Forced to drive? transfer?

[tragictramp]

My office has just finished the final stage of p/l nonsense, my normal hours have consisted of 4 days of 6 hours, after a week off i came in monday to be told initially that i would be doing 4 days of 8 hours, i asked if i would be paid 32 hrs if i booked a week off or 8 hrs a day and was told no, so i promptly told them i will only work the 24 im contracted to.

This obviously wouldn't match a p/l duty as I would be finishing at 13.30 and the driver at 15.00, so then 1 of the temporary managers said I should work 3 days of 8 hrs, so fair enough, i then asked the guy who allocates duties/hrs which extra day would i have off as i was still down to do 4 days, he got in a strop and said i would do 4 days of 6 lol. I then approached the dom and he asked me if i was willing to drive for royal mail, i told him no, in which case he told me their would be no jobs for me in the office and i would have to be transferred, i said why should i be transferred when i am senior to a lot of other part timers, he at 1st said all the others drive of which i told him of several p/timers with less seniority who cannot drive, he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

My union rep assures me that i will get my pick when the eventual re-pick happens but their is a slight chance that their might not be a duty for me, and thus I might have to move office.

So can i be forced to drive or transferred, laid off because I do not wish to drive for the company?

At the end of the day their are personal reasons which i will not drive for them, and dont believe i should have to explain myself, I have no contractual obligation to drive, royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

I now have got to do 4 days at 6 hrs starting at 9am to match the drivers finishing time of 3 oclock, i am down as a spare where as i at least knew the saturday before what rounds i would be doing the next week, on a more positive note, the final section of p/l has been in for 1 week and all are failing massively, most of the rounds have been only completing 1 out of the 2 walks and maybe 2 loops of the second walk, leaving 600 people per p/l without mail, with this section having 6-8 walks thats at least 3600 peoples mail being failed.

The company and planning is utter garbage!

[korky]

i had a similar debate with our union rep last year,
i refused to drive, unless i got a pick of a duty when the revision came up,
he said they can send me to another office and draft 1 of theirs to ours if short on drivers,
i then asked what about others who simply can't drive and he said they would probably be left alone, those unwilling to drive would probably get moved if needed,
i asked him what if i went and lost my license,or got a load of points, he said i'd be left alone?
scare mongering to get us to drive, as a L/R they really need to you to be as flexible as possible, they couldn't give me the odd long weekend, so i can't drive for them then, sod em.
i held out until i got offered a duty

[OnAFlyer]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

[SexyLegs]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

You obviously don't understand the hassles that go with driving a Royal Mail vehicle, you are responsible for the vehicle, you are responsible for the checks, you are responsible for everything. You have an accident in a Royal Mail vehicle and you have to inform your own insurance company, which could result in higher premiums, if the vehicle gets damaged under your sign out it's your responsibility and there is a chance of being conduct coded, depending what's happened to the vehicle, and the list goes on..................driving a Royal Mail vehicle is nothing but hassle, avoid like the plague if you can get away with it.

OnAFlyer - Do you get it now?

[fishtank]

section three guidance for DOMs
(NOT to be circulated around the office)

Please find below answers to some of the more common questions that managers ask when they are going through a delivery methods revision. For more comprehensive policy advice, please refer to the various information guides such as the people issues paper. Speak to your local planner if you do not have a copy of this.


Q. What if an individual is unable to drive i.e. no driving licence or cannot drive for health reasons?

A. If there are employees in your unit that are unable to drive you will need to consider what other duty options are available. You may need to accommodate these employees on shared routes as a planned non driver. (There is a limit to the number of non drivers you can accommodate on shared deliveries. It is, therefore, recommended that this is not an option to employees that can drive but choose not to.) You should explore what other opportunities there are to accommodate the individual within your office. If individuals cannot be accommodated in your office, you may be able to accommodate them via a move to another unit within a reasonable distance, where suitable work is available. Where this is not possible an employee may effectively become surplus and in this instance you should take advice from your Regional ER/IR Manager

[POSTMAN]

What i don't get is if there are part timers on certain hrs,why were they not accommodated during the revision.

[Lounge Lizard]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

You obviously don't understand the hassles that go with driving a Royal Mail vehicle, you are responsible for the vehicle, you are responsible for the checks, you are responsible for everything. You have an accident in a Royal Mail vehicle and you have to inform your own insurance company, which could result in higher premiums, if the vehicle gets damaged under your sign out it's your responsibility and there is a chance of being conduct coded, depending what's happened to the vehicle, and the list goes on..................driving a Royal Mail vehicle is nothing but hassle, avoid like the plague if you can get away with it.

OnAFlyer - Do you get it now?

As if you're not responsible for the maintenance, insurance and hassle of driving your own car ?

[smelly_cat_lady]

The number and depth of utter f*ckwittage of people on here never ceases to amaze me. How can someone who uses their own car for delivery (obviously driving) get the hump about driving for Royal Mail? Doh! As for being responsible for checking, accidents etc, well that's the same as driving your own car too. And as for letting your insurance company know you're driving company vehicles, well you never told them you were using yours for business so what's the difference? And as for having an accident, that's just an ass covering exercise, easily dealt with, I'd like to hear what your insurance company would have said if you'd had an accident on delivery in your own car, not to mention your explaination to PC Plod as to why your boot is full of Her Majesty's mail when the rozzers rock up!

Driving for RM compared with my experience of driving for other companies is a cinch. In the time I've been driving for them, I've never had a problem even tho I've had an argument with a brick wall (the van won!) The vehicles are bright red and members of the public usually treat you courteously. Ok, sometimes! I really don't see your problem. If you really want to be a pain in the back side (and I am at degree level here) when they ask you to drive a high top claim the extra. The paperwork involved in that one usually means you won't be asked again.

