Ticket Examiner - ScotRail

[Fat Pav]

Can anyone advise when and where you pick up your uniform? I completed the form and I start 7th November and been asked to attend in uniform

If you're external, you'll start at Atrium Court for your initial induction training, then your revenue training. You'll be given uniform during this time (It might be delivered to your home depot prior to this and you should be notified - don't hold your breath on this though), just attend in smart business dress as you would in another place of work, shirt, tie, shoes, or female equivalent if you don't have uniform.

As for the actual job itself, I was a TE for a number of years and loved it. The job is what you make it to be for yourself, you're isolated and a lone worker with absolutely zero BTP support out on the network, pick and choose your battles (I personally chose zero as the grief was just not worth it) and you will by and large have good days. The back shift weekend working can be tough in this job, like most jobs on the railway. Be relatable, personable and treat the passengers like you'd like to be treated yourself and you'll have a much easier time of it. Salary wise you're looking at £31.5k basic (this includes the most recent wage increase btw), paid every 4 weeks. Factor in a booked Sunday, 3% commission from ticket sales, ticket scans, you're looking at clearing around £2.1/£2.2k without doing any OT.

I was able to clear over £43k with a few OT shifts and taking into account all of the above.

You average a 4 day week, sometimes working 7 days in a row if you have a Sunday that week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Now confirmed. Start 14th Nov

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Oct 2024 ==


I’ll be based at central and there’s currently is a waiting list for parking so if there is no public transport it’ll be a long walk lol

Central is a great place to work, journey's start and end with ticket barriers when you're in and out which makes it a much easier sell. Some ****e routes to work where you'd need to keep your wits about you, Inverclyde and some Ayrshire especially. There's a number of management who do checks on train as well nowadays, so need to be mindful of this. They go out and make sure the TE's are actually working their trains as they should be, so keep yourself right when you're in the job.

Regarding the parking space, you'll be waiting a helluva long time. Safety critical staff are prioritised so I doubt you'd ever climb the list as a TE unless you were to move to another role like Conductor or Driver.

 

[ClippyBob]

I was told when I handed in my right to work docs that I should receive my uniform on my first day at Atrium Court I.e the Monday. And to wear business dress that first day, shirt, tie, trousers (not jeans).

 

[Glasgow74]

If you're external, you'll start at Atrium Court for your initial induction training, then your revenue training. You'll be given uniform during this time (It might be delivered to your home depot prior to this and you should be notified - don't hold your breath on this though), just attend in smart business dress as you would in another place of work, shirt, tie, shoes, or female equivalent if you don't have uniform.

As for the actual job itself, I was a TE for a number of years and loved it. The job is what you make it to be for yourself, you're isolated and a lone worker with absolutely zero BTP support out on the network, pick and choose your battles (I personally chose zero as the grief was just not worth it) and you will by and large have good days. The back shift weekend working can be tough in this job, like most jobs on the railway. Be relatable, personable and treat the passengers like you'd like to be treated yourself and you'll have a much easier time of it. Salary wise you're looking at £31.5k basic (this includes the most recent wage increase btw), paid every 4 weeks. Factor in a booked Sunday, 3% commission from ticket sales, ticket scans, you're looking at clearing around £2.1/£2.2k without doing any OT.

I was able to clear over £43k with a few OT shifts and taking into account all of the above.

You average a 4 day week, sometimes working 7 days in a row if you have a Sunday that week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==


Central is a great place to work, journey's start and end with ticket barriers when you're in and out which makes it a much easier sell. Some ****e routes to work where you'd need to keep your wits about you, Inverclyde and some Ayrshire especially. There's a number of management who do checks on train as well nowadays, so need to be mindful of this. They go out and make sure the TE's are actually working their trains as they should be, so keep yourself right when you're in the job.

Regarding the parking space, you'll be waiting a helluva long time. Safety critical staff are prioritised so I doubt you'd ever climb the list as a TE unless you were to move to another role like Conductor or Driver.

I was told when I handed in my right to work docs that I should receive my uniform on my first day at Atrium Court I.e the Monday. And to wear business dress that first day, shirt, tie, trousers (not jeans).

