Contract hours.

Jordanpark92 · Post by **Jordanpark92** » 16 Aug 2017, 20:45

Hello .. My contract is 25 hours, but I currently do around 68 hours a week for the past 3 years ( working days off, overtime, collections ) .. I've been working for Royal mail for 4 years now, Even new starters start on 27.5 hours! I know most are you will say " your stupid .. just do your contract hours " .. but you try living off 25 hours! Contracts should be reviewed every 6 months, my contract hasn't been reviewed in 4 years! I've recently emailed Moya's Just Say It Team .. which said .. " I am sorry to hear about your contract situation and have approached our Senior HR team for clarification. The team have informed me that the matter will now be raised as a formal Stage 2 Grievance and Mark Overton has been appointed as the Investigating Manager. Mark will be in touch with you in due course. "

I thought this might be the start of at least getting a 30 hours contract! but nope .. I've not heard anything from that in a month. I don't even take any of my holidays because living off £220 a week is a joke! Is there anything else I can possible do myself? Unions don't seem bothered, neither do managers. Thanks.

datasaint · Post by **datasaint** » 16 Aug 2017, 21:01

Jordanpark92 wrote:Hello .. My contract is 25 hours, but I currently do around 68 hours a week for the past 3 years ( working days off, overtime, collections ) .. I've been working for Royal mail for 4 years now, Even new starters start on 27.5 hours! I know most are you will say " your stupid .. just do your contract hours " .. but you try living off 25 hours! Contracts should be reviewed every 6 months, my contract hasn't been reviewed in 4 years! I've recently emailed Moya's Just Say It Team .. which said .. " I am sorry to hear about your contract situation and have approached our Senior HR team for clarification. The team have informed me that the matter will now be raised as a formal Stage 2 Grievance and Mark Overton has been appointed as the Investigating Manager. Mark will be in touch with you in due course. "

I thought this might be the start of at least getting a 30 hours contract! but nope .. I've not heard anything from that in a month. I don't even take any of my holidays because living off £220 a week is a joke! Is there anything else I can possible do myself? Unions don't seem bothered, neither do managers. Thanks.

It's very office specific, what hours are people being taken on in your office since you've been there? How far away are you in seniority from a higher contract? Ultimately just because you are doing a lot of hours doesn't mean you can jump the seniority queue.

Alternatively persue a claim with ACAS for holiday pay? If if it went far enough RM would probably just give in and bump up your hours to save any hassle.

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 16 Aug 2017, 21:55

Contact acas.
Put in another grievance.
Exhaust that procedure and go into early consolidation with royal mail and their lawyers.
I did this and my office put up 16 full time vacancies as I walked out of my meeting (100% true).
Good luck don't stop fighting

DGH · Post by **DGH** » 17 Aug 2017, 10:30

norm wrote:
It's very office specific, what hours are people being taken on in your office since you've been there? How far away are you in seniority from a higher contract? Ultimately just because you are doing a lot of hours doesn't mean you can jump the seniority queue.

It bloody well should mean you 'jump the queue', seniority should have nothing to do with it.

Someone who doesn't do an hour over their contracted hours has no reasonable or legal entitlement to take extra hours that should be offered directly to someone whose actually worked them over a six month period. The CWU is quite wrong to argue otherwise - it is unjust.

Disclaimer: I've no interest in extra hours and have no personal axe to grind here.

William Gillings · Post by **William Gillings** » 20 Aug 2017, 07:41

Hi
I'm a new starter but I'm a bit concerned to hear your comment about not taking holiday.
The law was changed a while ago to stop people working without holiday so you don't have a choice you and RM may be breaking the law if you work through your holiday or at least the statutory minimum which I believe is 28 days including BH's.
I would also speak to you DOM or HR as I thought holiday pay was calculated as either your contracted or an average of the previous 13 weeks hours worked, whichever is greater so your holiday pay should be more than your basic pay in your case. Again speak to your DOM or HR to check this out just in case it's a contractual issue rather than a statutory one. Finally have you opted out of the working time directive which you would need to do if you are doing more than 48hrs per week on average.
Hope you sort it out and get to take some holiday, we all need a break!

