Reserve posties been treated differently.

[postiewhite]

Ive been in the company 8 months now and us reserves just seem to working longer and longer hours all the time. There are 5 reserves all on 25hr contracts and we all work over 40hrs a week. We have 3 day cover men who do only work 3 days and never get asked to come in early ever. Some days I do fancy a lie in or not rotared to work our 5th day as we are supposed to work 4. Its been brought up but we are told we are here to cover holidays so we must work them days. Even our partner for that week who is usually a permanent, if he is a part timer then he wont come in until about 8.30 and wont be asked to come in at 6 and prep.The reserve partner is told to come in early and prep both walks even if we dont know that fitting well.

Sometimes it feels we are taken advantage of. I dont mind a bit of overtime but around 20extra hrs a week is a joke. Even the rep says its normal for a 4 day reserve to come in 5 days because we have to cover a full week duty.

Any other reserve (ex reserve) been through this.?

[trevjim]

Ive been in the company 8 months now and us reserves just seem to working longer and longer hours all the time. There are 5 reserves all on 25hr contracts and we all work over 40hrs a week. We have 3 day cover men who do only work 3 days and never get asked to come in early ever. Some days I do fancy a lie in or not rotared to work our 5th day as we are supposed to work 4. Its been brought up but we are told we are here to cover holidays so we must work them days. Even our partner for that week who is usually a permanent, if he is a part timer then he wont come in until about 8.30 and wont be asked to come in at 6 and prep.The reserve partner is told to come in early and prep both walks even if we dont know that fitting well.

Sometimes it feels we are taken advantage of. I dont mind a bit of overtime but around 20extra hrs a week is a joke. Even the rep says its normal for a 4 day reserve to come in 5 days because we have to cover a full week duty.

Any other reserve (ex reserve) been through this.?

yup, it is true in our office too, although its not just reserves, there seems to be a huge staff shortage in royal mail at the moment, alot of people off ill too due to being over worked which is just making things worse. I blame it partly on the lapsing. say for example you have 20 rounds in the office, and 2 are lapsed, thats all well and good when all staff are in, but if one or two are off ill, then thats 4 rounds that need to be covered, you get my drift? It would be far better, if no rounds are lapsed, then when someone is off ill, that round can then be lapsed without causing much bother.

[Chelseablue]

Work to you're time ?

[bustedflush]

I'll tell you what this boll*cks is all about. DOMs being encouraged and rewarded by cutting costs, putting more work on posties like us. So they recruit based on a the minimum 25-hour contracts, so their bottom-line total staff costs based on contracts are on paper very efficient. As WE know, the workload is unattainable with the normal hours most days, so OT is worked, and as it is only paid at time-and-a-tenth or whatever it makes a cheap 'filler' but sod the staff who feel forced/compelled to do it.
Let me put it another way - DOMs total posties normal hours contracts = 1000 hours per day for the office - Mon/Tue/Sat this is fine.
Wed/Thu/Fri he needs 1200 hours to get it done. So 200 extra hours need to be forced out of us on those days, and costs marginally more per hour to RM. But because it's an 'as and when' situation the bottom-line hours (i.e. 1000) look good for the figures.

Imagine if like other businesses we got time-and-a-half for OT - these 200 'cheap' hours would cost the DOM 300 hours pay. At that point he would be better-off having 5 extra staff at 40 hours at normal rate to make the 200 up. These hours being allocated wisely would accommodate lapsing and workload with little normal need for OT - but would look worse on his bottom-line total postie contracts hours.

Basically all these silly reduced hours contracts are like a semi-casual contract - "We guarantee you 25 hours but on a casual basis will give you more as we require it."
Great for the DOM and his costs, bad for the poor sods pressurized into doing too many hours.

[Acca Dacca]

say no

[chrisj]

This is kinda of weird and wrong on several levels.

If you are contracted to work 25 hours then that is your contract. they can ask you to help out from time to time but they cannot say that you are a leave reserve then you have to work 40 hours or 5 days instead of 4 days or you have to come in early to prep rounds...

I am surprised that your Rep sounds complicit in this exploitation.

Like you said, it is all well and good if you want to work overtime but being compelled is hard to understand.

I doubt this will have any bearing on your contract - that is, if you are still on a temporary contract. Surely, you must have other Reserves staff that are not 25 hours and ones on permanent contract or even full time seniors???

That this is happening in more than one office does not augur well... Your office is being deliberately understaffed and are using 25 hour contract to cover the shortfall - which appears to be on a long term basis, for now. The OT will not last forever; you office is piloting resourcing to demand and making savings on holidays pays, supplements and bonuses etc.

If you are a member of the Union and stressed about being overworked, contact your Area Rep or write to CWU HQ.

[postiewhite]

We are understaffed. We have been asked to lapse 2 duties between 32 rounds on light mail days. The meeting did not go down well with most staff at all. My rep said(and this was ages ago) that ill soon be a cover person on less days which suits me but thats not materislised. In the same breath he said they can have me in 5 days. What i dont understand is when im working with a part time postie whos been there an X amount of yrs starts work at 8 but im always the one that is told to come in at 6 to prep both walks. If I dont know a fiting then I struggle towards bagging up and breaktime. Why the hell isnt the regular parttimer who knows the fitting asked to come in instead of me. Because they wont ask him!

[Barbel]

Amen! Of course we're treated differently, we're like second class citizens most of the time, or at least it feels like it. Every day this week so far I've been moved onto a different job from what I should have been on. It's like starting a new job every day, my stomach churns every morning when I get up wondering what I'm going to face when I get in. As much as I love the job, I'm wondering how much longer I have to wait until I get to stay on the same job even if it's only for a week. I've heard there's a guy retiring at Xmas and I love that particular round, I wonder how much of a chance I'll have If I apply for it even though by then I'll only have been there 2 years? I live in hope.

[Zanfta]

I am on 32,5. Never had less than 40

Before I did driving assessment I had the same. Every day different job.
I thought it's madness.

After I did the driving assessment I realize how wrong I was!
Having different driving jobs every week if you never been on any of these P&L.
Specials, large packets, catch your Walkie that is madness. Three days to get used
to the streets and next week you are elsewhere.

Well. Being a walkie seems easier. Letters will guide you!

[standanddeliver]

I just posted this in the "union room" but it would seem to be relevant here also -

The Agenda for Growth booklet which was sent to us in January states - "Part time employees also have the opportunity to increase their contractual hours to reflect the actual hours they have worked on average over the previous 6 month period."
You could find this useful in getting your hours increased on a more permanent basis.

[Greenbaum]

I just posted this in the "union room" but it would seem to be relevant here also -

The Agenda for Growth booklet which was sent to us in January states - "Part time employees also have the opportunity to increase their contractual hours to reflect the actual hours they have worked on average over the previous 6 month period."
You could find this useful in getting your hours increased on a more permanent basis.

I understood this only stands if you have a duty and you have worked over your contracted hours for more than six months, on that duty, so it's easy for the manager to avoid making up your hours. In our office we have vacant duties being filled by the most junior reserves, with the guys who are next in line for a duty on different duties every week.

[blakeyboy]

If you don't want to do the overtime then say no
You cant be forced to do it.If you have a contract
Of 24 hours then your only contracted to do 24
hours.