Later start times

[yellowbelly]

PTimer - the times are wrong so all PT are working 6 1/2 a day???

Aren't they just an example for that particular office for the 6 1/2 PT'ers they've got? It would have took too much effort
for the particular individual who created that document to include every single P/T hours combination in the office.

The timings will also depend on what time you get your mail.

One of our rural SPDO's already gets their first wave half an hour after those new FT start times so god knows what time they're going
to get their mail shortly.

[sindba]

I do find it odd people complaining about traffic, or dealing with the school run. This is just what working people do.

Why should we work wierd early start and finish times? There's really no reason for it.

Even weirder are the posties who took the job because they actually had childcare and caring responsibilities and Royal Mail actually encouraged postwomen to apply for the job promoting it as 'family friendly'. Is there no reason for that too?

I completely understand the anger if some peoples lifestyle choices are inconvenienced.

But the changes they want aren't unreasonable. They just want us to do a more standard working day, for justified business reasons.

[calsae]

It is going to be interesting to see how this develops as we still have 9 day fortnights here. There has to be a revision if they go.

It’s interesting to see some units are still on these shifts, we lost all are innovative working patterns a year ago. RM citing all delivery units would be moving to 5 day FT/PT duty hours.This was to facilitate moving to less planes and uniformed offices throughout the country. It marked a mass exodus from our unit and a high staff turnover ever since.
I hope you get to keep your 9 day fortnights as our unit worked well compared to the Sh1thole it has become now.

[HTPostman]

For me it’s not just the change in hours, it’s the nature of my job. My wife works in retail, no matter how busy it is, when the clock strikes X o clock, she can leave. It doesn’t matter if it’s a busier day, or joe bloggs rang in sick, she can leave. Any stock not put on the shelf can be done the next day. There’s no ‘USO’ (and I use that term loosely) in retail.

It’s entirely different for us - you’re pressured every single step of the way. Take this, collect that, drop this off. That’s no problem, we have the overrunning procedure. But then you have to factor in all the variables - what if the 70 tracked parcels you have, only 10 people are in? What if the 20 sets of traffic lights I have to go through, most are on red on the way back? Van breakdown at 3pm and you’re on a rural 15 miles from the office with a 3 hour wait for assistance to arrive? You get little of these variables in most other jobs.

We work in the heat, the cold, the sun, the snow. One of the few things I still enjoy about this job is the earlier finish time. Now they are slowly ripping that up.

I work in one of the most touristy cities, I’ve known it take 10 minutes to get back to the office, on other days it can take an hour. It’s one thing having a finishing time of 2.30pm knowing you don’t mind giving them the odd half an hour due to it being a busy workload or traffic. It’s another if your start/finish times are moved by those 90 minutes. I don’t want to have a 4pm finish, plus be pressured to stay out to complete, have rush hour traffic back to the office then rush hour traffic home. Whereas currently I can be home by 3pm, now if my office is one of the unlucky ones and our times are moved by 90 minutes it could be 6pm I’m home if the gods are against me with traffic etc. That’s a huge impact on my work/life balance.

And yes, I am doing something about it by leaving. It’s just a shame, it shouldn’t be like this.

[norris9]

Part-timers will have to fight with the school-run in the morning...just to get into work to start their shift.

Not sure about that....depends how far you live from work, I guess.

Kids are in school by 9am, so surely the traffic isn't so bad after that time. More likely to be people going to work causing most of the traffic past 9.

I find the school traffic is pretty bad at 7.50am!!!! I have never understood why kids are being taken to school so early. Do they start at 8.30am these days?

EDIT: Schools do start at ~8.30am where I live....

So maybe the morning traffic for part timers will actually be clearer!

[Nickvilla20]

Part-timers will have to fight with the school-run in the morning...just to get into work to start their shift.

Not sure about that....depends how far you live from work, I guess.

Kids are in school by 9am, so surely the traffic isn't so bad after that time. More likely to be people going to work causing most of the traffic past 9.

I find the school traffic is pretty bad at 7.50am!!!! I have never understood why kids are being taken to school so early. Do they start at 8.30am these days?

The school my wife teaches at the kids are expected to be in school at 8:25.

