Warning for thousands of Brits who may suddenly have to work an extra hour

The clocks will go forward at 1am this Sunday (March 27) at which point it will become 2am – so we’ll have effectively skipped an hour. It marks the change from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST)

It’s that time of the year when the clocks go forward and for many of us, that means we lose an hour in bed.

But what does that mean if you’re working overnight this weekend?

The clocks will go forward at 1am this Sunday (March 27) at which point it will become 2am – so we’ll have effectively skipped an hour.

The UK is currently operating on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which means we’re moving into British Summer Time (BST).

This will be the place until October, when the clocks go backwards and we go back into BST again.

If you’re working this weekend during the clock change, we explain what it means for your shift pattern and pay.

What the clocks going forward means for workers

If you’re working overnight this Saturday, going into Sunday morning, whether you’ll need to do a “full shift” will depend on your contract.

Pam Loch, solicitor and managing director at Loch Employment Law Limited, explains that if your contact has set times, there is no obligation for your boss to make your work extra.

However, if you’re contracted by the number of hours you work, rather than set times, then you may have to stay later.

“If the contract states you should work between 12am to 6am, then you will only need to work five hours rather than six,” she said.

“If you are contracted to work for six hours on a shift that was set to 12am-6am, your employer could alter the shift to 12am-7am so you work six hours.

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“However, whether or not an employer can lawfully do that depends on what the contract states about changing shift patterns.

“They may well be able to do that by giving you limited notice of the change depending on what the contract states.”

How you get paid when the clocks change also depends on your contract, and if it is based on hourly pay or a fixed rate salary.

“If paid hourly, you will most likely only be paid for the hours they work i.e. one hour less,” said Ms Loch.

“If salaried, it is likely you will still receive the same rate regardless of the fact you are working one hour less if you work on the Sunday.

“An employer may account for this by taking the view that it balances out when the clocks change in winter.”

Bosses should remind employees of the one hour change in good time to make sure they’re not late getting into work on Sunday.

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