do the company pay into a pension 
If you’re thinking of co op common rail then they’re on 31,500 top line so I’m told. 4 on 4 off but only allowed to book one block of 4 as holiday so 12 days off max I don’t know how true that is mind. It’s ■■■■ work for co op, treated us like mugs at bulwell or at least some of us 
I didn’t even tell them I’d jacked I hated it so much 
Wouldn’t do it again unless absolutely desperate.
my mate has works for coop,and is on any 5 from 7
commonrail:
do the company pay into a pension
Yep, a pension is paid into
i suppose that does swing it in favour of the supermarket slightly,although transport costs have to be taken into account…aswell as the time spent travelling.
and although it is illegal to count night out money as pay…it does actually pay for stuff.
still too close to call for me.
Surely if there are those out there that really want to “avoid working weekends” or “avoid working nights” with a passion - then Agency doing Supermarkets is the thing for you!
Plenty of shifts going begging, and you can even get alternative general haulage work when the supermarkets are quiet like they are at the beginning of the year.
The point I make is that you can pick and choose the shifts you want - rather than consider taking on a full time contract “just to get your feet under the table” - when it comprises of shifts that you don’t really want to be working at all…
For me, I have been avoiding earlies for more than two decades. I only find myself doing them when there’s no other work available, which is a handfull of times per year in the 3-4 years I’ve been on agency so far.
Of course, should a full time job come up that’s monday-friday nights for a reasonable wage - I’ll be grabbing it with both hands… That just happens to be what I’m looking for. One man’s meat is another man’s poison perhaps, but I suggest there’s something out there for everyone right now. 
Big Roy:
Oh and just to add, you don’t need to take a sleeping bag with you if you’ve got your head screwed on
What, no unplanned nights out then!!
Conor:
Hauling 80 cages off 4-6 at a time and then reloading the empties either on the tail lift or a fixed scissor lift at most drops you work for your money but as mentioned, you’re not being rushed to do it.
Its not that hard, just raise suspension and they’ll half unload themselves!!
commonrail:
so what kind of money is your average employed supermarket driver draggin
The overall package will exceed any other sector, you get your pension to which you contribute a percentage you get free shares and the option to buy shares at a reduced rate full sick pay and holidays which also pay half of your shift allowance.
I am not obliged to work more than 42.5 hrs a week if I choose not to, the only issue is the shifts new starters get the least desirable times I get 4 weekends in 10
off and rarely do more than 50-55 hrs the work is constant and stable and you take your time,increments are paid for weekendsand any time after 22:00 and increase further past your contractual hrs I find it more of a hobby.
If you need further proof, look at the trainee corpses that populate the goods in side waiting room, then go across to the departure lounge at goods out the difference is remarkable.
so what`s the package worth?
Having said all that - are there actually any supermarkets REALLY taking on full timers at the moment?
…I mean "actual full timers direct for the actual supermarket wearing the uniform, free shares, discounted shopping, pension, paid holidays" etc. rather than a rolling 3 month contract via agency, or working for some outsourced firm like Wincanski/Kuhne&Nagel/DHL etc?
fradley park have been advertising for around 3 months now.
mike68:
commonrail:
so what kind of money is your average employed supermarket driver dragginThe overall package will exceed any other sector, you get your pension to which you contribute a percentage you get free shares and the option to buy shares at a reduced rate full sick pay and holidays which also pay half of your shift allowance.
I am not obliged to work more than 42.5 hrs a week if I choose not to, the only issue is the shifts new starters get the least desirable times I get 4 weekends in 10
off and rarely do more than 50-55 hrs the work is constant and stable and you take your time,increments are paid for weekendsand any time after 22:00 and increase further past your contractual hrs I find it more of a hobby.If you need further proof, look at the trainee corpses that populate the goods in side waiting room, then go across to the departure lounge at goods out the difference is remarkable.
That’s a good package Mike’s got there but I wouldn’t use it as a yardstick for every company, for instance I have just left an employed job with Home Bargains and they have no shares scheme, no sick pay, basic holiday pay and only the basic government pension
wing-nut:
Big Roy:
Oh and just to add, you don’t need to take a sleeping bag with you if you’ve got your head screwed onWhat, no unplanned nights out then!!
