Contract terminology query

[skelm]

I have just been asked to renew and looking over the contract is states that the professional day is as follows:

"You are required to work a minimum of 8 Hours per day and 40 hours per week"

This causes some concern as from this it comes across that they are implying 8 hrs excluding a 1 hr lunch i.e 9 hrs per day incl lunch? Say from 9-6 ...???

The previous 5 months have been a 9-5 or as long as the job gets done within a working day ( we not permies for f's sake! )

Wouldnt mind if it was an hourly rate but it is not.

Or am I reading it wrong?

[TheBigYinJames]

In my experience contracted hours do NOT include lunch, although your actual line manager where you work may not hold you to this, and I've found that local management is more pragmatic about these things as long as you are doing a good job they will sign the timesheets.

[oracleslave]

I have just been asked to renew and looking over the contract is states that the professional day is as follows:

"You are required to work a minimum of 8 Hours per day and 40 hours per week"

This causes some concern as from this it comes across that they are implying 8 hrs excluding a 1 hr lunch i.e 9 hrs per day incl lunch? Say from 9-6 ...???

The previous 5 months have been a 9-5 or as long as the job gets done within a working day ( we not permies for f's sake! )

Wouldnt mind if it was an hourly rate but it is not.

Or am I reading it wrong?

I would try and get that clause removed entirely. Rather get the client to include deliverables and dates in the contract.

[malvolio]

WHS. A Professional Working Day is not time-bound, that's what it means; you do some work, you charge a day's rate. If they want to put you on N hours a week then fine, but you will charge them for each hour worked. However, allowing them to set the value of N contractually is D&C and you don't want that.

I'm guessing this was not in the original contract, so you have very good reason to reject it.

[BrilloPad]

I usually take "work" to mean excluding lunch but including posting on cuk when I get upset with their continual stupid questions, aggression and sorting out the moronic permies. Of which there seems to be alot more of these days.

Not that it says that in my contract.

[expat]

I have just been asked to renew and looking over the contract is states that the professional day is as follows:

"You are required to work a minimum of 8 Hours per day and 40 hours per week"

This causes some concern as from this it comes across that they are implying 8 hrs excluding a 1 hr lunch i.e 9 hrs per day incl lunch? Say from 9-6 ...???

The previous 5 months have been a 9-5 or as long as the job gets done within a working day ( we not permies for f's sake! )

Wouldnt mind if it was an hourly rate but it is not.

Or am I reading it wrong?

I don't mind if the rate is high enough. Obviously a "professional day" of 8 hours minimum (with the clear expectation of more) will cost more than an 8-hour day, or 8 times an hour.