Comments on: Working time opt-out at death’s door once more http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/2009/01/05/working-time-opt-out-at-deaths-door-once-more/ An Employment Law Blog by a UK barrister Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:55:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Benjamin Smith http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/2009/01/05/working-time-opt-out-at-deaths-door-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-4300 Benjamin Smith Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:02:18 +0000 http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/?p=230#comment-4300 I am a security guard who works 60 Hours a week,and I am happy to do so.It is not arduose work,and I love it!But if I only work 48Hrs a week I will only get 48Hrs pay --a HUGE PAY CUT!!Please keep the opt out. I am a security guard who works 60 Hours a week,and I am happy to do
so.It is not arduose work,and I love it!But if I only work 48Hrs
a week I will only get 48Hrs pay –a HUGE PAY CUT!!Please keep the
opt out.

]]> By: Happy New Year « Insitelaw magazine http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/2009/01/05/working-time-opt-out-at-deaths-door-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-4063 Happy New Year « Insitelaw magazine Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:52:56 +0000 http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/?p=230#comment-4063 [...] Usefully Employed: Working time opt-out at death’s door once more [...] [...] Usefully Employed: Working time opt-out at death’s door once more [...]

]]> By: Michael http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/2009/01/05/working-time-opt-out-at-deaths-door-once-more/comment-page-1/#comment-3991 Michael Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:30:28 +0000 http://blog.usefullyemployed.co.uk/?p=230#comment-3991 I've been watching this with some interest, as, working in the videogames industry, I've never had a job where the opt-out has been presented as optional. It's never been a condition of employment, but everyone would take an extremely dim view of me deciding not to opt-out. During the last few weeks of a project (known as 'crunch'), I'll often work fifteen hours a day, six days a week, and I'm not sure how the games industry would cope if its employees were to only work 48 hours a week. The games industry seems to be organised around this idea of 'crunch', due to the financial necessity of releasing a game on time (as millions of pounds might have been spent on advertising campaigns based on a release date decided many months previously). Hiring more staff over crunch wouldn't work too well, since staff (even experienced staff) need at least a week to get up to speed, and crunch only lasts a few weeks. A perverse part of me hopes the opt-out is scrapped, just to see what happens, but with games companies dropping like flies at the moment anyway, I'm not sure the videogames industry could cope all that well. I’ve been watching this with some interest, as, working in the videogames industry, I’ve never had a job where the opt-out has been presented as optional. It’s never been a condition of employment, but everyone would take an extremely dim view of me deciding not to opt-out.

During the last few weeks of a project (known as ‘crunch’), I’ll often work fifteen hours a day, six days a week, and I’m not sure how the games industry would cope if its employees were to only work 48 hours a week.

The games industry seems to be organised around this idea of ‘crunch’, due to the financial necessity of releasing a game on time (as millions of pounds might have been spent on advertising campaigns based on a release date decided many months previously). Hiring more staff over crunch wouldn’t work too well, since staff (even experienced staff) need at least a week to get up to speed, and crunch only lasts a few weeks.

A perverse part of me hopes the opt-out is scrapped, just to see what happens, but with games companies dropping like flies at the moment anyway, I’m not sure the videogames industry could cope all that well.

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