Can we be forces to do extra shifts without being paid?

This may seem an odd question. Different owners have taken over the nursing home in which i work as a trained nurse. We have all been told that we should give up some of our free time on a voluntary basis to go into work and take some of our residents out fro day trips.
Many of the carers are very upset at being told they HAVE to do this and will not be paid for their time. they already work long hours for little pay and their time of is well earned and needed. The manager has told the carers that if they do not volenteer then their names will be drawn out of a hat and they will have to go in voluntry. This to me sounds like a damn cheek!
What do you all think?
I don;t mind giving up a few hours but when it suits me not the manager as we all have lives at home etc.

It is so sad. the previous owner was so generous to the patients and now it is all about cost cutting!

And yes i am going to look for another job

If you work and do not get paid for it, It is an unlawful deduction of wages. If you have worked your stated contracted hours, and they requireyou to do more, then unless they pay you to do it then you are well within your rights to refuse.

I would advise you speak to an union representitive for further advice if you have one.

Once you work what your contract requires you to, if anything, they should be paying you MORE, hence it's called over-time.

I was asked to do quite a bit of over-time in my previous job, and anytime they refused to give me double-pay, I'd just work out and force them to have to close early, they soon learnd in the end that they either had to find someone else, or pay me double the rate.

Once you've worked your contracted hours, if you refuse to work beyond that, there's 2 things they can do about it; nothing, and like it.

Not legally.

Call the Department of Labor.

I have under similar circumstances, and believe me, it is one government entity that will investigate this quickly and you will remain anonymous.

It is illegal to require work and not be compensated for it under both federal and state laws. You should not give up any free time as working in this environment is highly stressful and demanding. You need your free time for yourself. Contact your state's Department of Labor and file a complaint and or the Federal Department of Labor.

You all need to stick together. Nobody volunteer. When they pull names out of the hat they need to say "Sorry, I can't possibly go then because of prior commitments."

What they are doing is (a) cost-saving and (b) possibly illegal. If they paid you for your time, then that might be a different issue...

Additional: I love the way some answerers assume that *everyone* is in the USA...

I think we have laws against such things.

Log on to ACAS website, www.acas.gov.uk, this a government website with all employer/employee rights, there is a helpline and they are very good. they will tell you your rights in this and as it is a government website it is 100% correct. good luck and i would look for another job they sound like pigs!

No- you should not allow yourself to be exploited in this manner. Surely your unions would not agree to this highly irregular treatment.

Even in my developing nation- this is very unheard of.

No, this cannot be enforced. You should have a new contract of employment detailing all your hours of work, holiday entitlement and salary. Check this out on the www.gov.org web site under employment law. Plus it is of course now illegal to expect someone to work over a permitted number of hours per week UNLESS they sign that right away - don't let your employers do that to you under any circumstances. You have grounds to go to an employment tribunal with this, but tread carefully - ask for all directives and information to be put to all the workforce in writing and keep notes of all meetings. Do not allow anyone to intimidate you - the law is on your side. You will also find the name of the gov. agency to contact on that website. Good Luck!!

no way. if you're asked to work on your day off you're allowed to refuse or if you do decide to work yous hould get another day in lieu ( another day off)

well technically they aren't breaking the law as you are doing "voluntery" work, but they can't force you. If they say they will sack you if you don't, let them and sue for unfair dismissal, or quit and sue for contructive dismissal. It all depends on your contract really. I think mine says if situatution dictates you may be asked to do overtime, and it can be forced, but always at double or time and a half. I work for a massive well known multi-national company.

This can be slavery under modern human rights legistation,not joking,

I'm not sure. But it sounds like it's not much different from salaried employees, who get paid the same amount regardless of how much they work. That's pretty common. If you don't like it, you can always quit.