Unpaid Overtime

[Guest]

Hello everyone

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but here goes...

 

I'm doing an assignment on how the 10 Year Strategy may (or may not) affect my teaching and subject area. Having downloaded the 2002/3 MORI Childcare and Early Years Workforce Survey, I found lots of interesting information about salaries, qualifications, recruitment and retention of staff.

 

I want to talk about the amount of unpaid overtime which I think most of us in early years work.

 

I'm lucky in that my boss pays for staff meetings, training and planning meetings - I know that lots of groups can't afford this luxury. However, inevitably I do a fair bit of work unpaid: such as planning and preparing activities, general paperwork, staff rotas, research and thinking (!),

 

So what I'm asking is, on an 'average' week, how many hours do you work unpaid, and what sort of tasks are you working on?

 

Any information you can give will be enormously helpful - it will help me to back up any statements I make. If you can tell me what sort of setting you work in, that would be helpful, too.

 

Obviously any information I obtain will be treated in strict confidence: and if you'd rather not post here for any reason, could you send me an email?

 

Many, many thanks in advance!

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_63]

Hi Maz

 

We get paid for a few hours a week for planning, assessment and staff meetings but it does not cover actual hours spent doing these things. We also go in during the hoildays to tidy rooms, change displays and clean.

 

I estimate that my deputy does approx 2 hours a week unpaid and I do approx 5 hours a week unpaid.

 

Also included in this extra work is arranging photos, parent rotas, letter writing, newsletters, staff updates, staff meeting minutes, photocopying, shopping for snack or resources.

 

I am in the middle of making a list of jobs that can be delegated to committee members.

 

Carol

[AnonyMouse_1027]

Hi Maz,

 

My staff get paid for meetings they attend, not for courses as they tend to swap shifts.

 

I get none paid for at all being boss.

[Guest]

Hi Maz,

 

My staff get paid for meetings they attend, not for courses as they tend to swap shifts.

 

I get none paid for at all  being boss.

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Hali

 

Do your staff do stuff at home they don't get paid for, and how many hours do you reckon you work each week unpaid?

 

Maz

[Guest]

Hi

 

I work as a special needs TA in the foundation stage class of a primary school.

I am paid for 25 hours per week. 9-3 minus 1 hour lunch. Although I get into school at 8:30 and generally leave at 4:30 plus I work through at least half of my lunch break. Which I guess makes it approx 2 1/2 hours extra per day. Then I probably spend approx 5 hours a week at home, writing notes, planning and making resources.

In the holidays I usually go in - tidy up/sort out, displays etc

For In Service days if we need to attend we can claim for the day. Training is paid for (if it is low cost) or particularly relevant

 

So in total - I would guess at approx 17 hours unpaid - although saying that I do not have to do this and other TAs at my school (not foundation) do not spend this time they would probably spend up to 5 hours unpaid.

 

The tasks I do during this time include tidying, setting up, making resources, planning, writing notes, IEP's, displays, researching, making new schedules, clilcker grids etc for SN child, meetings etc. and not forgetting 'organising the teacher!'

 

Hope this helps

Jo

[Guest]

Hi Maz

 

I hope this helps you, I work in a private day nursery and every day arrive at work at least 15 minutes early to open up, also if needed I give up part of my lunch time, usually to answer the door or to run errands for colleagues who can not leave their rooms as others are on their lunch, although we stagger them as much as possible.

 

Then there is the time at home spent on updating rotas etc for use at work as well as finding planning ideas for upcoming themes, and as usual I only intend to spend a short time on the internet which some how becomes a lot longer, which I am sure happens to most of us.

 

So on average I would say I work 2 hours overtime each week without pay.

 

I should point out that this is mostly voluntary, and not everyone in the setting works overtime, some are horrified by the mere idea, but I would rather have ideas etc and be prepared than try to think up ideas for planning for example whilst at work where there are more distractions.

 

Karen

[Guest]

Dear Mazlittle,

 

On average taken over the whole year, there are definite peaks and troughs - I probably do about 10 hours per week over and above what I am paid or you could equate it to 50% extra over and above my contracted working hours. Some of this is taken up with:-

 

typing up of half termly newsletter

typing up of half termly update to committee

pre preparation of activities

curriculum planning

tidying up at end of day amounts to 2/12 man hours per week

updating displays/art boards etc

photocopying and preparation for half termly staff meetings which might include some training

end of term report writing

updating of child profiles and sorting observations

computer work including printing up photos etc

general admin duties

 

Some of the above is paid some not, I try to be reasonable because I know that if I put in for what I actually do, questions would be raised but in order to provide a professional service as we know we just cannot get it done when the children are there. I do get paid to attend staff meetings, committee meetings, village hall meetings and hub and cluster meetings and any other meeting associated with my role as SP which normally take place in the evening and if I have had a particular tough time i.e. end of year report writing I will claim for some of the hours that I do, although not all.

