Northern Salary

[warriorofrovac]

Just wondering how much Northern typically pays per annum for a Customer Service Dispatcher role. Is it above or below 15k?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Just wondering how much Northern typically pays per annum for a Customer Service Dispatcher role. Is it above or below 15k?

I don't know what their basic is but a typical dispatcher at Mcr Piccadilly earns around 25k a year with overtime

 

[Beveridges]

Salary is £17,500 plus an enhancement called IUP thats worth about £2000 that you get because of the irregular hours. Then on top of that you get 25% for Saturdays and about 25-35% extra for every hour worked between 21:00 and 06:00. This is worth about another £1500 so the salary is really £21k for working 35 hours and no overtime.
With a lot of overtime you can reach £25k.
Saturdays and Sunday overtime pays 75% extra and weekdays only 25% I think, so you could reach 25k by working 29 days (8 hour shifts) overtime if they are all Saturday or Sunday. This sounds like a lot but it still works out an average of less than 40 hours per week for 25k if you get all the overtime in weekends.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Salary is £17,500 plus an enhancement called IUP thats worth about £2000 that you get because of the irregular hours. Then on top of that you get 25% for Saturdays and about 25-35% extra for every hour worked between 21:00 and 06:00. This is worth about another £1500 so the salary is really £21k for working 35 hours and no overtime.
With a lot of overtime you can reach £25k.
Saturdays and Sunday overtime pays 75% extra and weekdays only 25% I think, so you could reach 25k by working 29 days (8 hour shifts) overtime if they are all Saturday or Sunday. This sounds like a lot but it still works out an average of less than 40 hours per week for 25k if you get all the overtime in weekends.

Good to know I was right

 

[warriorofrovac]

Cheers for your answer guys.

Just quickly, what does a Customer Service Dispatcher do?

I am assuming by the name that they deal with Customer Service (answering questions.. etc..) but do they also dispatch the trains?

 

[142094]

Cheers for your answer guys.

Just quickly, what does a Customer Service Dispatcher do?

I am assuming by the name that they deal with Customer Service (answering questions.. etc..) but do they also dispatch the trains?

If it is like the ones at Leeds and York, they'll turn up on the platform, answer questions etc then dispatch the train, then go off to another platform to do the same again.

 

[Beveridges]

The job resolves around despatching, they get allocated a platform or several platforms and they have to despatch everything from them. With bay platforms they have to get there 3 minutes early to check if the train has its crew then ring it out to the signaller to give the signaller time to allocate a path for it. At through platforms they just turn up and despatch it. At the right time they raise the bat and despatch the train. While doing all this, at the same time, they answer passenger questions.
At a busy station they can be constantly walking from one train to the other. At a quiet station or platform, they could have lots of time between trains, in which case they spend most of the time sat in an office. Sometimes this office is private, sometimes it is a customer information office. It depends on the station.
When alterations occur, like unit swaps, they often have to talk to the signaller and control with a radio or phone to understand which units are working which trains. They have to know whats going on 100% as the information screens can often wrong during alterations and require correcting.
You also have to radio other despatchers to get trains on other platforms if there are clashes.
The role varies a lot between stations. At some stations they can add "other" duties like cleaning, paperwork, announcements, station security and sometimes covering the supervisor when hes on his break.
At some stations its an easy job with not a lot of work, at other stations its busy and there is constantly something to do, particularly if "cleaning" is part of the duty

 

[warriorofrovac]

Thank you for your most helpful replies. I will be more prepared for my interview now. Would you consider it an entry level position?

I'm confident I can do the job, but convincing the interviewer is another question entirely. I imagine they will ask questions concerning juggling passengers questions and your dispatch duties and how you go about handling them. Goodness knows what the right answer to that is.

 

[Beveridges]

Even Trainee Driver is an entry level position, so Despatcher certainly is an entry level position

Where are you going to be based, I might know the station quite well

 

[warriorofrovac]

Hi.

Cheers for your continued replies.

The role is based in Leeds.

 

[142094]

Probably a lot more work to be done at Leeds compared to York. From what I've seen the dispatcher there spends about 3/4 of his time in the office, seeing as just about all Northern services depart within a 15 minute block.

 

[warriorofrovac]

Does that mean you are only expected to dispatch Northern services?

 

[Lrd]

Does that mean you are only expected to dispatch Northern services?

No, I highly doubt it, unless other TOCs have platform staff there...

 

[142094]

No, I highly doubt it, unless other TOCs have platform staff there...

There is seperate TPE, East Coast and XC dispatchers at Leeds. At York, EC do EC, XC and GC but Northern only do their own.

 

[Lrd]

Oh right, I'm used to it down here where SWT manage Southampton, therefore they have dispatch staff dispatching all operators trains.

