A demanding boss ordered their employee to report for duty 15 minutes before their shift, without pay, with their texts sparking a debate about ‘work ethics’.
The staff member sent the controversial messages to ‘The Outsourcing Expert’, Michael Sanz, who revealed in a video last week that some bosses consider arriving at the scheduled start time to be the same as being late.
Before reading the text sequence, Mr. Sanz prefaced the video by saying, “This one doesn’t surprise me at all.”
The conversation started when the boss asked, “Hello buddy. You logged in at 9am this morning, for what reason?’
The employee replied, “My shift starts at nine?”
Texts (photo) between a boss and an employee about unpaid work have sparked a debate about work ethics
The boss replied, “Yes, but you have to be ready to start at 9am, so that means you have to be in at least fifteen minutes earlier.”
Both Mr. Sanz and the commenters praised the employee’s response, which said, “Okay, how do you want me to record that on my timesheet?” This means I can only start at 9am.’
“They sound very reasonable, like they want to help get in early so the company thinks they’re ready to go,” Mr. Sanz said.
“Sounds like a really good team member.”
However, the boss was less impressed with the employee’s response.
‘That’s not possible, it’s not something you get paid for. You just need to be ready to start at 9am and not just walk in,” they wrote.
The worker replied, ‘But then I’m ready to start. I log in at 9am and start. Has there even been a problem?’
The boss replied, “Well, no, but we want everyone to be there fifteen minutes early so there’s no rush.”
The employee sent his final message saying, “Once you figure out how we can clock in 15 minutes early, I’ll start doing that.”
‘Or maybe you want me to finish fifteen minutes earlier? Happy anyway.
‘It just needs to be clear whether I will get paid for the extra time, or how you want to structure this so that it works for everyone.’
Mr Sanz said it had become increasingly common for Australian bosses to require their employees to start early or finish late.
“Fair enough, but a lot of people don’t get paid before then, so I can see the problem,” he said.
‘If you have to come in early or work outside the shift, you should be compensated for that.’
However, opinions in the comments were strongly divided between the ‘old school’ and the ‘young’ mentality.
‘Early is on time. On time is too late. An old-fashioned attitude is best,” one person wrote.
‘The Outsourcing Expert’, Michael Sanz (pictured), applauded the employee for standing his ground, but recruitment expert Graham Wynn warned that failure to follow manager requests could cost employees their promotion
‘I think you should be there at least 5-10 minutes before you start. It’s just a good work ethic,” said another.
“He should never take an extra minute on his lunch break, never make a personal phone call during work hours or use his phone for personal work,” said a third.
“If you want the job, come 15 minutes early,” wrote another.
Those supporting the worker argued that the unpaid minutes would quickly add up to unpaid hours.
“It’s only fifteen minutes, but that’s an unpaid hour in four days,” says someone.
“These are the same type of employers who make sure breaks are down to the second,” said another.
“The pay vs. cost of living is out of alignment and there is no incentive for me to spend my free time or do more than my contract requires,” wrote another.
While Mr Sanz applauded the employee for standing his ground, recruitment expert Graham Wynn warned that failure to follow manager requests could cost employees their promotions.
“If you always arrive at your start time and leave exactly at your end time, you will most likely be overlooked for promotions, etc.,” he shared Yahoo Finance.
‘Employers always try to reward those who put in that little bit extra effort.’