 

This also does not include my study time which although cannot be quantified does impact on my input to the running of the group.

 

Basically as we are a sessional group all the administrative work is done outside of the hours we work and some of this is undertaken by the committee as well which takes the pressure off us - e.g. collation and printing of the newsletters etc. salaries, NEG funding, management accounts etc.

 

I would also add here that my hourly wage is good, probably way above the average coming in at just over £9.00 per hour so I reckon that I have to give a little here and sort of balance this out with what others might get, although I happen to think that this is what should be considered as an acceptable salary for all of us. However, as a community group running out of a community building we have very low overheads (i.e. rent) which is why they can afford to pay me this sort of money - so we are fortunate in that respect.

 

Other staff probably give much less time, they are paid to attend training and staff meetings when it falls outside their working day. We budget for everyone doing one training course a term, with 6 staff the overall cost to the group less the bursaries we get costs the group about £500 per year. So if they particuarlarly want to do courses over and above they are perfectly welcome to - we will pay the nominal £10 (or is it £15) now we have to pay in our LA and they give up their time freely i.e. we don't pay them for their time.

 

Hope this helps but if we were to add up as a group what extra per week we give in manpower/financial terms - probably wouldn't bear thinking about. We would be broke in a year I expect.

 

Hope this helps

Nikki

[Guest]

I think the lesson is that if we added up the hours we work and calcuated our hourly rates, we'd end up paying our settings for the privilege of working there!

 

Thank you for all the replies so far - great information! If anyone else can help, I'd be most grateful!

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_1027]

Hi Maz

 

at a guess i reckon staff probably do about 1/2 hrs extra, my deputy about 3 hrs and me well it depends on the week and whats going on anything from 4hrs up not to mention what i do in the hols, sorting out the terms work and organising next terms...all that plus a foundation degree ..we must be mad!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Dear all,

hey perhaps we ought to think about doing a time and motion study or whatever it's called as I think we would probably quite shocked. It really is hard to estimate what we do do in real terms - bits here and there. I have one member of staff coming to see me today so that I can give her some help on her NVQ - I spent much of yesterday getting the registers typed up and will spend many a happy hour filing paperwork. I think I might actually get a little book and keep track just to see what I actually do do.

Nikki

[Guest]

I remember when I started a new job ( early years advisor) for the EYDCP and we had a supervision meeting, during the course of the meeting I produced some work I had done in preparation for the meeting ( notes and thoughts/ideas). My supervisor said, how long did that take, don't forget to put that on your time sheet. I said "What, we get paid to think"?? WoW, it was the first time I actually felt valued for the work I did (previously being of the attitude that prep and home work was unpaid and just an indication of commitment and enthusiasm for the job).

 

I know we did not go into this vocation for the money, but it is no doubt a very good motivator.

 

 

Peggy

 

p.s. I once tried to do a diary note of all hours worked, but because a lot is done at home, and my concentration span is very minimal, it was difficult to record ( and time consuming in itself) because I would have 20/30 min breaks in between "work", so I gave up.

 

I am seriously thinking on placing my staff on an annual wage and not hourly rate, if they get the job done sooner and in "work" hours ( not at home) they will be better off, if they have to continue their work at home because they haven't done it during "work" hours, then they do not get paid for this. ( I mean all things admin of course, not to take children home to finish an activity ) I think that this may enable them to time manage themselves a bit better. What do you think??

[Guest]

Morning all,

We get paid for planning/staff meetings. On average 1hr extra per mnth, even though this hardly covers it. I have fantastic staff and do a hellva lot of unpaid work without a moan (not 2 me anyway)

Whwn staff join me, I prepare them for 3 quarters of the job paid and the other quater unpaid so they know what they are letting themselves in for.

So far, I have had my dedicated team of 5 for 2 yrs.

When the 38 weeks funding and then the 2yrold funding comes in, there should be more money to pay staff what they deserve.

Well best get back to my lovely sunny day, have a fab hols steve, I'm going away to norfolk on sat and no doubt the rain will fall.

 

Net x

[AnonyMouse_1027]

peggy

 

Myself who works at nursery full time and as from Sept my deputy whio will be working full time will also be paid annually, all the other staff only for the hours they work....... as they all work different hours so am not sure how it would work as they swap and change shifts when and where needed.