Do You Work Overtime (Full Time) ?

HYX on 30/09/2015 - 15:14
Last edited 01/10/2015 - 09:48

Hello everyone, I'm actually quite curious about working overtime.
I thought it was not at all common in Australia since most people I know do not do overtime, maybe unless it's paid. But I get the impression from my employer that Aussies work really hard and tend to do overtime (unpaid I assume) as they were trying to subtly hint to me.

Is it common to do unpaid overtime just so you can secure your job?
If so, how long and how often does it occur?

If you're comfortable, let us know what field you are in :)
I'm in the creative field.

Edit:
Seems like quite a number of people work unpaid overtime, are you guys in the last 2 tax brackets? :O

Poll Options

  • 115
    I work overtime (Paid)
  • 229
    I work overtime (Unpaid)
  • 73
    I work overtime only when there are deadlines (Unpaid)
  • 35
    What is overtime even
Education & Work

Comments

  • Gnostikos on 02/10/2015 - 15:03

    I thought it was not at all common in Australia

    Australia has some of the highest rates of unpaid overtime in the world and nearly half of all employees work overtime regularly. Of those that do more than half work unpaid overtime.

    • HYX on 02/10/2015 - 15:28

      I must be in my own bubble! Hence this post :)

  • aussieprepper on 02/10/2015 - 16:48

    i use to work over time now days no way at all.

    i do try and make extra money on the side by consulting and selling products so i guess that is my over time but its also fun!

    but i had my own shops some days i would work about 16 hours just to get stuff done but then again my fault for trying to do to much in a day.

    i see a lot of people on here do not go to the gym or do other activities outside of work?

  • Serapis on 02/10/2015 - 17:51

    Salaried so OT unpaid unless weekends. I do get rack up hours of TOIL tho (Time Off In Lieu)

  • [Deactivated] on 02/10/2015 - 19:53

    Last 4 years been averaging around 40k in overtime a year… I swear never to do it again and now I rarely do an hour or 2 a week.

  • neonlight on 02/10/2015 - 20:57

    I'm on call afterhour and I do not get paid only get some time back as day in lieu. I work full time 38 hours a week excluding the afterhour calls if there's a need for me to jump online or onsite. Its a pretty crap package but what can you do when IT job market is so sht

    • scrimshaw on 02/10/2015 - 21:33

      Service desk analyst or sysadmin?

      • neonlight on 03/10/2015 - 00:55

        Sys admin typical isn't it

  • gimli on 02/10/2015 - 22:17

    Work both paid and unpaid

  • Hedgehog girl on 03/10/2015 - 07:33
    +2

    I think people need to differentiate paid and unpaid which depends if you are on hourly rate or on a salary.
    I'm on hourly rate, getting paid weekly in a fitout/construction company, there only a few people paid hourly in there while the rest is on salary and they don't get overtime.
    What I can see, they work enourmous amount of hours (including early start to beat the morning traffic) and late finish (because we always have deadlines) and even work on the weekemd which is all unpaid.
    Me and some other colleagues (hourly rate) can do overtime if required but it is always paid.
    That made me thinking if I'm ever offered a new job with a salary I would rather think and negotiate for hourly rate.

  • Ion on 03/10/2015 - 09:08
    -4

    Never work overtime. I made sure of that by developing new processes and tools (I.e wrote some software even though I have no software background) to reduce the time taken to do repetitive tasks. If you are working overtime, you are just slow and incompetent.

    • ThadtheChad on 03/10/2015 - 09:14
      +1

      If you are working overtime, you are just slow and incompetent.

      Ahhh well. That explains it. :) Mr Hockey, is that you?

    • boonanza on 04/10/2015 - 13:31

      Where I work in the Building industry we have so much work it never ends. To say that if you have to work overtime means you are slow and incompetent is down right disrespectful to hard workers that are just plain busy. Sounds like you haven't done a hard days work in your life Ion…

      • mskeggs on 05/10/2015 - 20:40
        +2

        Just write some software to lay bricks or frame up a wall, otherwise you are lazy ;-)

    • Schezwon on 05/10/2015 - 23:20

      The neggers are the people working over time for free. Suckers.

