Are you paid to come early to set up?

[Barbie]

To those that do opening shift how much earlier does your centre expect you to arrive to unlock, get breakfast ready etc?
I notice some centres such as council say your shift starts at 645 (if the centre opens at 7) in other words you are paid to set up.
I'm hearing from some bully girls at my centre that we are supposed to arrive 20 mins early to set up unpaid in our own time 20 x 5 days = 1 hour 40 mins unpaid over the week.

[Lorina]

At some of the centres I have worked at, we were always asked to come early (15 minutes) before our shift started. However, during this time we didn't need to exactly work. We would get ourselves ready... Go to the bathroom, have a cup of coffee, etc. Once our shift started then we were able to begin setting up for breakfast, unlock, set up the playground etc.

If you have to "work" before your shift starts then you should be paid for it...

,
Lorina

[Eeca]

2 of the 3 centre's I have expected opening staff to have everything ready but only paid them from opening time. The same two also were run in such a way that the closing staff usually stayed back to get everything done. I noticed in the last contract I signed there was a clause that stated that staff woukd work outside of hours if they were unable to complete their work within their shift. I wonder if this covers the expectation to work before your shift. However, how does one decide what is a reasonable work load and there is no way to set up within the shift and be ready for the day.

[alland296]

My partner works at good start and they are not allowed to leave in the afternoon until educator/child ratios are met, but then are not paid for it either.
their Kronos timekeeper logs are changed to only show what time they are rostered to, not the 45 min extra she worked friday, for instance . This happens regulary and can be few hours p/wk.

Has Anyone else had this issue, and what they did about it?

cheers
Allan

[Eeca]

My understanding is that technically staff can't be counted towards the ratios unless they are being paid. I could be wrong though. However, I'm also at a place where they occasionally pay staff for staying back or starting early to cover ratios. Basically they will pay you if they ask you to work longer but most the time they won't ask you and it is seen as your own prerogative.

[Lorina]

My partner works at good start and they are not allowed to leave in the afternoon until educator/child ratios are met, but then are not paid for it either.
their Kronos timekeeper logs are changed to only show what time they are rostered to, not the 45 min extra she worked friday, for instance . This happens regulary and can be few hours p/wk.

Has Anyone else had this issue, and what they did about it?

cheers
Allan

The time keeper logs gets changed! Seriously! If your partner is working outside their rostered hours then they need to be paid for it as overtime or time in lieu. This is definitely an issue that needs to be dealt with as it's unethical for hours to be reduced if more hours are being worked. Since your partner is working for good start their should be a management committee or regional director that she can talk to to try and get this issue resolved. She should keep her own log of the hours she works each day and who asks her to stay back until what time. She should also compare the log she creates to her pay slip as evidence that she is not being paid for the extra hours... She shouldn't have to put up with it and it's a cause for concern...

,
Lorina