union stance on starting before your start time

[cuz50]

Hi we have several people in my office who every day start ,1/2 hour, 45mins before there start time (no overtime paid)
I am being sent out to other offices because they are people down which I don't have a problem with ,but when I asked the manager why
it was me all the time (there are 3 area reserves in my office ) he told me that because the other 2 were willing to come in early(No overtime paid)
it suited him to send me out . He asked me to come in 1/2 hour early I asked if i would be paid overtime and told no I said I was not
willing to do that. I think the union should do more to stamp this out ,our own rep does nothing to stop this.

[GoingRoundTheBend]

I think the only way to control this is to have clocking in/out machines.
Yes they can still come in early but they will not be able to go home earlier than their clocking off time so I reckon that will stop the runners in their tracks

[Lincox]

You will never stop it until Royal Mail starts sacking people for failure to comply with company procedures. I see the main problems for many people who start early is that they have some notion that they must get out before other people. Whether this is a fear of being last and fear of being conducted for being slow I do not know. There are others that think they must complete their walks no matter what the mail traffic is like and therefore come in early to ensure it is done, albeit at their own cost. I believe it is fear that is the main culprit of the early starters and not just a desire to make time.
Perhaps some form of piece work may be the answer, then it is up to the individual how much and how long it takes them. Not a great believer in piece work but perhaps there are some jobs that lend themselves to this form of remuneration.

[Surreypostie]

Sounds to me as if you are being singled out, that is grounds for a grievance. You can be sent to other offices but they should also be.

[bensonhedge]

Why the big deal if u just wanna get your first mec in??

[Bahia Feliz]

Why the big deal if u just wanna get your first mec in??

You wouldn't start early if you worked in a factory,So why do it now?

[Newbie001]

You will never stop it until Royal Mail starts sacking people for failure to comply with company procedures. I see the main problems for many people who start early is that they have some notion that they must get out before other people. Whether this is a fear of being last and fear of being conducted for being slow I do not know. There are others that think they must complete their walks no matter what the mail traffic is like and therefore come in early to ensure it is done, albeit at their own cost. I believe it is fear that is the main culprit of the early starters and not just a desire to make time.
Perhaps some form of piece work may be the answer, then it is up to the individual how much and how long it takes them. Not a great believer in piece work but perhaps there are some jobs that lend themselves to this form of remuneration.

Always find it strange that walks seem to be designed almost solely on delivery points. Being a spare and doing many walks. I've noticed that the difference between some walks are unbelievable. Some walks have easily 100-200% more mail, D2D's and packets than other walks. Some posties come in early so they can finish between 12 and 1, others come in early simply so they can finish on their time, they think they're slow when they look at fellow posties finishing before one. Lets just say the ones going out with half a york most days are going to finish much earlier. Managers/reps really need to take a closer look at some walks. Maybe then people will stop coming in early.

[pod25]

How can reps stop this ?
This is purely down to managers doing there job.

My manager turns a blind eye, because all he cares about is the mail going out the door.
Today was a proper piss take. It was always going to be a easy, early finish. Yet the usual suspects still came in early, to get a head start. They finished in excess of 4 hours before there duty time, just plain madness.

Royal Mail will not continue to turn a blind eye to this, paying people for sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle

[ganda]

Why the big deal if u just wanna get your first mec in??

The big deal is, people are not showing the duty in its real light. So others that come on the duty when the normal guy is off, often get bullied: "Well the normal guy can do it in time."

If people started when they should, took a break when they should, use a trolley like they should and not read and walk, like they should, they would be no lapsing. In fact duties would have to be put in. Thats the big deal.

[clashcityrocker]

If people started when they should, took a break when they should, use a trolley like they should and not read and walk, like they should, there would be no lapsing. In fact duties would have to be put in.

This is wishful thinking and is in fact basically untrue.
Lapsing opportunities depend on a variety of things and to say there would never be lapsing opportunities is rubbish.

[Lincox]

I understand what you are saying Clash but isn,t the reality that Royal Mail do not base their lapsing on traffic forecasts, they base it on bums on seats and lets do this on a regular basis even beyond the Summer because there are plenty of fools out there who are prepared to work for nowt.

[clashcityrocker]

I understand what you are saying Clash but isn,t the reality that Royal Mail do not base their lapsing on traffic forecasts, they base it on bums on seats and lets do this on a regular basis even beyond the Summer because there are plenty of fools out there who are prepared to work for nowt.

Obviously none of us can say what happens in each and every office up and down the land, but the rep is supposed to sit down with the DOM every week for a resourcing meeting.
I somehow doubt that the DOM says - I think we can lapse 2 duties next week because half those numpties out there will do it for free.
And the rep agrees (as long as he doesn't have to do any of it)
Reps are supposed to be trained on IWT. And the minutes of those meetings should be freely available.

The lapsing opportunities will be defined by your f/t to p/t ratio, your traffic against model week and your delivery span.
I do all those things mentioned by ganda, I still took out 25 minutes lapsing and finished 15 minutes early. (during the Autumn Pressure)

[Bernardson]

He asked me to come in 1/2 hour early I asked if i would be paid overtime and told no I said I was not
willing to do that. I think the union should do more to stamp this out ,our own rep does nothing to stop this.

If a DOM ask you to come in half an early then that must be an invitation to work overtime.
Ask him for clarification.
Obviously he has not enough hours to cover duties and once again we see the result of colleagues coming in before their official starting time.

[ganda]

If people started when they should, took a break when they should, use a trolley like they should and not read and walk, like they should, there would be no lapsing. In fact duties would have to be put in.

This is wishful thinking and is in fact basically untrue.
Lapsing opportunities depend on a variety of things and to say there would never be lapsing opportunities is rubbish.

Your entitled to your view, but think on, no reading and walking would add quite a bit of time to the duty, as would using the trolley.....ect ect. There would be no time to lapse. They may try, but there is only so much you can do in your duty time. So I don't think the words "rubbish" really are called for. Still, as I say, your entitled to your view.

[Cut Off King]

Mmmmm........I suspect that some of you are not adopting Moya's north American "CAN DO" attitude