Thanks , some great advice there and I appreciate it. I have my induction training this Thursday and Friday and then Atrium the following week. I an external and have no railway experience but im really looking forward to it .

 

[stawbs83]

Hi all.

Thank you for all the fantastic information on this thread. I’ve found it all very informative.
I will soon be attending an interview for a ticket examiner position with Scotrail and have a few questions. If anyone already employed in this position could provide answers, I’d be extremely grateful.

I am looking to see if someone could share a section of the 35 hour 4 week roster? What is Scotrail’s annual leave allowance for ticket examiners and does it rise with years of service? It it still the case that Sundays are overtime or do they now form part of the working week? Regarding any overtime, can this be taken in TOIL instead of payment?

Many thanks guys/gals

 

[Fat Pav]

Hi all.

Thank you for all the fantastic information on this thread. I’ve found it all very informative.
I will soon be attending an interview for a ticket examiner position with Scotrail and have a few questions. If anyone already employed in this position could provide answers, I’d be extremely grateful.

I am looking to see if someone could share a section of the 35 hour 4 week roster? What is Scotrail’s annual leave allowance for ticket examiners and does it rise with years of service? It it still the case that Sundays are overtime or do they now form part of the working week? Regarding any overtime, can this be taken in TOIL instead of payment?

Many thanks guys/gals

Which depot have you applied for?

Don’t have the base roster to share as it contains staff names, sorry.

Annual leave allowance is 4 weeks - doesn’t rise with length of service. Staff advised of their leave each November. Broken down into blocks, 1 week for spring, 2 weeks for summer, 1 week for winter.

Sunday’s still overtime.

No TOIL for OT, payment only. Extra days off can be picked up for working on public holidays, however.

 

[stawbs83]

Thank you for this info.

The station would be Glasgow Central hopefully.

That's understandable re the roster. From what I've gathered on several other threads, the Rest Day pattern follows something along the lines of

Week 1- Monday, Tuesday
Week 2- Wednesday, Thursday
Week 3- Friday, Saturday

However, is it an ever changing start time or is there some consistency ie. run of earlies, run of lates? Say for Week 2, could I potentially be finishing my shift at 1am on the Wednesday, Wednesday and Thursday days off, and back on an early on the Friday? Hope this makes sense.

AL allowance seem pretty fair. Do you have any several "ad hoc" days to use as you please in addition to the allocated blocks? What days are considered public holidays by Scotrail?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Just looking to make sure I am prepared for the role should I be selected. I really appreciate your time.

 

[Iamanoob]

Long weekend (Friday -Tuesday) every 3 weeks. O/T is paid at normal hourly pay + 3.75 additional hours for working a Rest Day (RDW). Work over your hours on a normal day, it's paid at normal hourly rate.
Bank holidays are either paid at normal hourly rate and a lieu day or double time with no lieu day. L/D can be banked and don't need to be taken within a certain time and are taken on a first come first served basis for taking them off.
B/H dates
1st and 2nd Jan.
Good Friday, Easter Monday
May x 2
Glasgow Fair (Monday only for non protected staff)
September weekend (Monday only for non protected staff)
Christmas Day/Boxing Day.
If a B/H falls on your day off, you still bank the lieu day.

 

[Fat Pav]

Thank you for this info.

The station would be Glasgow Central hopefully.

That's understandable re the roster. From what I've gathered on several other threads, the Rest Day pattern follows something along the lines of

Week 1- Monday, Tuesday
Week 2- Wednesday, Thursday
Week 3- Friday, Saturday

However, is it an ever changing start time or is there some consistency ie. run of earlies, run of lates? Say for Week 2, could I potentially be finishing my shift at 1am on the Wednesday, Wednesday and Thursday days off, and back on an early on the Friday? Hope this makes sense.

AL allowance seem pretty fair. Do you have any several "ad hoc" days to use as you please in addition to the allocated blocks? What days are considered public holidays by Scotrail?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Just looking to make sure I am prepared for the role should I be selected. I really appreciate your time.

