Published: Wednesday, 28th July, 2010 8:00am

Will unpaid overtime keep your job safe?

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With current employment uncertainty, it’s only natural to want to protect yourself against redundancy. But if you’re always the first to give up your lunch break, the first to come in early and the last to leave every night, it could be that you’re being taken advantage of.

“If you’re routinely expected to put in extra hours and don’t receive acknowledgement for it, then it’s fair to say that your employer is taking you for granted,” says career coach Michelle Bayley.

Of course, the overtime culture is well-known in certain careers – PR or finance, for example – but these sectors have additional benefits, such as good pay and perks. The current recession means that unpaid overtime has become more common, as companies struggling for survival often ask their staff to do extra hours unpaid. In these situations, working extra hours relies on the good will of the staff.

“For unpaid overtime to work there’s got to be a beneficial relationship,” says Michelle. “If you feel you get positive benefits from the organisation (such as good training and career development), or if there’s a genuine need for the overtime (not just poor management or inefficiencies). In these cases, it’s good to show willing if you feel you can do some overtime.”

The first thing Michelle advises is that you sit down with your line manager to discuss exactly how much, and how long, the overtime is likely to be. “A good line manager has regular one-to-one meetings with his or her staff,” she says. “Talk about your work load – tell your manager what you’ve got on and they can tell you what’s coming up. You can then come to an agreement about how many hours you’re willing to do and they can let you know how long the overtime is likely to go on for. It’s about having an honest, open discussion.”

In some industries, busy times are easier to predict than others. In finance, for example, the end of year periods can be chaotic with all hands to the pump. If you’ve discussed these periods with your manager beforehand, you might be able to arrange time off in lieu for when things have calmed down.

Declining unpaid overtime

Of course, we can’t all be expected to agree to do overtime –what if you have dependents living at home? But how can turning down overtime affect your career progression? “Some companies are ultra fair and respect your home commitments,” says Michelle. “However, it would be naive, if you work for a small company where there are a couple of partners who work all the hours God sends, to say it’s not going to impact on your chances of promotion.”

Equally, it would be naive to think that, just because you put in the extra hours, you’ll be next in line for promotion. “Managers are only human. Yes, they might say, ‘when the chips were down, so and so put in more time’, and this might count favourably for you,” says Michelle. “However, they’ll also look at the skill set required for the job – you might have put in extra hours but if you don’t have the right skill set, it might not be the right job for you.”

So, taking on unpaid overtime depends a lot on how you feel about your company – it requires good will and a degree of fairness for it to work properly. It should be a mutual agreement between you and your boss, where everyone is clear of the boundaries and where both your needs are respected. And remember, you don’t have to become the office doormat just to safeguard your job.

For more careers advice, visit www.Jobsite.co.uk