Overtime - who pays it, who benefits from it ? - Forum

we use it a lot during the summer months. We are normally booked solid during the summer so it gives us the flexibility to be able to take on small jobs that we would otherwise lose. My guys are happy to work on into the light evenings or do the occasional day over the weekend. They have a set rate, but I normally agree a price for getting a job done with them before hand and they are much happier with that. I tend to limit it to the simpler jobs such as lawns, fences etc so the likelihood of any problems arising are minimised so they don't have an impact on the main projects. I have to say it works very well an has gained us clients we would otherwise have lost and proved to be a valuable additional income we would have last if we didn't take them on.

Thermo said:

we use it a lot during the summer months. We are normally booked solid during the summer so it gives us the flexibility to be able to take on small jobs that we would otherwise lose. My guys are happy to work on into the light evenings or do the occasional day over the weekend. They have a set rate, but I normally agree a price for getting a job done with them before hand and they are much happier with that. I tend to limit it to the simpler jobs such as lawns, fences etc so the likelihood of any problems arising are minimised so they don't have an impact on the main projects. I have to say it works very well an has gained us clients we would otherwise have lost and proved to be a valuable additional income we would have last if we didn't take them on.

Absolute ditto with that.

It's flexible according to work patterns and times of year - demand for certain jobs plus climate. Having a 'mutual' relationship with work colleagues (rather than foreman approach) where the business direction and growth is understood collectively means a much more flexible approach to being asked to work on Y day for X amount in my experience.

Cheers, Eugene

Replies

Thermo November 13, 2013 at 7:35pm

we use it a lot during the summer months. We are normally booked solid during the summer so it gives us the flexibility to be able to take on small jobs that we would otherwise lose. My guys are happy to work on into the light evenings or do the occasional day over the weekend. They have a set rate, but I normally agree a price for getting a job done with them before hand and they are much happier with that. I tend to limit it to the simpler jobs such as lawns, fences etc so the likelihood of any problems arising are minimised so they don't have an impact on the main projects. I have to say it works very well an has gained us clients we would otherwise have lost and proved to be a valuable additional income we would have last if we didn't take them on.
Eugene Baston November 13, 2013 at 8:16pm

Thermo said:
we use it a lot during the summer months. We are normally booked solid during the summer so it gives us the flexibility to be able to take on small jobs that we would otherwise lose. My guys are happy to work on into the light evenings or do the occasional day over the weekend. They have a set rate, but I normally agree a price for getting a job done with them before hand and they are much happier with that. I tend to limit it to the simpler jobs such as lawns, fences etc so the likelihood of any problems arising are minimised so they don't have an impact on the main projects. I have to say it works very well an has gained us clients we would otherwise have lost and proved to be a valuable additional income we would have last if we didn't take them on.

Absolute ditto with that.

It's flexible according to work patterns and times of year - demand for certain jobs plus climate. Having a 'mutual' relationship with work colleagues (rather than foreman approach) where the business direction and growth is understood collectively means a much more flexible approach to being asked to work on Y day for X amount in my experience.

Cheers, Eugene
PRO

Brian www.mibservices.co.uk November 13, 2013 at 8:18pm

We work on an annualised hours contract for staff. We work like dogs for 9 months of the year and part time over winter (10 hours tops) a week, roughly based on my guys working a month on, a month off during winter. Works well for my business and my guys like the time off in winter
PRO

Phil Voice November 14, 2013 at 7:02am

Interesting article on the BBC:

"A town in eastern Canada had a problem with its municipal rubbish pickup. To complete their routes, workers were racking up overtime hours, at great cost to the town.

"So the city council came up with a solution: All rubbish collectors would be paid for eight hours of work, regardless of how long it took them to complete their task. If they were done quickly, they still got the full day’s pay. If they took longer, they got the same eight hours pay."

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131113-when-good-management-goes...
Roy Parker November 14, 2013 at 5:28pm

i worked for companys when you had to work over time. when i worked on a farm we would work up to 100 hours a week in the busy times and another company we averaged 60 hours a week year round . now i try not to work much over 40 hours a week there is more to life than work