Do you pay staff for there dinner breaks?

[Lofty1984]

I'm a long way from tight dear chap, they do get perks! Thing is I'm frontline too, and have a lot of jobs undelagatable that need doing, often out of their working hours. I'll clock between 10 and 30 more hours a week every week than staff do, so I haven't time to run a staff cafe too - nobody wants pizza every night because thats whats convenient. I've found that most folk would rather crack on and get home for say 8.30pm than stop for half an hour at 7pm or whatever then have to go home later as a result, to find eating at work means that their tea sat at home is now wasted and the mrs is grumpy.
If we were banging in 100hr weeks all the time somehow I'd find a way, but its not often we go past about 75, and thats only a few short weeks a year.

I was only pulling your leg, I don’t expect to get fed just to add but I stand by what I say it’s a poor show if your docking hard working dedicated lads pay for breaks…
Each to their own

 

[kiwi pom]

Spud you wantbto watch killen bros on youtube , they feed all their staff ,all the wifes and mother do a rota Feed them all up to 40 staff all over the area ,
slow cooker is a good yoke , chunk venison or meat fill it with taties and veg , good Feed

I'd rather get home a bit earlier than sit around eating a big meal then bounce around on the tractor again.
Not saying this is the case with Killens but some of these "perks" help hide the fact the pay rate is shite. Irish contractors aren't known for extravagant wages.
Pay well I'll sort myself out, although I won't be doing 18-20 hour days anymore.

 

[Spud]

If you employ a tradesman and he sits in his van eating butties with the clock running on your pay are you happy? Or is that different?

I was only pulling your leg, I don’t expect to get fed just to add but I stand by what I say it’s a poor show if your docking hard working dedicated lads pay for breaks…
Each to their own

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Your boss is not there to mother you, or running a cafe

I never said they were, not in the slightest,
Lets say starting time is 7am, now I,m up around 6am have breakfast and put bagging up, set off around 6.30 to you, get there for around 6,50 ready to start at 7am, I carry my coffee, dinner and midafternoon brew, now come 7pm I have done 11 hours of work minimum and up to an hour of breaks, now it 20 minutes back home, so let's say back home for 7.30, that's 13 hours away from home,
Now if you were to provide food before 7pm, I would of stopped on for a later finish, but you did not, so feck you I,m off home, as I,m not a slave nor a tramp.

13 hours a day is long enough out of a bait bag for anyone, with the exception of them building their empire, but for a paid member of staff its more than plenty,
Personally I could not give a shot if its gonna rain, or any other excuse you have a mind to bring up, as why is it so different that if the tractor needs fuel around 6/7 pm, it's perfectly fine to fuel it and carry on, but as for staff, your thoughts are feck them they should of brought it with them, same could be said for diesel,

And for you information, yes I have done it in years gone by, doing up to 130 hours a week, and I'll tell you something, the only ones that remember you working long hours is your kids, so like I said, if no food after 11 hours of work, I,m off home,

 

[Chae1]

At harvest/silage time when people are working on late they always get fed.

Don't get lunch though. I don't expect it when working for other people either. Just take with me. If working on late and don't get anything I generally just leave when I've had enough.

 

[puppet]

In the public sector your contract will stipulate breaks and they will be unpaid as you are not working. Salary will be based on hours worked. A 9-5 job will have 1hour of breaks. Why would an employer pay you to have lunch?

 

[Trying to make a £]

I expect my staff to take a 30mins dinner break at noon. Which is unpaid. Is this reasonable? If we are busy and they don't stop I pay them

Probably boosts team sprint if you just pay the 30min break,

 

[ollie989898]

In the public sector your contract will stipulate breaks and they will be unpaid as you are not working. Salary will be based on hours worked. A 9-5 job will have 1hour of breaks. Why would an employer pay you to have lunch?

I'm not sure there is much in the public sector I would want to try to emulate as an employer!

 

[JohnnyF]

Anyone working past 7pm gets fed. Someone on the team has company credit card and goes to the most local place for chips/pizza/ burger etc.

As for half hour break sod that pay them all the way through. Fall out over 7/8 quid per day ain’t worth it! but expect them to push on late when it’s going to rain but they’ve promised the Mrs a portion at a sensible time.

