on call on christmas day

[mollykins]

My dad (a plumber etc for the NHS) is going to be on-call on christmas day, he's done it before but never actually got called out. But his boss is saying that if he does get called out, he'll only be paid the little extra, for it being a saturday! Even though he's been called out on other bank holidays before and gotten extra for that, so has always assumed the same applies for christmas.

BUT his union person is leaving soon, and doesn't really care, should he go up higher in the union?

[boxtops]

Trust policies molly, check the policies. They are right in that Dec 25 and Dec 26 are NOT bank holidays this year, the BHs are Dec 27 and 28.

[mollykins]

At least santa only has to delier presents, dad may get called out half way through christmas dinner, to go 30 miles, to do something like fixing a bed pan masher, or he may have to go all that way just to press a button to reset a fire alarm . . .

[boxtops]

That is what he is employed to do........ you can't complain if you are occasionally on an on-call roster, to do your job. Facts, molly.

[jaydah]

he's obviously not a doctor or soldier

[mike11111]

Fixing a bed-pan masher. Lucky so-and -so. Never got to do anything as exciting at Xmas when I were a lad!

[jaydah]

tell him to read this lot; Xmas is a public holiday & employees who work it can have days off in lieu

http://www.adviceguid...nk_and_public_holiday

[Kakurol]

'gotten' is an American word - so much for English exam standards these days

[mollykins]

Thanks guys, he has all the info that contradicts most of what his boss said, and is quoting to official sources of the information . . . .

[mike11111]

Actually gotten is an English word, now fallen into disuse this side of the Atlantic. Read Shakespeare and The Book of Common Prayer.

[boxtops]

Yet again - this is an MHS employment contract so the best place to look is his Trust's policy about on-call and bank/public holiday working which will be readily available to employees on his Trust's website. Or, ring the HR department which loosk after his service. They are the experts and very familiar with all the NHS employment T&Cs. I know what happens in our Trust and understand that many policies are common across the NHS in other organisations.

[boxtops]

^^ NHS employment contract, molly, that is what matters here, it doesn't matter what other sites quote.

[craft1948]

It's no good hc..........my irony still needs work.

[Kakurol]

The use of the word 'gotten' in this country these days is solely because of the Americanisation of the English language through popular culture, not because of any extant usage.

[mike11111]

In the rubrics to the Order of Service for Holy Communion in The Book of Common Prayer, the Curate is exhorted to purchase wheaten bread, "the purest that may be gotten". What was good enough for Cranmer is good enough for me.

[mollykins]

Boxtops, that, aswell as the agenda for change agree with him and he's quoting both.

[paddywak]

Molly, when I worked for British Coal there was no such thing as "On Call" the Mines & Quarries Act required that as long as there were men underground and certain pieces of equipment were operationing then people with certain levels of qualification must be there, we used to work it out between ourselves who did what shifts but somebody had to be there 24/7 whether we liked it or not, when I was just Electrician of the Mine we got paid treble time plus a shift in lieu, when I was promoted it was part of the deal

[Mctavish]

It is to be hoped that all the fuss your father is making doesn't backfire on him.

[oranger]

Should get treble time and a day in lieu, plus expenses, but all this should have been sorted with unions and management years ago.

[mollykins]

That's what he's hoping for, according to the official documents he's looked at, that's what he should get, but when his bosses were writing the T&Cs, they changed the words to make them a bit ambiguous and then said that they meant about the having to do two days to get one lieu day etc rules.

[Lborobrewer]

Actually Agenda for Change does affect payement for weekends and public holidays. A person who is on the lower bands gets double time for working Public Holidays and Sundays, whilst I, as a Band 5, get time +2/3 for Sundays/Public Holidays and time + 1/3 for Saturdays.

I am working Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Bank Holiday Tuesday;
As Boxing Day is a Sunday this will be at Sunday rates. Bank Holiday Tuesday will also be at Public Holiday rates. I am not sure what I will be able to claim for Xmas Day, it may depend on what my line manager is prepared to sign for!