Angard casuals V Christmas casuals? EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!

[Verging]

You maybe able to mention the letter we had, from either Royal Mail or Angard (not sre who), which said the Christmas casuals were being hired to supplement the Royal Mail permanent staff and the Angard casuals.

Check the BIS document on AWR regulations about AWR Avoidance. I have put a lnk on this website to the document sometime last December I think. Not sure if bringing in "new" none AWR qualified staff before AWR qualified staff is specifically mentioned as a possible avoidance issue but it could be. If it is not clear telephone ACAS and let them know the situation. They may help in that they would be able to decide if you would have a case of AWR avoidance.

[Spooky43]

Great, thank you for your suggestions. I'll see what happens next week before giving ACAS a shout

[POSTMAN]

xmas casuals are cheaper than you guys,contact HQ justsayit@royalmail.com

[rogersh]

xmas casuals are cheaper than you guys,contact HQ justsayit@royalmail.com

Now it appears that several Angard workers who have achieved parity status are losing out because of a break in assignment. Having a 28 day clause for termination of contract without notice is absurd given the fluctuation levels of work within Royal mail, Compounded by the advice not to apply for the xmas temporary vacancies.
Also I assume xmas casuals, on minimum wage, are being given priority over flexible resource workers because the majority are on the substantially higher rate of pay.

You lose AWR status after break in assignment of over 6 weeks, even after qualification, according to agency worker regulations 2010 No 93- part 2 rights- 8(b)
Are Angard really “fully committed to the legislation” !!.

[ennabee]

I'm surprised at the re-vetting thing. In effect you are "on standby" for 28 days. It may be different if you get your P45 then re-apply. Im pretty certain some Angard casuals have had a 28 day gap earlier in the year without the need for re-vetting and the worry then was always about loss of AWR.

[eglantina1]

Lack of work and CFC Training.
Going back to my previous post of a couple of weeks ago and the response from 'Verging' Four of us Angard casuals had two whole days training with a special trainer who they brought in from, I presume, a dedicated team of proper Royal Mail trainers i.e not just someone from our own mail centre. What I'm getting is that it cost them money and effort to do this. Then for the subsequent two weeks we were in every evening working on the machines with a coach. Now no work for us at all as they have taken on their own Christmas casual staff -crazy!
After the intensive training that myself and a few others had, they gave CFC training to a whole other load of Angardees. No work for them either this week. Not even the packet sorting that they normally do. Equally crazy! I also found out that they gave CFC training to people who didn't even want to work on the machines.
To get back to the main thread of this debate. They were only a few Angard casuals, the ones who do distribution work, working at SMMC last night. The rest of us experienced workers have been dropped in favour of people who don't even know how to read a postcode. I mainly did the CFC training because I thought it would guarentee me Christmas work. Turns out this isn't the case - Oh well at least I was paid for the two (easy) days learning how to operate the machine and I now have a cretificate to prove it!
I shall also email justsayit@royalmail.com and let you all know if I get a response.

[yabbadabbadoo]

Great, thank you for your suggestions. I'll see what happens next week before giving ACAS a shout

I've phoned ACAS for advice regarding AWR entitlements previously and the woman I spoke to was either lying, or obilivious to the AWR that was introduced.

So beware of their 'impartial' advice, at least one of their phone operators is behind-the-times or not interested in giving advice.

[Verging]

Christmas shift for rest of this week now been cancelled!!

[markadam1962]

Christmas shift for rest of this week now been cancelled!!

Sorry to hear that! Any reason given? Lack of work at your place? Will it pick up? or is it busy and the work is being done by others?

Wrote to "Jst say it" last week (post on page 2 of this thread) still waiting for a reply. Also copied Angard in, but as with my previous emails going back to October they remain unanswered other than the usual ping back acknowledgement of receipt.

There does seem to be something going on here!

[Verging]

Christmas shift for rest of this week now been cancelled!!

Sorry to hear that! Any reason given? Lack of work at your place? Will it pick up? or is it busy and the work is being done by others?

