Anonymous wrote:I started a job two weeks ago. It's a guarantee minimum of 22 hours per week paid. Then my boss said that she needs me to work late. One week I worked 16 hours and the next 17 hours. She said that she wants me to make up the hours that I got paid for. Basically banking the hours? Is this fair?

Find a nice way of telling her she is effing nuts. It isn't your problem if she doesn't use all 22 hours in a week. You owe her zip.

My family would never do that to me. I'd quit that job. Working like that would make me miserable.

It is actually illegal to bank hours, with that said I have worked in positions where parents were MD's so there was some flexibility in my schedule but usually knew a week ahead what my hours would be. It would be a good idea to speak with the parents but be cool with the attitude I see you are getting from some here, see what MB has to say and listen from her side.

So, OP, have you talked to MB?

MB here: Wow. I would not bank hours in this way unless it was previously agreed. Guaranteed hours work both ways - it's not just about the nanny knowing that she will make a minimum amount of money. Right now we have a pt nanny and pay her for 20 hours a week whether we need her or not, because we need her to be available for those hours. If we need her to work more than those hours, we pay her for the additional time. Guaranteed hours mean that we know we have the childcare cover we need. If we let the nanny go home early some days, that's our choice, she shouldn't have to make up those hours some other time.

I once worked a job where we had "flex time" that could be used in a set two week time period. But that only worked to compensate us for overtime (i.e., worked 48 hours the first week, given one day off the next week). I don't think employers are allowed to game the system in a way that allows them to add hours arbitrarily without paying for those hours in that week.

MB here. I would ask to clarify what both of you meant by guaranteed hours.

I agree with the other PPs that your employer just doesn't know what "guaranteed hours" means. You need to explain to her that guaranteed hours means that you are always available and ready to work THOSE hours (or in your case **a window of possible hours) and none other. She cannot ask you to work to make up hours on her schedule -- you could have another job or obligation that precludes that from even being a possibility.

And they are set weekly. If she doesn't use her hours in one week, they do not carry over until the next week.


** This is something, btw, that I never would have agreed to in the first place, OP. You never should have agreed to a different schedule each week.

Nope

Guaranteed pay means you get paid for the hours no matter what. Whether you work them all or not- banking hours is unacceptable.

You need to tell your new MB that you are confused by them offering guaranteed pay and then thinking that banking the unworked hours is acceptable. Wanting you to make up the hours isn't "guaranteed" pay. What they are doing is paying ahead of time and thinking they are owed hours. If first time parents, maybe they didn't know but regardless you need to speak to them.

I would never agree to work hours that I wasn't getting paid for. That's where you need to be a professional and speak up for yourself and make it clear that this is not what you agreed to. Be clear but not in a rude manner.

Op start looking for another job, any employer who does this will try to nickle and dime you in other areas as well. They agreed to the amount of guaranteed hours per week and you are available for that amount of hours per week. It is not your fault that they overestimated the number of hours you would be needed. I would tell them that you are ok with renegotiating the amount of guaranteed hours per week in your contract but you are not comfortable with them banking hours. In the future make sure in the contract it clearly states that you are entitled to and will be available to work X number of guaranteed hours per week but any unused hours will not carry over to the next week.

You, as the employee, can request to bank hours - like if you have a Dr's appointment, you could request to make up the hours by coming in earlier. But I don't think the employer gets to bank hours from letting you off early.