Your attitude towards driving, being flexible and working against the revision only gives management grist to their mill. Don't given them the satisfaction. Use your noddle! Take your 20 mins to do your vehicle checks, report every defect and book as many vans as you can off the road in a week and they'll soon think again.

[fishtank]

If someone doesn't want to drive for Royal Mail they don't have to.
Using your own car for work is stupid but doing one dumb thing doesn't mean you automatically sign up for another.
Some people find driving very stressful,some just aren't very good at it.
Driving should attract a premium...it used to,there are extra responsibilities involved with being in charge of a Royal Mail vehicle,why should members take on those responsibilities and extra risk to their employment status for free?

[tragictramp]

I stopped using my car over 2 years ago after seeing the pitfalls on this site, so i can hardly see that means anything to this situation.

[SexyLegs]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

You obviously don't understand the hassles that go with driving a Royal Mail vehicle, you are responsible for the vehicle, you are responsible for the checks, you are responsible for everything. You have an accident in a Royal Mail vehicle and you have to inform your own insurance company, which could result in higher premiums, if the vehicle gets damaged under your sign out it's your responsibility and there is a chance of being conduct coded, depending what's happened to the vehicle, and the list goes on..................driving a Royal Mail vehicle is nothing but hassle, avoid like the plague if you can get away with it.

OnAFlyer - Do you get it now?

As if you're not responsible for the maintenance, insurance and hassle of driving your own car ?

Do you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car, or you forget to check the windscreen washer levels? It's responsibility some people neither want nor need!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

changed quote slightly to make point

Do you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car, and you forgot to check the windscreen washer levels? It's responsibility some people neither want nor need!

You already have the responsibility (although your job is not at risk quite as much), if you don't check the fluid levels. If you have an accident and if the police decide that poor vision on your part caused the accident, then a charge of Careless Driving, or Driving without Due Care and Attention, and perhaps even Dangerous Driving are possible outcomes I THINK.

To be honest I am amazed that people don't carry out these basic checks out on their own cars, its saved me money over the years as its help me spot problems early and made it cheaper to fix. Mind you I was taught to drive in the forces and the daily and weekly checks they tell you to do, I do on my own car more out of habit now than anything else.

[wannabeek]

After several months of driving RM vans (and it was clear from the start of the job application that driving responsibilities were gonna be part of the job)I now habitually check my own vehicle just as regularly. Never used to bother with it before this job and only found out something basic like the screen wash was empty until driving along - stupid things I did, never happens now! TBH I think I'm a much better driver nowadays in loads of ways thanks to this job.

[Lounge Lizard]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

You obviously don't understand the hassles that go with driving a Royal Mail vehicle, you are responsible for the vehicle, you are responsible for the checks, you are responsible for everything. You have an accident in a Royal Mail vehicle and you have to inform your own insurance company, which could result in higher premiums, if the vehicle gets damaged under your sign out it's your responsibility and there is a chance of being conduct coded, depending what's happened to the vehicle, and the list goes on..................driving a Royal Mail vehicle is nothing but hassle, avoid like the plague if you can get away with it.

OnAFlyer - Do you get it now?

As if you're not responsible for the maintenance, insurance and hassle of driving your own car ?

Do you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car, or you forget to check the windscreen washer levels? It's responsibility some people neither want nor need!

Yes, you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car and don't have the correct insurance, and you can be jailed if you have a fatal accident while making a mobile phone call. It's responsibility some strange people neither want nor need!
Maybe you should give up working for Royal Mail and deliver pizzas in your beloved car instead.

[SexyLegs]

he then said as i had used my car for delivery (2 years ago) i was in royal mails eyes classed as a royal mail driver which i believe is utter bullshit, he said to approach my union rep.

royal mail have never had any of my license details and never will, its not my fault that with 8 months of planning this p/l monstrosity, they didnt think that lack of drivers would be a problem.

See this is what I don't get about people refusing to drive an RM van. You used your own car illegally (you never gave your license details so you were never insured) yet won't drive a free company vehicle.

There are at least half a dozen staff in my office that used their own cars for years but won't drive a van.

You obviously don't understand the hassles that go with driving a Royal Mail vehicle, you are responsible for the vehicle, you are responsible for the checks, you are responsible for everything. You have an accident in a Royal Mail vehicle and you have to inform your own insurance company, which could result in higher premiums, if the vehicle gets damaged under your sign out it's your responsibility and there is a chance of being conduct coded, depending what's happened to the vehicle, and the list goes on..................driving a Royal Mail vehicle is nothing but hassle, avoid like the plague if you can get away with it.

OnAFlyer - Do you get it now?

As if you're not responsible for the maintenance, insurance and hassle of driving your own car ?

Do you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car, or you forget to check the windscreen washer levels? It's responsibility some people neither want nor need!

Yes, you get conduct coded and risk losing your job if you have an accident in your own car and don't have the correct insurance, and you can be jailed if you have a fatal accident while making a mobile phone call. It's responsibility some strange people neither want nor need!
Maybe you should give up working for Royal Mail and deliver pizzas in your beloved car instead.

I've had a couple of accidents in my own car and I didn't get conduct coded, neither did I get a blameworthy, in fact I didn't get any problems, my insurance company sorted it all out for me, and they even let me keep my job with Royal Mail......................how nice of them! lol

As I said earlier avoid driving for these muppets like the plague, I avoided an accident a few months ago driving a Royal Mail van, my manager told me I'd have been better off letting the vehicle I avoided hit me, as I wouldn't have been to blame, as it was I veered around the vehicle and scratched up the underside of the van, and guess what, I got a blameworthy....sums it up really!!!