commonrail:
What’s your point?
- 1
peirre:
At the beginning of the week the agency I’m with, the client was screaming for more drivers as the work had gone off the scale but the agency was unable to get more. At the end of the week the same client has laid us all off, this is due to the change to “click and collect” and home delivery only.
And rationing. Which smooths out peaks and troughs, ensuring that it’s easier to run full loads since customers can no longer use the “want it NOW” squawk to tweak tails.
I can foresee a future which eschews the current JIT fad; which means higher prices but also perhaps an increase in the number of warehousing jobs, though that may be offset by a combination of automation and a downturn in driver demand.
Winseer:
Isn’t it the job of “Management” be it Agency or Client Yard to make sure there are always “more drivers than jobs” and “Enough drivers to fill all jobs, in case some say ‘no’”?People have never been motivated on the whole to leave full time to join an agency as such… Unless one can get by with less than 40 hours per week of work for possibly prolonged period.
I, for example - need enough work to get my stamp paid each week, with the second to late week of the month being the only time I need “full timer’s hours” that week, for instance.Never had any trouble getting that, - so far.
It is the nature of irregular weekly hours that when it is all paid at a flat uniform rate - one takes home progressively less cash as one advances beyond tiers of hours each week…
Eg. 1-2 shifts - take home nearly ALL of the pay, as there’s little or no tax, it all being within the tax allowance.
3-4 shifts (which I favour) - take home a normal wage, pay a reasonable amount of tax
5-6 shifts - stuck on same flat rate, but now paying full tax on ALL earnings, having moved way beyond allowances. Rule of “reducing returns” applies.I am thus relucant to work shift (5) each week if I then won’t be getting shift (6) to pay the bloody tax on top!
I cannot work six shifts per week all the time, neither.What use is a “Any five from seven” contract for ME then?
For me it is 4 or 6 - with five shifts in a week happening as little as possible!
…If the start of the week is 00:01 Sunday morning, then I won’t be working a 5th shift that week for any reason, if my first shift then ends up being "Monday", so no “Monday-Friday” for me, and I’ve fortunately not been compelled to work 5 shifts that doesn’t include a sunday since 2018, when I left full time, and chose to go back on agency, rather than pick up one of these “Any five from seven” jobs that I just don’t want.It is possible that over the coming weeks, a glut of sideways-moved full timers will deplete the agency of spare shifts for me to work.
…As long as I get at least that “Retainer” shift of Sunday then - I will be able to get by, even if the work is “short hours” for a prolonged period.
If the agency stops using me for any entire week at a time - I will be relucantly forced to move on that very same week.
Full time jobs @ supermarkets - appear to be becoming available again BUT it is still the “Any five from seven” family-unfriendly hours rubbish that I’ve tried so hard to avoid to date…
I’d already jump at the chance to do Four-on-four-off or even “Any four nights from seven” - but they just are not out there, alas…
Does it never worry you how much time you must waste writing all this long winded waffle.
Most of the time it has nothing to do with the original thread topic and ususlly, as has happened here ended up with you whinging about the “any 5 from 7” shift patterns.
tachograph:
If it’s a large company they’re probably preparing themselves for when a lot of their drivers are off work self isolating or worse.
I think you’re right there. They’re still running adverts online for the work; I rang them to enquire when will the abundance of shifts start? Reply I got was the traditional “we’ll keep you posted”. Like most of people my age, I’ve been around long enough to spot bull a mile off. For the record, the site in question is the ex-NFT one near St.Albans, now being run by EV Cargo. As they’ve taken over Downtons and others, some of their ex-units are parked up there. The site is 99% chilled work, with Sainsburys store deliveries and trunking between suppliers and M&S RDCs running from there.
I wait with baited breath to see what happens with this one! As usual though, I won’t commit to the one agency/site. I am working on a PAYE basis, as I won’t entertain the umbrella/Ltd crap. Thankfully as I don’t do loads of hours, so I don’t get stung too much on tax etc.
Just came out of GIST at Hemel big sign outside ADR agency looking for drivers for GIST, could be the usual agency bluster but maybe worth a try.
