the nodding donkey:
To give this subject a bit of substance, let’s widen the scope…
To pay for enhanced pay rates, you would expect the charges to the customer to go up? After all the transport company is making a special delivery on a special day.
What about shop workers? Should they be paid extra for working Sundays? Bank Holidays ?
Should the shop than adjust the price of goods on those days, to pay for those enhanced pay rates? After all, the shop doesn’t have to open during weekends or bank holidays…
Are you willing to pay extra for a pint of milk on Sunday afternoon?
I think the holidays round Christmas should be regarded as special. therefore if you are required to work during those Bank Holidays you should get extra pay. Other Bank Holidays maybe not so much.
If we just accept that they are another working day if your shift coincides with them, how long before they disappear for many workers, just celebrated by the elite while us underlings serve them?
As for the extra pay, leading to extra cost, I doubt the shops would put the price up over one day more they’d cover that over the year, the same way they plan costs of staff holidays etc, or should we do away with paid annual leave as it increases business costs.
And if you can’t afford the extra costs of opening on a Christmas Bank Holiday stay closed?
how many shopping day do we need each year.
As do most transport businesses where (bank) holidays are ‘normal’ working days. Wether the added rates are really reflected in the overall pay, will always be a subject of discussion.
I guess that most businesses that work these holidays days, will make that clear at interview, and it is usually the total package that makes it worth it. Rolling shifts mean time of in the week, and often shift work with predictable times and usually home every day. Or time in lieu For some this suits, for others not so. A bit like tramping.
And why should Christmas be special?
From my experience where extra payments for things like Bank Holiday working, are removed, at first its added to your annual salary or hourly rate. But it doesn’t take long for it to be eroded and in the end bank holiday or Sunday working becomes just another day at work, companies then don’t offer better rates to work those days, even as part of a pay package with rolling shifts.
but I have to agree that if you take a job that you know will mean working bank holidays then you can’t complain when you do, as it’s exactly what my job involves and a lot of weekend working, in my case I get the time back and I’m now in a position where I can throw a few demands of my own in when I have a job interview, so this compensates for the weekends and Bank Holidays.
But not all workers are as lucky as me, they don’t have enough clout to demand things in the interview and don’t have the collective clout to demand stuff as a united workforce.
Why should Christmas be Special?
Well you could ask a child?
And as we are bombarded by advertising from the large companies for months leading up to Christmas, trying to get us to spend even more than normal on presents, alcohol and enough food to feed a small army, I assume these companies think Christmas is special even though they also want to pay their staff the same rate for working those days as they pay for the rest of the year.
Juddian:
^^^ and thats why Muckles should be PM, pure logic.
I thought it was because of this bit in my manifesto.
muckles:
Rachel Riley, reading the Queens speech, dressed in a bikini and jumping on a trampoline.
The core policy of my manifesto is to fund research to enable us to clone Rachel Riley, however to achieve this I will have to put up taxes, any objections?
joebloggs:
Why do some drivers think they should be paid more money for working new years day etc when they are on a full time contract which states an hourly pay regardless of day
Because people like me who are no longer in truck driving are sat at home getting paid for it because the company they work for pays them for bank holidays off so if you want a truck driver to work the national holidays that most of the population are sat at home on pay you put your hand in your pocket.
I started my new non truck driving job on the 14th of December. Their holiday pay year runs January to December. Despite only earning one days holiday in December I’ve been paid for both 26th and 27th and I was asked whether I wanted to take the Wednesday or the Friday off to use up the 1 day I’d earned. Not only that, the two days I was in this week even though we start at 9 we were finished early at 3.30pm and we still got an hour off for dinner.
You don’t realise how crap truck drivers are treated until you get a job in something else.
joebloggs:
Why do some drivers think they should be paid more money for working new years day etc when they are on a full time contract which states an hourly pay regardless of day
Do they think they’re employer who has contracts with his customer is going to charge more for bank holidays etc , is he heck!
I fully understand agency drivers etc getting enhanced rates for these days as its not full time employment
I know this will get the usual response , but not all hauliers’ are big blue chip company’s and I bet they struggle to earn anything on the days that trucks have to have drivers in them on enhanced pay just to keep the wheels rolling so to speak
Full time drivers have the benefit of job security and 30 days paid holiday
Some of those 30 days will be the bank holildays though.
I don’t get any extra for working them, as my normal working days are defined as “including bank holidays”. I DO get a day off in lieu credit though.
