how can I solve this?

woking · Post by **woking** » 29 Aug 2016, 10:02

I start at 7.48 & my partner (a ñew chap)starts at 8.30,we are doing a full-time delivery & I'm training him as last week was his first time out on delivery.the dom on a daily basis is calling me in the office up in arms because we are always late back & claiming excess.I've tried to explain that the new chap is on a far to late start so we are unable to get out of the office as early as the others,coming in at 8.30 when the mail is almost thrown off gives the new guy no understanding of the frame & all I keep getting from the dom is that I've got to tell him to speed up.by the time the guy gets into work most people are bagged up & ready to go & we are always so far behind it's frustrating.I've spoke to the rep & he's not interested.

Bahia Feliz · Post by **Bahia Feliz** » 29 Aug 2016, 10:13

woking wrote: all I keep getting from the dom is that I've got to tell him to speed up.

Tell the dom to tell him to speed up!

Post by **bustedflush** » 29 Aug 2016, 13:20

Yep, happens all the time as new starters are offered the lowest hours possible. I hate to say it but this encourages 'early starters' which is only OK if you can finish equally early. IF the round is doable within time you might suggest he/she can come in early under the proviso that they will finish early. I say ONLY if you know you won't cut into the 'early' time i.e. he starts at 8 instead, and instead of say a 13.34 finish on a Monday for example you won't cut into the period between 13:04 and 13:34. The RM starter hours are frequently incompatible with existing OPGS' rounds.

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 29 Aug 2016, 13:54

just keep booking it. Youre doing nothing wrong, youre being set up to fail, if your DOM wants to take you to his office for a talk take your union rep. If he continues to be useless find out who the area rep is and see if they can help. Also its not your responsibility to tell the new starter to speed up, thats a management job.

woking · Post by **woking** » 29 Aug 2016, 14:13

this round is massive & on a very very light day it's only just manageable.last week a work place coach was sent out with us to assess the new guy & the wpc helped him on every loop & we were still 20 minutes late back.all I ever get lumbered with is agency & new starts,don't get me wrong I'm not having a dig at the new ones because we've all been there but it just gets my back up that nearly every week I finish late.I'll speak with the rep again tomorrow but I know nothing will be done

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 29 Aug 2016, 14:36

woking wrote: it just gets my back up that nearly every week I finish late.

well you could really cheer your manager up by cutting off instead :)

woking · Post by **woking** » 29 Aug 2016, 15:20

Postie45 wrote:
woking wrote: it just gets my back up that nearly every week I finish late.
well you could really cheer your manager up by cutting off instead :)

but wouldn't this give the dom ammunition to get rid of me as I'm still on probation?

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 29 Aug 2016, 15:24

oh sorry didnt realise you were on probation period, yes it probably wouldnt help with his decision to extend it, kinda shitty situation. On the bright side once you get your FT contract you can do things like that.

charlie1 · Post by **charlie1** » 29 Aug 2016, 15:43

It's not really your job to be training anybody up, unless you are a manager or a work place coach. It is their job to get them fully trained before handing them over to doing a full delivery. It does not become your responsibility just because they happen to be partnered with you. Work place coaches are paid extra each week to perform this training.

New starters in our office are not lasting very long due to the pressures they are under almost instantly on starting. This sounds very similar to what you describe at your office. We are now short staffed and being told it's a 12 week period to get more new staff in.

Your rep should really be fully supporting you through this and suggest you have him witness any more veiled threats from your DOM.

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 29 Aug 2016, 16:18

New starters are going to be slower for a good few months tough it out its worth it. The part time duties are the responsibility of all of the full time staff to prep and you should all be leaving the office at near enough the same time this is a big problem and the dom should be sorting it out.

Dorset Plodder · Post by **Dorset Plodder** » 29 Aug 2016, 18:12

Welcome to the Crazy world of Royal Mail Woking...... where "Common Sense" doesn't exist!

Your biggest problem is still being on probation, and I can appreciate that. Lots of valid advice already given, but I can understand you not wanting to rock the boat. You've mentioned the WPC has been out with you, and still struggled, surely that should carry some weight with your DOM (as they think we're ALL Lazy Bastards anyway).

Perhaps you could put the ball into the DOMs court any simply ask, "We're not going to be able to finish within our allocated time. What do YOU want us to do? We can complete (and claim Pressure Overtime) or we can leave some mail behind (and finish on time) saving you our overtime problem"? The problem really is the DOMs, that's what he gets paid for. They'll ALWAYs try it on (especially with Newbies & Probationers)

I would also contact the Area CWU Rep and make him aware of what's going on. He may need to step in later on to support you. Often he'll just ring your Local Rep and ask him what he's doing about it. That's often sufficient to motivate him! Good Luck

woking · Post by **woking** » 29 Aug 2016, 19:04

thank you all so much,tomorrow I'll be going in armed with all this info.I'm not taking this s**t anymore.

Post by **IloveMYredTROLLEY!** » 30 Aug 2016, 06:03

I really feel for new starters these days, who often have no clue how physically and mentally challenging being an OPG is until they start. Hopefully they are taking their paid meal relief, or taking account of any untaken, depending upon any local agreements about not taking the outdoor element.

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 30 Aug 2016, 06:06

IloveMYredTROLLEY! wrote:I really feel for new starters these days, who often have no clue how physically and mentally challenging being an OPG is until they start. Hopefully they are taking their paid meal relief, or taking account of any untaken, depending upon any local agreements about not taking the outdoor element.

not only that they are under the very real threat of if they show they only want to work their hours and not do "extra" they may not be given a FT contract

Post by **wacko74** » 30 Aug 2016, 06:55

IloveMYredTROLLEY! wrote:I really feel for new starters these days, who often have no clue how physically and mentally challenging being an OPG is until they start. Hopefully they are taking their paid meal relief, or taking account of any untaken, depending upon any local agreements about not taking the outdoor element.

Exactly.

It's quite laughable that our job is classed as ''unskilled''... I've seen quite a few people come in to the job from skilled and professional backgrounds and they've all admitted (those that have actually lasted at least!) that the job is far more involved, high pressure and mentally challenging than they ever expected it to be, not to mention far more physically demanding as well.