I currently work in the banking industry and have on several occasions been "mandated" to work overtime with less than 24hrs. of notice each time. On one occasion I was scheduled for overtime and was not notified at all, even though my boss knew 2 days in advance that I was scheduled. The schedule was posted on my days off and when I arrived on my first day back to work, I luckily checked my schedule, and saw 4 hours of overtime (making it a 12 hr shift) posted for that same day. I did challenge that fact that I thought I should be notified with a little more advance, but the response was "Sorry I forgot.", which seems to be the polular response for anything that gets challenged. I guess what my question is in what situations can I refuse to work the "mandated" ovetime and not suffer a possible termination or some sort of diciplinary action? :confused: Note: I have always been paid for any overtime I worked, so being paid is not an issue.

in what situations can I refuse to work the "mandated" ovetime and not suffer a possible termination or some sort of diciplinary action?

Legally? None.

Good businesses will try to work with you to avoid such situations. It would be really bad for a single dad to be forced to work two hours extra on one day with all of five minutes notice and not be able to pick up the kids at day care or get someone else, on such short notice, to get them.

If you refuse work you can be terminated unless you have an employment contract or cba that states otherwise

Legally? None.

Good businesses will try to work with you to avoid such situations. It would be really bad for a single dad to be forced to work two hours extra on one day with all of five minutes notice and not be able to pick up the kids at day care or get someone else, on such short notice, to get them.


Thanks for the imput.

"Good businesses will try to work with you to avoid such situations. It would be really bad for a single dad to be forced to work two hours extra on one day with all of five minutes notice and not be able to pick up the kids at day care or get someone else, on such short notice, to get them."

In this situation would I beable to hold the company liable for any incident, say an injury becasue my kid walked home alone where as if I had got off work on time this would have been avoided.?

"Good businesses will try to work with you to avoid such situations. It would be really bad for a single dad to be forced to work two hours extra on one day with all of five minutes notice and not be able to pick up the kids at day care or get someone else, on such short notice, to get them."

In this situation would I beable to hold the company liable for any incident, say an injury becasue my kid walked home alone where as if I had got off work on time this would have been avoided.?

No. The employer is not responsible for your childcare issues. If you know that the potential for overtime work exists, it's up to you to have back-up childcare arrangements in place.