Tuesday 12 May 2015

How much shift allowance should I pay?

The reason you pay a shift allowance is because you want to keep your workers. If you don't pay them for working unsociable hours , then they will leave, to work for somebody else.


So one option is to see how much your competitors are paying for working similar hours.


Another is by negotiation, you negotiate with the unions to see how much they expect for working these hours. This means that each time you change the shift pattern, you potentially have to renegotiate the shift allowance again.


An alternative option is to calculate the shift allowance. You negotiate what the additional pay should be for each hour of the day and for each day of the week. You then multiply this table by the shifts worked on the shift pattern. This way you only have to negotiate the shift allowance once. Then just reapply the calculation each time you need to change the shift pattern. However you may wish to employ the shift allowance as an incentive for moving on to a new pattern. This approach dictates the shift allowance regardless of the shift pattern. However you can still use one off bonuses for moving shift patterns.


Typical shift allowances start from 5% for a two shift system and can go up to 65% for a fully flexible 24/7 shift operation with holidays included and lots of Banked hours to cover for all absences and short notice changes to their hours. Typically most companies use 25%-35% for a 24/7 operation.


If you are changing shift patterns then we can help you calculate the most appropriate shift allowance for your shift pattern and operational needs. Please contact us via email or phone us on +44 1636 816466

No comments:

Post a Comment