OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

grassgirl

Where do you work Horace? Somewhere along the line there should be a personnel dept, being pick on is very bad and needs to be highlighted immediately, even if you need to go above the people who are physically there and try a head office x

I sympathise with public transport woes, have 6am starts and no other way but to get a cab as I'm not confident enough on a bike, working for nothing but trying to better myself..

Keep your head up and don't bite back at them, do what you can and see what help you can get from higher up

grassgirl

mum2one wrote: »

grassgirl, that doesnt seem long for an 8 hr shift, where I use to be we had 1hrs break, i would have a look on acas, they should be able to get the answers xxx

That's perfect thank you
Can only see "20-minute rest break if the working day is longer than six hours" but will give then a call, will soon know then, thanks again for your help :T

moneyistooshorttomention

Horace,

That's bad re that woman who does the rosters making a sarcastic comment about a health defect you cant help (ie visual). That's something she shouldn't do and, with her having done that, is making me wonder whether she deliberately DIDNT alter the type size of the roster in order to catch you out (which is precisely what has happened in the event). I don't think she's any friend of yours and I would be wary of her in your position.

I don't know the nature of your sight defect, but do you have a magnifying glass that you could use to check out the rosters in future? Don't give her the chance to pull that one on you again...get someone else to check out the roster for you if need be.

If the buses wont get there you for 7am, then they wont get you there for 7am and they must have surely known that fact at interview? Even in a place with a decent bus service, there is likely to be few (if any) buses prior to that time of a morning and how many shop assistants can afford cars or taxis? They knew (or should have known) the score when taking on a single person (ie not able to get subsidised financially for costs shop assistants cant usually afford, such as running a car) and therefore not able to turn up for work at such an early hour. At interview (or whatever the equivalent was for you) its up to them to check out whether the candidate can realistically physically manage to get to the job at the hours required and, if they take them on for the job, then surely that means they know it will be physically possible to get public transport as required to get to and from it?

I do hope this is going to work out for you Horace, that you get offered the full-time job you thought this was (grrr at them for not telling you it was going to be part-time) and with suitable hours that fit in with when buses are available.

At the least, they have not been careful to ensure that you knew, at the outset, exactly what was entailed in doing the job (hours/times worked/etc) and that is the least people are entitled to expect an employer to take into account.

You've got more "guts" than I have even trying to work at a job like that in circumstances like yours. I'd personally be far too inclined to tell them just where "they could get off". Certainly, I would be trying hard to remain polite/keep my cool and would be carefully explaining the "facts of life" to them in words of no more than two syllables.

Correction = when employers have been unreasonable in the past, then I have indeed been very prone to doing my best to trying to "keep cool" and not get provoked into telling them "what for" and then doing exactly that (ie carefully explaining the "facts of life" to them in those words of no more than two syllables). They've known very well that that meant I had decided they either weren't very bright or weren't very nice (or both.....), but I just kept right on explaining things "carefully and clearly" to them however many times it was necessary to if they were being unreasonable.

Shades of assertiveness training = "I would like to be able to get in before 8am, but its not possible because of the buses. I would like to be able to etc but the first bus is at x a.m.. I would like to be able to but....". Just think "rinse and repeat" and keep repeating the message of what-is-required of them as a reasonable employer however many times necessary....

Horace

Thanks all - I am not allowed to take anything onto the shop floor not even a magnifier. I rang HR today and they advised me to speak to someone called a Big Rep and if I don't wish to speak to anyone at my store, I can visit another branch and ask to see one there. Big Reps deal with disability and other staffing issues.

I have glaucoma affecting both with sight loss in my left eye, and short sightedness in my right along with a lot of grey stringy floaters that I see all the time (when I get tired I get flashing floaters).

I am just not being trained to do anything, I have to clear tables - sometimes I get asked to hand samples out or take food to customers but I am never allowed on the till nor am I allowed to prepare food. I didn't ask to be put in the caf!, it was just where I was put.

I told them at the interview that I was reliant on buses. I told the work programme people that I could get to Shirley (one bus) and to Solihull (the same bus) but this retail park was not where I wanted to work due to its awkward location which means I have to rely on another bus to get there.

Grassgirl - I work for a major retailer of food, clothing and furniture. HR were very helpful as far as they could be but really it is only a call centre, I have now been given the correct details so that I can log on to the staff website - I have done that and changed the password.

To be honest, I feel like telling them to shove it but the sensible cool-headed part of me tells me to hang on in there because of the new store that will be opening down the road from me (I won't need to rely on buses then because I would be able to walk to work) and I will be able to transfer. I want to work in a furniture/homewares department.