Mazzer2:
Just came out of GIST at Hemel big sign outside ADR agency looking for drivers for GIST, could be the usual agency bluster but maybe worth a try.
ADR is actually the agency that I’m talking about here. They’re also running an advert on Indeed for drivers for the Hemel and Enfield Gist sites. I’m assessed for both of those sites and available, yet they texted me today and said, “sorry, nothing for tomorrow at Gist”. What about the EV Cargo site?..didn’t even get a reply to that one! I think it’s as someone else has said, they just want to fill their books, just in case they have a sudden demand from the client.
I reckon that these big sites have made use of salaried drivers displaced from other, non-food and essentials type work within the same group.
What does take the mick is another agency, based in Harlow, looking for people for the TK Maxx contract in Hatfield, with an immediate start on store deliveries, after assessment. From what I’ve heard, there’s no assessments being done, due to the need for social distancing! Add to that the stores being closed, as non-essential, makes a bit of a mockery of the advert really. Once again, probably a speculative non-job, designed to get people signed up.
R420:
commonrail:
I just don’t understand you winseer…You’re not alone. I can’t make any sense of his posts. Every thread seems to degenerate into some bizarre “any 5 from 7” rant and then Carryfast comes along and blames Winseer’s shift problems on Marxism, China taking over the world and finishes by reminding us how great America is.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
i just skip the post as soon as i see who the poster is in their case as its generally instant end of thread time and reverts to the usual pingpong political waffle
commonrail:
I just don’t understand you winseer.Although I do find you interestly bizarre.
How come you don’t say “cocklick” anymore.
I don’t have to say “Lickcocks” so much, because they are well on their way OUT now… 
Call them “Yesterday’s Outgoing Jobsworths” if you will. 
Riffer:
Mazzer2:
Just came out of GIST at Hemel big sign outside ADR agency looking for drivers for GIST, could be the usual agency bluster but maybe worth a try.ADR is actually the agency that I’m talking about here. They’re also running an advert on Indeed for drivers for the Hemel and Enfield Gist sites. I’m assessed for both of those sites and available, yet they texted me today and said, “sorry, nothing for tomorrow at Gist”. What about the EV Cargo site?..didn’t even get a reply to that one! I think it’s as someone else has said, they just want to fill their books, just in case they have a sudden demand from the client.
I reckon that these big sites have made use of salaried drivers displaced from other, non-food and essentials type work within the same group.
What does take the mick is another agency, based in Harlow, looking for people for the TK Maxx contract in Hatfield, with an immediate start on store deliveries, after assessment. From what I’ve heard, there’s no assessments being done, due to the need for social distancing! Add to that the stores being closed, as non-essential, makes a bit of a mockery of the advert really. Once again, probably a speculative non-job, designed to get people signed up.
I once sat down in an ADR office in SIttingbourne, got made all kinds of promises of premium hourly rates, the patter of “Loads of work with multiple clients, ongoingly” and decided to sign up, having been given a choice of Iceland Harlow, Co-Op Thurrock, Tesco Thurrock, Sainsburys Dartford, Morrisons, Kemsley, and Whatever M&S were using back in 2012, I don’t think it was GIST back then…
Got offered assessments at Sittingbourne the following Monday, Co-Op on the Wednesday, and took one at Sainsburys for the Friday. I was also offered Iceland for Tuesday and Tescos for Thursday, which I declined on the basis that Iceland was too far away, and Tescos - I was already a card-carrying inducted agency bod for, albeit at Snodland.
Saturday afternoon, the Morrisons assessment planned for monday - got cancelled.
Monday Evening - Got an email asking if they could move the Co-op from Wednesday to Tuesday morning first thing. I said, It is a push, but OK… Got another call five minutes later saying that it had now been totally cancelled. Presumably, I was supposed to turn it down at MY instagation, making it MY fault it fell through?
