While I agree with the sentiment that "the better paid and more senior a member of staff is, the more is expected of them without additional recompense. Senior staff and directors should not be claiming TOIL unless it’s in exceptional circumstances", I think it all goes to what the definition of what "exceptional" means in practice (ie, when does it become 'routine exceptionalism',) and the potential for disparity between the working hours of the CEO and other senior managers.

In my experience, it is not entirely unknown that the former may routinely work shorter hours than other SMT members.

The problem with this debate is its focus on the amount of time an employee is present 'at work', whether that be in the office, working from home or on the road.

That is, do you pay your employees for their time or their work? The most inspirational manager I ever worked with said he cared very little about the hours staff put in - within reason, of course - but very much about their output. I've worked with people who achieved very little in a 60 hour week, and others who made amazing advances in 30 hours.

So surely the bottom line should be, is someone fulfilling their contract in terms of its aims, rather than its stipulated hours? The converse simply makes all of us slaves to the clock, and I for one will never punch in and punch out.

Third sector employees are no different to any other sector, there are truly inspirational high output people working at all levels in all sectors. How wonderful it would be to rely on trust and get rid of all the endless paperwork of tracking time and toil. Unfortunately the minority have caused a requirement to set out the rule when it comes to toil. For individual health and well being staff must be able to take toil, however toil should be agreed by line managers in advance. This allows fairness and monitoring of outputs, extremely important in the service sector. Work is about output, quality and impact not just about hours clocked. Passion, committment and honesty is also required.

How does one challenge the phenomenon of presenteeism?

I think it is an odd idea that people who get paid more/ more senior, somehow do not get tired as lower mortals do. Toil is essential when you have to service flexible demands and are human. Working for a tired boss may create difficulties for many. We all deliver our best when fresh and ready, loading more hours usually reduces quality whether you are a cleaner or CEO.

I too have met the people who collect minutes of toil build to a Friday off, such an approach affects other areas of work and can be dealt with.

Is it me, or does focusing on TOIL has a somewhat energy-sapping effect? Much like the 'Dementors' from the Harry Potter books, that sucked the life force out of poor unsuspecting souls...

It's like looking at a symptom of a disease, rather than seeking out the cause. Or like staring at our finger rather than pointing at the stars!

On the other hand I always brighten up when I recall a quote from Adrian Moorhouse, former Olympic Swimming champion and now Managing Director of 'Lane 4'.

"Matching the motivations, dreams and goals of an individual with the motivations, goals and dreams of an organisation – when you get those closely aligned then, I think, you've got a very motivated group of people because it's not work, it's life."

Now there's an interesting perspective on work/life balance!