Moving on from John Lewis

Yeah! I know!
Shock horror!

Last November I made some mistakes on the tacho.
1st mistake, tacho was 5 minutes fast, I went down to the wire and started my break 1 minute late per tacho, but 4 mins early according to my, atomic time, satnav. Slapped wrist. Got told that if it happened again I would get the sack. WTF?
Week after, got caught reading my manifest at 10 to 7. Shift starts at 7. Got told to reflect this in my manual entry. So I did.
Godawful day, busy, heavy, sweaty, clients were a nightmare, my porter was a ■■■■■■■■■
Forgot all about being ten mins early. Went to the wire. couple mins over WTD. Bang, infringement.

Got taken off driving (14.34ph) and made into a Porter (9.34ph)
Same job, just no driving. In fact, it’s HARDER being a Porter because now you have to do all the phone calls and manage the times and stuff. You NEVER stop as a Porter.

4 months of this, never given any intimation of being reverted to driver in the future, down to one, or two, days a week. Can’t live on that, and I think, given the work that I’d done previously, I’d been treated shabbily.
Looked for a new job, got offered 3 on the first 3 applications I sent off.
Accepted the 7.5t recovery driver job, just up the road from me.
Start Thursday.

Soz, just venting.

Sounds like you’re better off out of it Stevie. I can only speak from my perspective but a micro managed job run by petty management like that would be my idea of hell on Earth. Yes I totally get that they want to run 100% legit to protect their professional standing, I understand that, but their management style is all to ■■■■, what happened to educating drivers who make small errors? Why is their go to action punitive? I’ll tell you why; they live in theory world instead of the real world.

Again it’s only my personal view, but even if they were paying £50 per hour I’d not last there because we all go to work to make money but being miserable at work and hating every minute (which I’d end up doing) surely must have a massively detrimental effect on your physical and mental health?

I’m here for a good time, not a long time, which is why I’m a happy person. Count your blessings Stevie and move on to the recovery job with your head held high.

There is a good argument for this being constructive dismissal if it is within the time period to qualify. It reinforces the view that big companies should be made to live by the rules they expect their employees to follow. So defect the vehicle for tacho time being incorrect. Load has to be transhipped or cancelled until the lorry has seen a tacho workshop. The bit about studying the manifest is just plain ridiculous especially when their supermarket arm expects you to turn up 10 minutes early.

Accepted the 7.5t recovery driver job, just up the road from me.
Start Thursday.

STEVE, THERE’S A CAR BROKEN DOWN ON THE M25 BETWEEN J20 AND J21. PICK IT UP, AND TAKE IT TO HUDDERSFIELD AND CALL ME.

(HUDDERSFIELD)
GREAT, ON YOUR WAY BACK, THERES A CAR BROKEN DOWN ON THE M1 BETWEEN 10 AND 9 NORTHBOUND. PICK IT UP AND TAKE IT TO WOLVERHAMPTON. AFTER THAT, THERE’S A REPO THAT NEEDS CLECTING FROM CARDIFF, TO GO TO DOVER. GIVE ME A RING FROM DOVER.

(Rinse and repeat… at least your take home wages will look great)

I hear you all, and thanks for replying. Wasn’t expecting that.

Well, the problem is, is that I LOVED the job, the people I worked with every day were all fantastic blokes. If they weren’t? they got found out, or couldn’t handle the job (It IS pretty hard work) and didn’t stay long.
Management, in general, was superb, no really, they were. I got alot of support from them,. we all did/do. When I broke me ribs they put me on an easier job for 3 months, same pay, just easier.
Next time I had a accident on me scooter, I had to take 2 months off. “Let us know when you’re ready to come back, your job is safe, don’t worry about that, just get better”
And when I DID go back, it was the Managers who went out of their way to welcome me back and say “Glad you’re back”

So, no, my problem was that
1: I thought I’d been extremely harshly treated over what was a minor mistake, any other firm would have said
“Print out, write on back, stuck in traffic, sign it, move on, idiot”
2:Taken off driving, put onto Porter. A lot less wages (14.34 down to 9.34), and a lot less days. As a driver/installer I was guaranteed at least 4 days/44 hours, usually got 5 days.
I averaged about 2 days a week as a Porter. Can’t live on that.