Leeds is managed by Network Rail it?

 

[142094]

Leeds is managed by Network Rail it?

Yes, although I don't think there are any NR dispatchers at Leeds (unless this has changed recently).

 

[warriorofrovac]

Thank you for your continued help. I really do appreciate the time you are taking to answer my questions. If you don't mind, I do have another.

What is the recruitment process like for this role?

My last Northern interview was for a Trainee Driver and the interview took place in a conference centre with a group of Trainers/Managers etc..however this interview is due to take place in a Station Supervisors Office at a rather small station, rather than Leeds..where the position is.

I am aware that for Conductor/Train Driver recuitment, if you are successful after the interview you are required to attend physcological assessments/tests and then if successful, a medical. Is it the same here?

I assumed it would be 'Interview' then 'Medical' then 'Job Offer' but assuming the role is safety critical, I'm not so sure now?

 

[Beveridges]

It used to be Application form > Assessment > Interview > Medical for Despatch roles but I heard Northern have got rid of the Assessment stage now, so its just the other stages if this is correct! If you are required to do an assessment they will send out practice stuff at least a week in advanced. The assessment (if they still have it, which I don't think they do) is very easy compared to the Driver one.

 

[whhistle]

I imagine they will ask questions concerning juggling passengers questions and your dispatch duties and how you go about handling them. Goodness knows what the right answer to that is.

That might be in the test rather than the interview. The interview would be more "give me a crappy example that you can't really remember, or is made up of when you said something nice to someone else".

Remember though, safety is KEY.
In the test (or at least the three I have had) (all the same), you get some guy asking you questions while listening for the whistle, honk and a "train ready to depart". If you get the question wrong, that is better than getting the honk beep and woman wrong.

 

[warriorofrovac]

Hopefully it is a straightfoward interview, followed by medical and then job. I'm praying there isn't a assessment centre stage.

Getting invited to Medical = Job offer. Basically that's what I want.

 

[Beveridges]

I've passed a medical before and not got a job offer. I know about 1 other person who also has passed a medical and was not offered a job. They can still put you "on hold" after passing the medical.

 

[BOSCH]

There is seperate TPE, East Coast and XC dispatchers at Leeds. At York, EC do EC, XC and GC

GC are self despatch at all stations including York

 

[Beveridges]

Hopefully it is a straightfoward interview, followed by medical and then job. I'm praying there isn't a assessment centre stage.

I was glad there was an assessment stage when I did mine as meant there was less people to compete against at Interview. Also I find Assessments are always easier than interviews for railway jobs. In fact interviews are often very tricky. If you do get an assessment I got one test that was exactly the same as what "whhistle" described, plus a ticket checking test (page after page of tickets and you have to say if they are valid or not) and a comprehension test (read information then get asked about it). However I think they have dropped the Assessment Centre stage now for Despatch roles.

 

[142094]

GC are self despatch at all stations including York

I often see EC there as well (at York) - perhaps just giving a hand?

 

[warriorofrovac]

I've passed a medical before and not got a job offer. I know about 1 other person who also has passed a medical and was not offered a job. They can still put you "on hold" after passing the medical.

I can't imagine what it would be like to experience that. To come so close, and yet not get the job. I'd be so gutted.

As the days get closer to my interview, I get more worried. I wonder how many people have been invited to an interview for this position.

 

[Anvil1984]

Probably a lot more work to be done at Leeds compared to York. From what I've seen the dispatcher there spends about 3/4 of his time in the office, seeing as just about all Northern services depart within a 15 minute block.

Well yes there is a lot more Northern dispatch work at Leeds than at York as Northern dont have dispatch staff there. The station co-ordinator sometimes comes out to see the train off but its conductor self dispatch there

 

[142094]

Well yes there is a lot more Northern dispatch work at Leeds than at York as Northern dont have dispatch staff there. The station co-ordinator sometimes comes out to see the train off but its conductor self dispatch there

Sometimes? Just about every Harrogate or Blackpool North train and he is there.

 

[Anvil1984]

Im based at York and know its self despatch 100%. He is only there in case something goes wrong or gets held up. He is Northerns Station Co-ordinator who has a whole lot more to do (ie organise set swaps with control, units to fuel point etc). They come out to see the train off but if they have other stuff to be getting on with or if the Blackpool and Harrogate train is leaving at the same time as they are often timetabled to he can not be in two places at the same time

 

[142094]

Right, but still, he is there often enough he might as well be a dispatcher. Better than sitting in the office I bet.

 

[Anvil1984]

More interesting for them yes but they are not safety critical and not trained / assessed in station dispatch (despite some of them being ex-guards) therefore they arent dispatchers they dont even do passenger assistance (wheelchairs etc) that is done by EC staff at York or the conductor.