It's been pretty slow in this office this summer. My workload has been cut down to just 17 hours. Is it a time to start looking for a new job or should I wait it out and see what happens in September? I'm entitled to 40 hrs a week. Do my employers have the right to send me home and cut my hours?
3tk
Jul 14, 15 2:27 pm
a lot of unknowns here: type of work, size of office, marketing, state of incoming projects, salary/hourly.
Never hurts to see what's out there.
Employers can do whatever they want - without a written contract you're not entitled to anything. Assuming you're working 'at will' like most of us, your compensation for work rendered is in the written offer letter - you showing up seals the contract. They're free to cut hours, let you go, etc - as long as you show up and work, you accept the changes.
Anob
Jul 14, 15 2:56 pm
Im at an Intern III salary range, 15 persons firms, marketing strategy ?? ( it's everywhere in my opinion)
haruki
Jul 14, 15 3:21 pm
A 17 hour workweek during the summer would be a dream come true to me. My opinion is enjoy it while you can.
Good_Knight
Jul 14, 15 3:22 pm
Make it a win-win and study and pass the A.R.Es in your down time.
You make it sound like its the employer's problem.
You, in the final analysis, are your own employer.
If you don't want to or can't study and pass for the A.R.E.s then go out and find some work and bring it into your firm in your down time.
Good_Knight
Jul 14, 15 3:23 pm
...or find something else to get into if you want more than 17 hours.
Miles Jaffe
Jul 14, 15 3:53 pm
17 hours a day?
Anob
Jul 14, 15 4:05 pm
This week
Anob
Jul 14, 15 4:09 pm
I would love to study for my A.R.E.'s or re teach myself Revit. But it seems that my employers wants me to work on something when there is nothing to do. I would spend my time marketing for the firm or have them teach me the bidding process for architecture.
kjdt
Jul 14, 15 4:16 pm
They have the right to send you home whenever they like - but if you're salaried then the firm can't cut your pay based on the hours you work, in any week that you work any time at all, unless they cut everybody with the same job description by the same percentage. But, cutting hours and pay is usually a firm's attempt to keep on everybody they'd rather keep, for as long as they can. The alternative is layoffs.
If you're hourly they can cut your hours and pay any way they like as long as they stay above minimum wage.
In the meantime: if you're a legitimate employee (not an independent contractor) and were full time before and you've been cut to less than 35 hours then you can potentially qualify for partial unemployment in most states. Due to weekly caps most people don't really stand to collect anything until they're cut to 20 hours or less - but since you're at 17 hours you may qualify for some unemployment pay.
If I were you I'd be looking elsewhere. Things may get better and your hours may go back up - but it's just as likely to go the other way.
Jul 14, 15 4:31 pm
Actually, it can be a good thing in a sense. The employer may be in a slow period. In some places, summers are slow for design services because this is when construction generally occurs. Construction occurs during this time. Design is usually pretty busy during spring for small client projects.
At this stage, you can pick up some small temp work for the slow period for about 10 hours a week if your employer is okay with it so you can pay rent and all. At this point, they should understand and not be total dicks about you doing a temp work here and there.
Sometimes, they have no moonlighting clauses but they may be reasonable in that they won't necessarily hold that too strictly because of your work load being so low.
curtkram
Jul 14, 15 4:32 pm
your employers want you working on something during the 17 hours you're getting paid, or they want you working during the other 23 hours in a normal work week?
Anob
Jul 14, 15 4:56 pm
I have 1projecf with estimated 17 hrs to complete. Have nothing to fill the 23 hrs. Never happened before
chigurh
Jul 14, 15 5:00 pm
wow, your hours were reduced to 17 hours a week and you only have one project that will take 17 hours to complete? good luck with all that.
It'll happen from time to time, though lately most places seem rather busy. Always ask for tasks to your colleagues, maybe even the office manager (assuming you have one).
In the past , I did the following as filler work: build/update a website, reorganize the library (materials, product literature), clean the copy room (throwing out old drafting supplies), helping file/archive old projects, rendering past projects for marketing, rereading old specs/dwg sets to learn details and specifications, brush up on code (local/federal/wetlands/fire/ADA), print/mount project images and hang in office for decor and marketing... Chances are there's something to do. If it happens week after week (and to everyone else in the office), you'll want to start 'exploring your option'.