Today, I got up fashionably late - after 10am, I have written some C cards (they need to be posted) but I haven't done anything else other than chuck painkillers down my neck and wear a heat pad on my back. Will have to go for a wander later as I need to drop a prescription off, need also to post cards, get some frozen veg too.

moneyistooshorttomention

I would have thought that a magnifier (as a health requirement) would be allowed, in the same way as guide dogs for the blind are allowed into places that pet dogs aren't allowed iyswim?

Fingers crossed indeed Horace that you manage to get swopped to that other store come the time. It doesn't sound like the one you are in currently has taken a blind bit of notice of various things you said to them/they said to you.

Horace

I didn't go out as planned but stayed in and did nothing, I faffed on the computer for a bit and watched some telly but didn't do any of the jobs I was going to do. Am feeling a bit overwhelmed and am having an attack of the can't be bothered to do anythings.

Am thinking that when I drop my prescription off at the quacks that I ask for an appointment, have started feeling very depressed again which isn't doing me any good.

Was on FB earlier and saw that James Martin (the chef) has started to do a programme in the mornings at 9.15 about loneliness, I caught the first episode on iplayer. Sometimes I can feel totally alone - often when I am doing something that would be great to share with a significant other but for the most part I don't feel lonely. I don't see any significant others on my horizon at all.

I have been a bit naughty, I didn't get far with wrapping one of my presents to myself and am wearing them instead (a pair of slippers). I will have to get something else lol.

Must make a trip to the city centre this week too, I need to see one of these Big Reps.

fiftyeighter_2

I've been watching that Horace, some bits are so sad. Wish you could get people together like that. But I wonder what happens when the cameras have gone. Let's hope some friendships have been forged. I like you can get so lonely even though I still have my DD 19 still living at home.

Horace

Hi peeps

I got up a bit earlier today despite staying up until 2am reading a book:eek: I did a bit of shopping and spent the £5 voucher from Orchard on a joint of beef (in the end the beef cost me £1.74) which is now in the freezer. I decided to do a bit of C shopping for me and got myself two new books - one is Nora Roberts latest and the other is Book 3 of the Hairy Dieters Good Eating (I haven't seen Book 2 and I already have Book 1). Nipped to the hardware store too and picked up a copy of the Rousler (more C reading). Bought more stamps at the post office and posted some cards. Tried to book an appointment with my GP but they are running that daft system again and I have to ring in at 8.30am (the phone is always engaged) but I have managed to get an appointment for next week.

Tidied up a bit and took chairs upstairs and brought the tree down. Tree is now up, with two sets of white lights and it has silver tinsel on it, didn't pull the branches apart much either (I never do because then it gives me opportunities to tinker) and some baubles have gone on it too. Mum gave me a plastic frond that has a snow effect and some cones on it (she bought it in a sale) and this has been draped on my mantelpiece and decorated with some battery operated lights and I have put a straw robin at each end of the mantelpiece with a straw squirrel in the middle (he might be moved).

Identifying the fact that I don't eat properly, I cooked up some lamb chops for dinner and served it with the rest of my colcannon and some extra sprouts with gravy and mint sauce.

Sorted out my collection of carnival glass too and now I know what I am keeping and what I plan to sell.

Must get a bus pass tomorrow as I expires on Thursday (hopefully the work programme will pay for it).

Horace

Hello gang

You must all be really busy as I found this thread on the 3rd or 4th page of the forum.

Saw my employment advisor at the work programme on Wednesday and it would appear that I finish with them on 9 January. I managed to get 5 scratchy bus tickets from him (they wouldn't pay for a bus pass) because I am still on the dole.

Today, I went to town specifically to go into a different branch of the retailer for whom I work and asked to speak to a Big Rep. The one I spoke to was very nice but she said she would pass my details on to another regional rep who covered my store - this person rang whilst I was inside Water Stones looking at books. She was hopping mad that I had bypassed the store management totally and in the end I asked her if she was always so rude or was it just for my benefit? It would seem that when I go to work tomorrow things will be different and I will be receiving the training that I have been asking for since I started.

Still not ready for C - my tree is up but with only half the baubles on it.

Hope you are all ok and are busy preparing for C.

mum2one

Horace - it sounds like the left doesn't know what the right hand is doing.... hope it is better for you tomorrow.

Its been getting organised here, the tree went up on Sunday, then been sorting everything else out.

Cards are wrote, still got some to post, got to get them sent tomorrow, last of the family presents been wrapped, trying to be orgainsed and use different wrapping for all of the family.

DD had a present from her half brother... that went down like a ton of bricks, but shes taken a lot better than I thought she would.

Hope everyone ok xx