Is it illegal for the employee to work off the clock, of their own volition, without being asked?

I worked in a position where, to accomplish every duty assigned but with a limit of 40 hours, I ended up taking work home or punching-out then remaining on site, and working off the clock.

I am under the impression that it is illegal for my employer to ask me to do that, but not illegal if I volunteer to do it of my own volition.

Is that correct? Or was I breaking a law or causing them to?

The employer has several concerns, they all might not apply to your situation but they are still concerns.

• You are taking work materials home. This could be a big problem if it is lost, damaged or stolen. In fact they may think you are the one stealing it.
• You are staying on site at times when you are not supposed to be there. That could open them up to problems if you get hurt or damage something.
• Being in the office when others aren't, is a sign of an insider threat. They will want to know what you are doing.
• They can be concerned that you are not a good worker, if you can't do your job in 40 hours a week.
• If you are working a US government contract it is a violation of contracting law for you to not correctly submit your time cards. Overcharging and undercharging are both violations.
• Once the company knows, they have to stop you from working those hours or they will have to pay you according to your contract or labor laws.

What is the difference between you volunteering to do work for a company off the clock of your own volition... And you 'volunteering' to do work for a company off the clock of your own 'volition' (IE under duress of losing your job...).

From an outsiders perspective, its really hard for to tell which of those statements is true. And historically speaking the second one is the reality more often than the 2nd one. Which is why your employer ends up in the same legal trouble even if it is voluntary.

If you are a truck driver, bus driver, pilot etc., there may be laws that limit your daily or weekly working hours or a combination. Say there is a legal limit of 8 hours driving every day. If you enjoy driving so much that you drive ten hours a day, then you break the law, and your company may be breaking the law by not stopping you.

And of course doing things intentionally and without being ordered that could put your company at a legal risk will put your employment at risk.

Your purpose for asking is not very clear.

You have been asked to resign for poor time management. An employer might do this not because they object to the principle of your working off the clock, but because they believe it is a sign in your particular case of gross inefficiency and/or incompetency.

For workers who can do at least some of their duties away from the workplace, it seems impossible for employers to prevent voluntary working.

But many jurisdictions have laws that effectively require employers to record attendance, and many employers will have additional policies and practices.

Punching out before your attendance has finished is ultimately a false entry, and it could well be a disciplinary matter if the actual intention is to falsify records.

Laws may also require the employer not to accept "voluntary" work in cases where they could reasonably detect that they are receiving this, such as when it is happening on their premises, or when the workload assigned must obviously require additional work.

Beyond this, it's difficult to imagine that the worker can commit any criminal offence through voluntary work, and the employer is likely only to be regulated when they are not remunerating the work or when they are failing to reasonably control it.

Even in countries with very strict and stringent worker protections, I think you would be hard-pressed to find one where working off the clock was explicitly illegal of your own choice (except things like Trucking or other industries that have legally required breaks).

However - I don't think this is really a Legal question.

You were working more than your 40 hours (of your own free will) and were asked to resign over time management issues.

I think this statement is the real issue:

Whilst we can't know specifically what your employer is thinking - I want to add some thoughts:

Imagine an industry with a well known time-frame for completing a standard task - let's say changing brake pads on a car for a Mechanic. Baring some major unforseen issues (bolts sheering or pre-existing mechanical damage) let's say that the industry standard is 1 hour for changing them (figures pulled from air).

If you are taking 3 hours to change them, but 'Don't worry Boss, I will just catch up in my own time' - whilst one could say that is admirable on one level - it presents the company with some problems:

• If you aren't able to complete a standard task within the expected timeframe, are you capable of doing your job?
• What if you get burned out?
• What if the option to complete after-hours is not an option because they need it that day

Different companies have got different views on Time Management, but it seems to me that the issue for the company was that you completing work in your own time doesn't work for them.

Rather than it being a legal issue.