A different view on Christmas working

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

It all depends on why you’re in work at Christmas. Are you providing essential services or maximum profit for a greedy boss who probably spent Christmas either at home with his family or in a tropical climate spending that big pile of cash his drones are making him :smiley:

I got Christmas day and boxing day off. Get new years day off too but not new years eve.Hope to be finished for tea time though.

To be honest, if the money was right I’d have worked Christmas day but that’s my choice.

And if anything, my boss should be glad I spend 50-60 hours a week driving his truck for him. It doesn’t drive itself you know. Work is a 2 way street, both sides need the other just as much. If only we all got that.

22

Sorry but there appears to be some confusion.
I should firstly apologise for apparently being personally responsible for the reason this industry is in the terrible state it is, this has come as a terrible shock to me because I was under the impression the state of our industry was in a bit of a state partly due to the “no can do” attitude of many drivers.

Anyway, having got that out of the way…

I am not having a dig at any body who has Christmas and/or the new year off.

Many drivers have families and want to spend Christmas with their loved ones. That’s great.

Many haulage companies shut down over this period as their customers have Christmas shut downs. That’s great for those involved.

Many drivers work for companies that pay hourly, pay overtime rates after a certain period, and offer bonuses for working this holiday period. That’s great too.

Some companies pay a salary, no overtime, just a straight through wage that you would hope balances out over the course of a year. That’s great too.

The point of this post was to question the attitude of those “no can do” drivers who have been complaining about the shear nerve of their employers daring to request that they work the holiday period, these would be the companies that anybody with a modicum of sense would realise are contractually obliged to service their customers demands every single day of the year…

Within the food sector, especially the fresh food sector then most haulage, distribution and own account companies have to maintain the supply chain so that everybody can enjoy their Christmas munchies, and more importantly, the food they will be expecting to be in the shops immediately AFTER the holidays.

Then there are the companies that move the food products produced in this country but sold throughout Europe. Unfortunately it’s a fact that many places in Europe aren’t within the scope of getting home from if you’ve been delivering there in the run up to Christmas.

As for the negative view of big fat cat employers having the time off in hot exotic locations while the poor down trodden driver toils away through the holidays…
Really?? I thought that militant thinking went out with Scargill!

From my personal point, the company I work for does Europe wide food haulage, we are paid a good salary for this and we all know that the company operates all year, so every Christmas some of us will be working. It would be impossible to service the customers needs otherwise.This was made clear to everyone of us when we joined the company.
But according to many on here it would appear that I’m being shafted by my fat cat employer by working Christmas for no extra money while he sits at home or on a beach somewhere!!
I’m treated well and with respect throughout the entire year. I’m never asked or expected to break the law, when I’m parked up for a day or two due to a load falling through I’m perfectly relaxed as I know I’m paid the same regardless. I drive on average 35/40 hours a week with a total on working time of maybe 50 hours.
Oh and I was talking to my employer on Christmas Day about a delivery, he is in the office every day of the year and does a ■■■■ sight more hours work each week than any of his drivers do.
So if that’s viewed as me bending down and being right royally shafted and causing the downfall of the UK haulage industry then that’s fine by me.

Happy Boxing Day :smiley:

23

Was his name Ebenezer Scrooge?. :laughing:

24

Jeeez stop hitting me with all that negativity man !!

Just a thought, I totally understand peeps wanting to be home with their loved ones over this holiday period, I’d like to be too.
But if I was I wouldn’t be spending even a small portion of that quality time reading and posting on a truck based forum. I’d be spending it actually being with my loved ones.
Now us sad drivers who are working, well we’ve got nothing better to do !!

25

Defensive much :smiley:

I said I understand those who do it that are providing essential services. You’re in the food sector so I’d say that’s fairly essential. Fact is though there’s a lot of companies who are forcing their workers to work for nothing other than personal profit.