 

[ollie989898]

I do think half decent facilities goes a long way. Nothing better than being able to get in the dry/warm. Having worked in a variety of places, we had a good portacabin inside an old grain store at one place, plus an electric space heater thing on the wall. Kettle, hanging/drying racks etc all in there, perfect. Other places the workshop had an old set of sofa + chairs which were ace to rest your head. In another I used to camp out in the boiler/washer room attached to the house- dry and quiet in there, even had the dogs for company. Endless supply of free tea, coffee, milk and sugar etc.

Some places would often get fish and chips when working late, one or two farms on the silage run the farmer and family would make us all stop at lunchtime and bring out a full spread and sit for an hour to eat.

Bacon butties on the way to the job some mornings, too.

There is no right or wrong way, just whatever works for you and your team I guess.

 

[Lofty1984]

If you employ a tradesman and he sits in his van eating butties with the clock running on your pay are you happy? Or is that different?

Can’t really compare that to farming can you because the tradesman isn’t likely to work 12 + hrs a day for weeks on end and isn’t likely to be a long term employee

fyi I am also a tradesman and when I was on the cards breaks always been paid

 

[MF CI]

Can’t really compare that to farming can you because the tradesman isn’t likely to work 12 + hrs a day for weeks on end and isn’t likely to be a long term employee

fyi I am also a tradesman and when I was on the cards breaks always been paid

How many hours do you think an ag mechanic works? Particularly in harvest time.

Standard day was 8 till 5 with an hour unpaid for dinner 12 till 1. As there was usually plenty to get on with and a cup of coffee and a bite to eat (whatever you brought from home) took much less than an hour we changed to 1/2 hour for dinner still worked till 5 giving us 1/2 hour overtime every day. Harvest time standard was 8 till 8 with 1/2 unpaid for dinner. By law we had an on pay break of 15 mins mid morning, mid afternoon. If working to 8pm another one at tea time. If working in the workshop we had a canteen room, if on farm sat in the van sometimes in a layby between jobs. I don't think any customer would have been happy paying my employer 70 or 80 quid an hour to see me sitting in the van drinking coffee and eating. It was a very very rare occasion when a customer brought me a hot drink, let alone food. (always appreciated never expected)

 

[ollie989898]

How many hours do you think an ag mechanic works? Particularly in harvest time.

Standard day was 8 till 5 with an hour unpaid for dinner 12 till 1. As there was usually plenty to get on with and a cup of coffee and a bite to eat (whatever you brought from home) took much less than an hour we changed to 1/2 hour for dinner still worked till 5 giving us 1/2 hour overtime every day. Harvest time standard was 8 till 8 with 1/2 unpaid for dinner. By law we had an on pay break of 15 mins mid morning, mid afternoon. If working to 8pm another one at tea time. If working in the workshop we had a canteen room, if on farm sat in the van sometimes in a layby between jobs. I don't think any customer would have been happy paying my employer 70 or 80 quid an hour to see me sitting in the van drinking coffee and eating. It was a very very rare occasion when a customer brought me a hot drink, let alone food. (always appreciated never expected)

With respect, what an Ag mechanic does is not automatically relatable to what folk employed in direct farm work do.

If you're expecting people to work 100 hours a week during harvest and then maintain beyond 48 hours a week in peak times and for much for much of the rest of the year, I think you can see what I am getting at.

When you see the contractor guys bringing their girlfriends/friends with them in the cab, you can sort of appreciate why employers might be a lot tamer.

 

[Spud]

I never said they were, not in the slightest,
Lets say starting time is 7am, now I,m up around 6am have breakfast and put bagging up, set off around 6.30 to you, get there for around 6,50 ready to start at 7am, I carry my coffee, dinner and midafternoon brew, now come 7pm I have done 11 hours of work minimum and up to an hour of breaks, now it 20 minutes back home, so let's say back home for 7.30, that's 13 hours away from home,
Now if you were to provide food before 7pm, I would of stopped on for a later finish, but you did not, so feck you I,m off home, as I,m not a slave nor a tramp.

