrangement without disagreeing then you may be legally considered to have agreed to them. It may be necessary to say you're working 'under protest' to avoid this (but maybe this doesn't work forever). It's not unlimited and I don't understand the law here well enough - but it's something to look up and watch out for and an extra reason for bringing it up now. – Alex Hayward Apr 30 at 19:43

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