Anob
Jul 15, 15 3:36 pm
It'll happen from time to time, though lately most places seem rather busy. - 3tk
this is what I'm afraid of. Why aren't we busy? What are we doing wrong. Thinking about it now. I was doing like 45 hrs last week. It's just slow for me now. Projects are being completed. Guess I used to being so busy these pass few years. I'll keep my eyes open.
rationalist
Jul 15, 15 3:46 pm
So once again, are you a salaried employee or an hourly employee? You still haven't answered this question. For instance, when you worked 45 hours last week did you get paid more than when you work 40 hours, or do you get the same amount every week regardless? Also, has your employer explicitely told you to go home after your 17 hours of work are done? If they haven't flat out said that, stay in the office a normal amount of hours. Find some other way to be useful around the office—ask someone you know is swamped if they need help on one of their projects. Work on organizing files or on a post for your company's blog—something that shows you taking some initiative to use your time productively, even if it's not billable. On the other hand if they have explicitly told you to go home after your 17 hours of work are done, go home and brush up your resume and portfolio and start looking for work. This would indicate to me that they don't value your presence in the office and you should explore other opportunities.
Anob
Jul 15, 15 4:39 pm
Salaried
rationalist
Jul 15, 15 7:15 pm
Then no, they can't just send you home after 17 hours of work, that's not what being a salaried employee is. Stay there and find other ways to make yourself useful. Everyone has lulls and awkward staffing points at times—I've found myself at a point before where I was waiting on feedback five different projects and had nothing to work on before, and it didn't mean we were light in work, just that there was a strange confluence of timing. What makes a good employee is handling these things well and always bringing something of value to the workplace even when you're not billable.
Volunteer
Jul 15, 15 8:39 pm
If you are salaried then you should be paid for 40 hours regardless of the hours spent in the office. They apparently want someone "on deck" if business picks up, or maybe they do not want to pay unemployment if they lay you off? If they have been paying you less than 40 hours a week you need to demand your back pay. That demand might lead to your layoff but at least you would have unemployment until you found something else. Don't be a patsy.
alphabits
Jul 15, 15 9:08 pm
Employers can legally reduce salaries, but there are rules that apply including: it can't be a temporary reduction related to short-term business needs - it has to be considered permanent ("permanent" only means 3 months minimum per federal DOL definition); it can't be directly tied to hours worked; it has to be applied equally to all employees with the same job description (which means if you're the only one of whatever your position is, they can do it to you alone.) As long as they're within those rules, they can tell you they're reducing your salary and if you continue to work that constitutes your agreement to the change in salary.
Find a new job. These are relatively good times, lots of hiring happening.
It's been pretty slow in this office this summer. My workload has been cut down to just 17 hours. Is it a time to start looking for a new job or should I wait it out and see what happens in September? I'm entitled to 40 hrs a week. Do my employers have the right to send me home and cut my hours?
a lot of unknowns here: type of work, size of office, marketing, state of incoming projects, salary/hourly.
Never hurts to see what's out there.
Employers can do whatever they want - without a written contract you're not entitled to anything. Assuming you're working 'at will' like most of us, your compensation for work rendered is in the written offer letter - you showing up seals the contract. They're free to cut hours, let you go, etc - as long as you show up and work, you accept the changes.
Im at an Intern III salary range, 15 persons firms, marketing strategy ?? ( it's everywhere in my opinion)
A 17 hour workweek during the summer would be a dream come true to me. My opinion is enjoy it while you can.
Make it a win-win and study and pass the A.R.Es in your down time.
You make it sound like its the employer's problem.
You, in the final analysis, are your own employer.
If you don't want to or can't study and pass for the A.R.E.s then go out and find some work and bring it into your firm in your down time.
...or find something else to get into if you want more than 17 hours.
17 hours a day?
This week
I would love to study for my A.R.E.'s or re teach myself Revit. But it seems that my employers wants me to work on something when there is nothing to do. I would spend my time marketing for the firm or have them teach me the bidding process for architecture.
They have the right to send you home whenever they like - but if you're salaried then the firm can't cut your pay based on the hours you work, in any week that you work any time at all, unless they cut everybody with the same job description by the same percentage. But, cutting hours and pay is usually a firm's attempt to keep on everybody they'd rather keep, for as long as they can. The alternative is layoffs.
