Question About RLE Duty

[Mezza]

Up to about 6 months ago our RLE was run pretty much the same as most others (certainly the same as any i've seen).
All SD's were received in and then allocated to duties. Staff would then queue up at the window and i would allocate them their Sd's and they would check them against the allocation sheet and off they'd go.

Then my DOM decided i had enough time in my duty to absorb a 40 minute delivery. It turns out that is actually a 1hr 40 min delivery and doesn't include bundling and bagging up, so it's closer to 2 hrs or more. I've also been given a brand new development of another 45 delivery points this week.

That has meant i return from delivery after some other staff have finished and gone home. There items were left on the shelf outside my office window and i would check them and allocate to callers.

After a couple of items went missing ( i had allocated them to the callers, but they could not be found when the customer called to collect), my DOM decided i should receive all items back into a trolley in the doorway to the callers office - scanning and everything. It's total chaos at the best of times.

To cover the problem that i am now returning from delivery later and later (as my new development sees a rapid increase in mail as people move in) the person responsible for the callers now has to scan and book any items back in until i get back from my meal break and take over.
Some days the person in the callers doesn;t have time to do any of this as they have too many customers to serve and posties getting back simply shout out that they have 4 SD'd, 3 RD's and 5 tracked and throw them into a trolley. By the time i get there i have around 1-200 items to go through. We have pretty much given up booking the items in (filling in the return section of the allocation sheet) we simply scan and put away the items.

Also after allocation in the morning i got so frustrated with the number of people knocking on my door to get keys, pda's, and just about anything else(despite asking managers to give everyone a time to collect stuff that i could work around) i now leave my door open and delivery staff just wander in and grab their items when they want. they don;t sign for their items, they don;t sign for their van keys and it's a free-for-all.

My question is...Are they allowed to give someone else responsibility for accepting items back from delivery and also to insist that i receive items into the callers rather than the RLE?
It's been done under the basis of improved security, but with my office door being open for staff to put away their van keys and PDA's they can grab any items lying around in my office if they fancy them, anything on retention etc.

[Andy51]

I feel your pain I also work in RLE given up with door and window hate it but it's easier for them to come and get there stuff especially when you got to serve the public too ours is also just being lob through the window no way of checking fed up doing two jobs you either want me inside or postman make up your mind hate the the job now never know if one has gone missing or not

[Mezza]

Agree totally Andy, i have given up caring about the job tbh. We have a long overdue resign at some stage and i can't wait to get back out on delivery full time instead of all this messing around.

It's the fact that my job is regarded as a "specialist duty" that i'm referring to. If that's still the case then why is it labelled as such if parts can just be given away to anyone, qualified or not?

[Gold Fox]

Except late Callers Office staff ... early RLE and other indoor staff do part of delivery, packet/parcel delivery or left behind Specials delivery. (managers do missorts and RLB/RTS).

[dvbuk55]

I've worked in the RLE for more than 10 years no-one enters the locker unless invited. Anyone entering for a prolonged period for a special task signs in and out. The RLE is a restricted area and the manager should be ensuring that is adhered to. If the Auditor arrived and the locker was open and people wandering in and out the manager would be taken to task, also with the vans. All PDAs are allocated to a specific duty and are signed for with the vehicle any exception for a special run then the PDA is signed out on a separate sheet in the same way that a special trip form is used for a vehicle.

I don't receive returns in for Specials the afternoon RLE guy does and the tracked items are recorded and received in by the callers office staff. I keep the PDAs and check them daily when I start to make sure they are ready for delivery we have 91 currently, replace busted ones, maintain the list and the users list, receive in and allocate and hand out specials, the 9 o'clockers to get away by 7.15, make out the custom charges cards for delivery, get the bulks and everything else allocated by 8 -that roughly takes 5 hours out of my 5.45 hr day, that may seem a long time but I also answer the phone, repair PDAs that aren't working for whatever reason, comms down, stylus out of alignment etc, maintain the locker spreadsheets for access. We do have a system and by and large it works, one of the drawbacks is we don't have computer access in the RLE and Callers.

Looking at some of the routines it is reminiscent of what the locker was once like before I took over. It quickly became obvious I wouldn't be leaving the door open and no one would be taking anything out of the locker unless it was sanctioned - it was brought to a head when one afternoon the IB walked into the building unchallenged, went into the locker and picked up several SDs and went looking for the person who was supposed to be controlling the locker!!!!

[Mezza]

the IB walked into the building unchallenged, went into the locker and picked up several SDs and went looking for the person who was supposed to be controlling the locker!!!!

Whilst i fully appreciate the implications of leaving the door open, my response to IB or anyone else, would be that as i can no longer be held responsible for items later in the day, then by the same token i cannot be held responsible for items at any time.
They can't have it both ways.

I have questioned the whole security aspect of my duty on many occasions and been as good as ignored by management.

I'm not happy about the way things have deteriorated in my office, but despite going as far as a Grievance procedure level 3 and still getting no joy i now pretty much say sod'em and let them get on with it.
I go into work each day, do my full hours and go home - what i do during those hours i really don't care.

