Preparedness for when

pineapple

I used to be on something similar to a zero contract.
For years I was a 'casual worker' for social services at a residential mental health unit. When local social services was merged with health, I kept my old hourly rate which was actually higher than the rate for those on the new NHS contract. Plus I did a lot of nights so a higher rate again. I covered for sickness and holidays and was paid just for the time I was there. Their sickness rate was so bad I was always being called in and in fact some weeks I worked full time or more. So much so that I was regarded by colleagues as on the staff and was even offered a full time contracted management job. Which I turned down because at that time freedom, flexibility and the lack of career pressure were more important and I wouldn't have earned that much more as a proper employee under the new contracts anyway.
Despite the downsides, I loved it. I would often come in at short notice and save their bacon so the management was always grateful. I never liked to say no so if I didn't want to work, I just 'hid' when the 'phone rang. :rotfl:

mardatha

This is the time of year I start to feel winter approaching. It was down to 9C last couple nights, they had ground frost up in the highlands, and is only a matter of days until the first snow lol. I'm starting to eye up sock wool....
Is anybody else getting twitchy?

GreyQueen

Pineapple, one of my rellies-in-law was a lorry driver, fully employed by a big logistics company.

They were always crazing him for extra work, so much so that for many years his family did not ever answer their own phone. They'd let the answerphone pick up, conveniently be "out" if it was the company, and call back family and friends.

He was a hardworking geezer who was already out of the road from Sun-Fri night and they still wanted more.............!

I was once interviewed for what was not advertised as, but turned out to be, a zero hours contract. I was astonished as had never encountered the concept before. Asked the interviewer if that meant that I wouldn't know what hours I'd be working from one week to another? It was worse than that; I wouldn't know each day if I'd have work on the morrow.

I declined (he was un-phased) and as I already had a job, couldn't be affected by sanctions on the benefits I didn't get.

I think these would be unmanageable unless you were bringing in a second income as a spouse/ partner or were actually a young person living at home with family. Could you say to a landlord, Hey, I only got 0%/ 20%/ 50% of full time this week, so I'll won't paying you any rent at all, or only a fraction of what I owe, is that OK with you?

Because of the nature of my job, I know a fair bit about the underbelly of economic society here in this city. There are biz-peeps getting puff-pieces in the regional press whose profits are subsidised by Jo(e) Taxpayer. Their staff have so few hours and such appallingly low pay that they're eligible for HB/CTB and in some cases are working and still eligible for JSA whilst in work!

And the employers are retail chains and nightclub/ pub chains and all sorts who are quite able to offer lots of individuals more that 10-12 hours per week, but prefer not to because it's cheaper to employ lots of very part-time workers and have the rest of us pick up the bill to stop them starving and being homeless.

[Deleted User]

MAR I'm starting to be looking forwards to Autumn, I know I've had enough summer when instead of thinking oh good courgettes I find myself thinking oh God courgettes! I'm there now and finding I'm wanting hot pots and stews not salads and cold meats. I wonder if we have a built in sensor for changing seasons and nutrition? I'm actively looking forwards to those autumn mornings when you feel the first chill of the year and smell the bonfire smoke from the evening before which are usually followed by mellow and golden days and for the nights to start drawing in as that's getting closer to lighting up the woodstove again, Cheers Lyn xxx.

mardatha

It's 14C here, my fire is on, and the mince/veg/tatties is cooking as we speak.

[Deleted User]

MAR enjoy!!!

pineapple

GreyQueen wrote: »

I think these would be unmanageable unless you were bringing in a second income as a spouse/ partner or were actually a young person living at home with family.

I was probably lucky in that earnings more than covered my financial commitments. Plus the unit staff were predictable in going sick before or after weekends, bank holidays and leave... :rotfl: I think things have toughened up now but I could never understand how some of them got away with it. I once did agency work too - similar scenario.
I signed on at one stage. I don't know how it is now but the system/bureaucracy just didn't cater for peeps with intemittent high/low/no income.
Back to the weather, I even took a hot water bottle to bed last night to warm the tootsies :eek:

Confuzzled

mardatha wrote: »

This is the time of year I start to feel winter approaching. It was down to 9C last couple nights, they had ground frost up in the highlands, and is only a matter of days until the first snow lol. I'm starting to eye up sock wool....
Is anybody else getting twitchy?

i feel it too mardatha, when i got up yesterday not only did it feel autumnal it SMELLED autumnal, made sure to get a nice few lungfuls of it too

i've ramped up the winter preps now and my freezer is so full to bursting with clearance deals i have had to stop going to the regular grocery store for the time being for fear of bringing home more bargains i can't actually fit in there!

i've moved to a new area so i'm getting used to new shopping strategies. i'm planning to head out to the local market late in the day and see if they do any end of the day specials. i feel lucky to even have a market available, usually all i've seen in scotland is this artisanal farmers markets that are few and far between and very pricey but this is a proper, cheap and cheerful weekly year round market. anyway i'm hoping to get some end of the day bargains like i've done in london markets in the past so i can get the dehydrator going again.

not sure there will be much foraging this year, everything came on so late and then it was cold for too long into the season. i'm hoping the recent heatwave will have helped but i've not seen ANY rowan (is that possible in scotland? :eek:) barely any dog roses, again bizarre in scotland and the brambles are tiny and many are still green and hard, seems a bit late in the season to be so small...

thriftwizard

Confuzzled, my rowanberries are orange & fat, turning red as I type, but I'm in the far south. I'm watching the apples & quinces fatten up nicely without splitting, which is what's happened for the last 3 years as it was so wet, and am planning to test the figs for ripeness later on. There are sloes & hazels aplenty and it looks like a bumper year for blackberries, which are still green as yet. But the raspberries haven't like the hot dry spell & just shrivelled up; even the chickens aren't trying to scrump them. We're often picking them clear up to Christmas, but not this year! I was late with my courgettes though & they are only just getting into their stride, and the beans, too.

Isn't that the point of mixed gardening, though? If one thing fails, there are plenty more to fill the gaps!

Sadly trainee-daughter-in-law hasn't yet found a job to go to that will pay her enough for her to give her mother the rent she needs to keep her roof above her head... nothing's simple! But there are plenty of jobs advertised locally, so something will turn up. Just wishing I could get DD2 to apply for some of them!

homesteadchick

Is there something else to do with Sloes, except for the obvious booze by the way?

Just asking..

...