26

Its not you m8 its me. :unamused:
I Don’t live to work I work to live. :smiling_imp:

27

Are we all on track minded on here ? … The original post mentioned being in the tunnel, the channel tunnel and it’s system including the trains, also the ferries crossing constantly take thousands of staff to keep them going, my heart goes out to all of those who worked hard on Christmas day to get you drivers where you are going.

28

I worked 25th 10 hour shift I work most Christmas days, I work 4 on 4 off if im on a day of on the 25th I volunteer to work and cos were 24 7 365 I always get mine or a spare truck . I’m single and live on my own so find it easier to work its also well into 3 figures which helps. For what it worth there’s normally just varying types off tankers cutting about in years past but this year especially in the morning I saw tippers , curtains , fridge’s on British plates and many foreign plates parked up the services.

29

There will always be those who begrudge others for working when they want time off.
Funny how I don’t begrudge anyone who wishes for a break as I will happily take up the strain for almost double the pay they would have got anyway.

Sweet little 9 hour shift today + extra pay to go in to do it, triple time for new years day has been mentioned but not sure I want to mess up my new years eve celebrations.

Have to laugh at the full timers who bend over and take it on a daily basis winging about working a bank holiday or two.

30

There’s only one person who tells me what I’m working over the festive period, and that’s my dear lady wife - and every year she gets it absolutely right. :wink:

Stan

31

I think the truth is that our industry attracts a lot of people who might not necessarily be the most sociable type. Those that choose to work over Christmas all have their reasons but I think quite a lot like being able to get out of the house for a bit. If you have young kids it’s probably different as you want to be there, but if they are grown up or you don’t have kids at all Christmas can involve a lot of forced socialising with relatives you might not be that interested in. Not everybody has the perfect family.

“I’ve got to be up at 5am for work tomorrow” is a fantastic excuse to skulk out of a boring house party/whatever early.

32

fredthered:
You are ALL my heroes - thank you so much from the bottom of my everlasting grateful heart.

You all deserve medals for your unswerving bravery and call to arms for the benefit of the whole nation and I truly hope that the rewards for your loyalty are great.

I don’t know how this Country survives sometimes!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! :wink:

Ah finally the recognition we all so richly deserve :slight_smile:

You’re undoubted gratitude is I’m sure, appreciated by all,
but I think I’ll pass on the medal ta…

33

Busmanian:
Its not you m8 its me. :unamused:
I Don’t live to work I work to live. :smiling_imp:

And I am genuinely happy that you have achieved a satisfactory work/home life balance to suit you.
So have i to suit me, but it’s obviously very different in its nature to yours, and maybe if one day I manage to sate the wanderlust I’ve had since my teens then I’ll change to a more “normal” routine and job.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I still don’t get, and haven’t yet heard a single argument explaining it, why some drivers take on a job that clearly has the possibility of Christmas and/or new year working and then moan when they’re asked or told to work those holidays.

If I didn’t want to work those holidays then I’d make ■■■■ sure at the interview for any job if that was what would be expected of me, and if it was I’d move on elsewhere and not work for them, get to Christmas and then throw all my toys out the pram just because I was expected to do what I’d signed up for.

34

Pat Hasler:
Are we all on track minded on here ? … The original post mentioned being in the tunnel, the channel tunnel and it’s system including the trains, also the ferries crossing constantly take thousands of staff to keep them going, my heart goes out to all of those who worked hard on Christmas day to get you drivers where you are going.

Yes you’re quite right, I don’t think people have any idea just how many others have to work over the period;

Police,
Ambulance staff
Firemen
Emergency phone line operators
Doctors
Nurses
Hospital staff
Highways agency
HATO
Ferry staff
Channel tunnel
Air traffic control
Airport
Airlines
Petrol stations
Motorway service areas
Power company
Water company
Gas company

I could go on,the list is long, but I won’t :smiley:
The one thing these jobs share is that they are all in the service sector, and modern society demands that to be functioning every day of the year.

