Have you ever heard of SSP?

jodilye

I work in marks and spencer, owned by ssp. They are apparantely dedicated to being the 'food travel experts'. They do not extend this dedication to their staff. Earlier this year we have had our double time on bank holidays cancelled and added to our holiday quota to make 28 days(gee, thanks). Recently we have been told we will not get a raise this year (they have a turnover in britain of 180m over 4500 staff) and instead we will get 50p extra for one month if someone in our unit attains a 90% score in a mystery shopper. Sounds good? Almost noone in our unit will get this as you cannot be ONE minute late or absent for one day. I know it is supposed to be an incentive but it is in fact a cop out. Anyway, these annoy me but do not particularly affact me directly. What does affect me, coming up to christmas is that our december pay was due on xmas day. Normally we would be paid a week earlier and recieve a 5 week pay in January. Now, for no explained reason and I am at a loss to see what benefit they are getting, we will be getting paid on CHRISTMAS EVE. What good is this to anyone? I don't know who to complain to or why on earth they are doing it. I wonder if they are trying to see how far they can push their staff before they mutiny! If anyone can help in anyway about the best way to complain, as their website does not offer anything for employees to get in contact, and I don't want to get a reply from some secretary who doesn't care!

maninthestreet

jodilye wrote: »

I work in marks and spencer, owned by ssp. They are apparantely dedicated to being the 'food travel experts'. They do not extend this dedication to their staff. Earlier this year we have had our double time on bank holidays cancelled and added to our holiday quota to make 28 days(gee, thanks). Recently we have been told we will not get a raise this year (they have a turnover in britain of 180m over 4500 staff) and instead we will get 50p extra for one month if someone in our unit attains a 90% score in a mystery shopper. Sounds good? Almost noone in our unit will get this as you cannot be ONE minute late or absent for one day. I know it is supposed to be an incentive but it is in fact a cop out. Anyway, these annoy me but do not particularly affact me directly. What does affect me, coming up to christmas is that our december pay was due on xmas day. Normally we would be paid a week earlier and recieve a 5 week pay in January. Now, for no explained reason and I am at a loss to see what benefit they are getting, we will be getting paid on CHRISTMAS EVE. What good is this to anyone? I don't know who to complain to or why on earth they are doing it. I wonder if they are trying to see how far they can push their staff before they mutiny! If anyone can help in anyway about the best way to complain, as their website does not offer anything for employees to get in contact, and I don't want to get a reply from some secretary who doesn't care!

how do other people in you deparment feel about this?

Oldernotwiser

I imagine that they'll save a lot of money by not paying people a week before Christmas and earlier than they need to; there's a recession on, even for M&S!

SueC_2

You are due to be paid on the 25th December, but instead they are paying you on the 24th. You are being paid a day earlier than strictly necessary (presumably because the banks aren't open on the 25th, in the same way as you would get paid on a Friday if your payday fell on a Sunday). I'm not sure you've actually got particularly valid grounds for complaint there.

The fact that in previous years they have provided you with the added benefit of being paid a week early is fairly irrelevant, unless it is a benefit which appears in your contract or Employee Handbook or somewhere equivalent. If it does, you may have a case, but otherwise I fear not. Sorry.

You talk of mutiny, but if anyone is seriously thinking of resigning because they are being paid a day early, I'd seriously counsel them to take a long hard look at the current job situation before doing so!

jodilye

No one has spoken of leaving but I just fail to understand why the switch of decision on payday, They may be suffering in the depression (ha) but they will be paying me the same amount either way. All I want to get across is what an awful company it is, and possibly deter anyone from working for them! (will I chance getting sacked for that? I really don't care anymore, I'm being forced to pay for daily parking and can barely afford to work anymore anyway). Thanks anyway, I know I have no ground to officially complain, they have worked our contracts and handbooks so we can get nothing so it doesn't surprise me, I just think it's very distastful to make their own employees suffer at christmas, there's a recession on for us, too.

SueC_2

[QUOTE= ...but they will be paying me the same amount either way...

...I just think it's very distastful to make their own employees suffer at christmas...[/QUOTE]



If they are paying you the same amount either way, how are you suffering?

If you mean that you want to spend your money before you've actually earned it, that's really not your employer's look-out either. Get a credit card or an overdraft, that's what they're for.

dmg24

jodilye wrote: »

I'm being forced to pay for daily parking

Catch the bus?

Oldernotwiser

jodilye wrote: »

They may be suffering in the depression (ha) but they will be paying me the same amount either way.

A week's interest on the staff payroll of a company as large as M&S will be considerable. I really don't see how you're being made to suffer in any way.

LittleVoice

jodilye wrote: »

I work in marks and spencer, owned by ssp.

Do you know who your employer is, M&S or SSP?

SSP certainly don't own M&S.

DCFC79

jodilye wrote: »

I work in marks and spencer, owned by ssp. They are apparantely dedicated to being the 'food travel experts'. They do not extend this dedication to their staff. Earlier this year we have had our double time on bank holidays cancelled and added to our holiday quota to make 28 days(gee, thanks). Recently we have been told we will not get a raise this year (they have a turnover in britain of 180m over 4500 staff) and instead we will get 50p extra for one month if someone in our unit attains a 90% score in a mystery shopper. Sounds good? Almost noone in our unit will get this as you cannot be ONE minute late or absent for one day. I know it is supposed to be an incentive but it is in fact a cop out. Anyway, these annoy me but do not particularly affact me directly. What does affect me, coming up to christmas is that our december pay was due on xmas day. Normally we would be paid a week earlier and recieve a 5 week pay in January. Now, for no explained reason and I am at a loss to see what benefit they are getting, we will be getting paid on CHRISTMAS EVE. What good is this to anyone? I don't know who to complain to or why on earth they are doing it. I wonder if they are trying to see how far they can push their staff before they mutiny! If anyone can help in anyway about the best way to complain, as their website does not offer anything for employees to get in contact, and I don't want to get a reply from some secretary who doesn't care!

first thing you say M&S are owned by SSP but do you mean SSP run the store as part of a franchise agreement so is where you work a store at a mainline railway station or an airport.

secondly pay day is pay day and as your pay day for next month falls on xmas day they have decided to move it to the day before or xmas eve, dont see teh problem with that though

jodilye wrote: »

No one has spoken of leaving but I just fail to understand why the switch of decision on payday, They may be suffering in the depression (ha) but they will be paying me the same amount either way. All I want to get across is what an awful company it is, and possibly deter anyone from working for them! (will I chance getting sacked for that? I really don't care anymore, I'm being forced to pay for daily parking and can barely afford to work anymore anyway). Thanks anyway, I know I have no ground to officially complain, they have worked our contracts and handbooks so we can get nothing so it doesn't surprise me, I just think it's very distastful to make their own employees suffer at christmas, there's a recession on for us, too.

firstly why is paying for parking an issue, my previous i had to pay if i drove to work and the nearest car park is an ncp but theres not much i could do about so i payed, your other colleagues pay or those who drive so do they moan about it

secondly how exactly are you being made to suffer

trevormax

As LittleVoice said, SSP (Select Service Partner) dont own M&S, they run a franchise for M&S stores at mainline railway stations and airports.

Also I don't see how someone being one minute late for work or having a days absence for illness will affect a mystery shopper. Does the mystery shopper go to the store at the exact minute it opens and then check to see if someone is late or ill? Answer: No. They go in at a random time, buy some stuff, ask some questions and generally check your !!!!!! out. Then they score you.

Also many people in many companies will not be getting a pay rise this year. In fact, many people will be taking a pay reduction or cutting days.