Summer Lapsing starts in January.

[chrisj]

It is certainly not every Tuesday that has 50% of mail... Not in my area anyway. Like I added, if you do your 1/6th of the D2D then you are likely going to have more than 50% hit rate.

As for being penalised for being quick. Is this the first job korky has ever had? Some people are always faster than others and most jobs have a start and finish time regardless of how quick or slow you are.

I am sorry, I do not accept that you finish 50 minutes before your finish time if you came in exactly on your start time and take your 40 minutes break during the work not at the end. Are you saying that you can be 50 minutes quicker than the average postie in your office - poppycock!

Just slow down or pace yourself. I also find it hard to believe that you always work with people that are just as fast yourself...

* Furthermore, you cannot prep an additional round completely in 1 hour - not in my office! If the person you are prepping for comes in exactly on his time, you have no chance. Double prepper come in at 6.40am and has to prep for a 27 hours postie as well as his own. The start time for the 27 hours is after 9.00 am and he should just come in and do packets, a few missorts, redirection and bag up...

[chrisj]

korky, you can try and measure exactly how long the job takes you for the coming week then we can really find out how much time you are shaving off the contractual time.

The finish time is immaterial - that is something some managers try and use to harass some posties that want to work to their time - coming in 10 or 15 minutes should also be discounted...

There are no too many jobs out there why you can finish and go unless you are working on piece-rate job... The idea that because some people are faster than others then those that are average are not good enough or are slacking is dangerous. That just is like the Amazon model and we will all suffer the higher and more unreasonable expectations down the road.

Yes, you can walk and work a little slower even if you find that hard at the start. And you can speed up (slightly) too...

[korky]

I am sorry, I do not accept that you finish 50 minutes before your finish time if you came in exactly on your start time and take your 40 minutes break during the work not at the end. Are you saying that you can be 50 minutes quicker than the average postie in your office - poppycock!

Just slow down or pace yourself. I also find it hard to believe that you always work with people that are just as fast yourself...

* Furthermore, you cannot prep an additional round completely in 1 hour - not in my office! If the person you are prepping for comes in exactly on his time, you have no chance. Double prepper come in at 6.40am and has to prep for a 27 hours postie as well as his own. The start time for the 27 hours is after 9.00 am and he should just come in and do packets, a few missorts, redirection and bag up...

i don't stand and watch, i just notice others down my aisle
but i am 50/60 mins quicker than some, i never said on average, as i know a few quicker than me,
there are quite a few full timers who are exempt from sorting,
quite often i can come in an hour later and still be bagged up before them.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

It completely confuses me why so many people are concerned who is faster and who is slower than themselves. Its an unneeded road to ulcers and stress.

Individual performance should not be measured or compared by any employee unless they are a manager. The manager will know all the factors involved, such as age, medical conditions, outside commitments and anything else.

If you are wondering what makes a bad manager then sometimes a little introspection may be advisable. A bad manager makes poor decisions based on incomplete information. If you decide a postie is slower than you because they are lazy, but you didn't know he has a condition that causes intermittent low level pain when walking (or has Accommodative Dysfunction) - then you have just made the same mistake as that manager.

I am regularly passed by colleagues returning to the office, and some of them say my duty is easier than theirs. I also sometimes finish a duty before others. No one is doing anything wrong. I am working to the best of my ability at a reasonable rate - so are they. No one should be concerned about others performances unless its in their job description.

Go in, do the job and go home its as easy as that. If you are capable and willing to do more than a colleague then do it, don't expect everyone to keep up to your standard, because sure as eggs are eggs eventually someone will be faster than you, and they'll probably think you are lazy as well.

[chrisj]

I am glad that korky has cleared up that he is probably just faster than some in his office and not that he is 50 minutes faster than the average. Furthermore, he is also saying that some might be faster than him - so what is the fuss?

The only conclusion a manager or RM might make from the way you and OnaFlyer put things is that 'on average' a lot of posties do not have enough work to fill their - that is completely untrue because OnaFlyer has actually stated that he cuts off sometimes. Its all quid quo pro...

So it is not advisable to try and tar a lot of posties with the same brush - and say things like that is why RM thinks we all taking the p*ss... (paraphrased).

Do your D2D on the same day, collect your van after bagging up, wait for the missorts and pace yourself, take your breaks, do your returns, sign out, return the van and go home... You will find that you are not regularly 50 minutes under your contracted time. And if you are still well under, lucky you!

It is important that people try not to exaggerate to make their points. Such as 'the mail is about 50% on Tuesday' might actually be taken as gospel by some managers and RM if the staff are ready to say such ridiculous things themselves.

[OnAFlyer]

I am glad that korky has cleared up that he is probably just faster than some in his office and not that he is 50 minutes faster than the average. Furthermore, he is also saying that some might be faster than him - so what is the fuss?

The only conclusion a manager or RM might make from the way you and OnaFlyer put things is that 'on average' a lot of posties do not have enough work to fill their - that is completely untrue because OnaFlyer has actually stated that he cuts off sometimes. Its all quid quo pro...

So it is not advisable to try and tar a lot of posties with the same brush - and say things like that is why RM thinks we all taking the p*ss... (paraphrased).

