While many people will relish in the lighter nights that the British Summer Time clock change brings with it, others will be fuming at the prospect of losing a valuable hour in bed this weekend.
The clocks will leap forward an hour at 1am tomorrow (March 26), as the transition from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) takes place. If you're awake at the time, you'll see your phone surge straight from 12.59 to 2am in the space of a minute- bypassing 1am as if it doesn't even exist.
And while many of us will be wrapped up in bed and away with the fairies, an unlucky few will have a gruelling nightshift scheduled in tonight - meaning they'll work through the clock change. But will they have the rare opportunity of working an hour less, or will they stay back an extra hour instead?
Read more: When do the clocks change? When is the start of British Summer Time?
Speaking to The Mirror, Paul Kelly, head of employment at Blacks Solicitors, said it all depends if you’re contracted to work set times, or a set number of hours. For example, if your contract stipulates that you must work between a set time-frame - like 9am until 5pm - then you'll get the privileged of an hour knocked off your shift.
But on the flipside, if you're contracted to a set amount of hours per week - your employer may make you finish later to make up for missing time. Given the circumstance, you would be paid the normal rate for the shift, as you'd have technically worked the set number of hours required.
If you work to your normal time though, and work an hour less - then you may find yourself paid short for the hour lost.
Paul said: "For those who are salaried, this will come with the benefit of being paid for the full shift."
It all varies from employer to employer though, so you're best off asking the question yourself. Paul added: “We would recommend checking your contractual obligations and entitlements prior to the clocks going forward."
Chris Garner, MD of Avensure, recommends that employers chat to workers sooner rather than later, in order to avoid any misunderstandings about their finishing time. He said: "Businesses do need to be careful not to breach the contract by failing to pay a salaried employee for the contractual hours they are entitled to, even if they have worked an hour less.
"It's also important to consider that an employee leaving work an hour later than usual may have difficulties with public transport. Bosses should get ahead by discussing the clock changes with affected staff to ensure there are no misunderstandings or potential disputes."
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