Are Vacant duties a nationwide issue?

[postslippete]

A few full timers have left the business and many part timers have been recruited even though they have been working full time for the last year. In fact many of the regular part timers have been working full time for months.

We always seem to be short staffed though??

Fewer staff,greater workload methinks

[CHUCKYPIG]

So, we've had a number of senior Posties leave in the last year, which isn't the most surprising thing in the world.

Yet, not a single one of their vacant duties has been filled. We've got some unfilled rounds that haven't had a duty holder for 24 months.

All that seems to happen is we hire some people on small part-time contracts.

How common is this? And what methods do you think would work best at getting this situation changed?

Same here mate. Multiple vacant duties at our place for over 2 years now. Some leave reserves messed around every week on different walks. Some leave reserves (all the females) left on vacant duty regardless of seniority. Another example of royal fail.

[CHUCKYPIG]

Aren't vacant duties supposed to be advertised/be available after a maximum of six months?

Get your rep on it surely....?

Perhaps the excuse will be that they can't anything about it until after your revision.

Union rep??? Ours is a waste of space, only interested in feathering his own nest.

[POSTMAN]

I would say it's a nationwide piss f***ing take, this has been mentioned on here for years.

[Nickvilla20]

Think my office has about 30 vacant duties in fairness to the DOM he is trying to recruit. He’s even been asking casuals if they want permanent jobs and they don’t seem interested. They see how the company is run and think I won’t bother thanks.

[Cucumber]

Vacant duties aren’t our main issue
It’s having only 80% of the staff required each day to get the duties delivered.
And that’s WITHOUT any absences.
USO is a distant memory

[Mr Rush]

Vacant duties are definitely more visible now that it doesn't matter if a walk sits there for days on end. The docket kings can't clear it all without increasing the length of a day.

A few new starts and some agency workers (and a whole lot of lapsing) have not been enough to plug the gap left by ~10% of the office off sick (mainly imminent retirements), several people quitting, and a couple of transfers to other offices. All will be fixed by the impending revision.

[Murdoch]

All will be fixed by the impending revision.

[Chelseablue]

But posties will be broken

[Cucumber]

There will be revisions being implemented at the moment that don't have enough staff to fill all the roles (floats reserves etc)

[PorkPie]

Never known my office to fail walks in the ten years I've been with Royal Mail .. but it's now up to four or five failed walks every single day .. packets not being covered either, including Tracked .. forget the covid or "pingdemic" absentees, the unwillingness to recruit is looking like a deliberate and calculated nationwide policy in advance of forcing through an early change to the six day USO .. no way are the company going to wait for the 2023 parliamentary review .. the headcount balancing will be a natural fallout from letters delivery reducing from six to five days .. they do not have the time or inclination to implement revisions before the USO is changed.

[Zicomurphy]

Never known my office to fail walks in the ten years I've been with Royal Mail .. but it's now up to four or five failed walks every single day .. packets not being covered either, including Tracked .. forget the covid or "pingdemic" absentees, the unwillingness to recruit is looking like a deliberate and calculated nationwide policy in advance of forcing through an early change to the six day USO .. no way are the company going to wait for the 2023 parliamentary review .. the headcount balancing will be a natural fallout from letters delivery reducing from six to five days .. they do not have the time or inclination to implement revisions before the USO is changed.

I certainly think that’s part of the reason for lack of recruiting. Looking at the vacancies that are being advertised a lot of them seem to be only offering a contract until February next year. It does seem a deliberate policy to understaff offices and where possible recruit on short term contracts which will make it a lot easier and cheaper to reduce headcount whenever they do change the USO.

[Marshamp11]

The other problem being particularly in my office is hardly anybody wants to pick up overtime on other deliveries due to the excessive workload on there own rounds.

[Marshamp11]

The other problem being particularly in my office is hardly anybody wants to pick up overtime on other deliveries due to the excessive workload on there own rounds.

[General Mannerheim]

We got rid of a psychopath manager a couple of years ago and got his old number 2 who he had mentored and gone to other offices and fecked up, he's come back and so far we are at 65 people who have either , been sacked , retired or just walked out, new starts just don't last as they are pissed about and sent to other offices even though we are always cronically understaffed, and the sick rate is horrendous,

Still Uncle Terry and his merry bunch of cronies will be expecting us all to fill in another trust survey and go banging on about culture change.