Conditional Job Offer at South Western Railway

[Layla]

Hi there,
I received a conditional offer of employment (which I accepted) for the Role of Commercial Guard but first have to have a medical & have my references checked before I can hand my notice in, however since the offer was made a number of weeks ago, I have heard nothing from recruitment. I have rung once a few weeks ago, and then more recently emailed recruitment a few days ago but have had no reply. Is this usual? And if so how long have people waited to get started, or have I been job ghosted? What have other peoples recruitment experiences been like with South Western Railway?

 

[SWR_DRIVER]

Firstly, well done on getting the job!

Your best bet will be to not email but to ring them. You’ll start to learn that everything recruitment wise in the rail industry is rather slow!

Might bump into you at some point on the rails (I’m a guard myself!)

HR number: ‭023 8072 8230‬

 

[Layla]

Firstly, well done on getting the job!

Your best bet will be to not email but to ring them. You’ll start to learn that everything recruitment wise in the rail industry is rather slow!

Might bump into you at some point on the rails (I’m a guard myself!)

HR number: ‭023 8072 8230‬

Thank you for responding & the contact advice Bridger. Much appreciated. And yes we may well bump into one another
Your post has offered some reassurance that it is the system, and not the ghosting scenario, which would have been quite disappointing.
I did not want to ring again hense me emailing, as the lady I spoke to was a bit under pressure the last time I called, and I thought I might annoy her if I rang again. I will leave it a week or so, and then ring again. I will choose the day a bit more carefully next time though as I think half the problem was me calling on an assessment day!

Cheers

 

[Stigy]

I’ve heard it’s similar throughout the industry, but from experience SWR’s recruitment is extremely slow and you’ll be chasing them up a while. Well done, just persevere!

 

[Layla]

Thank you Stigy, I will

 

[bb21]

Have you had a medical yet?

If not, that could be one of the things holding it up. Safety critical medicals can be on a long waiting list.

 

[Layla]

Have you had a medical yet?

If not, that could be one of the things holding it up. Safety critical medicals can be on a long waiting list.

Hi BB21, it is the medical I am waiting on, and then they said they would obtain references. I was advised to not apply for my DBS until after I passed the medical, and they have received my references. And obviously not to hand my notice in for my current job until the medical & references part had been completed. The DBS will not be a problem as the job I currently have requires a higher level of vetting than a basic DBS, or even an enhanced one for that matter. I can understand a long waiting list for those kinds of medicals given how many people need to undergo them, and then re-tests periodically so that does make sense. Thank you for explaining that.

 

[Realdeal]

Hi I start with swr in about 6 weeks....just a quick question regarding free travel for you and your family on swr...can the other person ie partner travel alone or is it only free of they travel with the employee? And who is included thanks

 

[Stigy]

Hi I start with swr in about 6 weeks....just a quick question regarding free travel for you and your family on swr...can the other person ie partner travel alone or is it only free of they travel with the employee? And who is included thanks

It can be alone. It’s your spouse/partner and any dependents (those in full time education). You have to apply for the spouse/dependent pass, whereas you’ll have free travel from day one. Bear in mind spouse/dependent passes can only be used for leisure purposes too. All of this will be explained.

 

[Realdeal]

Thanks for the info....

 

[Siqulme]

Interesting to learn, can you apply for depantent passes from day 1 or do you have to wait for a while. When I worked in retail it was 6 months

 

[Stigy]

Interesting to learn, can you apply for depantent passes from day 1 or do you have to wait for a while. When I worked in retail it was 6 months

How do you mean ‘department passes’?. You will automatically fill out the paperwork for your staff travel passes on day one and will receive a temporary one until your permanent one arrives. You should get your PRIV passes when the passes arrive, although I’ve heard that eke people have had to wait 6 months for these?

 

[nuts & bolts]

How do you mean ‘department passes’?. You will automatically fill out the paperwork for your staff travel passes on day one and will receive a temporary one until your permanent one arrives. You should get your PRIV passes when the passes arrive, although I’ve heard that eke people have had to wait 6 months for these?

I think the poster means dependent (family).

 

[Lewis H]

How do you mean ‘department passes’?. You will automatically fill out the paperwork for your staff travel passes on day one and will receive a temporary one until your permanent one arrives. You should get your PRIV passes when the passes arrive, although I’ve heard that eke people have had to wait 6 months for these?

With SWR you get your temp pass from day 1, your PRIV card comes up to 4 weeks after start date, been known for people to recieve them in 2 weeks.

Hi BB21, it is the medical I am waiting on, and then they said they would obtain references. I was advised to not apply for my DBS until after I passed the medical, and they have received my references. And obviously not to hand my notice in for my current job until the medical & references part had been completed. The DBS will not be a problem as the job I currently have requires a higher level of vetting than a basic DBS, or even an enhanced one for that matter. I can understand a long waiting list for those kinds of medicals given how many people need to undergo them, and then re-tests periodically so that does make sense. Thank you for explaining that.

When you have completed your medical, you’ll get an ‘onboarding’ email and thats where you’ll input all your reference details etc. You’ll also be asked then to obtain your DBS. My experience was opposite to yours, I started with SWR last Monday and it all happened really quick ‍♂️, so would 100% give them a ring. Good Luck!

 

[Stigy]

I think the poster means dependent (family).

Haha, it was late and I completely misread that. Thanks for pointing this out

 

[Realdeal]

Is there an opportunity to join a trade union being a station worker ?

 

[nuts & bolts]

Is there an opportunity to join a trade union being a station worker ?

Which role do you mean by Station Worker?

 

[Realdeal]

Customer service assistant

 

[221129]

Customer service assistant

Yes, the RMT is probably the best one for you.