  • antzz on 03/10/2015 - 13:47

    Work smart and knows how to game the system will work a long way. Where I was working before, some jobs requires less hardworking but more thinking. None of my team mates willing to learn this new technology/project etc. However, this new jobs takes very little time to complete once you understand how to and got the biggest loading of work hour attached to it

    In the current corporate world everything wants to be clearly defined so can be calculated. Most of the time the calculations are not correct so you can get ahead very fast doing new things as there is no standard. I was a star in the team but I was doing less work than my team mates and getting promotion every year or so. I almost never have to work overtime but I have significant more work hour completed than my team mates and got noticed by all the higher ups. Remember at the end of the day it is the matrix that get noticed not how many hour in the time sheet. I got bored after a while and now doing things I like for my self

  • thetownfool on 03/10/2015 - 15:15

    Work a heap of overtime in NSW health (trainee surgeon). They're dodgy/evasive as hell at paying it if you try to claim it. Also do 24 hour on call for around $11/day. All this stuff about bullying by senior doctors in the media these days, but the hospital and NSW health administration and executive really sets the tone for how staff are treated. I will often do about 10-15 hours of unpaid overtime per week, and depending on the on call roster, another 8-20 hours paid call backs. Roughly 60-80 hours/week. Paid for maybe 50-60 of that (once they take out 2 hours for ADOs you're never able to use as they never provide any relief!)

    Stand your ground if you can, overtime if paid is quite useful as an extra money earner, particularly if you're given a choice in the matter. If you're in a position with minimal power, as I am, and with little choice to go elsewhere, there's not much you can do. Do you have a union?

  • rgr on 03/10/2015 - 16:54
    +1

    I guess it shows how many people are afraid of their employers if they step out of line in the slightest.

  • knk on 03/10/2015 - 17:27
    +1

    IT sysadmin here, overtime is always unpaid however I'm expected to be on time to work every day without fail. Double standards.

    • neonlight on 04/10/2015 - 00:48

      Haha same. Expected to be on time but afterhour calls to cover the entire Asia with their hours. Triple standard I say

    • airzone on 06/10/2015 - 08:47

      I let my sysadmin take time off after O/T. lol

      • knk on 09/10/2015 - 22:28

        You are a gentleman sir.

  • girlshaped on 03/10/2015 - 19:48

    I work overtime as required, but always paid. I'm not allowed to work more than 12 hours/week overtime. When I started (9 years ago, yikes) with my company I used to work those 12 hours every week but I got sick of it after about 3 years. I rarely work overtime now, but it's also offered a lot less now that I'm more important. In my old job they probably got sick of paying everyone so much overtime (x1.5 for the first 3 hours and x2 for anything over that) that they just hired more people offshore who are a hell of a lot cheaper.

  • ashchay on 03/10/2015 - 20:52
    +2

    I'm a hospital salaried doctor (registrar) I usually only work 1 hr unrostered overtime ocasionally and hospitals hate paying it.

    My husband on the other hand is a hospital salaried doctor - trainee surgeon and its a nightmare usually works about 80 to 100 hours per week and oncall overnight for about 3 - 5 days per week often having to stay overnight due to a 1hr each day commute. On days where he is only rostered for 8 Hrs he usually ends up doing 12 hours and wouldn't get paid for any more than 8 Hrs. So minimum 20 hrs a week of unpaid overtime.

    Any rostered weekends we work get paid properly at time and a half or double.

    To be on call overnight its a one off 20bux regardless of if the phone is ringing non stop all hours of the night - that sucks!

    • thetownfool on 05/10/2015 - 04:01
      +1

      The new award allows you to be paid 1 hour for a phone call if it fits various criteria. It's 3 pages of paperwork to fill out per call though! Ridiculous considering someone processes that for each registrar in the hospital - it would have be a full time role. If your hospital doesn't admit to doing it, contact the AMA/ASMOF. Most are now processing them (slowly - I don't even know if I've been paid from several months ago). Makes up for the $11 a day they used to pay, and gives some incentive for ED and wards not to call with crappy consults/for advice they could just look up.

      If ED call me and I admit the patient/or discharge them home, and I know my name is documented in the notes, I claim it and make sure to document what I said later, since if any complications occur it will come back to me. If someone calls about something fairly simple and I was never going to have to go to the hospital, then I don't bother - unless it was at like 2-4am, then I consider it fair game.