The roads are so quiet on bank holidays - the job is a breeze on such days, and I can’t understand why people go out of their way to avoid working them.
The-Snowman:
I wondered how long it would take conor to boast about all the extra perks and T &Cs he has now hes no longer a lorry driver.
Its truly shocking. As I posted elsewhere I mentioned I needed to make a dental appointment to be told to just make one, let them know when it was and there was no need to make up any time I needed to take off for it. For all the haulage companies and agencies I’ve worked for since the early 90s you’ve either had to take the whole day off either unpaid or use a days holiday.
The-Snowman:
I wondered how long it would take conor to boast about all the extra perks and T &Cs he has now hes no longer a lorry driver.
Tbf though he makes a good point.
Why is it always the trucking industry with the ■■■■ y end of the stick in comparison to others,.and why is that just accepted as ‘the done thing’ and the way it is in transport…It should not be.
An example here, one of our drivers has a real bad back after falling, so much so he takes a stick with him to help him walk… He can not afford to be off and the crap firm he works for do not pay when off.
A guy I know who works at a factory up the road has been off for 2 months with a similar condition… on full pay.
Enough said.
The-Snowman:
I wondered how long it would take conor to boast about all the extra perks and T &Cs he has now hes no longer a lorry driver.
Tbf though he makes a good point.
Why is it always the trucking industry with the [zb] y end of the stick in comparison to others,.and why is that just accepted as ‘the done thing’ and the way it is in transport…It should not be.
An example here, one of our drivers has a real bad back after falling, so much so he takes a stick with him to help him walk… He can not afford to be off and the crap firm he works for do not pay when off.
A guy I know who works at a factory up the road has been off for 2 months with a similar condition… on full pay.
Enough said.
Conor has been lucky to find decent employment conditions, but then reading his trucking exploits he always seemed to have the cream of the work.
Pay and conditions are being eroded in all industries, it’s just the ones that started with better terms and stronger unions will take longer to race to the bottom.
Juddian:
^^^ and thats why Muckles should be PM, pure logic.
I thought it was because of this bit in my manifesto.
muckles:
Rachel Riley, reading the Queens speech, dressed in a bikini and jumping on a trampoline.
The core policy of my manifesto is to fund research to enable us to clone Rachel Riley, however to achieve this I will have to put up taxes, any objections?
I think that sometimes, especially with small companies, you may have to negotiate on a one to one basis to get the best deal regarding holiday pay etc. A firm that I worked for several years ago, a family company and I was the only employee, didn’t initially pay anything for Bank Holidays and I only found that out when I noticed my wages were down on those weeks with a Bank Holiday in them despite me working a saturday etc. I queried this and was told that the lorry wasn’t earning while I was off so there was no money, fair enough, but when I explained that EVERYBODY thesedays (though maybe not? ) paid staff for those days it was soon amended and I had no further problems in all the years I worked there. They simply didn’t know the ‘rules’ as they had not employed anyone from outside of the family before, if the boss is approachable then a little bit of friendly discussion might just get you some time and a half etc…or your cards if it all goes wrong!
Not all driving jobs offer crap T’s & C’s though. I started driving for the big green supermarket whose name begins & ends with the letter A, Bank hols there are paid at treble time, full sick pay for the first 6 months of absence,Decent income without working stupid hours, Discount card for the stores, Life insurance, In-house gym, etc. Certainly beats general haulage!
busteredwards:
Not all driving jobs offer crap T’s & C’s though. I started driving for the big green supermarket whose name begins & ends with the letter A, Bank hols there are paid at treble time, full sick pay for the first 6 months of absence,Decent income without working stupid hours, Discount card for the stores, Life insurance, In-house gym, etc. Certainly beats general haulage!
If there was one near me mate, I’d be there tomorrow.
I would knock tramping right on the head, and be pleased to …drive a truck for a co that actually respect you…you do not usually hear those words used in the same sentence, (especially for the group that I work for.)
You guys get a bit of stick on here but only by the Teararse gang and the terminally ignorant…and I bet you hang on their every word, and constantly lose sleep over it.
Make hay while the sun shines mate, before somebody like the dreaded Green Death storm in and ■■■■ it up for you guys… like they do with everything else.
) paid staff for those days it was soon amended and I had no further problems in all the years I worked there. They simply didn’t know the ‘rules’ as they had not employed anyone from outside of the family before, if the boss is approachable then a little bit of friendly discussion might just get you some time and a half etc…or your cards if it all goes wrong! 