On Friday, I attended at Dartford 07:00 An In-House agency NOT ADR (Think it was DriverTeam or something similar - NOT “DriverHire”) acknowledged my arrival, and asked me to take a seat…
2.5hrs later, the assessor came out, and buzzed me through to the canteen, “as it would be a while yet”. At 11:50, assessor finally re-appears, and says we need to get a clocking-in card, as you’ll be required to do this assessment, and if you pass - a short single run trip on top. These were the conditions to getting paid a day’s pay for this “Assessment/induction”. H
I asked how long this assessment would be… "Well, we’ll be leaving the yard about 12:30 I reckon, and should be back around 17:00 where you can take a 45 break, ready to go out on your maiden run around 18:30… You should be done around 23:00. No worries.
So I’d been planned for a 16 hour day starting at 07:00 - without prior notice…
“You have now booked on at Midday, so you’re being paid for 11 hours minus 1hr for your break at day rate - no worries.” - I got told.
Decided I’d be more likely to be alive by this time tomorrow if I chucked my hand in at that point, so I walked.
Tricking people into doing 16 hour shifts and turning down work elsewhere in order to get to bed in time to turn up for “Earlies”?
No thanks! Where’s the well-being in THAT?
If assements can get cancelled at the drop of a hat, then howcome I could not be told in time that I could come in at 12:00 rather than 07:00 so half the day is gone with me sitting on a bloody office reception sofa waiting for some idiot who would have to be VERY disorganized indeed - to have left be stewing out there for that long? I had originally even ASKED for a mid-day-ish assessment time, but got told “Sorry bud, all our start times for assessments are 07:00 starts - take it or leave it”… FFS 
The entire week had been wasted, no work, plenty of unpaid “Errands”…
I went back to my two shifts @ Snodland the following week, dismayed at being ■■■■■■ about sooo much for what amounted to very lacklustre hourly rates at that. It even turned out the £13.50ph rates I’d been touted - were for Ltd Company drivers ONLY that you could only get as PAYE - if you went via their umbrella outfit, which I think was Nova if I recall… It was £10.75ph without that - for the Night Rate. That was the same I was getting at the time for working at Snodland, so I’d completely wasted my time, travel, etc. not realizing that I’d been mislead all along.
“Once bitten, twice shy”. I am VERY careful these days about which agencies I sign up with.
Juddian:
jrt:
tallyman:
Sorry to burst the bubble but there won’t be a shortage of food & ‘essential’ drivers because there will be a glut of drivers from non-essential industries in companies who will be coerced into changing contracts or be laid off. All the big players, DHL, XPO, Wincanton etc. have contracts with both essential and non-essential and will use one to cover the other before resorting to agency.spot on ! then when the mother of all resessions starts to bit down cause of this thing there will be less jobs about than there was after the crash of 08 09, wages will bottom out along with it. last resession will seem like nothing compared to this sh@tstorm coming now. thinking of getting on the buses befor its too late to get a job there even.
Don’t fall for the spin, the imminent depression has been put off for years now due to printing money and unlimited borrowing, hence an unpayable national debt of £2trillion.
This situation is being used as the perfect excuse, no bugger wanted to be left without a chair when the music stopped, they’ve found the best get out card money really could buy.
And that’s fantasy world at its best
Bigtruck3:
Juddian:
jrt:
tallyman:
Sorry to burst the bubble but there won’t be a shortage of food & ‘essential’ drivers because there will be a glut of drivers from non-essential industries in companies who will be coerced into changing contracts or be laid off. All the big players, DHL, XPO, Wincanton etc. have contracts with both essential and non-essential and will use one to cover the other before resorting to agency.spot on ! then when the mother of all resessions starts to bit down cause of this thing there will be less jobs about than there was after the crash of 08 09, wages will bottom out along with it. last resession will seem like nothing compared to this sh@tstorm coming now. thinking of getting on the buses befor its too late to get a job there even.
Don’t fall for the spin, the imminent depression has been put off for years now due to printing money and unlimited borrowing, hence an unpayable national debt of £2trillion.
This situation is being used as the perfect excuse, no bugger wanted to be left without a chair when the music stopped, they’ve found the best get out card money really could buy.And that’s fantasy world at its best
There are signs on the bond markets today that both the US and UK governments are printing money, and buying up their own bonds with that printed cash. QE is what we know that by.
