BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE! - REPICK!!!

[chrisj]

Can a postie refuse to pick a round within a repick?

And what will be the consequence - does he/she automatically become a leave/absence RESERVE?

Or can one be forced into picking? Say, for example, there 2 full time jobs left and the said person is the penultimate to pick and if he/she refuses, then there will be at least one full-time walk left but no more full-timers in the office... And what if the last in the FT group also refuses to pick?

When a choice is not really a good choice. What does one do?

[DGP1]

You can always pick up a holiday reserve.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

or worse another office - rare but possible

[chrisj]

I just wondered what will happen to the walk that was not signed for? The way the jobs have been carved out - they are sort of specific upon contractual hours... I am sure a 32-hour postie might want to choose the rejected walk but there is no chance of anyone else being made up.

Interesting!

I foresee one or two deciding they have had enough of working with a particular partner and one has even said he might be leaving... (doesn't want to work with a partner - has been a driver for a long time and been doing full-time despite being a part-timer

[UnhappyGremlin]

Refusing really makes no sense. You will only end up being given a duty, so may as well pick the least of the 2 evils for yourself. Or pick reserve. It's not like it's unforseeable that the last duties left will be s**t. You'll have to live with it until you climb up the seniority list, we all had/have to do it.

[chrisj]

Refusing really makes no sense. You will only end up being given a duty, so may as well pick the least of the 2 evils for yourself. Or pick reserve.

This post almost contradicts the previous that says one auto becomes a RESERVE rather than being given a duty. Of course, as a Reserve, one will still end up doing the rejected duties from time to time.
By the way, being a reserve is not a duty (pick) as such. Being a FLOATER is a duty pick...

"It's not like it's unforseeable that the last duties left will be s**t. You'll have to live with it until you climb up the seniority list, we all had/have to do it.

This is post-revison and in P&L. Of course, the duties left are not desirable but that is not the only issue

[UnhappyGremlin]

Being a reserve is a duty pick in my office. But as they are the last to go (generally), they are basically issued to the remaining members of staff.

I assume the other issues are around attendance times, and are interfering with personal lives. Could try a flexible working request.

[WornOutPosty]

How common is it to get pushed off to another office if you don't want to increase your hours during a pick and there's no job (or nothing left ) with the hours you're on?

[Jono]

Been a reserve for 15 years - has worked for me!

[chrisj]

Being a Reserve might not be that bad if one has some seniority - like yours - 15yrs. What happens in my office is the senior/FT reserves have the pick of rounds and sometimes *when overstaffed) they stay indoors and finish at least 2 hours before time.

However, being a junior Reserve is a different thing altogether. We now have a manger that is ready to use a postie for 'anywhich' round/walk - nothing to do with knowing this round or not or how hard the week might have been...

Basically, the name of the Reserve Postie is hardly on the duty rota and where it is on the duty rota rota; it is liable to change even after the postie has started on the duty earmarked. You dont know your day off and who you are working with, where the damn van is and generally what is going on A senior Reserve often says I am not doing that; and manager goes down the line to find someone to do 'that'

Back to I have been a Reserve for 15 years. There is one or tow long-term reserve posties now in our REPICK that has now got rounds but not the best rounds and having to work with part-timers that come in later, they also have to throw out...- Not so cushy anymore - and they have to be responsible for the walks instead of being a fly-by-night.

I am a Reserve by the way =- so not having a go...