Wrote to "Jst say it" last week (post on page 2 of this thread) still waiting for a reply. Also copied Angard in, but as with my previous emails going back to October they remain unanswered other than the usual ping back acknowledgement of receipt.

There does seem to be something going on here!

Claim was lack of work. Someone who was signing in as they got cancelled managed to get in and although not on scheduled work they are working on something else and says they are "stacked out". The shop floor manager this person worked for was expecting the same as yesterday and was not aware of the cancellations. It is not just me it is the whole of Angard staff on the shift for the remainder of the week.

Dont know about the RM casuals. Suspect the RM casuals will still get in as they "need to learn the work for next week".

[ennabee]

I was one of those that "got through" and worked todays late shift, though officially all Angardees had been laid off. One other Angardee said it even stated on the RM website application system that Angard employees should not apply for work via RM, it wasn't merely a suggestion in that letter.

Ironically I remember one of the RM casuals (who will be working 1400-2200 until Christmas) from earlier in the year. I suppose he resigned from Angard at some stage!

[massdebate121]

Judging by peoples responses on here, it looks like my worst fears have been confirmed. I was booked in to work monday and tuesday night by a manager at my MC. Wednesday morning, I had to make the difficult choice of either staying up and wait for a phonecall from Angard. Or sleep. I chose the latter and surprise, suprise I miss the phonecall. My first night off since March. Hurrah! This morning I phone Angard. NO SHIFTS AT ALL IN MY MC!

Thank you Angard for telling us not to apply for Xmas work. If I had known that I was going to be jobless over Xmas, I'd have got something else.

Also, this revetting thing. Does that mean that none of us will get any work until well into the New Year?

As a Royal Mail casual of 4 years, I feel completely undermined by the whole thing.

[ennabee]

[QUOTE]

My first night off since March. .

NOW
NO SHIFTS AT ALL IN MY MC!
[QUOTE]


Pretty clear case of being replaced by cheaper workers...

Its bad enough this happening but Angard telling us not to apply makes it far far worse

One newish Angardee who is still on £6.19 and hour has been laid off he would definitely have been better off applying for RM

I contacted Angard who said "it was all on for next week" ( not exactly what I was told at the MC) and have emailed "justsayit" about my concerns over the 'don't apply for RM letter' etc

[intelligentsia]

xmas casuals are cheaper than you guys,contact HQ justsayit@royalmail.com

Now it appears that several Angard workers who have achieved parity status are losing out because of a break in assignment. Having a 28 day clause for termination of contract without notice is absurd given the fluctuation levels of work within Royal mail, Compounded by the advice not to apply for the xmas temporary vacancies.
Also I assume xmas casuals, on minimum wage, are being given priority over flexible resource workers because the majority are on the substantially higher rate of pay.

You lose AWR status after break in assignment of over 6 weeks, even after qualification, according to agency worker regulations 2010 No 93- part 2 rights- 8(b)
Are Angard really “fully committed to the legislation” !!.

Sometime in September 2012, Angard casuals received a letter from Sam Slater so called "account manager" for Angard Staffing solutions persuading us to "refrain from applying to Royal Mail for Christmas Casual jobs" because Angard would be giving us more work!?

I for one heeded the advice like many others!

WE WHO are EMPLOYED BY ANGARD HAVE BEEN LIED TO and utterly deceived!

In actuality one could not apply because if you were an existing employee of Angard you were barred from applying by the website!!!!!

Not only have we received a drop in shifts offered but most have only been offered 4 hour shifts. What an utter con and deception by this dreadful company!

Unless we receive more shifts at this supposed "busy time", I shall be writing a letter of complaint and copying it to Moya Greene, CEO of Royal Mail Group.
This is totally unfair and unacceptable practice at the Exeter Mail Centre and seems to be happening all over????

This discriminatory employment practice must stop or Angard casuals will have no option but to take out tribunal procedures against angard.
Last year 2011 we all suffered the Angard payroll complete FIASCO now Xmas 2012 is giving us the "Shift" angst!!

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[Britvic55]

As a RM casual, yes we are cheaper, but it has been quiet at Truro this week & we all had our shifts cut. Some offered to take a day off. In the late evening there were hardly any staff working at all.