      Your husband sounds like he is in the same boat as myself. Still better than physicians training =)

  • CHIEFMEGADETH on 03/10/2015 - 21:23
    +2

    Yeah i do overtime most weeks. Last week i did just on 10hrs overtime through the week. Time and a half and meal allowance and double time.That kicked my pay to almost $1400 after tax this week… It was good!
    Going to America soon. So more money the better! ill enjoy it for the most part :)

    Id never work OT without pay? What is this America? or eb games/7 eleven, which are american owned companys.

    • mskeggs on 05/10/2015 - 20:47

      shrug I had a job with a salary paying $1500 week in week out, but it required substantial unpaid over time on occasion. It was preferable to me to have the reliable higher wage but not extra pay the weeks when I worked extra, knowing I got the same pay in weeks where I left at 5:30.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2015 - 23:01
    +1

    I try never to overtime unless exceptionally need to. I think I did 2 hours overtime in the last year.

    No one on the death bed wished to have worked more in their life …

  • SharkBait on 04/10/2015 - 00:45
    +1

    I used to work in the public sector as a systems analyst. A standard working day was about 7 and a half hours. Any additional time spent at work was given to me either as flex, or paid overtime. Pretty sweet deal, compared to a lot of the other posts I'm seeing here.

  • Finde on 04/10/2015 - 04:07
    +1

    As a police officer, I generally do about 30-60 minutes of unpaid overtime per shift. We sometimes get paid overtime but all depends on the circumstances.
    The amount of unpaid overtime also varies from station to station depending how busy they are. Some of my mates who work at busier stations work 1-1.5 hours or more per day unpaid.

    • outlander on 04/10/2015 - 13:50

      What, really? I thought the police had a really good union, and got paid t1.5 for overtime, which is why they don't mind so much when the suspect they're interrogating jerks them around. What sort of things are you doing unpaid?

      • Finde on 04/10/2015 - 15:34
        +1

        It all depends what we're doing. If we're processing a crook, ie interviewing etc then then we will get paid ot but there is endless amounts of paperwork we have to do and at busier stations as we are so understaffed, we busy don't get time during shifts to do it and do in order to meet legislation requirements for when we have to have things submitted, we have to do unpaid ot just to keep afloat.
        It also takes a load off my mind if I do it because if I don't then I go home stressing about it do it's easier to just work unpaid and stress less.

  • neonlight on 04/10/2015 - 11:47

    Reading peoples comments it appears there's a lot of people working overtime without paid. People would usually do it either because hey want to keep their jobs, make their boss happy, otherwise have no choice because its part of the working culture in their industry.

    However some companies expect too much out of their employees, and not very flexible in terms of hours given back to you as you done overtime already. It's sad to see this is an ongoing trend and with the recession, people who are still remain after redundancies will pick up even more slack

    • rgr on 04/10/2015 - 11:51

      It's more about the culture of work and how we continue to work so we can consume.

  • outlander on 04/10/2015 - 13:58
    +2

    Only time I worked overtime was at a factory a few years back, when there was a job that needed to be out soon. I was paid t1.5 for the extra hours, and with no other obligations, it made sense to pick up the extra work where I could.

    Unpaid overtime? I guess I'd do it, if it was the only way to keep the job, but if they were going to play that card I'd try and use as much work time on doing my own stuff.

  • mrdk on 04/10/2015 - 15:16

    Paid a salary. 35 hours per week. Overtime is not expected but if i work extra hours then it is sort of like time in lieu but instead, i can take an extra day off for every 7 hours i accumulate

  • smpantsonfire on 05/10/2015 - 00:30
    +1

    It's paid so to speak, but not at penalty rates, it's banked, and some weeks they bank quickly, which leaves me with 4 day weeks every 2nd week which I love!

  • Wyn-Ryder on 05/10/2015 - 02:00

    What are your contracts based on? Mine is the Professional Award, which states you should get paid for overtime etc. My project manager is of the opinion that people should generally get paid for overtime, however my boss expects people to work unpaid.

    We have one guy who does 70-80 hours each week and is generally only paid 40 - 45.

    This is all despite the Award stating that all hours should be compensated (section 18)

  • wako on 05/10/2015 - 03:04

    pfft.. No pay, No work

    dont settle for salary unless its minimum 6 figures.
    I had salary once, I made them write in contract all overtime(hours over 38) will be paid at the casual rate. As I knew 38 hour weeks was never gonna happen.. If they're gonna pay a muppet casual who doesnt really care about there job they should pay me the same to work over my salary hours… Incentive to..

