Be Excellent To Each Other

I'm interested as to how much the WTD opt-out is just standard practice for employers. When you started whatever job you have now, did you sign the opt-out to the maximum weekly hours permitted under the WTD?

I don't think I've ever not signed the opt-out.

I opted out at the job I was doing at the time the directive was brought in, but only because I was working long hours at the time (my choice). Since then, I've not really given it much thought as all the jobs I've done since then haven't really had sustained periods of overtime.

Yeah, all three of my jobs have had the opt-out but also unpaid overtime so I've never really been asked to do any, just a bit of my own back when absolutely necessary.

I guess my trips to the US over the last year might have counted technically but also beer so eh.

I don’t think I’ve ever opted out, and wouldn’t do so unless something has gone badly wrong.
At the moment I’m in a very comfortable position where I can earn what’s I need without going near 48 hours.

Pretty sure it was a mandatory part of my contact.

It can’t be, it’s a statutory right. Your employer cannot make it mandatory.

In my experience it's given to you by default under the expectation that you'll just sign it, but yes it can't be mandatory.

Does he mean it’s mandatory to adhere to it, or mandatory to opt out? I’d assumed the former.

I think bobby meant it was mandatory to sign the opt-out. Which certainly shouldn't be the case.

No, that’d be awful. I bet there’s a lot of pressure in a lot of places that at least makes it feel like a mandatory expectation, and I bet a lot of people are made to feel that they won’t be offered a role if they don’t agree to it.

It's fairly common.

I remember it being that you can be required to sign it as part of the contract but then you can write a letter saying "but also fuck that". It's one of those fudges we love so much.

So it’s a nonsense?

Not at all. It's applicability depends a lot on how seriously the employer wishes to take it.

I'd suggest that those of us in office roles who've signed the opt-out aren't that likely to get screwed over in quite the same way as eg. Long distance truckers or retail staff might.

Don't know. Never been an issue.

My place of work actively enforces it. You can't do overtime on both Saturday and Sunday as it would breach the number of hours.

My last job had the ' sign here, if you don't we'll rescind your job offer' thing.

At every job I've ever had the opt out was presented as a "sign this or else", even at law firms who know full well this isn't allowed.

I definitely signed it at my last place, where it was presented as a good thing, but I don't think I had a gun to my head.

I don't remember signing it for my current job, but they don't pay for overtime anyway.

I’ll have to ask my mum’s husband. He works as someone who clears areas that have been hit by fly tippers. A bin man, I guess, though I don’t think he actually does buns. Anyway, that line of work. He does standard 8hr days, but yesterday was the only day he had off from November 30th through to December 25th (which he has off and then back on 26th).

I don't think many do.

I signed it as a contractor. Not as a permie.

Not sure if I as asked, but never heard of people having to sign an opt out on this in NL... there are lots of things with more and more people becoming semi-selfemployed (from deliveroo, to consultants, to contracting construction) thus not falling under such a directive (according to there clients/employers), and truck drivers to put in more hours and cheating with the tachographs(is that a word?)

That's because only the UK got an opt out, I thought.

I don't think that makes a difference.

Well as I haven't seen a copy for about 16 years, I can't remember exactly what I've (not) opted out of.

I guess the theory is, if we don't pay for overtime, people are less likely to be working too many hours (although I'm fairly certain some people here must be going over, so I guess they must have opted out - assuming I'm not misunderstanding the whole thing).

There's definitely people where I work doing more than 50 hours a week and getting not a penny in overtime for it.
Idiots.