It's staggering, but true that in my office of around 53 daily duties, there are just 3 of us that work our full hours everyday. There is no coincidence that the 3 staff are all regarded as indoor staff, they have all lodged a grievance up to level 3, have all got nowhere with that and now get more and more work added to our duty, whilst ALL other staff are allowed to finish and go home. Some duties making as much as 4 hours or more on us on a Saturday.

[dvbuk55]

the IB walked into the building unchallenged, went into the locker and picked up several SDs and went looking for the person who was supposed to be controlling the locker!!!!

Whilst i fully appreciate the implications of leaving the door open, my response to IB or anyone else, would be that as i can no longer be held responsible for items later in the day, then by the same token i cannot be held responsible for items at any time.
They can't have it both ways.

I have questioned the whole security aspect of my duty on many occasions and been as good as ignored by management.

I'm not happy about the way things have deteriorated in my office, but despite going as far as a Grievance procedure level 3 and still getting no joy i now pretty much say sod'em and let them get on with it.
I go into work each day, do my full hours and go home - what i do during those hours i really don't care.

It's staggering, but true that in my office of around 53 daily duties, there are just 3 of us that work our full hours everyday. There is no coincidence that the 3 staff are all regarded as indoor staff, they have all lodged a grievance up to level 3, have all got nowhere with that and now get more and more work added to our duty, whilst ALL other staff are allowed to finish and go home. Some duties making as much as 4 hours or more on us on a Saturday.

Who looks after the locker when you aren't there? I only work a 5.40 hrs shift and I'm supposed to have a break from 8-8.30 which I haven't taken for about 3 years because the relief bod stopped turning up when his duty was altered so I just work on. Believe me when I say I don't have time in a day to do everything and often take paperwork home to complete on one of my computers: I just don't know how you have time to do a delivery Mezza although we have double the duties the time factor difference is still not enough to warrant a 1.40 delivery, what does your Rep have to say about it- or is he one of the ones making time.

[Mezza]

When i'm not about ie on delivery or meal break - all items returned to the office are either left on my window shelf where anyone can grab something, or dropped in a coffin by the callers office - again where anyone can help themselves.
Some staff are also fully aware of where they can find the key to my office and just let themselves in to leave items on the table and put their PDA's away. Of course the next person who lets themselves in can then help themself to whatever they fancy. It's ridiculous.

Our Union Rep doesn't really care about the job, he makes time every day and didn't even get involved with our Greivance procedure.He's studying at the moment and once qualified will be off.

We've also submitted complaints to our DSM right up to Moyra and to Union HQ, we've tried the whistle blower thing and anything else we can think of - still nothing is done - it's demoralising.

We had a surprise visit from the auditors last week and were praying they would ask about obvious issues with indoor duties - but they didn't.

Our yearly official audit is due soon and again we prey they will ask questions that will actually need resolving.

[Mezza]

Originally i used to cover the callers office meal break - it was then decided that i no longer would do that and could therefore cover the 40 min delivery. That then meant that most days the callers office didn;t get a meal break unless they waited till they shut at 12pm. Of course by the time they got back from their break and i got back from delivery there were piles of stuff to sort out.

Last week i was told that i now need to cover the callers meal break from 09.30-10.10 each day.

That means i get out on delivery about 11-11.15.
I get back about 12.30-12.45 on average.

Now on a Monday and Tuesday i finish at 1.33pm, which means once i've sorted my P739 items that i've brought back and tidied up the crap that people have left all over the place, i just about have time for my meal break before i go home.

Going to be interesting to see who then books items back in and allocates to callers. The callers office duty also finishes at 1.33.

I brought this to my line managers attention on Saturday when i first realised the issue with this and he said he would get the meal break covered on Saturdays.
As i've been off ill this week it hasn't really impacted anything as my cover is told he doesn't need to do the meal break cover.

[dvbuk55]

Our callers only closes at 6 and 8 on Wednesday, there's usually 2 for the callers supposedly and the afternoon RLE guy also sees to the collections and helps the callers because the 2 is usually 1 by one o'clock, he relieves me at 11.20 and finishes at 7. Your point about indoor staff working their hours and outdoor staff making time is probably true of every delivery office I know it is with ours just like yours but 4 hours is in the extreme.

[Mezza]

The example i gave of the duty making 4 hours on a Saturday happens every week - no matter who covers the regular as well.
That particular duty also overlaps a part of the delivery i have been given. When a new build of 45 delivery points went live it seemed obvious to put it onto that duty as he finishes about 11.30-12.00 every week day and is back by 10.00 on a Saturday. Of course our DOM had other ideas and has put it onto my delivery.

Don't get me wrong, i have no issue with the regular bloke making that time - it's not him after all, it's the duty that's at fault.

It's something that should have been addressed with Summer resourcing - it mentions that this has to be done in a fair manner.

All they have done in my office is to lapse 2 duties daily to whoever wants to do it - the carrot being if you do it you can then go home.

But duties that have struggled since revision and have cut off or moaned about having far too much compared to others, have actually been given more to do.

There is definately some sort of punishment given out to anyone that dares to cross our DOM it would seem.

Also, we are nearly 12 months post revision and are still to even hear word of a PIR.