Seniority

[coxie]

Just a quick question chaps, if someone leaves the Post Office to join Royal Mail, do they have the right to carry over seniority?

[chunk]

I know someone who went from P.O counters as we call them to a mail centre .
They didn't carry any "service" with them.
sorry!
Your experience /knowledge etc may give you a slight advantage over joe public in an interview
or job application but thats about it .
I stand ready to be contradicted now.
I hope im wrong for yours.

[coxie]

well it's happend in my office and cost me a seniority place so I would like to get my facts right before I do anything about it

[chunk]

its possible my friend broke the continuity of their employment? even a day would it.
but managers often make up procedure as the go along .
a union rep ought to know this one.

[POSTMAN]

Arrrrgh there is a post on here somewhere,where,i 'think' that it's a 'RM Group' thing that transferring between functions the seniority is kept.
I'm not 100% though.
I kinda rem that PF guys who transfer in keep their seniority though
Bet you a squid a Fish will know as i think he was involved in the thread.

[97gaz]

W

[bunkerland]

We had someone who was a cleaner in the office then became a postie,at the next re-signing her years as a cleaner were used in determining her seniority causing her to leapfrog a couple of people who had been full-time longer than her. I was quite surprised at this but apparently it's correct!

[CLINTEASTWOOD]

Hi
yes its true you keep your seniority because i came accross from POL and i kept my years but i had to wait one year for it to kick in,im sure you keep it straight aw ay now though.

[PhilthyPhil]

We had someone who was a cleaner in the office then became a postie,at the next re-signing her years as a cleaner were used in determining her seniority causing her to leapfrog a couple of people who had been full-time longer than her. I was quite surprised at this but apparently it's correct!

I thought it was only service on an equivalent or higher grade which counted and service on a lower grade does not count.

[Tman]

Sadly not. It starts from the day you joined RM in whatever grade, as has been shown several times recently where MCs have been closed and amalgamated.

[PhilthyPhil]

I don't know what the most recent agreement on seniority so perhaps things have changed since The Way Forward is but this is from P/L 5460 2630 dated April 2000 which follows on from the Way Forward Agreement and says service on a lower grade does not count.

2. DEFINITION OF SENIORITY
Section 13 of the Way of Working agreement sets out the new definition of seniority, based
in all cases on length of service. The general position is that all service since joining the
business counts for seniority purposes, whether full- or part-time, with the exception of:
• Periods worked on a lower grade than the current one (section 4 of the agreement).
Note that for this purpose all the grades being assimilated into the new Operational
Grade (i.e. PMN, PHG, SL1-6, Cadet, and the part-time equivalents) are treated as
equivalent, as are the three grades being assimilated into the new Support Grade
• Periods worked on a casual contract (section 6)
• Periods of career breaks or sabbaticals (section 6)
• Periods before a break of contract (section 6). Here the general position is that such
periods should be excluded, but with scope to agree locally to vary this in exceptional
circumstances (an example might be someone who had to give up work due to serious
domestic reasons but is later re-employed)

[coxie]

anyone else got any input?

[baldrick]

As I understand it all RM or PO service counts as long as it is unbroken - ie continuous. Except casual employment or career breaks/sabbaticals.

[Bahia Feliz]

As I understand it all RM or PO service counts as long as it is unbroken - ie continuous. Except casual employment or career breaks/sabbaticals.

Does that mean if you had been on a 3 year sabbatical you would lose those 3 years off of your seniority/length of service?

[jeanie]

I heard that you no longer keep your seniority like you use too.