Can your employer make you work more than 39 hours a week if you are on a time-in-lieu scheme?

I work in a creche run by a community centre and I normally work 39 hours per week. Within the past few weeks we've had terrible snow and as such the centre had to close for 3 days. I was still paid for these days as the snow was outside of my control. However, as a result of this, I have been informed that I now owe the centre for the hours I was paid but didn't work. So in effect, I now owe my employer 24+ hours. They are asking me to make these hours up in the future, but if I already work for 39 hours a week, is working the extra hours not considered overtime? I don't agree with the time-in-lieu scheme but is there anything I can do now?. I don't want to end up working well over 39 hours every week from now on to make up my hours.
Additional Details
I've asked my bosses.. (there are many unfortunately) for a meeting so we can discuss the "options available" to me. I just wonder whether they can make me take those days out of my annual leave entitlement, because I know that they can request that you take annual leave at a specific time if they give you one month notice, but can they make you lose days out of your annual leave because of snow? Apparently I'll soon find out. Thanks everyone.

Rushevents

In the US it is a violation for them to work you more than 40 hours in a single work week and not pay you overtime rates on every hour over 40.

From the DOL:

Overtime Pay

Overview

The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. There is no limit in the Act on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek. The Act does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on such days.

The Act applies on a workweek basis. An employee's workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours â€” seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It need not coincide with the calendar week, but may begin on any day and at any hour of the day. Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees. Averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. Normally, overtime pay earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the wages were earned.

That being said your employer and you have 2 choices:

One you can take vacation days for those days missed due to weather. If the office was open it was your responsibility to be there.

2 - you can take the time off unpaid.

But if they work you more than 40 hours you are due OT. No exceptions.

Cari

No, these extra hours are not overtime because they are simply making up hours that you should have worked, but didn't. Overtime means doing additional hours to your contractual requirement.

Basically, if you really don't want to work them then you can ask if you can take the three days as annual leave. My organisation also operates a time-in-lieu scheme, and if we get to a certain number of hours owing, my Manager more or less demands that we take it as holiday since it is so difficult to make it up.

Just to make you aware of the relevant legislation here:

- Your employer is not required to pay for snow days, no matter how difficult it was for you to get there. Instead, they can require that you take the days as unpaid leave, as time in lieu, or as annual leave

- Within the EU, you can legally work up to 48 hours per week. If you've opted out of this agreement, there is no limit on the number of hours that you can work

EDIT: Since the person below has asked about legislation for snow days ... it is not a *specific* law for snow days; it is a general law which states that if employees do not work, then they do not have to be paid. Of course, this is overruled if the organisation has a specific bad weather policy, but I live in London where days like this happen every twenty years, so really, what employer is going to have a bad weather policy?

Have a look at the link below - it's from People Management which is a magazine for HR professionals - which basically explains it all properly.

EDIT NO 2: She is not "willing and able to work" if her workplace is closed!!! She might be willing, but she's certainly not able because there's no business going on!

vampgirl

At my company we have PTO, paid time off. In the event you go over your alotted time you have to go in the negative and earn back that time because you were paid for it. If you leave the job before it is paid back it will come out of your last check.

dirtyinjersey

Well if you like your job you are probably going to have to do it in the end. Check your employment contract about pay in situations like this really unless it states you are paid for snow days or days the center is closed but you are scheduled to work, you are kind of out of luck they over paid you either give that money back or work the extra hours to make up for it. Good luck

rowdie

We have the same thing here. I was 21 hours down once because we had no work and it was a nightmare, took me about 2 months to make it back with a half hour here and there.

I have no idea what the law is but why should you be out of pocket because your employers chose to shut their business for a day?

Maybe you need to speak to Citizens Advice, a union official or a lawyer.

Cari, above: what legislation are you referring to? They legislate for "snow days"? It was her boss who shut the business, she didn't say she couldn't get there had it been open

Cari: that article states "Strictly speaking [employers] are only obliged to pay employees who are willing and able to work, ". As far as we know she may well have been willing and able to work but her employee appeared to have shut down anyway

Cari: that's not how I read that article but we'll probably just have to agree to not agree

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