Can you get fired for not doing overtime?

I dont have just one boss, I hope it doesnt sound confusing but its like there are about 8-10 team leaders, and each shift therell be either 2 or 3 of them on, so each weekend itll be different ones, so if I were to tell them, I couldnt just tell one, Id have to tell them all, and theyd most likely forget anyway! And being honest I wouldnt feel comfortable telling them anything personal, especially about my mums mental illness, because they are very gossipy and bitchy, and this is the truth. The room we sign in in is very small and they will sit and talk about members of staff despite the fact that anyone of us coming in to sign in and get our stuff can hear them. Theyll also give people dirty looks behind their back etc. I try not to pay attention to any of this and dont care if theyre talking about me, because theyre just my bosses, their opinion is of no concern to me, but if I told them my mum is unwell i really do not think it would be something which would be dealt with professionally, and this isnt an exaggeration or anything. I remember one time I came into work they all openly started talking about my weight in front of other members of staff also, saying I was too skinny and offering me food saying I needed to beef up.. one member of staff stood there in shock but it didnt bother me. Also if I did tell them Id feel like theyd constantly ask about my situation when id much rather keep my private life private yknow? like once my mum phoned up the ward I work in and spoke to one of the nurses and it was really embarrassing and the nurse asked about my mum so I basically had to tell her my situation. After that she'd always ask but it didnt seem like she was concerned or worried about me, more like "I want the gossip" :/

I'd understand if you didn't want to tell anyone at all, but surely there is one 'big boss' you can tell who can relay it? Also emphasise that its a personal problem and ask them to remind the supervisors of that and that it should not be openly discussed etc. I guess you don't want to get anyone in trouble but if you just mention that you've overheard things and felt uncomfortable before without mentioning specific names would hopefully get it to stop. Gossiping about issues like this could probably come under some sort of gross misconduct and I'm sure the higher ups would take it very seriously.

I agree with Callum9999. Either take one of these bosses aside, or speak to their manager. Tell them that you are unable to do overtime and explain why. Tell them that it is stressing you out that you are asked every week whether you can, and their reaction when you say no, and ask if they would please stop. There's no reason why you shouldn't be entitled just to put a stop to this.

I would, but Im a really shy and quiet person so I dont think I have the balls nor confidence to do this which is probably partly the problem. I cant stand up for myself and I get really anxious around them because they intimidate me. It is stressing me out although it might not seem like a big deal, but its the fact that I cant just say no and walk away, they always ask questions and want to know why instead of just taking no for an answer and leaving it, so its like every weekend I have to prepare myself to say no, im at uni, i dont get any time off, its rubbish, heh. or instead of asking me when Im right there theyll ignore me when Ive came in and wait until ive walked out the door to shout at me to come back and then ask me.. so I have to turn around and explain.

Unfortunately this is just what workplaces are like, their main concern is work, not your personal life, its up to you to manage it and it sounds like you are. As long as you're working according to your contract they cant do anything

From that description, it sounds to me as though they know this upsets you, and they're doing it to be annoying. Even though you're shy and quiet, can you speak to somebody else who can step in on your behalf. I hate to think of you continuing like this for months.

I advice you to use a tactic which I successfully used in persuading people. Basically, you need to ask that person common sense questions like "Wouldn't you consider degree more important than your part-time work?", it is obvious that a guy would have to answer yes because no one in their right mind would think that part-time work is more important than their studies. You need to ask two or more questions which would make him/her say "yes" because it would be silly to not do so. After that, he will be more considerate and you can then go around manager's wall of negativity because he was forced to say yes. In other words, never ever attack person or talk angrily about things they are trying to force on you. Do the talking in the positive way, make that person say yes and then you have won.

I don't know how many managers know this stuff since it's pretty common knowledge who are interested in some basic human psychology.

x

Your boss seems completely clueless about the realities of higher education - perhaps s/he's used to employing students on less-demanding courses which have relatively few hours in the classroom. Can you show him/her your timetable for the year, as a way of indicating that you will not have any time off for the rest of the academic year?

I did tell one that I have an 8 hour day on a monday and that I finish late on other days as well, just for her to then ask me again the next day and every weekend after that id still be asked. so its like they dont even listen to me or they forget. I dont know, thinking about it now is beginning to make me feel really down because Im starting to blame myself for being such a pushover and people pleaser and letting them treat me like crap and not standing up for myself. so its my fault really for not being confident and assertive :/

But you are standing up for yourself! You don't cave in and agree to overtime - that is being assertive!

Next time someone asks, don't answer 'yes' or 'no' - ask them first what they think your answer is going to be.

I'm curious why they feel they have to ask. Perhaps there is some HR policy that every employee is entitled to a share of any overtime that is available, and the supervisor isn't allowed to assume your answer will always be 'no'. Is there an HR person you can ask about that?

But me being a people pleaser it takes a lot of my willpower to say no haha

[...] I also think its because Ill go to any area whereas a lot of people who do overtime refuse to work with certain people etc whereas im pretty flexible and not bothered.

I've never been in a place with a probationary period of more than 6 months where they could get rid of you for that. However, I find the wording of your contract a bit ambiguous, could you speak to the citizens advice bureau to get clarification? My last contract said the same thing but as I worked in a hospital lab they explained that meant that if there was a major accident all staff had to be prepared to work and we had a voluntary overtime rota for the rest of the overtime that was available (not that people always stuck to it ).