Different rate for non business hours

Due to the fact that I work from home people (Heimishe people) have a habit of calling me after hours and on weekends. heck I was even put to work once at 11:30 on a motzei shabbos.

I've decided I can't keep accomodating and remain sane at the same time so I'm putting my foot down about my hours.
sometimes I get a request asking me for a job on sunday. I don't work sundays.
So I was thinking if someone needs it urgently I could accomodate but charge a higher rate.

Does that sound fair? How much higher is fair? Where I live sunday is considered a family day and although some people do work on sunday in general it's not a normal business day.

Posted: Sat, Nov 15 2008, 10:02 pm Post subject:

it might depend on the type of business ... but it is certainly good to be strict about your hours ...
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Posted: Sat, Nov 15 2008, 10:21 pm Post subject:

I've seen companies handle this in various ways. I once worked in the grounds department of an institution. If someone got called in at night or on the weekend, they got paid for at least 4 hours, even if they were there for less. Since these were usually short repairs, it was a substantially higher rate.

I've also seen some people add a surcharge to their bill if they are called in to work at odd hours. Like, you pay the normal rate plus a $50 nussaince charge or whatever.

I've also seen people charge just a plain higher rate.

What does your contract say? Were you hired to be on call at all times 6 days a week?

I'm not on a contract, I'm my own boss. On my business card I have my hours from monday to friday.
I provide a service for different clients.
I don't want to reveal too much but it's not like plumbing or locksmith that needs to be on call for emergencies (and still they often charge extra for odd hours).
Most times it's someone neading something urgently because they left things to the last minute either by their own doing or other reasons.

oops scuse the typos/spelling mistake Embarassed

neading? kneading? do I have challah on my mind?

oh another thing, I wanted to say I'll charge double but my husband thinks thats excessive and I should say 1 and a half times the usual rate without any deductions I may usually give to some people.

What do you think?

I think it depends on how much you get paid and for how many hours the work requires. If you get paid $15 an hour and only work that one hour on Sunday, it seems a bit greedy to charge $50. Putting your foot down is a good idea and maybe charge time and a half or double.

sometimes people call me on the home phone after business hours--- if I'm busy, I have caller ID--- I see it's not a number I recognize, I wait until business hours the next day and call them back from the business line. I'm available by appointment only and if someone asks me for a time I don't have available, I simply don't accomodate, but tell them when I can.

"oh, can I come 7:00 sunday night?" ---- I would answer "I only run one appointment slot on Sundays and that's at 4:00-- I'm booked on Sundays for the next 2 weeks but I could work you in at 4:00 on Sunday the ____". If they want to see me sooner, they make an appointment time at one of my regular appointment time slots.

Diamond Member Joined: Oct 25 2007 Posts: 4858

Without knowing more details about your business, it's hard to give advice about specifics (e.g., whether double the hourly rate is acceptable). However, I completely agree that you should find a way to charge people for after-hours work.

This made me smile, because I have a client whom I refer to as the "vampire organization". They are fabulous people and are not in the least bit demanding, but they like to work late hours. At first, I was very resentful. However, I simply adjusted their rate slightly, and now when I get their calls, I feel much better about the whole relationship.

Diamond Member Joined: May 24 2007 Posts: 4622

I have the same issue.
I'm a computer programmer so people think that they can bother me at all hours.
I tried to institute hours but people still call me others. I was also thinking of instituting something like this but I think my clients will get annoyed at this. They say it's just a quick think so you can you do it??
I don't want to push them away but it would make people think twice before calling me off-hours.
How much more would you charge - rate * 1.5?
How would you tell them?

I don't know anything about after business hours or working from home, but locksmiths charge more for after hours, why can't you?