Southern OBS metro region

[Mainsideman]

GTR Careers

GTR stands for Greater Thameslink Railway, and includes Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express. GTR and Greater Thameslink Railway are trading names of Thameslink Southern Great Northern Limited (TSGNL).

www.gtrailwaycareers.com

On Board Supervisor Metro Area - Future roles (3530)
Salary:£44,877
Location:London Metro
Contract Type:Permanent
Closing Date:29 May 2026
Training Salary:£33,411

We are currently recruiting for On Board Supervisor vacancies across our Metro area, including London Victoria and East Croydon depots. If you are passionate about customer service and enjoy working in a fast-paced operational environment, we would love to hear from you.

On Board Supervisors make a critical difference to our customers' on-train experience. Our On Board Supervisors will keep you informed throughout the journey with information, help you when there are delays, check and validate tickets and help drivers manage the train to ensure smooth running. Whatever your journey needs, they will be there for you.

As on OBS you will be visible at all times, anticipating the needs of the customer to meet their expectations. Our vision is to provide our customers with a welcoming, seamless, well-informed, consistent and relaxed travel experience which will encourage additional and repeat business whilst ensuring our customers consistently talk about our service positively.

To be an On Board Supervisor with us, you'll need to demonstrate a fantastic, fresh attitude to serving customers. A pride in your appearance is essential. You'll be resilient, and able to think on your feet at all times, be confident at managing situations as and when they arrive, and commit to putting customers first throughout the day. No two days will be the same, and you'll travel widely on our network, helping us make the best impact on our customers' journeys possible

Experience / Skills / Requirements

• A proactive customer approach coupled with passion and ability to work as one with all involved in keeping trains running on time
• Exceptional levels of customer service, each and every time – you will be a role model for others to follow
• Demonstrable experience of managing customers effectively in difficult environments.
• Ability to follow standards and apply rules and regulations appropriately, with due regard for safety and the provision of customer service.
• You must be able to demonstrate a high level of numerical ability.
• Due to the shift times, which will vary, you must live in the local area and have available independent transport.
• An effective communicator and must be able to demonstrate this both through your application and or assessments.
• Confidence to make decisions in a customer focused manner and carry out instructions effectively.
• Impeccable time management, as the post will require the holder to work shifts which can start and end on a 24 hours per day/7 days per week basis as defined in the roster

Interested in the above role, one thing I have noticed it mentions is penalty fares.

Has this always been the case and
Are southern obs really expected to issue penalty when working alone onboard, I thought the role was basically a non safety guard role?

Anyone in the know can advise?

 

[SECR 65]

As I understand it, the primary role of an OBS is to assist passengers and check tickets. Therefore, if a passenger is not carrying a valid ticket, the OBS would issue a penalty fare or other necessary intervention against fare evasion.

 

[jjjjjjonny]

Many OBS' on Southern Trains have penalty fare licenses but none of them issue penalty fares as it's not safe to do so when working alone. They may be trying to encourage them to do so more in the future but there's also a new revenue team and that's their job.

 

[Horizon22]

They may be trying to encourage them to do so more in the future but there's also a new revenue team and that's their job.

Which is quite ironic as a number of OBS' were ex-Revenue effectively forced to move into the role.

 

[Mainsideman]

Many OBS' on Southern Trains have penalty fare licenses but none of them issue penalty fares as it's not safe to do so when working alone. They may be trying to encourage them to do so more in the future but there's also a new revenue team and that's their job.

I have never seen anyone issued a penalty fare and travel daily, is it optional training then if not all have the license?

 

[jjjjjjonny]

I have never seen anyone issued a penalty fare and travel daily, is it optional training then if not all have the license?

Well I think it used to be mandatory but now it's optional. The only people that issue penalty fares are the revenue protection team.

 

[Urban Gateline]

In reality there's no way for the management to enforce targets for PF/Tickets, I can imagine most OBS don't want the hassle of issuing a PF, the time it takes and the conflict potential when lone working, and no commission unlike the 50p they get on ticket sales, much more lucrative and hassle free to just sell tickets!