Post by **rambo1** » 20 Aug 2017, 10:34

As far as I can see, even if you got 39 hrs, youd only be gaining 14 hrs basic on your 'weeks off', so why the big fuss. You say you can't afford to live on 25 hrs, so do 64, if you can afford to live off 39 (max contract) why not stop at 39 instead of doing another 25 hrs? RM are taking the micky to a certain extent, I see your point there, but only to the tune of 14 hrs on your AL Weeks. The hrs over that, you do through choice. Don't know your age or financial commitments, but working this many hrs with no down time will catch up with you eventually. There's a lot more to life than money mate. GL with getting your contract upped though. Atb.

Post by **97gaz** » 20 Aug 2017, 10:50

Redcollar · Post by **Redcollar** » 17 Dec 2017, 04:09

rambo1 wrote:As far as I can see, even if you got 39 hrs, youd only be gaining 14 hrs basic on your 'weeks off', so why the big fuss. You say you can't afford to live on 25 hrs, so do 64, if you can afford to live off 39 (max contract) why not stop at 39 instead of doing another 25 hrs? RM are taking the micky to a certain extent, I see your point there, but only to the tune of 14 hrs on your AL Weeks. The hrs over that, you do through choice. Don't know your age or financial commitments, but working this many hrs with no down time will catch up with you eventually. There's a lot more to life than money mate. GL with getting your contract upped though. Atb.

Currently in the same boat as this guy. I am on a 28 hour contract doing 69 hours per week at the moment and have been since October. Overtime is a 7am start and then a backshift collection and final run to a mail centre. I will add that all overtime is done by choice on my part but working these hours and then going off on holiday for peanuts is horrendous and one of the main reasons part timers don't take their allocated holidays. Good luck mate

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 17 Dec 2017, 04:44

DGH wrote:
It bloody well should mean you 'jump the queue', seniority should have nothing to do with it.

Sorry I don't agree.

The person who scrapes by doing little or no overtime for 10 years is putting pressure on Royal Mail to upgrade contracts sooner. If nobody worked overtime
there would be a big increase in 'proper' contracts.

A new starter who works all the hours god sends gives Royal Mail no reason to increase contracted hours.

Seniority is fair, join the queue or look for a better job.

On the subject of new starters starting on 27.5 hours when the OP is stuck on 25, this is clearly wrong. New starters should join the queue.

t3mcIUQWE2 · Post by **t3mcIUQWE2** » 17 Dec 2017, 11:22

NewPostieUK wrote:
DGH wrote:
It bloody well should mean you 'jump the queue', seniority should have nothing to do with it.
Sorry I don't agree.

The person who scrapes by doing little or no overtime for 10 years is putting pressure on Royal Mail to upgrade contracts sooner. If nobody worked overtime
there would be a big increase in 'proper' contracts.

A new starter who works all the hours god sends gives Royal Mail no reason to increase contracted hours.

Seniority is fair, join the queue or look for a better job.

On the subject of new starters starting on 27.5 hours when the OP is stuck on 25, this is clearly wrong. New starters should join the queue.

If you want DOMs' sons and daughters coming in on full time while people that have been there 10 years are still part time then scrap seniority.

joewyan · Post by **joewyan** » 17 Dec 2017, 13:51

I Am on 30 hours and do 69 hours every week without fail but I certainly don’t miss out on holidays. That’s crazy and I’m sure breaking the law.
I think anyone should be able to afford to have four weeks holiday and if they can’t then you need to look for a job that gives you full time hours. Relying on overtime is very bad, I do it because I want to but could live on my contracted hours or I wouldn’t still be doing the job, I’d have look ed for a new one.

Acas won’t touch it because the hours worked are voluntary and as such still don’t attract holiday pay unfortunately. That’s what they told me when I enquired.