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#11
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward" wrote in message oups.com... I'm back at work after 12 weeks of maternity leave, and am currently working 20 hours a week, from home, for this first month back - 4 hours a day, mornings only. I will be ramping that up to full-time as of next month, if all goes well with my baby care arrangements. I've just been told I need to travel for a client meeting to a different state, which will mean taking a flight in the early afternoon on Monday and returning at 11 pm on Tuesday. Now, I'm taking a 50% paycut and forfeiting all my benefits this month in order to be able to stay with my kids more. So, how should I count the hours I spend on this trip, as part of this week's 20 hours that I get paid for? When I work full-time, it goes without saying that some of the time I will have to travel to client sites, and some of those hours will be on my own time. But now I'm at 50%, I don't know what's fair. Any suggestions appreciated. I have my opinion. Which is not worth as much as the policy for travelling part-timers at yoru company. While it might work to ask forgiveness after rather than seeking permission before, it is risky business. Assuming you work for a company that you trust not to give you the shaft, speak to HR for an equitable arrangement. |
#12
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
On 15 Jun 2007 10:04:51 -0700, Banty wrote:
Not *ever little thang* needs to be credited. Indeed, that gets tiresome and gets negatively notices. When a coworker comes to management with small accountings of ever little thang, she can look good. As in her supervisor thinking "Gee, Penelope and so and so and so and so else never do this sort of thing - I appreciate them all the more after this little session in my office with Jack Takems." Yes, I see people who constantly try to give themselves credit at work and I do think it negatively impacts my impression of them. They tend to be the same ones who tattle on everyone and they are usually the worst workers. |
#13
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to clientsite
Beliavsky wrote:
On Jun 15, 12:04 pm, Banty wrote: snip If you were working part time on a more permanent basis, you'd need to have some clear boundaries as to what's what as far as travel time. But in these circumstances it might look petty. My impression from having worked about 10 years in the private sector is that "small" concessions you make to your employer are rarely noticed -- they become the norm. If the OP never mentioned the extra travel hours while working part time to her boss, would she get "credit" for it down the line? I doubt it -- it would be forgotten. At least mentioning her concern to her boss signals that (1) she is not a "pushover" (2) the boss cannot expect a full-time work effort while she is still working part time (3) she has done something "extra" . But there's a world of difference between working part time as a long term plan and cutting back to part time for a couple of months after the birth of a child. If this is very short term, then nothing she's doing is setting much of a precedent because she isn't going to be part time for long. Furthermore, while any of us who have done it know that the company usually makes out quite well, it is still perceived as a favor when companies allow someone a flexible schedule to get them through times like this and one has to look at the big picture to decide whether this is the right thing to make a stink over. It's always appropriate to ask, but if you end up in a situation where you and the company disagree on how to handle the issue, one has to be smart about what one chooses to go to the mat over...especially if one would like opportunities for flexibility to continue to be available in the future. Best wishes, Ericka |
#14
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
Some replies so far are, in my experience, making this much too
complicated. Do your employer a favor and keep it simple: a travel day that uses more than 8 hours of your time, regardless of how it is spent, is a full work day. Pologirl |
#15
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
"Jeff" wrote in message news:P8zci.18$jb5.7@trndny09... The company is requiring you to be someplace. That's work. Plus, you're working on the plane. Your company also should have policies that clearly delineate how travel time to a work site away from your normally assigned location is treated as well as how reimbursement for the related expenses are handled. This may differ for salaried [f/t] and hourly [p/t] individuals. If you have a contract check it. If not, prepare a reasonable request [16 hours work, full reimbursement for all expenses related to travel, housing and eating during that time as well as at least one phone call home paid for] and discuss it with your supervisor before finalizing your travel plans. They can dictate whatever they want after you've completed the assignment but you are in a position to negotiate before hand. -Aula |
#16
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to clientsite
Aula wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message news:P8zci.18$jb5.7@trndny09... The company is requiring you to be someplace. That's work. Plus, you're working on the plane. Your company also should have policies that clearly delineate how travel time to a work site away from your normally assigned location is treated as well as how reimbursement for the related expenses are handled. This may differ for salaried [f/t] and hourly [p/t] individuals. I think the problem is that she's effectively salaried part time, but doing something that is normally a part of her normally full-time job. I think the most salient question is whether there's some significant problem if she only works one other morning that week. If they need her to work more than one other morning, then can they figure out how to pay her for the additional time? Best wishes, Ericka |
#17
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
On Jun 15, 12:14 pm, Beliavsky wrote:
On Jun 15, 12:04 pm, Banty wrote: snip If you were working part time on a more permanent basis, you'd need to have some clear boundaries as to what's what as far as travel time. But in these circumstances it might look petty. My impression from having worked about 10 years in the private sector is that "small" concessions you make to your employer are rarely noticed -- they become the norm. If the OP never mentioned the extra travel hours while working part time to her boss, would she get "credit" for it down the line? I doubt it -- it would be forgotten. At least mentioning her concern to her boss signals that (1) she is not a "pushover" (2) the boss cannot expect a full-time work effort while she is still working part time (3) she has done something "extra" . Eh -- If I were the OP, I wouldn't raise the issue but presume that this abbreviated travel was a given. It seems, imo, entirely reasonable to expect a f/t effort during those reduced p/t hours -- there's nothing f/t about having to travel for only a very small part of a week, and I'm not clear on where the 'doing something extra' part comes in, especially as the organization is allowing the OP to phase back into a f/t schedule, and she's traveling and busy 2 days this week. (My bias is that I shifted from f/t to p/t after the birth of DD1 -- p/ t was part of the day; given that f/t was typically 8 hours -- does anyone really only work 8 hours/day in a salaried position? -- it seemed reasonable to work less per day on most days. Watching the clock and trying to figure out whether to count a trip as x hours versus y hours -- if such travel is typical of the position's responsibilities -- seems like a bad idea to me. ) Caledonia |
#18
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward" wrote in message oups.com... I'm back at work after 12 weeks of maternity leave, and am currently working 20 hours a week, from home, for this first month back - 4 hours a day, mornings only. I will be ramping that up to full-time as of next month, if all goes well with my baby care arrangements. I've just been told I need to travel for a client meeting to a different state, which will mean taking a flight in the early afternoon on Monday and returning at 11 pm on Tuesday. Now, I'm taking a 50% paycut and forfeiting all my benefits this month in order to be able to stay with my kids more. So, how should I count the hours I spend on this trip, as part of this week's 20 hours that I get paid for? If you're part-time, you're hourly, right? You keep track of your hours, submit them to your employer, and get paid for them. When I work full-time, it goes without saying that some of the time I will have to travel to client sites, and some of those hours will be on my own time. No, you should never have to spend "your own time" on work activities. If your job is such that it impinges significantly on your off-hours, you'd better be very well compensated. "But now I'm at 50%, I don't know what's fair. Any suggestions appreciated. Again, keep track of your hours and bill your employer accordingly. Forfeiting your benefits for a month sounds like a crap deal as well. Unless your company is a very very small one, that cost is probably insignificant. Is your employer holding you hostage and taking advantage of you because they know you need this job??? |
#19
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message . .. I think the problem is that she's effectively salaried part time, but doing something that is normally a part of her normally full-time job. I think the most salient question is whether there's some significant problem if she only works one other morning that week. If they need her to work more than one other morning, then can they figure out how to pay her for the additional time? A great deal depends on where in the world she is. For some reason I think she's in England, but I could be having a serious brain strain on that. My understanding of laws in the US, as a member of management, is that she falls under different rules than when she is working full time. She is, essentially, [if in the US] returning to work on what amounts to light duty after an absence under what would probably be FMLA. In any company I've worked for that would have included a period of sit down negotiation with the employer, prior to first day back on the job, to discuss exact expectations regarding hours, pay, and exceptions. Her company, for example, knows that she is returning to work after the birth of a child and is taking it in stages. But, they have chosen to assign her a task that takes her away from her new baby and family for a period of virtually two days. That suggests to me a blatant disregard of the reason for her return as a p/t employee and a very good reason for her to immediately set a firm foot down as to what she is willing to do, and what she is not willing to do, as well as her expectations of them. It looks, from this pov with what is granted less than the full picture, like she is being taken advantage of by an employer who will continue to pull similar stunts unless shut down fast and professionally. Surely there are other staff who are not so recently returned to *light duty* who could cover this task? If I was her boss and I valued her as an employee I would not be disregarding her needs by sending her off like this before she is ready for f/t work. I'd be helping her make as smooth a transition back into the work force as possible so that she'd be most likely to successfully complete the transition into full time work for me again. Something about this whole situation does not feel right from here. Aula |
#20
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Working part-time to be with baby, yet needing to travel to client site
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward" wrote in message Oh, I meant to say that actual 'work' would only happen on Tuesday, 9-5, in the meetings. I will prepare for the meeting the night before while on the flight. It is usual and customary in US business practices that travel time to/from assigned duties that are not at one's regular duty station are counted in work hours as is prep time that is required to be done outside of the usual work hours. Keep in mind recent US court decision regarding who is eligible for over time. Salaried individuals making less than a certain amount [that I don't recall atm] are entitled to over time, so just because one is salaried does not automatically preclude over time pay nor suggest one must or should accept working more than 40 hours as appropriate or standard. Yes, there are professions and businesses where it seems that is the method of 'getting ahead', but that does not mean the law will turn a blind eye in regards to compensation for that time. Aula |
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