13 hours a day is long enough out of a bait bag for anyone, with the exception of them building their empire, but for a paid member of staff its more than plenty,
Personally I could not give a shot if its gonna rain, or any other excuse you have a mind to bring up, as why is it so different that if the tractor needs fuel around 6/7 pm, it's perfectly fine to fuel it and carry on, but as for staff, your thoughts are feck them they should of brought it with them, same could be said for diesel,

And for you information, yes I have done it in years gone by, doing up to 130 hours a week, and I'll tell you something, the only ones that remember you working long hours is your kids, so like I said, if no food after 11 hours of work, I,m off home,

Whoa whoa whoa, now hang on a minute, hold the vitriol chap, lets be civil, less of the eff you nonsense for a start, or this conversation is over.

If I were to provide food as you suggest at 7pm, but that meant finish at 8.30 instead of 8, and meant the dinner you had waiting at home was wasted, would that actually achieve anything?

I don't care how busy we are, I'll accomodate important family events with a bit of notice anytime, and will move hell and high water to help people at times, but start throwing the eff you weight around son, and its as few hours as i can throw your way and as minimum perks as I can. It works both ways.

People need fuel as much as machines, and thats fine. We don't work stupid hours, I like people to have their time at home, we don't work many Sundays, but just sometimes we all have to step up. Talk to me. If your machine needs something, tell me. If you need grub, a lift, early pay, time off, whatever, tell me, and I'll do my best to help. Start swearing at or about me though, and my enthusiasm for impromtu ice cream/bacon sarnies or fish and chips goes straight out the window.

 

[Spud]

Can’t really compare that to farming can you because the tradesman isn’t likely to work 12 + hrs a day for weeks on end and isn’t likely to be a long term employee

fyi I am also a tradesman and when I was on the cards breaks always been paid

I was asking from the pov of you been the customer, not the employee.

Lets say its a 4hr job, spread either side of lunchtime. 4hrs work on the bill and 45 minutes supping tea eating pies and talking rubbish, all at full rate. As the customer paying the bill, would you be happy to cough up regardless?

 

[Hilly]

At harvest/silage time when people are working on late they always get fed.

Don't get lunch though. I don't expect it when working for other people either. Just take with me. If working on late and don't get anything I generally just leave when I've had enough.

I look forward to my lunch hour ! I dont have much in life other than the little things i like .

 

[Bald Rick]

I look forward to my lunch hour ! I dont have much in life other than the little things i like .

I too look forward to it ... especially when Mrs BR is out so her gimlet eye is not on the number of dates I have for pudding

 

[ollie989898]

I was asking from the pov of you been the customer, not the employee.

Lets say its a 4hr job, spread either side of lunchtime. 4hrs work on the bill and 45 minutes supping tea eating pies and talking rubbish, all at full rate. As the customer paying the bill, would you be happy to cough up regardless?

If the work is done for what was quoted, do you really mind what hours are involved?

Good luck having that mindset in the construction industry- they seem to keep their own hours, and, given the working conditions and how physical it often is I can't say I blame them?

Only the employer can really know or determine if he is getting value for money out of his labour force or not. I can see the argument of just paying people and being done with it for the sake of simplicity. The only reason large organisations worry about breaks and working hours is because they are terrified of being ripped off or are so distant from their employees they don't have a clue how to manage folk. I'd also suggest that a softer approach will lead to less grief, less stress and a happier team which gives better results and promotes employee retention- which definitely can be an expensive and stressful process to have to go through.

 

[ollie989898]

I too look forward to it ... especially when Mrs BR is out so her gimlet eye is not on the number of dates I have for pudding

They are so loaded with sugar and stick to your teeth but I love them as well. Dates and figs, thank God for international air freight.

 

[Spud]

If the work is done for what was quoted, do you really mind what hours are involved?

Good luck having that mindset in the construction industry- they seem to keep their own hours, and, given the working conditions and how physical it often is I can't say I blame them?

Only the employer can really know or determine if he is getting value for money out of his labour force or not. I can see the argument of just paying people and being done with it for the sake of simplicity. The only reason large organisations worry about breaks and working hours is because they are terrified of being ripped off or are so distant from their employees they don't have a clue how to manage folk. I'd also suggest that a softer approach will lead to less grief, less stress and a happier team which gives better results and promotes employee retention- which definitely can be an expensive and stressful process to have to go through.

Blimey, there won't be many adhoc tradie jobs pre quoted, can you not just answer the question instead of going into attack mode every time?