Oops, sorry, I forgot 1 rather important industry in the service sector;

Road transport and distribution…

35

Tgtrucker mate, you are maybe getting bit of negativity from some because of the way you come across, ie. giving the impression that you are looking at the job all keen and wide eyed through rosy glasses , and sorry, quite frankly annoyingly :smiley: . Am I right in thinking you are fairly new at it? OK it’s natural to be keen when new, I was myself once (believe it or not :smiley: ) but don’t expect the same level of enthusiasm for working when you ought to be off, from those that have done a bit, and been there and done it :wink:
You then go on to “explain” to us :unamused: the workings of the food/haulage aspect of the job, as if it is some sort of revelation, no offence but most of us have done the job long enough to know exactly how it works thanks, and realise that numerous other jobs as you point out to us :unamused: , work over Christmas, but hey! thanks anyway :neutral_face:
What I will agree with you is that if you sign up for it at interview level, then you have no right to moan, but believe me there are a lot of firms out there that will, and do, take advantage of the shear amount of drivers out there, and especially the ones that will agree to anything that they care to suggest, no matter how unfair it may be to a driver. Also why is objecting to bosses living it up away in the sun, while maybe paying a driver a meagre single time at Christmas or whatever being militant, I would call it standing for your rights for fair treatment rather than militancy, maybe if a few more made a stand we would all be better off :bulb: , so don’t knock the drivers that show a bit of initiative, or “no can do drivers” or whatever the hell you call them.
Happy new year! :smiley:

36

is this really what my life has amounted to :question: :cry:

37

Robroy, ta for your thoughts.
After 30 years doing this job I never expected to be described as all keen and wide eyed :open_mouth:
In that time what I’ve seen is a change from an industry full of reasonably happy and positive drivers to now, where negativity is the accepted norm and if you don’t constantly moan you’re seen as something odd, or keen and wide eyed :wink:
Gets right on my ■■■■ tbh.
Now I don’t doubt that there are many good reasons for this happening, pay and conditions are certainly on the decline from a drivers point of view, and yes I’m well aware that there are still unscrupulous employers around who will take advantage at the drop of a hat, and I totally agree that each and every driver should stand up for what is right and not just agree to everything they throw at him/her.

But that still doesn’t excuse the original point of this, which was the moaning and whinging about holiday working when it was known in advance to be part of the pay and conditions.

And it seems to escape many that society is changing, not necessarily for the better either IMHO, but the fact remains holiday working is becoming more and more the accepted norm these days, and it will get worse, so it’s really time to be getting used to the idea.

Anyway, enough of all this negativity, I’m off to book my hols for next Christmas now :laughing:

Happy new year :smiley:

38

To those that tell me ‘you knew what you were signing up for’ crap, I didn’t at the time because people knew that shops etc had opening hours and people used to plan accordingly and my hours were reasonable and to suit me and the business. Then came supermarkets…

Greedy business and individuals have forced or whinged successive governments to legislate ‘flexible working’ into employment law. You have no choice these days and all the benefits and choices negotiated and fought for have been given up for personal greed and gain. Essential services have ALWAYS been just that - shopping has not as far as I know been classed as an essential service!

I don’t need or want to be able to shop 24/7/365 to make sure that I’m able to have what I desire immediately - I can wait until the shops open again. You can shop all the time on the net to your hearts content, but its NOT essential that you receive your purchase within 24hrs is it? Let people have time off to enjoy the fruits of their labour if they want it - if they do decide they want time off (within the terms of their contract of employment) why should they be hounded out of their job for wanting to be at home?

Just to emphasise my point, 16 year olds are now working more or longer hours in retail (£3.72/hr) because they are even cheaper than the minimum wage and they can be ‘got rid of’ after the Xmas rush - hooray! More profit.

Where did it all go wrong? :wink:

39

Will some of you whingers go get a life if someone wants to work over Xmas period so what. If you work for a company that operates over the period then id you don’t like it get another job. To those that cant see the boss in on Xmas day the boss probably did more hrs and lost more sleep getting to the point that allows him Xmas day off.

40

Just my point of view fella - I’m no more a whinger than you! Fill your boots - the richest man in the cemetery cant spend it. :wink: