rest breaks shortend for angard works

[asap99]

last week we were told our breaks would be cut.
normaly we get 40 mins for dinner and 20 last break.for which we lose 30 mins pay.
now were being told we can have 30 mins over an 8hr shift and lose 30 mins pay or keep the old breaks and lose 1 hours pay.
regular posties get 1 hr for 8hr shift and lose nothing.site manager says we get paid a premium for breaks so we are no longer allowed same as posties.pays been the same since we started with awr 2011.
we3 asked union rep to see if it was correct and they said they would not fight it because we get more pay than them.
what should we do ,just accept it?

[Angardstaffing]

This comes as no surprise to me. Senior directors allow a two tier workforce, to operate under the noses of shop floor managers.
Many long term Royal Mail workers are happy to sit back and let casual staff graft like mad and yet resent the fact that they are on a higher rate of hourly pay. However, they forget that Angard only pay the lowest amount of holiday pay.
Surely the time has come for Royal Mail directors to carry out an extensive review of the Angard agency.
Whilst some are not up to scratch others are truly hard working staff who do there upmost to get the mail sorted whilst carrying many long term staff who are lazy and for whom many changes lie a head, many of which are long overdue!!

[asap99]

totaly agree .

[Bazza01]

totaly agree .

You are entitled to exactly the same breaks as the regular workforce regarding the higher rate you are not paid more as all of their breaks are paid you are paid the same but with a different structure. Take it up with Angard first they know the rules failing that take it higher do not let the Bastards grind you down.

[Pinky 1]

regular posties get 1 hr for 8hr shift and lose nothing.

Not sure that this is correct.
In a DO we get 40 mins break, and would have to work between 11 hours and 12 hours 59 to get a 1hour break.

[asap99]

regular posties get 1 hr for 8hr shift and lose nothing.

Not sure that this is correct.
In a DO we get 40 mins break, and would have to work between 11 hours and 12 hours 59 to get a 1hour break.

rules regarding what posties get, is site specific according to angard office.ours get 40 dinner 20 last break .they did say awr were entitled to same,but are site saying we get more per hr than posties and its because some is for breaks.just seems strange its taken 3 yrs to notice.why would they pay us more if they dont have to?

[Bazza01]

regular posties get 1 hr for 8hr shift and lose nothing.

Not sure that this is correct.
In a DO we get 40 mins break, and would have to work between 11 hours and 12 hours 59 to get a 1hour break.

rules regarding what posties get, is site specific according to angard office.ours get 40 dinner 20 last break .they did say awr were entitled to same,but are site saying we get more per hr than posties and its because some is for breaks.just seems strange its taken 3 yrs to notice.why would they pay us more if they dont have to?

If you are working the same job and the same hours you are treated as if you are employed same pay same breaks and equal use of the facilities whatever the breaks are and they can and do vary if the regular workforce get them then so should you.

[asap99]

regular posties get 1 hr for 8hr shift and lose nothing.

Not sure that this is correct.
In a DO we get 40 mins break, and would have to work between 11 hours and 12 hours 59 to get a 1hour break.

rules regarding what posties get, is site specific according to angard office.ours get 40 dinner 20 last break .they did say awr were entitled to same,but are site saying we get more per hr than posties and its because some is for breaks.just seems strange its taken 3 yrs to notice.why would they pay us more if they dont have to?

If you are working the same job and the same hours you are treated as if you are employed same pay same breaks and equal use of the facilities whatever the breaks are and they can and do vary if the regular workforce get them then so should you.

had confirmed from office no more paid breaks.so basicly we getting 6% pay cut.no paid breaks .

[another one]

IF RM management think Angard are charging too much for supplying Angard workers, for example, if they believe they get break money added into their hourly rate, that's something they should address with Angard, as that could be a "mistake".


It's that that should be challenged, they shouldn't alter the break arrangement as....



BY LAW agency workers should get the same (paid) breaks as the regulars after 12 weeks


They should consider the fact that denying paid breaks could be construed as AWR avoidance, the fine for which is £5000 PER AGENCY WORKER!!!!!

not much chance of promotion for a local manager who started THAT ball rolling

[asap99]

IF RM management think Angard are charging too much for supplying Angard workers, for example, if they believe they get break money added into their hourly rate, that's something they should address with Angard, as that could be a "mistake".


It's that that should be challenged, they shouldn't alter the break arrangement as....



BY LAW agency workers should get the same (paid) breaks as the regulars after 12 weeks


They should consider the fact that denying paid breaks could be construed as AWR avoidance, the fine for which is £5000 PER AGENCY WORKER!!!!!

not much chance of promotion for a local manager who started THAT ball rolling

theres no one governing AWR according to acas and employment agency.AWR was sighned of into law in parliment.BUT if you have grievence then its up to you personaly to bring case .dont know bout you ,but as a temp i cant afford legal help.£5000 sounds good but plenty of loop holes left ..

[another one]

Theres no one governing AWR according to acas and employment agency.AWR was sighned of into law in parliment.BUT if you have grievence then its up to you personaly to bring case .dont know bout you ,but as a temp i cant afford legal help.£5000 sounds good but plenty of loop holes left ..

If they have the attitude that no-one is governing AWR and thought they would get away with it they could just pay Angardees the minimum wage ( as they used to pay year-round Royal Mail temps) so they must have some respect or fear for the AWR regulations. I doubt local RM management are taking a conscious risk with the £5000 per head situation. I doubt they are even aware of it

It may be unlikely for an individual to take legal action but if they did the company could be liable for £5000 for every employee, there's about 30 AWR workers at our small mail centre which would add up to £150,000

[yabbadabbadoo]

Yourself and Angard colleagues should get on the phone to Angard and explain their unlawful attempts to change your breaks. We had the same problem a couple of years back and after 1 shift with reduced breaks they recieved a telling off from Angard bosses and they had to reinstate fair breaks.

Also when they start talking about paid breaks vs un-paid breaks they are either lying intentionally are poorly informed. Royal Mail has NO decisions whether you are paid for breaks, you are employed by Angard, whether you get paid breaks or not is irrelevant, you are working the same hours, you are entitled to the same breaks.

The way Angard does things (and always has done things) is that all breaks are unpaid, you do an 8 hour shift you will get 7.5 hours pay. But, in order to meet the Agency Worker Regulations they roll-up the pay so that the hourly wage is slightly higher than that of RM counterparts. The end result being that you get the same pay for the same shift therefore this is NOT an excuse for them to cut your breaks!

Also on a side-note you shouldn't rely on the union for advice, chances are that agency workers are not on the top of their priorities. Talk to Angard and explain the situation and if needed the names of any managers and shift managers in violation of the law.

Also you may hear the excuse "you are not entitled to the full break because part of the breaks came from agreements with the union", if they say something to this effect then explain to them that within the law it explicity states that "Collective agreements" (aka agreements reached via a union) ARE 100% applicable to the Agency Laws.



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[Globetrotter]

This is just not about the issue of breaks, its about fairness, about following the AWR agreement, Angard staffing workers often join with a view to becoming regular Royal Mail workers (as I do), this mechanism of Agency working is the (our) route into Royal Mail, yes we are paid fractions more but are not guaranteed the protection of Employment or the Union, we heard just last week about the non paying of breaks stopping without announcement or consultation and out of agreement, This I have queried with Angard and asked why they have broken from the schedule and Agreement, as have others, we have different replies , we have had compromises offered, but this thread has opened my eyes much more. Much has been said about workers abilities, my findings are that many want to work, glad to work and are happy at work, a few on both sides often spoil the batch. Where I am working I have found colleagues and managers easier to get on with. However changing the goalposts recently is very ugly!

[kd]

1). The duration of breaks you take should be the same as posties, as long as you are AWR qualified. If breaks are paid or not is irrelevant. The duration of breaks is all that matters. Being paid for your breaks is the matter between your employer -Angard- and you, nothing to do with Royal Mail. It is written in your Angard contract that all your breaks are not paid - if they want to pay you for some of your breaks - good for you, it is Angard's decision.

2). Posties have all their breaks paid, they also work for a slightly lower hourly rate. That is the price for having all breaks paid. You work for a higher hourly rate but, in return, your breaks are deducted, to even things out between you and posties.

3). Do not worry what Angard signing-in sheet says regarding your breaks - they always lie - ask posties working exactly the same shift you work about their breaks - you have to be given exactly the same duration of breaks as them (if you are AWR qualified). If they get 40 min + 20 min on 8 hr, so should you. If your breaks are paid or not - it does not matter, duration of breaks matters.

4). Instead of talking to posties you can just check for yourself: check documents called "Duty Reports" for the types of shifts you perform - available to anybody at Staff Resourcing at your centre (should be readily available in the Staff Resourcing foyer, where you sign in). A Duty Report will tell you when you should go for your break and for how long. The breaks are called in them "Meal Relief" and "Meal Relief: Relaxation Allowance Break". Meal Reliefs are in all mail centers, Relaxation Allowance Breaks are with only selected ones, I think (they are in mine, it is a big mail centre).

5). Do NOT go for your breaks without managerial permission - if they tell you to go at a different time or for a shorter duration of break than in "Duty Report" for that shift, inform them about it. Demand your rights to be respected - they have to follow the rules because of "The Agency Workers Regulations 2010" legislation. In paragraph 6e it gives you the same rest breaks as permanent employees. If they do not act, take the matter up with Angard. If they don't act, take them both, Royal Mail and Angard Staffing to Employment Tribunal. (You do not have to pay anything in tribunal fees if you accept involvement of ACAS in an attempt to sort the case out of court.) Royal Mail and Angard Staffing are both responsible for ensuring that AWR 2010 are followed. They already lost a case regarding this in 2016, so they should not be too stupid to pull these shenanigans any more.

6). All this advice only for agency workers who are AWR qualified (work at the higher rate of pay, after 12 week of qualifying period.

7). You can join the CWU union. If in your centre they tell you that you can't, just do it online, like I did. (A union guy told me that I can't join and I did it online later that day.) Some union guys are not too keen on agency workers, though.