    I guess its how well you negotiate. and these days might not be so easy…

    • Schezwon on 05/10/2015 - 23:17

      Yuuuuuuuuup, no pay, no work. See ya later alligator.

  • Powershopz on 05/10/2015 - 11:38
    +2

    I work a strategic role in a business that does well over 100M revenue per year.

    I'm salaried for 40 hours per week and am in the 80-180K tax threshold.

    I try to keep a good work-life balance and do minimal overtime.

    I would average around 2 hours overtime a week. It's not forced or required by my work. I try to work as smart and efficient as possible.

    I think in a lot of industries and jobs it just becomes the norm to work the extra hours and it is very role dependent. The worst victims to this are probably middle managers. I've seen low-level operational managers on 68K being salaried for 8 hours a week but then they all work 12 hour days. Their wage per/hour is lower than their direct reports :-/

    My sister used to work for both PWC and E&Y and the overtime at those sort of companies is ridiculous.

    • ThadtheChad on 11/10/2015 - 19:05

      My sister used to work for both PWC and E&Y and the overtime at those sort of companies is ridiculous.

      One of the worst offenders when it comes to unpaid overtime. There is actually an expectation that the "ranks" actually work overtime as part of their unofficial KPIs. As a result, the big 4 consulting firms have become a "training academy" for people entering the workforce and as soon as said folks have enough experience, they jump ship (or atleast the more career savvy do).

      Also… wages well below industry average, atleast in my industry.

  • Excelsior on 05/10/2015 - 16:32

    I'm an external auditor in a public practice firm so there's that. However I do get a pretty decent perk - that is I get to accrue time in lieu which I can then use to apply/use as extra leave on top of the standard annual.

    Works out either way I guess.

  • purplelady on 05/10/2015 - 18:45

    Yeah, I work overtime when I need to finish something. They (Almost) never asked me to work overtime, but from the look they give me, you can tell well.. you need to finish it. If you run away, then there would be talk behind you. Though they always say if you need to leave then leave, but still it would be one of the issue they will gossip about you.

    Unpaid.

    • Schezwon on 05/10/2015 - 23:14

      Just Chinese whispers in the background, ignore them, they don't have a life at the end of the day. Don't get paid, don't stay. Its very simple, unless your slow or you suck at your job.

      • purplelady on 12/10/2015 - 14:07
        +1

        oh no, in my company surprisingly they are Australian. Sometimes I feel I work for Asian company even though the boss is Australian :P

        But yeah you're right, I try my best to run out of the door once 5:30 comes ;)

    • HYX on 06/10/2015 - 15:14

      I know that look you're talking about! We're on the same boat.

      • purplelady on 12/10/2015 - 14:07

        Yup! I need like button here hahaha

  • guystingy on 05/10/2015 - 19:33

    I'm working full time on hourly rate instead of a salary package. I do OT only when I need to. I got paid for it. Hospitality industry. Head chef. I'm one of the lucky few who get paid in the industry. Depends on how how you negotiate your package/deal

  • [Deactivated] on 05/10/2015 - 22:59

    I wouldn't even know how to calculate my overtime. On the days, I have the kids, I start at 9.40 and usually leaves at around 2.20 p.m . On the days they are at their mother's , I either start really early, usually 6 a.m ( earliest was 3 a.m) till maybe 7.30 p.m, so that I can still spend some time with the kids before they go to bed or I see them in the morning before they go to school and then start work at around 8.30 and work till 9-10 p.m.

    No one cares how much time I spend on the premises( I also sometime work from home) so long as my job gets done and I attend the key meetings.

    No paid overtime but I get paid a great salary + perks and I love my job.

  • Schezwon on 05/10/2015 - 23:10

    My time is always worth something, so if all you people are working for free, you are all fools at the end of the day. If you don't get paid, don't stay back.

  • shadowfax1007 on 06/10/2015 - 09:10

    I'm full time (hourly) and I'll do overtime when asked. However I don't do unpaid overtime. You either pay me or I walk out the door.

    I think it's criminal the way some companies abuse staff with unpaid hours, especially salary. My girlfriend easily does ten hours of unpaid overtime a week. It's not right.

  • NeilBritto on 08/10/2015 - 02:00
    +1

    Paid overtime - Engineering

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