New job.

Just a quick update.

I went to the induction for my new job. 3 hours of signing off on papers you haven’t read and ticking all the H&S boxes. They have changed the pay structure, 50p per hour more, no overtime rate. Just done a quick calculation, say 52½ hour week, take off ½ hour per day for break, so 50 hours. Old rate, £520, new rate £515. And it used to be more for Saturday, plus time and a third for any overtime, that’s now flat rate as well. Sundays are £14, flat rate.

They wouldn’t have changed it if it didn’t cost them less.

Anyway, that’s a bit shitter.

After the induction they were keen to get me started, Mon-Fri, every other Sunday.

It’s the days aspect and the guaranteed work that appeals.

So they said they’d text me with a time for a driving assessment by 19.00 hrs. They didn’t. The next day I got one asking could I make the assessment at 017.00. I turned up  and there was a Polish lad from the previous day’s induction there. Which meant two drivers for one assessor. An immediate fail. The security guard had no idea we were supposed to be there and couldn’t raise anyone on the ‘phone. We went and sat in the canteen. An hour late we were still waiting when two other drivers arrived for their 18.00hrs assessments. At 18.15 the assessor turned up. The company, desperate to recruit drivers, changed their M.O. to give a contract they are that keen to secure drivers, keen to give a good first impression, were that tight they wouldn’t even allocate the assessor a shift to assess, with at least 4 drivers booked in, they had him out doing runs as well!

The guy said “I’m going out on another run lads, so I can’t assess you both. If one of you wants to come out with me I can assess you then.”

He wanted one of us to go and drive with him while he did a full shift. Until at least 03.00hrs. Unpaid. He said “This is transport, lads. You can either come out with me or wait until we can fit you in for another assessment.”

No mate, we all work in transport. This isn’t transport what this is, is a piss take.

I walked out.

I’m calm now. I was furious at the time. I said “I’ve been here over an hour already, I’ve got a sick mrs at home in bed…”  The main transport manager was hovering over his shoulder, presumably to see if we had a can-do attitude. I cared not a whit.

Anyway, the texted me the next day and asked “Can you start on Friday?”

No assessment.

FFS!

And she said it’s more likely to be dinner time starts, as opposed to mornings. The two start times I’ve got so far are Friday 18.00hrs (not dinner time) then Sunday 03.30hrs (way not dinner time) so Saturday, my day off, is going to be spent in bed.

I’ll give it a few weeks to see how it goes, but I’ve already applied for another job. If anything else come up, permanent or temp to perm, same sort of money, I’ll be applying.

See you how goes.

Oh, and as I mentioned above, Wendy is as sick as a dog. She is gutted. She’s only been back to work for seven weeks after ten months off and she’s been sent home sick.

In the 19 years we’ve been together neither of us has ever been this ill. It’s a full-on ‘flu thing. She was freezing when she came in, I chucked her in bed and cuddled her for body heat. Her teeth were literally chattering and she was hurting from her muscles tensing with the cold. It took her ages to warm up (I was sweating like a pig!) then later when I used the digi-thermometer on her she was 103.6 F That’s not good.

She’s been like it for three days now, shaking with cold and boiling and throwing up. And moaning. So much moaning. Again, it’s me who’s the real victim in all of this.

To cheer her up in her moribund state I’ve set her up an eBay and Amazon account on her tablet and showed her how to shop for shoes and a handbag.

I’m hoping I don’t get it. It really does look awful. I can’t see how I could work through that and with me just starting a new job an’ all…, not good.

Anywho, this was supposed to be a quick one.

Later,

Buck.