PDAS ACTUALS

[SpacePhoenix]

I think on face value there are a lot of office wide 'slowdowns' starting to happen. In actual fact it's the union reps encouraging posties to do the job 'properly' by not coming in early and taking all their break time. For too long we have been working our arses off trying to get the job done within duty hours. RM don't respect this and just dump more absorption/lapsing etc on us.

RM have just seen the hours saved, if ten DO staff each make over an hour a day over 6 days, that's 60 hrs they'll look to take out of that office's budget. All the extra lapsing/absorption is down to too many "runners" and people coming in early

[fishtank]

All the extra lapsing/absorption is down to too many "runners" and people coming in early

No it isn't.
Offices have the same number of work hours in June that they have in November but nowhere near the same amount of work, extra lapsing/ absorption is inevitable.

[SpacePhoenix]

and how many people still come in early and/or are "runners" even in June?

[fishtank]

and how many people still come in early and/or are "runners" even in June?

Runners or early starters make very little difference to the lapsing/absorption plan.They're not running or starting early to enable lapsing, they're lapsing AND finishing early so even if they started on time the vast majority of them would be lapsing.

In theory IF an office is properly resourced and IF all duties are equal when the traffic drops in the summer every duty should have the scope for lapsing. Of course individual issues can mean individual duties have less than others but if there's less work there's obviously going to be more scope. What do you guys do to "lapse" when there's less work?

[LaggyBand]

All runners / early starters at our office are doing it because they make bags of time over the week, even after taking the lapsing they are asked to do.

Don’t hate. Just tellin’ truth.

[number one]

All runners / early starters at our office are doing it because they make bags of time over the week, even after taking the lapsing they are asked to do.

Don’t hate. Just tellin’ truth.

I come in right on my time, take my break, lapse AND still finish over 1:30hrs before my time. Oh and I haven’t ran in about 15 years.

[CPTNemoUK]

All runners / early starters at our office are doing it because they make bags of time over the week, even after taking the lapsing they are asked to do.

Don’t hate. Just tellin’ truth.

I come in right on my time, take my break, lapse AND still finish over 1:30hrs before my time. Oh and I haven’t ran in about 15 years.

Today I started on time had my break and strolled round. Too hot to walk any faster. And I got done 45 mins early. Just really quite at the moment. P.s I also lasped

[kingeric]

and how many people still come in early and/or are "runners" even in June?

Runners or early starters make very little difference to the lapsing/absorption plan.They're not running or starting early to enable lapsing, they're lapsing AND finishing early so even if they started on time the vast majority of them would be lapsing.

In theory IF an office is properly resourced and IF all duties are equal when the traffic drops in the summer every duty should have the scope for lapsing. Of course individual issues can mean individual duties have less than others but if there's less work there's obviously going to be more scope. What do you guys do to "lapse" when there's less work?

Lots of IFS and theories there. But the truth of the matter is that your pda tells the area managers what time that office is getting back.

An office that takes breaks and does the job properly will show 2pm for example as an average. An office of runners and no breaks will show 1pm.

The area manager isn't interested in who has breaks and who doesn't. He's assuming everyone is. So he will question why one office is finishing an hour earlier than the other. Then you find that someone gets taken out of an office to cover sick elsewhere and that office lapses an extra walk.

That is straight from the horses mouth. It's all well as good people saying they can't do that because it's not part of the resource plan. But it is happening. The union reps hands are tied because when people question it all he can say is "if you have time I can't really do much".

[Navalron]

I can't believe some of the replies in this post. Your know that your being watched yet cannot or willnot slow down to make the walk fit into the hours given and not the other way around. You'd are going to get shafted big time it your don't get it sorted and it won't just be hours taken out of offices it will be jobs. This is not the old post office where overstaffing was the norm this is a business with no morals who is a slave to the money markets.

[Navalron]

Other way round lol

[fishtank]

Offices are based on different model weeks.
If you pick one from November(a high model week) then come June you won't have the traffic to sustain those hours and you will be lapsing, you can't pretend that you do by " doing the job properly".

If you pick one from June(a low model week) you shouldn't be lapsing much but obviously come November you won't have the hours to manage that traffic and you'll be booking lots of overtime.

Doing the job properly can't stop lapsing because most offices I've come across opted for a high model week (to protect jobs over earnings) and if they are planned to complete that way in November you can't as a rep with the figures in black and white argue that it's going to take exactly the same amount of time in June when you have around 60% of the traffic. You could obviously piss about and take that long but that's not "doing the job properly" is it?

[kingeric]

Doing the job properly can get rid of lapsing.

How many people are using trolleys? How many people are doing van checks?
How many people are doing door to doors correctly?
How many people are trying neighbours with parcels?


All these things will see an end to lapsing.

Last week I brought back around 4/5 parcels over the whole week. On my day off my reserve brought more than that back himself.
He lapsed and finished on his time. I didn't lapse and finished 10mins early. This still wasn't enough time to lapse. But you get the point.

We are told what time we are due out each day so make your work take you to that time. If you are due out at 10am why would you come in earlier and rush round to get out at 930 and take lapsing?
Go and help a colleague, make sure you do your prep right. In November more indoor hours will be put in to help with busier traffic. But right now the major cause of lapsing is ourselves.

If you come in on time, take your break, try neighbours and do everything they ask of you and you still have time to lapse then there is no argument. But the large majority of people aren't doing this

[kingeric]

We had a guy last week who came in early and never took his break and was complaining about lapsing. We tried telling him to just say no.

His response was "I'll just book half an hour they might leave me alone tomorrow then"

His lapsing was almost a row. He booked half an hour to teach them a lesson. Crazy

[Navalron]

Kingeric. Exactly mate.

[postslippete]

We all know that the company introduce lapsing in the summer months when mail volumes are lower. Whether staff are taking it or not is their business. We have had several staff refusing to take their lapsing and in the end it gets done because a manager eventually takes it. It doesn't stop the business from lapsing at all.

However....I am curious as to what the mail centre guys do for their 'lapsing' because there must be nights when processing mail volumes are low. Clean the machines with a toothpick perhaps? Print off 2 weeks worth of batch labels? Or are they filing that gap by doing more other processing work. Its no good Royal Mail simply targeting those who are out on deliveries as a means of making savings. Although what is clear is that we seem to be putting up with more c*ap.