What actually keeps you in the job?

[thefox]

Lot's of positive replies for a change.
Not so many "I wanna be a bin man" whines.

Only negative might be the quality of service part I don't really care about it and a lot of other guys in our office feel the same.

[Perseus]

I quit after 35 years when i became a glorified floater. People thinking they are safe in a cushy job because they've done the years think again. When you've lost the round you've done for years there's really nothing worth doing to keep you there.
If you can afford to quit I highly recommend it.

Was there not any other fixed duty you could have taken?

[hazzeem025]

Because, no matter what some people believe, there are fcuk all other jobs about
Even less for a 61 year old with no formal qualifications

Pisses me off when people say just leave and get another job. Like where are all these jobs? The town I live in has zero full time jobs being advertised. The only jobs are in hospitality and nursing homes! So it's not as easy as just leaving and finding another job!

[Wullie10]

I was told to float until the mess was sorted. Weeks became months.. I didn't want to join in the creeping to management and when it was clear my old round was gone i decided to quit. Taking out a private pension years ago was a blessing. Just sorting out my NRA 65 now

[sweepster70]

Got out of deliveries over 15 years ago after doing 20 years, moved over to Network. I'm going to retire the latest 65, but could go earlier if it get's really s**t. 10 years and counting, till I'm 65.
The pension is the main thing I suppose. I'm paying the booster so Royal Mail's contribution is 14.6% (For now) I'm also putting a decent amount in an AVC. That might change after April 2029.
I suppose you could say, I'm gearing up to retirement. Mortgage paid, Kid's all moved out, enjoying time away from work.

[twoloops]

Good the hear others views on why they keep turning up, I actually enjoy the job, I take no only work my hours, I would not give them one second, I have little or no interaction with any management, they know I’m not buying into there and leave me alone, gets me out the house, keep me fit, like a cheap gym fee.

[glass joe]

Been at royal mail since I was 17 now 42. Find the job pretty easy still and once you are out on the round can just listen to podcasts and Crack on with it.

Not really looking forward to the new changes thou and over time been culled in the mornings. Thinking of leaving and finding a job in the train industry with far better money but not sure what I can do being a postman all my life.

[blacov]

I'm absolutely curious to know what keeps us all in this job?

Money - not far off min wage
Sick Pay - slashed
POAL - gone
Annual leave - the bare minimum
Early finish -
Quality of service -
Bullying managers
Colleagues that would step over their dying granny for 10 fewer DPs
Walking a half marathon daily, ruining feet, knees, shoulder & back


Yet, here we are, constantly moaning but never making a change. What is it keeping us from working a Mon-Fri elsewhere for similar money now?

Legacy contracts are nowhere near minimum wage FFS.

I am may be asking a silly question but what is exactly a legacy contract? I might actually have it unless we are talking about dinosaurs who started back in the 80s

[buchanpeter]

I'm absolutely curious to know what keeps us all in this job?

Money - not far off min wage
Sick Pay - slashed
POAL - gone
Annual leave - the bare minimum
Early finish -
Quality of service -
Bullying managers
Colleagues that would step over their dying granny for 10 fewer DPs
Walking a half marathon daily, ruining feet, knees, shoulder & back


Yet, here we are, constantly moaning but never making a change. What is it keeping us from working a Mon-Fri elsewhere for similar money now?

Legacy contracts are nowhere near minimum wage FFS.

I am may be asking a silly question but what is exactly a legacy contract? I might actually have it unless we are talking about dinosaurs who started back in the 80s

Legacy contract are paid weekly, new contracts paid monthly with no paid breaks and about £2 less an hour.
New contracts started about December 2022.

[HTPostman]

I’ve had two periods of employment for Royal Mail, and by the time I left/retired I’d worked at 4 different DOs. Here’s the good and the bad:

Positive
-Weekly paid
-When I left (autumn 2024) it was paid well compared to other jobs I’d worked in.
-Being outdoors. Yep some days are dreadful weather wise but 90% of the time it’s pleasant enough.
-Secure. The job will constantly change, and not for the better but despite threats and rumours I think it will continue to be a secure job.
-I got on ok with most management.

Negative
-Colleagues! There are so many good workers at RM but a lot are stuck in their ways. Like cutting off to deliver a special to a small cut off area of 5 houses….you’d suggest delivering to the other 4 houses while he delivers to the special, to save doing another 10 minute drive later. He’d look at you as if you’d asked to spend the night with his wife.
-Straightforward systems that are overly complicated. Everything from having 160 staff queuing up at a window for specials (that should be simplified, it’s ridiculously inefficient) to having 6 vans blocking you in, but management insisting you take out the van right at the back rather than swapping.
-Fairness. It’s daft at times. I was on a 4 day contract, management classed me as full time so during the summer saving hours I had to do the full time shifts. Any bonus was classed as part time, pro rata. Like another poster here has said, I became a glorified floater. The one round I did cover once a week, the duty holder refused to share any Christmas tips with me ‘it’s my round, my tips.’
-Union. Sorry union lovers. It’s a dreadful dreadful image, Dave Ward is your rambling uncle who you’d rather not see each Christmas, Martin Walsh is gaslighting you all. I went to the union on various occasions and was ignored. The union urgently needs young blood leading it.

By the end I couldn’t wait to get out. I pop here and post occasionally and meet a few for a drink just because I like to hear how everything is going now. I wish you all the best with it.

[Simondavid]

The 2 nd class stamps at Christmas

[taurus88]

Tbh, when you hear about the working conditions at some places, I don’t think this job is particularly bad. There’s a bit of bias towards comparing this job to places where everything is rosy, and good. But generally, I’ve found that RM is still pretty lax, the pay is okay if you’re old contract, and once you’re out of the office, the world is generally a better place.

So yeah, not perfect by any means, and I’d leave for something better. But I know guys who have left and they’re not necessarily thriving. Like, they’re okay, they probably don’t have regrets, but mostly the departures have been sideways into similar situations, rather than upwards. If I was on the new contract, on the other hand, I would probably say the complete opposite of what I’ve just said here.

Basically, if you have seniority, and the stability that that generally grants you, as well as better pay and conditions, you tend to be more upbeat - to the surprise of nobody. And then there’s the postcode roulette, where offices a mile apart can have completely contrasting atmospheres.

[Whippy]

The no afterwork stress…start time finish time do what you can Inbetween. Try again the next day. That’s about it

[Perseus]

In our place the only thing that is keeping some staff is the prospect of some type of bodged 'deal' between CWU/RM that allows senior staff to maybe move onto rural/semi rural duties in a re-pick with seniority. You know, the way things used to be...
We've 60 plus year olds hobbling up huge stairs etc, some having being made 'spare' due to their duties being absorbed. Any vacancies due to retirement etc, including rurals, go pretty much straight to new entrants.

[postmanplod2026]

no other jobs out there in britain, take the great off right now, just zero hours pish everywhere and no conditions