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Can,t Wait
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grandypants
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 74
- Joined: 29 Dec 2015, 21:34
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Well after twenty years in the job I am being IHR and it can,t come quick enough, back has gone, hip has gone and my knees are knackered, i,ve seen so many changes but the one that is the worst is van sharing, the last few years doing this has done me in, I would love to meet the brainless idiots who came up with this idea while sitting behind their desk pushing a pen and never done a delivery in their life, so thats me gone after ive taken my leave, I will miss the lads and girls who I,ve worked with (well some of them) and wish everyone on here good luck and keep safe

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Pope Marmalade lll
- Posts: 22
- Joined: 15 May 2020, 11:44
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
I wish you a long and happy retirement.
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robbertwhitton
- Posts: 1132
- Joined: 30 Aug 2010, 19:06
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
I salute you sir,I wish you a restful retirement,you’ve certainly put a shift in,I’m in my 38 th year and at 59 just having knee problems which are being sorted,with no thanks and concern from Royal Mail,in having to manage me on a more sedentary level!
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grandypants
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 74
- Joined: 29 Dec 2015, 21:34
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Thank you both and I wish you well for the future

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wacko74
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 1572
- Joined: 04 Apr 2009, 20:35
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
You've done well to do 38 years and get to 59 and only just started having knee problems... I'm only 46 and only done 20 years but my knees and ankles have already turned to dust.robbertwhitton wrote:I salute you sir,I wish you a restful retirement,you’ve certainly put a shift in,I’m in my 38 th year and at 59 just having knee problems which are being sorted,with no thanks and concern from Royal Mail,in having to manage me on a more sedentary level!
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Ricardo44
- Posts: 164
- Joined: 15 Dec 2013, 20:34
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
All the best for the future and i totally agree with you about van sharing. No doubt you have been paired up with runners at some point and this has made your knees, hip and back worse. There are a few in my office who get in a major strop if they are paired up with someone who they think is slow and try to get them taken off the duty.
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Sugar
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 431
- Joined: 08 Jul 2007, 07:57
- Gender: Female
Can,t Wait
Well done on getting outgrandypants wrote:Well after twenty years in the job I am being IHR and it can,t come quick enough, back has gone, hip has gone and my knees are knackered, i,ve seen so many changes but the one that is the worst is van sharing, the last few years doing this has done me in, I would love to meet the brainless idiots who came up with this idea while sitting behind their desk pushing a pen and never done a delivery in their life, so thats me gone after ive taken my leave, I will miss the lads and girls who I,ve worked with (well some of them) and wish everyone on here good luck and keep safe![]()
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Agree 100% with you, van sharing has been the death of this job in terms of negative impact it's had on peoples bodies but also the mental side with all the additional stress it's caused so many through daily arguments with inept managers because the workloads are, quite frankly, excessive and pretty much close to a sweatshop regime/mentality. I loved this job till van share came in then it was downhill from then on in.
Enjoy your IHR, I've been out most of this year and the change in me has been dramatic to say the least.
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rambo1
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 3266
- Joined: 12 Jun 2013, 20:00
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Van share equals, work to pace of slowest person not slowest rushing to work to fastest persons pace. That's how I worked it anyway. If someone wants to rush round and sit by van for 10 mins, so be it, I ain't changing my pace. Also, partner will get two bags if necessary and use a trolley. Many times I've got a trolley out for them only to be told that they don't use a trolley. I just say, how you gonna carry two bags then? The looks I get just makes me smile.
ATB for the original poster with their new life.
ATB for the original poster with their new life.
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2yearpostie
- Posts: 1839
- Joined: 03 Mar 2020, 15:36
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
good luck finding another job.
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postieblueshirt
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: 01 Oct 2019, 22:05
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
I'd say van sharing(aka starbust God the crap this company thinks up) was one of the worst but I'd say it's on par with Lapsing as a major downfall of the job.im same age and 26 years in I'm so jealous good luck enjoy....
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Dindin
- Posts: 491
- Joined: 29 Jul 2019, 17:19
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Van sharing isn't starburst.postieblueshirt wrote:I'd say van sharing(aka starbust God the crap this company thinks up) was one of the worst but I'd say it's on par with Lapsing as a major downfall of the job.im same age and 26 years in I'm so jealous good luck enjoy....
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postieblueshirt
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: 01 Oct 2019, 22:05
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
its where the idea originated fromDindin wrote:Van sharing isn't starburst.postieblueshirt wrote:I'd say van sharing(aka starbust God the crap this company thinks up) was one of the worst but I'd say it's on par with Lapsing as a major downfall of the job.im same age and 26 years in I'm so jealous good luck enjoy....
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cpsteve
- Posts: 699
- Joined: 20 Apr 2016, 15:46
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Good luck in the future. The job takes its toll on our bodies but less so since van share no more heavy bags that put more strain on the knees and back longer walks thats the pay off, imo the worst thing is PT staff not getting made up to full time even when they do full time hours most of the time.
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SpacePhoenix
- MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
- Posts: 12194
- Joined: 12 Nov 2008, 17:03
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
Why are delivery staff making their bags so heavy? Why not split the load of a heavy bag into two smaller bags?cpsteve wrote:Good luck in the future. The job takes its toll on our bodies but less so since van share no more heavy bags that put more strain on the knees and back longer walks thats the pay off, imo the worst thing is PT staff not getting made up to full time even when they do full time hours most of the time.
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Ricardo44
- Posts: 164
- Joined: 15 Dec 2013, 20:34
- Gender: Male
Can,t Wait
I think van sharing is harder on the feet, knees and hips. When we had bike duties you could cycle between houses and up long driveways etc. You could carry the bag on the bike. Now you can be walking for upto 5 hours a day.