job treatment and no breaks

[pe-goose]

I work in security, I dont think am zero hour contract, I work in a busy gatehouse alone, I think im working for/6 companies on a site in 2 warehouses. Were busy all day and are alone all day.
We are paid basic wage but apparently all we can do is ask for a rise..which we know we wont get. However in that 12 hour working day we are stuck in the gatehouse with no breaks. We are told if you want a break close the gatehouse and have a break and re-open it but we cannot do this as deliveries and stock going out has to be done on timeframes and if they are late they get charged and we get blamed for everything. Are we not supposed to get a break? Sometimes the fresh water we have runs out and noone cares. We work 12 hours but if somone calls in sick we can do over14-16 hours. Last year when the temperate dropped to I think -12 and colder, we had no heating at all and struggled with a cheapo heater we brought in ourselves. Is there anything we can do about the poor treatment and no breaks?

[slainte caragh]

tagging Ula

Hang in there hun

[ULA]

A worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when the daily working time is more than six hours. It should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day.

Official Health and Safety regulations outline every employer’s ‘duty of care’ towards its workforce. It means they have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure your safety – including protecting you from extreme weather conditions like the cold. In which case they need to ensure there is either adequate heating in the gatehouse or you should begive more rest breaks to allow you to warm up properly.

I think you should speak to a manager about these issues because they are about your health and safety and they cannot ignore this. Maybe an arrangement can be put in place on a rota basis that the companies you provide gatehouse services to could arrange for someone to relieve you whilst breaks are taken.