<p>Not weird at all, and certainly not shady, comp time is quite common in some jobs. You worked 10 extra hours last month, you get 10 hours off at some time in the future. Handy for things like dental or dr visits, leaving early for some reason. If you worked more than 8 extra hours then you earned an extra day of vacation. Tell him how great it is that he has that comp time benefit because most jobs are far more than 40 hours per week and the pay doesn’t change.<br>
Many young grads would love this " problem"</p>
<p>It seems to me that the department’s budget is for X amount each week, regardless of any special projects. Since your son gets comp time, he’ll still get that same X amount one week even if he works fewer hours. His boss has already acknowledged the disconnect between hourly pay vs salary. Probably doesn’t have the authority to approve getting him any higher pay, but will allow for deviations in his time working there.</p>
<p>“And most professional salaried jobs are way over 40 hours per week as a rule. No OT and most companies do not offer comp time. It’s just expected you work those hours.”</p>
<p>Very true. But I’ve only heard of contractor positions being hourly (not salaried).</p>
<p>OP…comp time IS a form of compensation. Your son was not being asked to work without some kind of compensation for his extended hours. If he worked 10 additional hours, he now has 10 hours of comp time…time he can take off of work…not bad!</p>
<p>Your son is getting screwed. If he is working thru a temp agency, he definitely should be getting ot. If this is something he set up with the company, I’ve never heard of a temp not being paid for the exact amount of time worked. I worked full time for years, then quit, and went back as a contractor for my same company. I get paid for every minute. Work, and if I don’t work I don’t get paid. Comp time is a benefit, nd if they are telling him to keep track if it, something smells fishy. If he truly has comp time, there should be a mechanism where the company would track it, or his use later. I know there is one exception for overtime income industries n some states. Here, if a company is considered seasonal, such as an amusement park, they don’t have to pay overtime.</p>
<p>If your son wants to work there he shouldnt make waves over something this small. It would make sense for him to clarify what his actual employment situation is and what his expectations should be in the permanent position. </p>
<p>If he is straight salary in the new position, unpaid OT will come up all the time. I am doing it now.</p>
<p>Excuse me, but 16 hours at time and a half, week after week is not “nothing” monetarily.</p>
<p>I do agree that comp time is not unusual. I would try to find out what to expect. If I am to work 16 hours over from time to time and be allowed to comp it, then great. The problem with comp time, and what is common in companies that don’t have some built in tracking mechanism is that YOU NEVER GET TO USE IT, except in little 2 hour bites, because the expectation is that you WILL work 16 hours over every week.</p>
<p>He’s been asked to track it. If he wants to stay there, I would suggest he get very organized about tracking his time and requesting comp time in advance when he needs it.</p>
<p>Regardless…he needs to find out what the expectations are, specifically. It’s not an unreasonable thing to need to know.</p>
<p>16 hours is a lot of time and money. Ask a lawyer, doctor, any contractor to give up 16 hours of compensation. See what happens. </p>
<p>I would very carefully look over the terms of employment and make sure the company sticks to it. Why? Because this sets the precedence for both employer and employee. If the employer thinks they can get away with this, they will and it’ll just get harder to fight later. If the employee starts thinking that they need to give up their rightful compensation now, they don’t learn to identify and counteract bad corporate behavior. </p>
<p>I have a very hard time believing that a temporary worker who doesn’t qualify for any company benefits suddenly qualifies for this one particular benefit (comp time is a benefit)</p>
<p>It sounds to me that at the middle level, the project supervisor is not in a position to authorize overtime, but will ‘allow’ PTO to be taken in a later pay period.</p>
<p>This may or may not be the usual MO in that section, but it is unlikely HR is aware.</p>
<p>In a lot of jobs, including those of my spouse and myself, the job requires more than 40 hours work every week in order to get the work done. We get no overtime or comp time when we work extra. I don’t recommend your son complain, but it is something to take into consideration in deciding whether to accept a permanent job offer. He should also talk with friends to determine if that is what they are experiencing.</p>
<p>Sorry to sound negative but here’s where my concern would be. They didn’t tell him about the comp time UNTIL he asked about getting paid? That is the red flag for me. They wanted him to work the extra time with no compensation. At this point I don’t think he should do anything except start up a job search because within the year either he or they may decide that it’s not working out…It would be better to see if he can find a permanent job instead of hoping they are going to come through for him.</p>
<p>No one in my organization can earn overtime pay, that I know of. But we do get, essentially, comp time. Depending on how much paid leave he is given to begin with, comp time can be very valuable. We start out with so little paid vacation time that earning comp time is about the only way to have enough leave to cover religious holidays, teacher workdays when kids are home from school, etc.</p>
<p>If the budget is set (in terms of dollars), then time off is sometimes the only compensation that can be given.</p>
<p>Argbargy: I don’t know…but whatever the cost, I don’t think I’d be setting a precedent for working for free.</p>
<p>I should add that I work about 60 hrs. a week. I get paid the same whether I work 35 or 80. But I KNOW that up front and I’m a permanent salaried employee, not a temporary or hourly employee.</p>
<p>cromette- I agree that the kid should get clarity on whether this is SOP for the company, which it is at so many places. </p>
<p>If it is he needs to make the decision if he wants to move on. If he is ok with his new understanding of the job he should forget about getting paid for the 16 hours.</p>