One no longer has the benefit of paid time off.
Mandatory overtime is here to stay. It is the new normal. At least at Honeywell.
Managers have informed their employees verbally that a determining factor (unwritten)
in their 9 block rating is how much free "uncompensated" overtime the employee works. Last year time off due to vacation did not count. This year it does and the effect is eye opening.
Let's do a simple calculation on what that means to the company and the employee.
Assuming 40 hour work weeks the maximum number of hours in a normal work year assuming no compensated time off is 40X52 = 2080 hours.
In the past company paid Holidays and vacation subtracted from that
12 paid holidays
2 Weeks vacation (using industry standard minimums)
Assume the employee is sick 1 day per quarter (32 hours). Not a unreasonable amount.
22 days x 8 + 32 = 208 hours
A normal work year (no OT) would be approximately 2080 - 208 = 1872 hours. If one took more vacation the amount of work time in a year without OT would obviously go down.
Now let's factor in the mandated OT.
The OT target is 10% per week. That equates to 208 hours per year which by chance equates to a minimum paid time off benefit calculated above. Hmm...
One still gets time off but now the employee is not compensated $$ for it. The time off benefit in effect is the ability and most importantly permission from the company NOT to show up for work on particular day(s).
Different ways to look at this
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10% loss in compensation for hours worked but not paid
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10% pay cut
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The company minimizes its overhead paid obligation by using the "fear" of a negative 9 block rating to "elicit" compliance. The company can still advertise that it has paid vacation, holidays, and sick time. However, by eliciting free OT out of fear of bad 9 block rating will not translate into long term profitability.
Using fear and intimidation only goes so far. One of the keys to the success of a company is happy employees who feel that they are valued and appreciated. The fact that none of Honeywell's competitors use this tactic should also be eye opening for anyone considering staying or looking at Honeywell as a potential employer.