If you're hourly they can cut your hours and pay any way they like as long as they stay above minimum wage.
In the meantime: if you're a legitimate employee (not an independent contractor) and were full time before and you've been cut to less than 35 hours then you can potentially qualify for partial unemployment in most states. Due to weekly caps most people don't really stand to collect anything until they're cut to 20 hours or less - but since you're at 17 hours you may qualify for some unemployment pay.
If I were you I'd be looking elsewhere. Things may get better and your hours may go back up - but it's just as likely to go the other way.
Actually, it can be a good thing in a sense. The employer may be in a slow period. In some places, summers are slow for design services because this is when construction generally occurs. Construction occurs during this time. Design is usually pretty busy during spring for small client projects.
At this stage, you can pick up some small temp work for the slow period for about 10 hours a week if your employer is okay with it so you can pay rent and all. At this point, they should understand and not be total dicks about you doing a temp work here and there.
Sometimes, they have no moonlighting clauses but they may be reasonable in that they won't necessarily hold that too strictly because of your work load being so low.
your employers want you working on something during the 17 hours you're getting paid, or they want you working during the other 23 hours in a normal work week?
I have 1projecf with estimated 17 hrs to complete. Have nothing to fill the 23 hrs. Never happened before
wow, your hours were reduced to 17 hours a week and you only have one project that will take 17 hours to complete? good luck with all that.
you might have found an answer to this question
It'll happen from time to time, though lately most places seem rather busy. Always ask for tasks to your colleagues, maybe even the office manager (assuming you have one).
In the past , I did the following as filler work: build/update a website, reorganize the library (materials, product literature), clean the copy room (throwing out old drafting supplies), helping file/archive old projects, rendering past projects for marketing, rereading old specs/dwg sets to learn details and specifications, brush up on code (local/federal/wetlands/fire/ADA), print/mount project images and hang in office for decor and marketing... Chances are there's something to do. If it happens week after week (and to everyone else in the office), you'll want to start 'exploring your option'.
It'll happen from time to time, though lately most places seem rather busy. - 3tk
this is what I'm afraid of. Why aren't we busy? What are we doing wrong. Thinking about it now. I was doing like 45 hrs last week. It's just slow for me now. Projects are being completed. Guess I used to being so busy these pass few years. I'll keep my eyes open.
So once again, are you a salaried employee or an hourly employee? You still haven't answered this question. For instance, when you worked 45 hours last week did you get paid more than when you work 40 hours, or do you get the same amount every week regardless?
Also, has your employer explicitely told you to go home after your 17 hours of work are done? If they haven't flat out said that, stay in the office a normal amount of hours. Find some other way to be useful around the office—ask someone you know is swamped if they need help on one of their projects. Work on organizing files or on a post for your company's blog—something that shows you taking some initiative to use your time productively, even if it's not billable.
On the other hand if they have explicitly told you to go home after your 17 hours of work are done, go home and brush up your resume and portfolio and start looking for work. This would indicate to me that they don't value your presence in the office and you should explore other opportunities.
Salaried
Then no, they can't just send you home after 17 hours of work, that's not what being a salaried employee is. Stay there and find other ways to make yourself useful. Everyone has lulls and awkward staffing points at times—I've found myself at a point before where I was waiting on feedback five different projects and had nothing to work on before, and it didn't mean we were light in work, just that there was a strange confluence of timing. What makes a good employee is handling these things well and always bringing something of value to the workplace even when you're not billable.
If you are salaried then you should be paid for 40 hours regardless of the hours spent in the office. They apparently want someone "on deck" if business picks up, or maybe they do not want to pay unemployment if they lay you off? If they have been paying you less than 40 hours a week you need to demand your back pay. That demand might lead to your layoff but at least you would have unemployment until you found something else. Don't be a patsy.
Employers can legally reduce salaries, but there are rules that apply including: it can't be a temporary reduction related to short-term business needs - it has to be considered permanent ("permanent" only means 3 months minimum per federal DOL definition); it can't be directly tied to hours worked; it has to be applied equally to all employees with the same job description (which means if you're the only one of whatever your position is, they can do it to you alone.) As long as they're within those rules, they can tell you they're reducing your salary and if you continue to work that constitutes your agreement to the change in salary.
Find a new job. These are relatively good times, lots of hiring happening.
See #s 4 and 7 in particular:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs70.htm