Do your D2D on the same day, collect your van after bagging up, wait for the missorts and pace yourself, take your breaks, do your returns, sign out, return the van and go home... You will find that you are not regularly 50 minutes under your contracted time. And if you are still well under, lucky you!

It is important that people try not to exaggerate to make their points. Such as 'the mail is about 50% on Tuesday' might actually be taken as gospel by some managers and RM if the staff are ready to say such ridiculous things themselves.

There is a massive difference in workload throughout the year and from day to day. I accept some duties can't cut so much time off on a quiet day due to terrain etc, but by and large the difference from a light Tuesday to a busy Christmas is massive.

Over the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas I finished within time 4 times, every other day we cut off or went over slightly, or both. Some days we cut off close to 2hrs worth of work. On a light Tuesday with a WTLL session, break taken, van checked properly etc we can make up to 2 hours if we work at the same pace as usual. (We don't, but we don't drag it out right up to time either and collapse when asked to). My P&L partner and I are one of the few pairs that starts on time instead of early.

The only point I'm trying to make is that I cannot understand how some people can claim they finish at the same time, right at their duty time,every day and never do any lapsing. That suggests to me they are either swinging the lead on light days, running around on heavy days or both.

Nor can I understand why some are suggesting you fill your time on a Tuesday by hoovering the van etc - if you've done your lapsing and it's still really early then yes by all means waste some time, but it's not going to wash as an excuse not to lapse so again, how are people getting away with telling managers they will be up to time every day no matter how light it is?

[OnAFlyer]

RM are now clamping down on those who are quicker than others, which ain't right..

They aren't clamping down, They are fully utilising your hours. If you are doing the job properly and still finishing early it makes complete sense to give you extra work.You aren't being victimised in any way, you are just being asked to do the same as anyone else, work your hours.

You could moan that you're being asked to do more work than someone else but that's difficult to measure as no two rounds are the same in this job and neither are any two days but at the end of the day nobody is asking you to run around and nobody is asking you to slow down, just find a comfortable pace for you and your partner and be prepared to work your paid hours or in the case of overtime only be paid for the hours you work.

i half understand what you say, but i've done most duties and know ours is far from easy compared to others based on my own speeds.
i know people walk at different speeds, which is natural, but the indoor work should be the same rate, we can get out 45 mins earlier with a similar work load than others, we then get penalized for it

RM has been like it for years korky, it's hard to take but don't worry about others. It winds a lot of people up when they see people on easy walks refusing to collapse because they can't get done, to be perfectly honest it took a long time for me not to care and just do my job.

RM has long been a refuge for people of all capabilities and in all the time I've worked for them I've yet to see someone challenged properly about their performance (or lack of it). You have to give credit to the CWU for that as they've seemingly made staff untouchable. Even RM's mantra just seems to be that working your hours is more important than what you actually do in those hours, so just do your job to a decent standard and long worry about it.

Oh, and if they are giving you extra work if you go back early then for f*cks sake don't! Call at a shop, have a snack etc. and yes I'm telling you to take the p*ss, because to me asking quicker staff to do more work is doing exactly that.

[chrisj]

I think that we can all agree that some people gets away with things... And also that lapsing is just going to be a way of life if there is not enough work to fill the time. That is a given!

The other thing to note is that some people come on this site and try to brag a little. I doubt there are posties that never ever lapse - it is ridiculous to think that happens but then there are some powerful offices that plays he system and apparently are working at 60BSI whilst some are working at over 100BSI.

Furthermore the managers are not all there, some have their pets and some allow a few posties to become untouchables whilst harassing others... This is RM.

OnaFlyer - we are not too different in opinion about things. I agree with you that early starters and runners is not always the problem but it can be a problem if it does not give a true reflection on resourcing to workload. I also agree that some come in early because they are a little weak and some just want to natter a bit and take their time. That is all fine and great back in the days but managers are using that to harass some that come in on their time...

I have also learned and continuing to learn to live and let live.

[2pints]

Been on job 9 months now,when i started i used to come in 15 mins early as i did in most jobs i held before this.I also carried bags over my shoulder no matter how heavy they were,i walked as fast as i could and took shortcuts to get done quicker.I did not put a pen to the overtime sheet for the first 3 months even though i was skipping my break (30 min).

Well now i use a trolley unless the bag is very light,i book any overtime i do and i never rush myself.I use paths and avoid grass were possible.If i want to do overtime i will say yes if i do not i will say no with no reason or explanation.I take at least 10 mins of my 30 min break and book the rest if i go over my time(much to the annoyance of my manager)

As for "summer" lapsing i have no problem with taking extra out as long as it takes me to my time and no longer.Otherwise it is overtime and not lapsing,and as we all know overtime is optional.As long as you do not rush around to get the extra done to finish on time then it should be fine,if they give you too much just tell them and if they do not listen just bring back what is left when your time is out.You cannot educate pork my dad used to say,and that is the case with many managers,not all.

[axeman]

Dare say dingo doesn't do it so no worrys eh !!

Neither will you if you work correctly to time .

I do and I don't do you ??/