Postie or Bus driver

[solarx]

Hey All,

I have been a bus driver for 6 yrs and work 9 - 12 hour days - on a good wage - take home is about £350 per week.

I have been offered the postie job 30 hr permanent contract, but having a hard time trying to decide if to jump ship or not. I really like the idea of a postie and the hours of 09:30 - 15:30 - plus overtime some days.

With this being less hours e.t.c - I know im going to be down on wage about £50 per week give or take. Its just a hard decision to make, wish I could try the job for a couple of weeks to help me make up my mind.

I have seen alot of posts online saying good things and bad things about a postie and alot of people do say the managers put real pressure on you and want you to speed up all the time and do more and more work and longer hours ?

6 month probation also - what happens if you had to have a day off sick in probation? instant dismissal ?

Is it really that bad ? Any information would be appreciated and what to expect would be helpful.

I know i will be working 30 hour contract on a van share with every Tuesday off.

[Partyondude]

I was in the same situation, earning less a week. Only a 25 hour contract at a delivery office 18 miles away.

I decided to go for it, and i have my induction tomorrow.

Only you can decide if it's worth doing, my thinking was that it's better to regret something you did , than something you didn't do.

Time will tell if i made the right choice.

I'd go for it , although i don't have any good reasons why.

[Dezzy79]

Hey All,

I have been a bus driver for 6 yrs and work 9 - 12 hour days - on a good wage - take home is about £350 per week.

I have been offered the postie job 30 hr permanent contract, but having a hard time trying to decide if to jump ship or not. I really like the idea of a postie and the hours of 09:30 - 15:30 - plus overtime some days.

With this being less hours e.t.c - I know im going to be down on wage about £50 per week give or take. Its just a hard decision to make, wish I could try the job for a couple of weeks to help me make up my mind.

I have seen alot of posts online saying good things and bad things about a postie and alot of people do say the managers put real pressure on you and want you to speed up all the time and do more and more work and longer hours ?

6 month probation also - what happens if you had to have a day off sick in probation? instant dismissal ?

Is it really that bad ? Any information would be appreciated and what to expect would be helpful.

I know i will be working 30 hour contract on a van share with every Tuesday off.

I've had a day off sick and I've been there 6 weeks. My gaffer said have it as holiday no problem. I love the job. Best thing I ever did

[Janet Brum]

Hey All,

I have been a bus driver for 6 yrs and work 9 - 12 hour days - on a good wage - take home is about £350 per week.

I have been offered the postie job 30 hr permanent contract, but having a hard time trying to decide if to jump ship or not. I really like the idea of a postie and the hours of 09:30 - 15:30 - plus overtime some days.

With this being less hours e.t.c - I know im going to be down on wage about £50 per week give or take. Its just a hard decision to make, wish I could try the job for a couple of weeks to help me make up my mind.

I have seen alot of posts online saying good things and bad things about a postie and alot of people do say the managers put real pressure on you and want you to speed up all the time and do more and more work and longer hours ?

6 month probation also - what happens if you had to have a day off sick in probation? instant dismissal ?

Is it really that bad ? Any information would be appreciated and what to expect would be helpful.

I know i will be working 30 hour contract on a van share with every Tuesday off.

As a postie you will work probably 6 days a week, 5 hours per day.
In your first weeks/months you will naturally be slower than most posties, until you get used to walking and feet/legs pain, hopefully you won`t experience the later.
Meaning you will go over your contracted hours with 1-2 hours every day, without even trying.
That means OT (overtime) wich you will claim and you will get paid for. Don`t feel guilty for that, your manager will have an additional budget just for newbies :)
Meaning you will get more than what you get now for working less hours.
Plus you will have lots of overtime opportunities, not so much in the summer but from September until March is crazy busy.

Some of your colleagues will tell you off for being too slow, don`t listen to them and keep your own pace until you learn the ropes of the job.
Be careful not to injure yourself as you won`t get sick pay in your first year.

You can get unpaid days off if you are sick or holidays days, depends how understanding is your manager but in my experience, most are.

This forum is a mine of information, just read as much as you can, check the titles of the topics and read everything what you don`t know or ask questions here.

If I was you, I would take the job :)

Good luck

[solarx]

thanks for all the replies :p

No sick pay at all for 12 months wow, thats a bit bad of you get a stomach bug or something and cannot attend work

[peterboroughmatt]

If you have a pcv license you have something to fall back on if you don’t like it. I have my HGV licenses to fall back on if it all goes wrong. I’m enjoying it so far and have never had a week yet with under 7 hours overtime.

[nelly21]

I was a bus driver before I joined royal mail and now in my 20th year I found it less stressful and better paid

[PH75]

Hi, I came across this topic in the forum search, I hope it's OK to reply. I am now in the same boat and struggling to make a decision. I've been on the Buses 19 years and on a good wage for 35 hours and hours to suit ( days / middles ). However, I'm now at the point where I'm struggling to deal with the public daily, and the job stresses me out and gives me anxiety ( most of the time ).
I have been offered an MGV Nights reserve role and I'm yet to take the offer ( HR chasing me for an answer ). I feel the pay will be better on this MGV role with the nights allowance, and hopefully less stressful overall. However, I have never done nights for weeks on end so am I likely to find this unsuitable ?. Are things safe in RM in terms of employment and job losses, is joining RM overall a good move in this current climate etc. Many thanks, Paul.