Conor:
Hauling 80 cages off 4-6 at a time and then reloading the empties either on the tail lift or a fixed scissor lift at most drops you work for your money but as mentioned, you’re not being rushed to do it.Its not that hard, just raise suspension and they’ll half unload themselves!!
looks like its time to add this one again? most watched and posted vid sofar methinks.
youtube.com/watch?v=j83zZD41PIA everyone else has uploaded it,and I don’t want to be left out.
and when I had the severe misfortune to have to unload trucks for Tesco,then the rule is 2 cages max on the tail lift.even if one has one box,and one has bogroll. 2 cages on the lift max at any one time…the cowbitch bootfaced manager wifey at lisburn road reported me for telling her to ■■■■■■■ when she dug me for putting on 3 at a time,even when the 3 cages were basically empty. this was the same manager who in her infinite wisdom refused a delivery and rejected the load because the fridge reading was 1 degree more than the set temperature.but that’s the brains of Tesco for you.to be fair,the traffic office told her to ■■■■■■■ also so no harm done there. so perish the thought that some of the holyholy agency plobbers on here have been commiting the heinous crime of putting on more cages at a time than required,though mabey the rules vary throughout the uk for Tosco. who knows/cares?
commonrail:
fradley park have been advertising for around 3 months now.
What puts people off is the start times that are available, 11am, 12 &13.00 etc etc, a few of the agency lads at the DC where I work turned down jobs due to the start times, some have taken the chance and are hoping to change start times further down the line
so…once you managed to lever yourself onto a better start time rosta…do you stay there
wing-nut:
Big Roy:
Oh and just to add, you don’t need to take a sleeping bag with you if you’ve got your head screwed onWhat, no unplanned nights out then!!
No, never done one planned or unplanned, as I say “if you have got your head screwed on”
I will dig in now and wait for the real men to kick off 
commonrail:
so…once you managed to lever yourself onto a better start time rosta…do you stay there
I start 5am, that’s what I asked for, I ain’t planning on going anywhere soon. It’s not the best job in the world but it’s by far not the worst.
When I started we were told we had to take the start times available, 1700, 1730 & 1800 spread over 12 weeks. After about 2 months there were only 3,out of the 10 that started, still on those times, the rest had moved to times they preferred.
If you want to know what your local DC is like apply for a job, they will answer all your questions at interview, assuming you get that far. Some places are notoriously difficult to get into, that should tell you something.
As for the benefits we used to get at ASDA Washington.
Sick pay, holiday pay, pension scheme, shares scheme, cheap legal advice £1 per month, subsidised restaurant, huge book of discounts, card giving 10% off at ASDA, grandparents time off, Benidorm leave- as in take 3 months off over winter with your job safe to come back to. When on rota for bank holidays choice of triple pay or double pay & day off in lieu, if not on rota double time & day off in lieu after first shift back. There are more I’ve forgot but, apart from the first two, I’ve not had a sniff of any in GH.
Most jobs worth having you’re not going straight in at the top table, you have to take whatever shift they offer you to get your feet under the table.
Then when you prove you can hack it, often a minimum period after start, when the right shift comes up apply for it.
I started where i am on nights, you’re very lucky indeed if you don’t get nights, took me about 12 months before i got my present shift pattern, assuming i manage to keep me licence in these days of shifting medical goal posts they’ll have to carry me out of here in a wooden box.
Where some applicants fail to get good jobs is they lack enthusiasm, and if you put yourselves in the bosses shoes for a minute it becomes clear, if you mess them about hum and harr not sure and all the other bollox when you’re applying for a job, what is a boss supposed to expect said applicant to be like when they’ve been there 2 years and feel secure…you’ve got prove yourself hungry enough in the first place.
Some drivers that transfer from general or specialised to supermarket type work hate it at first, if you decide to jump give yourself 6 months at least as it can sometimes take that long before the penny drops, best time for the penny to drop is in the depths of winter when you drive past some poor bugger out in the elements doing what you would have been had you not jumped.
The only real downside to supermarket and related jobs is that you seldom get your own lorry, that can come hard if you take a pride in your work and your motor, when you find many of your colleagues used to be anything but lorry drivers and have not an ounce of driver pride between them and abuse and break the equipment and leave it is crap condition, even worse when you do get your own lorry allocated and when you return on shift after your rest days off it’s been damaged yet again.
I’m not looking for a job atm.was just trying to get the “low down”
One for the future…maybe