Dinner hours and pay

[siam]

Could anyone explain how breaks are dealt with regarding pay within ATC.

I have worked at my (non nats) unit for 11 years working a 38 hour week. My working week is four 9.5 hour shifts 08.30 till 18.00. A new company has taken over the contract and the HR department is claiming I owe them 4 hours a week to cover dinner hours that they are paying me for as I get paid for the entire 9.5 hour shift. We take Sratcoh breaks as everyone else does with ATC and not the traditional dinner hour..

[45 before POL]

Nats are rostered net hours, as you originally had. I'm not sure how they can state 4 hrs are owed if all you are taking is sratcoh breaks as these are a legal requirement. I'm sure someone will post more on this for you, employment regs are a minefield, with exemptions applied as well. I suppose you could close for an hour at lunchtime to satisfy this

[055166k]

"Dinner Hour" is an unfortunate description! In the short term [until common sense prevails] I suggest you approach HR and ask them to publish a sratcoh compliant on-duty/off-duty roster during your working day. They'll get the message eventually. In the meantime try to avoid using the word "hour", and be prepared to eat during a shorter sratcoh break.

[obwan]

First off you should ask your HR person where it is laid down in your terms and conditions of service that you are actually entitled to a meal break (not dinner hour) and if you are how the time for meal entitlement is accrued, normally a set number of minutes per rostered hours on the day. As has been mentioned before you may only be getting legally entitled SRATCOH breaks, which if you happen to eat during the break can not be designated a meal break.

[Blockla]

Having worked under two different systems, Oz, no such thing as a 'dinner/meal break'. you are only guaranteed a total of 20 minutes break per shift (or it least it was like that). Reality was effectively much better than that. The rostered hours were averaged through a 'roster cycle' for a 36 hour week and that's what you got paid against.

In Ireland the meal break was guaranteed, you were rostered for a 'gross' hours but worked a net hours, because meal time was your own, you were paid against the net hours.

In Ireland you were also free to leave the compound during your meal break; in Australia you had to beg and plead for permission to leave the compound during a shift.

Of course the trade off was that longer 'rostered on time'...

The later was a much better way to work.

[ATCO Fred]

Don't forget, if you're not paid for a lunch hour it's a break in duty so you can't return for duty for another 12 hours !! Or 11 hours at your discretion!!