There won’t be any problems with this - until inflation kicks in, which it will eventually, but in the meantime - interest rates will be rock-bottom for YEARS to come now.
Who’s paying for the cheap borrowing?
Savers.
Wanna do something about that?
Don’t save.
Simples.
If savers cannot be arsed to move their money out of 0% paying savings accounts and into something with a bit of RISK - but a damned good return that’ll more than make up for it in the long run - then their lack of risk appetite - will be their own financial undoing… One day in the middle to far future, inflation will reach a tipping point, at which point anyone with savings gets wiped out as is normally the case in such a scenario.
So… Savers are effectively prepared to wait indefinitely and patiently for their money to be crushed to zero worth - all because they cannot envisage taking a RISK.
I’ve no sympathy with such people. They deserve all they are now not going to get - a real-terms return on their money - for the forseeable future.
Juddian:
jrt:
tallyman:
Sorry to burst the bubble but there won’t be a shortage of food & ‘essential’ drivers because there will be a glut of drivers from non-essential industries in companies who will be coerced into changing contracts or be laid off. All the big players, DHL, XPO, Wincanton etc. have contracts with both essential and non-essential and will use one to cover the other before resorting to agency.spot on ! then when the mother of all resessions starts to bit down cause of this thing there will be less jobs about than there was after the crash of 08 09, wages will bottom out along with it. last resession will seem like nothing compared to this sh@tstorm coming now. thinking of getting on the buses befor its too late to get a job there even.
Don’t fall for the spin, the imminent depression has been put off for years now due to printing money and unlimited borrowing, hence an unpayable national debt of £2trillion.
This situation is being used as the perfect excuse, no bugger wanted to be left without a chair when the music stopped, they’ve found the best get out card money really could buy.
So says another arm chair expert, who’s brains only run to driving a Truck. So come on fancy pants show us all your proof and what makes you the economic expert with the insider information. Personally I think you are full of it with no knowledge of it at all. But likes the sound of your own voice.
The previous slumps - only panned out the way they did because they were enforced that way by the unbending establishments of their day.
It won’t be any different another time - unless the entire thinking is different to LAST time.
In the 1930’s, the main part of the slump was NOT triggered by the Wall Street crash of 1929 - but rather by those who thought they were “Never taking any risks with their money” - losing the LOT when the Banking Moratorium happened during the 1930’s. The Trickle-down economy was totally wrecked, jobs disappeared as they are right now…
In 2008 in my mind Labour over-reacted to the perceived threat of such a “Banking Moratorium” happening once more, to similar effect.
They were bailed out with Taxpayer’s money this time around instead, severely damaging the middle classes in particular, or rather “Upper Working Classes” who’d got to where they were by their own hard graft…
Fast forward to our current Corona crisis - and we now see a whole lot of jobs disppearing that will NEVER come back - because their old customer base have disappeared too, with survivors altering their lifestyles sufficiently to not actually need very many of the old, outgoing “Industries” that they used to consider “everyday”…
Sunbeds, Nailbars, Tattoists, Eateries, Minicabbing, Hand Car Wash, Kennels and Catteries, Bureau de Exchanges, Travel Agents, Used Car Dealers that don’t have in-house Garages, and of course “Deliverers of non-essential items”.
The Core businesses that will remain - will be Engineering, Transport, Maintenence, Repair, Tax Collection, Direct Banking, and Food Harvesting.
In this new economy, if you can “fix a machine” - you are worth ten times more than someone who can merely “drive a vehicle that will break down” sooner or later.
If you know how to take “Calculated risks” on your own behalf - you are worth ten times more than someone who can take reckless risks on someone else’s behalf.
If you know how to “go get stuff” you are worth ten times more than someone who used to pay someone else to “go get it”.
We can all live without “Luxuries” - but not without “Essentials”.
There is our future economy, and recovery. If already bobbing about in the sea - you want to be picked up by the Carpathia rather than the Titanic!