Beveridges
Established Member
Spare turns don't exist on Northern west maintenance depots because ALL annual leave and sickness is covered by overtime!
As well as people who are off on courses/meetings/safety briefs/training/minder duties/light duties/development days and any other reason you can think of for not being there to cover the job.
For this reason, as well as having a 3-day week, there is an unlimited amount of overtime available. It also makes it very busy every night because we are never overmanned. Sometimes undermanned- It has been known to be up to 3 MDD's short on one occasion. It was so busy that different ways of working had to be implemented. Also, no breaks at all in 11 hrs except the very minimum. It was very hard.
With the Swipe on/off system we have, it is impossible to go home early, so a spare turn with no work at all for 11-12 hrs would drag. If they ever said they were bringing spare turns in I would swap to get off them.
The swipe on/off system is a disadvantage. But you are entitled 30 minutes at the end of every shift to have a shower, this makes up for it. If its quiet at the end of the night, that break at the end can be an hour. That 60 mins at the end means you can always wind down before going home. This would not be possible if you were working until the very end of your day, like mainline drivers often do if they get a full diagram. This really makes up for the swipe system.
As well as people who are off on courses/meetings/safety briefs/training/minder duties/light duties/development days and any other reason you can think of for not being there to cover the job.
For this reason, as well as having a 3-day week, there is an unlimited amount of overtime available. It also makes it very busy every night because we are never overmanned. Sometimes undermanned- It has been known to be up to 3 MDD's short on one occasion. It was so busy that different ways of working had to be implemented. Also, no breaks at all in 11 hrs except the very minimum. It was very hard.
With the Swipe on/off system we have, it is impossible to go home early, so a spare turn with no work at all for 11-12 hrs would drag. If they ever said they were bringing spare turns in I would swap to get off them.
The swipe on/off system is a disadvantage. But you are entitled 30 minutes at the end of every shift to have a shower, this makes up for it. If its quiet at the end of the night, that break at the end can be an hour. That 60 mins at the end means you can always wind down before going home. This would not be possible if you were working until the very end of your day, like mainline drivers often do if they get a full diagram. This really makes up for the swipe system.
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