The only thing that was micro managed was WTD and the tacho stuff. They used to trawl back months and bring you in to explain why “This” had happened. Not an infringment, just an occurrence. I started a break one day, decided to move into a better spot after a minute, started break again. This had happened 2 months previously , got called in to explain why. “Cos it was a rubbish spot, and why have you called me in?” “No reason, was just concerned it may have turned into an infringment?” I mean, WTF? Rarely, but it DID happen.
Never missed a shift, never late for a shift, only knocked back extra work once in 15 months. LOVED it.
Treated a bit shabbily for this last stuff though, I thought. Hence my decision to move on. Not because I didn’t like the job, management, people, workforce, just because 1 or 2 days a week at 9.34 is not enough to live on, and no signs of being re-instated as a driver.

Constructive dismissal? I dunno mate, dunno what that is. I can find out though, my big sis is head of employment law at a big City law firm :laughing: No, she refuses to represent me, says I’m WAY too much trouble :smiley:
0 hours Agency, does that matter? Anyway, it was ME that decided to leave.
And I think, THINK, that a tacho can be up to 30 mins off and still be legal. Not sure about that one, though.
I’ve loved my time at JL. They took me on as a 61 year old (after passing the tests, of course) Am now 63 and a sshed load fitter than I was at 61!
Applied for 3 jobs on Saturday, got offered em all, took the one closest, most hours, interesting, vehicle recovery, flatbed 7.5t. (Qualified steel erector/rigger so am used to chain pulls, tirfors, shackles, slings, straps etc.) Age is not a problem anymore apparently. Experience is also good.
LOL, lady who called me up said “On your CV I read not only the job title but I read what you’d done.”
I said “yes?”
She said " I don’t normally read a whole CV"
I said “Ok”
She said “Wow, you done some stuff, haven’t you?”
I said " I know, it was me that did it"
Peals of laughter. She said “You’ll fit right in”
Looking forward to me new job.
Gonna screw me up with my visit with HArry Monk, mebbe. I’ll try and work it out, Harry.
ANyway, thanks for listening, means alot.

Gotta go, been an easy day really, quick trip been to Huddersfield, then on to Wolverhampton, quick job to Cardiff, am now in Dover.
Pfft, piece o’ pi**! Just gotta ring the office for me next job. Might nip across the channel and pick up some cheap booze and ■■■■ before I ring though.

■■■
Cheers fellas

Just a quick one mate:-

“Constructive dismissal is when you’re forced to leave your job against your will because of your employer’s conduct. The reasons you leave your job must be serious, for example, they: … force you to accept unreasonable changes to how you work - eg tell you to work night shifts when your contract is only for day work.”

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Gonna look further into the constructive dismissal thing, I’ve just been sent an application, from Indeed, for my old job. WTF?

New job going great.
Long story short…great, GREAT, blokes, not a physically hard job, varied, interesting. Done a few roadside pick ups, no probs. RTC pick ups, no probs, 3 x pick up and drop off, no problem.
Office/management? Awesome, really awesome.
Wages? not so great, but I’m in 60 hours a week rather than waiting for the call from John Lewis cancelling days. It works out slightly less than I was getting but it is guaranteed every week.
Sending me on a 2 day course next week, IVR certificate. Institute of Recovery.
■■■■ it, I’m IN.

Yep, looking into constructive dismissal right now. Don’t WANT to, but I do feel that I’ve been ■■■■■■ over.

Oh, did I say? My job has been advertised on Indeed? Constructive dismissal? I’m all over it like fur on a frikkin bear!

Just a quick FYI regarding constructive dismissal. Had a call from the Head of Employment Law at Goodman Derrick lawyers in London.
You have to have been in full time employment for 2 years min before this applies.