[norris9]

The school my wife teachers at the kids are expected to be in school at 8:25.

Yeah, I just checked and they start at ~8.30am in the local schools, used to be 9am in my day....

So part-timers will in theory likely have clearer roads when coming into work.

Full-timers will be right in the middle of the school traffic getting road rage.

[LouBarlow]

It is going to be interesting to see how this develops as we still have 9 day fortnights here. There has to be a revision if they go.

It’s interesting to see some units are still on these shifts, we lost all are innovative working patterns a year ago. RM citing all delivery units would be moving to 5 day FT/PT duty hours.This was to facilitate moving to less planes and uniformed offices throughout the country. It marked a mass exodus from our unit and a high staff turnover ever since.
I hope you get to keep your 9 day fortnights as our unit worked well compared to the Sh1thole it has become now.

To be honest, I’ve been bracing myself to lose them for years now. It has always been threatened, yet every revision they remain. I fully expect them to go though if the USO is reduced as it will definitely be a 5 day week at ours.

[sindba]

Whereas currently I can be home by 3pm, now if my office is one of the unlucky ones and our times are moved by 90 minutes it could be 6pm I’m home if the gods are against me with traffic etc. That’s a huge impact on my work/life balance.

But 6pm is a pretty standard time to be getting home for many (probably most) working people.

RM are not making outrageous demands here (for once)

9-5, innit.

[postslippete]

I completely understand the anger if some peoples lifestyle choices are inconvenienced.

But the changes they want aren't unreasonable. They just want us to do a more standard working day, for justified business reasons.

Royal Mail has got plenty of form for shifting the goalposts whenever it suits them. Just because you don't see many of the changes as being unreasonable doesn't mean that other's don't and they can request for flexible working if they have justifiable reasons too.

[Kenfandango]

I took the job because my wife's nursing shifts tend to be 10am-10pm, so the current situation means she can get the kids to school in the morning (youngest not yet old enough to get himself to and from school, oldest too young to be allowed to do it for us), and I can finish work in time to pick them up, feed them, homework etc.
Later starts will mean I can help in the morning but if my wife's 4 days are days I am working, it will cost me just under £60 a week in after school club, so £240ish a month with a reduced amount of overtime opportunities.

I saw "everyone else works 9-5 so why shouldn't they?!" get thrown about as an argument against us going on strike quite a lot, but we work different hours because it is not a normal job. One of our afternoon staff had a van breakdown recently and didn't get home until after 10pm (her finish time is 7pm.) She got told the next day that she should have spent her time walking trackeds to individual houses instead of waiting in the van.

[kazardaimenu]

9-5 might be ok for parcel routes but it’s not practical running loops in the dark amongst other things.

[HTPostman]

Whereas currently I can be home by 3pm, now if my office is one of the unlucky ones and our times are moved by 90 minutes it could be 6pm I’m home if the gods are against me with traffic etc. That’s a huge impact on my work/life balance.

But 6pm is a pretty standard time to be getting home for many (probably most) working people.

RM are not making outrageous demands here (for once)

9-5, innit.

If the job changes so there’s no need to rush round, manageable duties that can be cleared on any day not just the occasional Tuesday in summer, annual leave that doesn’t need booking in a year in advance, work that can be carried over until the next day, suitable uniform, vehicles and PDAs that don’t constantly malfunction and managers who manage and I’ll accept the standard 9-5 that most do.

[HTPostman]

She got told the next day that she should have spent her time walking trackeds to individual houses instead of waiting in the van.

I’ve experienced that before. My next tracked was 2 miles away, the one after that 2.5 ish miles - I was told by my manager go walk and deliver them while I wait.

[sindba]

I saw "everyone else works 9-5 so why shouldn't they?!" get thrown about as an argument against us going on strike quite a lot, but we work different hours because it is not a normal job. One of our afternoon staff had a van breakdown recently and didn't get home until after 10pm (her finish time is 7pm.) She got told the next day that she should have spent her time walking trackeds to individual houses instead of waiting in the van.

How does the possibility of a breakdown make it "not like a normal job"?

Anyone who drives can break down and get home late. At least we get paid while we're waiting in the van!