Are length of walks realistic?

[sbbij]

Im starting soon on a 25h part time contract. I think it was mentioned as 4 hours walking. Maybe 4 hours is too long as you have to account for bagging up and getting to starting point and coming back... is it?

My question -- generally / on average, how realistic is this for a part time duty? So on typical part time duty where the daily routine is meant to be to come in, bag up and go out... if I have an average to above average walking speed am i likely to finish within the 5 hour work window most of the time?

I appreciate the first 2 weeks will be a big learning curve and each duty will have a learning curve. But after this time?

Im looking for a balance view. I know there is a lot of change going in terms of working practices etc. I also know a lot of long term royal mail employees are likely to be more sensitive to change as maybe they've enjoyed 'the good times'.

Thanks in advance.

[Nigel1505]

Whatever the length of the walk is or the prepping time, you are employed and paid for 25 hours, so that is all you have to work. If you work over this then you should be paid overtime. If you don't want overtime, work your hours like any other industry. Good luck; don't be bullied into working longer unless you want to.

[sbbij]

Thanks for reminding me. Thats my concern reading these threads that I'm constantly going to be asked to do extra - as a newbie id feel i had to say yes create a good impression. I know the first month will probably be a killer on my feet and body so i doubt ill do anything except minimum.

fyi, I'm more than happy to work exactly 5 hours... i was thinking about planning the rest of my day. So if I'm due to finish e.g. at 2pm... will i? I know unexpected things come up so I'm talking about the norm most of the time.

As you said, i can just say no or be paid overtime.

[Nigel1505]

Royal Mail seem to think that their employees will work whatever RM say. UK employment law applies to RM as well, so if your contract says 25 then 25 is what you work; anything over this is paid at a premium. One bit of advice is join the CWU, then you will have someone on your side if things turn against you. Good luck.

[dids620]

Go at a comfortable pace then you wont be too knackered to enjoy the rest of the day. If you are on a van share it obviously depends who you are with. If you are with a runner he will want you to be as quick as him.

[kirstyx]

Your first day on a new walk is always the worse no matter how long you have been employed, always try to get any questions answered by the normal duty holder. You won't finish on time for a little while so make sure on your first day you ask about going over your time and what the procedure is. Luckily in my office things have Changed now and you build up to a full delivery over about 4 days, unlike for me the first day I was on my own was a very busy day and I didn't finish til 6:50pm and had the following day as my day off I th they were stunned I turned in again lol thankfully that never happened again and honestly think it was down to my stubbornness of refusing to ask for help I def recommend asking for help

[ratchet]

if your contract says 25 then 25 is what you work; anything over this is paid at a premium.

OP - Your first 14 hours of overtime (taking you up to the 39 hrs a fulltime postman works) will be paid at a tiny fraction above your normal hourly rate.

[Postie45]

dont worry too much about what your walk will be like, the honest answer is no one here knows, the walks are all so varied within offices let alone nationwide. They all should be achievable on a normal day, but obviously mail volumes can fluctuate a lot day to day. If the office you go to has been set up correctly then the delivery should take a little under the 4 hours on a normal day, but as youre new it will take longer as you wont know what youre doing. Try not to panic too much, most managers know that people new to the job arent going to be able to work at the same speed as someone whos done the job for a while.

[Nondescript]

The length of walk is realistic - on a typical day we start walking at 10 am and don't finish until about 2.20 pm, and that's including a 10 minute lapsing section. You'll need to put your foot down if you don't want to work more than five hours a day.

[enskied]

Some are,some are not.

[Dozen]

whatever the length of the walk, expect to find yourself dozing off to sleep within 30 minutes of getting home

[villan]

whatever the length of the walk, expect to find yourself dozing off to sleep within 30 minutes of getting home

Spot on. Sometimes I nod off while eating lunch. Sooner or later I'll choke to death.

[OnAFlyer]

It depends who's prepping the walk for you and how much they're bothered about getting it done (or how much they're capable of).It depends what walk you're doing. It depends how busy it is and how quick you are at finishing the prep and delivering.

Basically, it depends!

[sbbij]

whatever the length of the walk, expect to find yourself dozing off to sleep within 30 minutes of getting home

Even if I've had a good nights sleep and starting at 8am?

[sbbij]

if your contract says 25 then 25 is what you work; anything over this is paid at a premium.

OP - Your first 14 hours of overtime (taking you up to the 39 hrs a fulltime postman works) will be paid at a tiny fraction above your normal hourly rate.

Why? Surely it should be atleast the regular hourly rate. And what is a fraction? You can't do overtime at a lower rate than regular time can you?