Supermarket night shifts

thewildthings

Firstly...I have never worked. I am looking into doing 6-12 months volunteering in a charity shop and applying to do night shifts at ASDA or TESCO.

I just have a few questions:

1. What is the pay like? I am 21
2. Will they let you choose hours and days? My grandparents live with me and my parents and as both my parents work sometimes I have to care for them both and so I am unable to work on those days.
3. Will they let you choose what you can do- i.e. checkouts, stock taking, shelf stacking etc?

I don't expect to get a job there now- but will say 9 months of volunteering in a couple of charity shops for about 10 hours a week suffice for "experience?"

Southend1

1. Minimum wage.
2. No
3. No

You need no experience to stack shelves on a supermarket night shift, only a couple of hours training.

Welcome to 21st century Britain.

AP007

Pay depends on who it is with

To apply to a supermarket you have to be prepaid to work 7 days a week and all shifts or normally you can not continue with the application if you tick only mornings etc

Job depends on what the job is you apply for

AP007

Southend1 wrote: »

1. Minimum wage.
2. No
3. No

You need no experience to stack shelves on a supermarket night shift, only a couple of hours training.

Welcome to 21st century Britain.

ASDA and ALDI pay a lot more than that

Southend1

Aldi's pay more but AFAIK they don't employ night shift workers.

paddedjohn

Don't mean to sound harsh but you shouldn't be putting your life on hold to look after your grandparents.

m3kx

1. Usually it is minimum wage + a premium for unsocial hours. Pay is dependant on what supermarket you are in, as a guide I'm sure Tesco is over £10 an hour where as Sainsburys is just over £8.50. Bare in mind the chances are once you've been there 6 months/12 months your pay will rise slightly and you will receive a staff discount card.

2. When applying for nightshift, or any job, you will be applying for what nights they have advertised. I doubt you will get to choose, unless they have staff willing/wanting to change or it is a new store. The hours depend on store, store size and opening hours but most places it is 10hour shifts. For example, Sainsburys do not have 24 hour stores so nightshift is 10pm-8am which is when the store closes at night and when it re-opens in the morning.

3. Again, depends on store. If its 24 hours then you could be on tills, if its not you will be filling shelves. If its a small store you could be all over the shop, from grocery to fresh and non food areas (like home appliances, laundry or clothing) or in larger stores you tend to be in one department only.

The likes of Sainsburys don't even look at CV's anymore, they just ask for two previous jobs so you can put the volunteer roles down for that!

Just a wee warning, nightshift is hard work and changing your sleeping pattern for half the week isn't great. Not to put you off, it just isn't suited to some people.

I hope this helps!

Southend1

paddedjohn wrote: »

Don't mean to sound harsh but you shouldn't be putting your life on hold to look after your grandparents.

Oh? Should OP leave them to rot or sleep on the streets then? Is that what you'd do to a member of your family in need?

paddedjohn

No id tell my parents to sort it out and let me live my life.

AP007

paddedjohn wrote: »

No id tell my parents to sort it out and let me live my life.

wow good family spirit there

Southend1

paddedjohn wrote: »

No id tell my parents to sort it out and let me live my life.

Oh dear. I'm glad you're not a member of my family!

Here's some information from Carers UK. You may recognise your own attitude when you reach the last sentence...

"At some point in our lives every one of us will be involved in looking after an older relative, a sick friend or a disabled family member. 6.5 million people in the UK are caring right now but whilst caring is part and parcel of life, without the right support the personal costs of caring can be high.

Caring can take its toll on your finances, your health, your career and your family and your social life. Carers can fall out of paid work and many rely on low-level benefits, and face severe financial hardship.

Yet without unpaid carers our NHS would collapse and the country would face a £119 billion care bill it cannot afford. Carers are contributing so much to their communities by looking after the people they love, yet in return they face ignorance, isolation and little or no support."