How much notice on hours to work? Advice appreciated.

Pushkin · Post by **Pushkin** » 03 Jul 2016, 11:17

Hello. I am due to start work as a part-time driver/postie next week after an induction day. However, I have no idea what days I will be expected to work after that of my approx 24 hours per week contract. I have tried to contact HR and the local office but they don't seem to be able to tell me anything concrete so I am trying this forum.
On a general note, how much notice do you get about what days/hours you are expected to work for any particular week? I have other commitments with various people outside of the agreed working hours and I don't know what to tell those people about my availability and only a week to go.

Are RM employees expected to take overtime or is it optional? I don't really want a lot of overtime due to those commitments.

And incase it doesn't work out - what is the notice period? Lol

I hope someone can help me answer these questions.
Thanks in anticipation.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 03 Jul 2016, 12:49

1 weeks notice, or 4 weeks - your contract should state which.

Overtime - each office is different some will put pressure on you to complete your round, others won't. Some will be happy for you to work just your hours straight away, with others it might be a problem.

Hours. Again it depends on the office as some work strange shifts such as 1 week off in 4, 1 week off in 6, or, 4 days work out of 6, or most likely 5 out of 6. Also, it may be that your 24 hours a week isn't equally spread from day to day. Royal Mail has daily fluctuations in the volume of work so some days it will take 3 hours to do a "round" and on other days it could be double that, or worse.

Remember: Overtime is Voluntary in Royal Mail - although according to your contract some overtime working is expected. Make sure you join the Union and understand the collective agreements and you should be okay.

Pushkin · Post by **Pushkin** » 03 Jul 2016, 14:20

Thank you, True Blue Terrier. That is very useful.

Any info on how much notice you get for the working week/ month or is it so flexible that you don't know from one day to the next?

Thanks.

Post by **woopesh** » 05 Jul 2016, 14:49

Just wait, go in and see how your office does it. Tell your other commitments that you won't be sure until you start.

Regarding days off:
I have heard of people getting Sunday and a fixed day per week off, usually Tuesday.
Others get Sunday and a rotating weekday. Mon one week, Tues the week after etc.
Yet others only get Sunday then every 5th week they get a whole week off.

Regarding working hours:
It depends on the office and how much you want.
Some guys do just work their contracted hours and "cut off" regardless of mail volumes.
Others mop up all the overtime they can get and work 50 hours a week.

Pushkin · Post by **Pushkin** » 06 Jul 2016, 18:02

Thanks, Woopeesh. That's just what I wanted to know. It seems odd to me that they can't let people know the hours and days they will be working and I'm sure it causes problems. I was told at interview I would be doing my hours (23.3) over 3 days. But in the original job ad stated hours were between 9 and 2! It doesn't take a maths genius to work out that something doesn't quite add up!

No doubt all will be revealed.