[qwerty2]

Hi, I came across this topic in the forum search, I hope it's OK to reply. I am now in the same boat and struggling to make a decision. I've been on the Buses 19 years and on a good wage for 35 hours and hours to suit ( days / middles ). However, I'm now at the point where I'm struggling to deal with the public daily, and the job stresses me out and gives me anxiety ( most of the time ).
I have been offered an MGV Nights reserve role and I'm yet to take the offer ( HR chasing me for an answer ). I feel the pay will be better on this MGV role with the nights allowance, and hopefully less stressful overall. However, I have never done nights for weeks on end so am I likely to find this unsuitable ?. Are things safe in RM in terms of employment and job losses, is joining RM overall a good move in this current climate etc. Many thanks, Paul.

"Are things safe in RM in terms of employment and job losses, is joining RM overall a good move in this current climate"

Nothings safe in RM
Thousands could go in the next couple of years

[NWpostie]

Hi, I came across this topic in the forum search, I hope it's OK to reply. I am now in the same boat and struggling to make a decision. I've been on the Buses 19 years and on a good wage for 35 hours and hours to suit ( days / middles ). However, I'm now at the point where I'm struggling to deal with the public daily, and the job stresses me out and gives me anxiety ( most of the time ).
I have been offered an MGV Nights reserve role and I'm yet to take the offer ( HR chasing me for an answer ). I feel the pay will be better on this MGV role with the nights allowance, and hopefully less stressful overall. However, I have never done nights for weeks on end so am I likely to find this unsuitable ?. Are things safe in RM in terms of employment and job losses, is joining RM overall a good move in this current climate etc. Many thanks, Paul.

MGV is probably the best job in Royal Mail at the moment and certainly a lot less stressful than the buses, I would snap their arm off, consider it a foot in the door until you get settled and you apply for a day job.

I recently transitioned over to MGV and it's the best move I made.

***To the OP I would go for it and hopefully you can transfer over to a MGV role later on down the road, bonus points you can get in through internal applications also no horrible passengers to deal with.

[PH75]

Hi, I came across this topic in the forum search, I hope it's OK to reply. I am now in the same boat and struggling to make a decision. I've been on the Buses 19 years and on a good wage for 35 hours and hours to suit ( days / middles ). However, I'm now at the point where I'm struggling to deal with the public daily, and the job stresses me out and gives me anxiety ( most of the time ).
I have been offered an MGV Nights reserve role and I'm yet to take the offer ( HR chasing me for an answer ). I feel the pay will be better on this MGV role with the nights allowance, and hopefully less stressful overall. However, I have never done nights for weeks on end so am I likely to find this unsuitable ?. Are things safe in RM in terms of employment and job losses, is joining RM overall a good move in this current climate etc. Many thanks, Paul.

MGV is probably the best job in Royal Mail at the moment and certainly a lot less stressful than the buses, I would snap their arm off, consider it a foot in the door until you get settled and you apply for a day job.

I recently transitioned over to MGV and it's the best move I made.

***To the OP I would go for it and hopefully you can transfer over to a MGV role later on down the road, bonus points you can get in through internal applications also no horrible passengers to deal with.

Thanks for your reply and advice. The only thing I need to consider now is it's a Nights reserve role, and I haven't really ever done nights apart from odd shift a few times a month when I was on Coach 3 years ago.

[NWpostie]

You get used to it pretty quickly, consider it a stepping stone, nights is not always permanent.

[TopperGas]

Where will you be based as driving though some city centres late at night isn't the best, are you also happy to drive solely in the dark, other than those issues, and actually working nights, it seems a better job than dealing daily with the public on buses.

[SkiSunday]

Where will you be based as driving though some city centres late at night isn't the best, are you also happy to drive solely in the dark, other than those issues, and actually working nights, it seems a better job than dealing daily with the public on buses.

Most bus drivers do loads of their shifts in the dark mate, with passengers... I'm sure this person has plenty experience of that side of things.

I would say, weigh up the options depending on shift patterns and wages.

[TopperGas]

Where will you be based as driving though some city centres late at night isn't the best, are you also happy to drive solely in the dark, other than those issues, and actually working nights, it seems a better job than dealing daily with the public on buses.

Most bus drivers do loads of their shifts in the dark mate, with passengers... I'm sure this person has plenty experience of that side of things.

I would say, weigh up the options depending on shift patterns and wages.

All our buses stop at around 11pm so there's none on the road when the idiots are coming out of the pubs/clubs around after midnight, likewise he probably won't be driving a bus solely in the dark 48 weeks a year which he'll be doing if he accepts the job. Given the choice I'd stick to my day job but I'm not a bus driver.