Overtime Entitlement Question??

[jd_1984]

I recently received a pay rise due to extra responsibilities that I have been entrusted with at work. The pay rise was £4k per annum.
I was very grateful for this.
I didnt receive a new contract, so continued to work under the assumption that my terms of employment were remaining the same, just a pay increase to reflect the new responsibilities.
I recently applied for some overtime (which under my original contract was allocated for hours worked over my contracted hours). Overtime had to be signed off by the operations manager and I also had the option to take this time back instead of receiving the time monetary.
I was told in no uncertain terms that my new salary doesnt carry with it the option of overtime, my new salary means that any time must be taken back, it wont be paid as overtime.
I am now 18 weeks into my new role and have been left a bit confused.
Why wasnt this explained to me and why didnt I receive a new contract to sign?? Am I being naive or does the buck fall with our HR dept and what rights do I have to claim the overtime I earnt up to this point?
I dont want to rock the boat with my employers who up to now have been fair with me. If they send through a new contarct I will have to sigh it, wont I. Then can I claim the overtime for anything accrued before the date that I do sign??

Any help??
Thanks

[Zacs-Master]

Playing Devil's advocate - why didn't you ask for a new contract?

[jd_1984]

Zac, somebody has to!
I admit to being naive in that respect but I imagine the responsibility is of the employer to inform the employee if their contract is to be changed and then the employee agrees and signs to the terms.
In this case I thought my terms had remained the same, my pay had simply gone up due to extra responsibility that was added to my existing role.

[Zacs-Master]

DA here again. So your role changed (extra responsibilities) and your pay inreased but you didn't think to ask for a new contract? Two fairly major changes.
Have you tried talking to HR?

[jd_1984]

Yes, they have gone quiet over the issue (raised last week)
My job hasnt changed, just added resposibility for training and auditing within the same department. My (to coin a phrase) "day job" is the same. I admit I should have spoken to HR but equally if they intended on changing my terms, I should have been notified. The absence of any such documentation led me to beleive the terms were the same, and I said thanks for the raise!

[factor-fiction]

My guess is that you moved onto a grade where overtime isn't payable and these details are quite likely to be available in Terms of Conditions handbooks etc. With hindsight you should have asked. Did you get any sort of letter- that should have referred to to any relevant documents.

[boxtops]

agree with factor. In our place, when you get regraded above a certain level, you may work overtime but you don't get paid for it, you get time in lieu instead. Surely you had at least a letter confirming your new salary and grade?

[Hopkirk]

To be fair JD, I wouldn't have thought to ask.

I would have expected the employer to inform me of any changes to my conditons.

[boxtops]

People aren't supposed to have their T&Cs signed without consultation

[craft1948]

When I first moved onto a different grade which attracted a substantial pay rise I received a letter from HR spelling out the new T's & C's................

[buildersmate]

Most of the above answers are correct.
When I used to write these letters (changing salary), I would write a sentence in addition 'all other T&Cs of your contract remain the same'.

I suggest you get hold of HR and ask for an explanation. I do not believe that it is right that your salary can be uplifted in this way with no other commentary in the confirmation letter, and then it be said that you are no longer entitled to overtime. I take your comment to mean any additional time should be taken in lieu (at 'time' rather than 'overtime' rates).

BM

[jd_1984]

Thanks for comments.
HR are yet to come back to me from last Thursday when I raised the issue.
I had a single sheet of A4 paper confirming my new salary. No mention of T&C's or even a statement to confirm all had remained the same.
I am aware that in many organisations there is a threshold (my father for example was a police officer and when made Superindenant he was seen as a cheif/senior police officer and a fitting grade was given with no overtime rights). So if I have breached a salary threshold, surely THEY should notify ME. I hope I dont sound naive but I have no HR experience so I work with the assumption that if there is to be a change I would be written to.
My ops manager said it is because I am on a "Personal Salary" seperate from all the other grades, as my job within the company is unique, surely though, that is different from a threshold as some have suggested. I have, for 5 years, been the only employee who does what I do, so why now bring the "personal salary" into the equation?
I remain confused....

[buildersmate]

Yup, your analysis is perfectly reasonable. I suspect a 'personal salary' means that you are not on any 'grade/bands within a grade' structure - you are on a unique salary negotiable between you and the company.
Be that as it may, I think you are absolutely right that you should have been notified (in the salary confirmation letter) if any other term in your contract of employment was proposed as being amended (e.g. 'no more paid overtime for you, pal').
When I worked in HR, the pay bands were established such that there was a significant uplift at the point where an employee shifted to a non-overtime grade - about 15% of gross salary. This was so that those moving to the new grade was reasonably treated - and, even then, some employees found themselves getting no effective pay increase, once overtime rates were removed. However it was 'accepted' on both sides that it was a necessary part of shifting responsibilities from being paid for one's labour to being paid for undertaking the whole of the new role (i.e. you put in the hours to deliver the job outputs/outcomes agreed).

I trust you will get a sympathetic ear from HR - it perhaps depends on the culture of the organisation you work within.

[factor-fiction]

Yes, it's something that you may well be able to sort out locally and I'm not sure we can add any more. One question that might be asked of you though is whether you sought approval for the overtime before you did it (I know as a manager I always expected staff to ask me to approve overtime before they did it), although in your case it may have been the practice to do it and then get it authorised afterwards.

[jd_1984]

factor, my manager actually put overtime through for me last month. It was when HR knocked it back that the matter became apparent. So my manager didnt know any different. If I had consulted him beforehand, the chances are he would have said "yes, you are entitled".

I am middle management and have a grasp of my obligations to my own staff and the contents of their contracts. I feel a bit let down by those above me.
Call me naive but I thought no news meant no change???