That's the depot I'm based in, good place to work as I've mentioned in this thread before. Have heard the new diagrams since the timetable has changed are pretty full though and days are busy. Certainly working for your money but TE is a good grade to come into the railway, good money, good job and good experience to move onto other roles internally.

It's an ever changing start time, you don't have fixed start and finish times other than what's on your diagram for that day. You'll get your shifts each Thursday (although you can follow the roster pattern and know your shifts even further in advance, minus working off spare) for the following week, any amendments are posted per day. Earliest I started as a TE in Central was 0535, latest finish was 0030 or so on a Saturday night from the last train from Wemyss Bay. This may well have changed in the near year I've been away from the role, so not entirely sure at current typing.

Your shifts will tend to change on a Sunday. E.g., if it's your "early week" you will do your early shifts, possibly work Sunday (not considered part of your working week and you get paid OT for this), then be back shift from the following Monday. On the other hand, if you're back shift week, you'll have the Sunday off usually to get your 12 hours minimum rest so that you can go from back shift Saturday to early shift Monday. There will be some mid shifts thrown in there too from time to time.

Ad hoc days are referred to as lieu days, covered by the above poster. Per year they give you a small number of these and you can pick up more from working on public holidays, you also have the option of taking double time payment for that day instead of the day off in lieu.

 

[stawbs83]

Thanks to you both. That more or less tells me all I need to know. Just a final qu, how do spare turns work as a ticket examiner and how often would you generally be allocated them?

 

[Fat Pav]

Thanks to you both. That more or less tells me all I need to know. Just a final qu, how do spare turns work as a ticket examiner and how often would you generally be allocated them?

“Spare” is someone who is on standby in case of disruption to services, staff unable to get their minimum rest etc. For example, I’m due in at 0830 and change trains at 0840 for my next run but train is running late. I’d let the manager know and they’d then send a spare member of staff down to the train to “standby” and board if no staff member present, or just send them out on the run completely, covering it for me as I can’t make it. Spare also covers last minute sickness etc.

Not sure how often you’d get it as a TE, not in the roster now and not sure how it works for them nowadays.

 

[stawbs83]

Fabulous, thank you for the clarification!

 

[CS1607]

Has anyone applied for TE through Blue Arrow? I have a teams meeting with them next week but I think it’s more to show my right to work documents than an interview. Just wondering if anyone has went through the process before

 

[pretttttygood]

Has anyone applied for TE through Blue Arrow? I have a teams meeting with them next week but I think it’s more to show my right to work documents than an interview. Just wondering if anyone has went through the process before

I’m currently going through this process. Had my initial interview with BA last Wednesday. They will ask you some competency based questions to prepare you for the main interview with Scotrail. I just had my interview with Scotrail this morning. Told I should hear back by Monday at the latest whether I’ve been successful. Process seems pretty fast.

 

[stawbs83]

Wasn’t aware Scotrail were recruiting via Blue Arrow. Was it more a mock interview you had with Blue Arrow initially? Great that they offer this service then if that’s the case. Did you find the interview questions with Scotrail were quite similar?

 

[pretttttygood]

Wasn’t aware Scotrail were recruiting via Blue Arrow. Was it more a mock interview you had with Blue Arrow initially? Great that they offer this service then if that’s the case. Did you find the interview questions with Scotrail were quite similar?

They were fairly similar. I was asked the questions.

1) Tell us about yourself.
2) why do you want to work for Scotrail.
3) Tell us about a situation where you went above and beyond for a customer
4) Tell us about a time where you used your communication skills effectively.
5) Tell us about a time you worked as part of a team and things didn’t quite go to plan.
6) Describe to us what you think a typical day for a ticket examiner looks like.
7) What skills do you have that are suitable for this role and what is your biggest weakness/are you would like to develop further in.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Feb 2025 ==

I’ve just been told this morning that I’ve been successful for the position and I’ve been offered a conditional offer of Employment. All in all the process has taken about 2.5 weeks from when I first applied. Expected start date for training is the 20th of February.

 

[stawbs83]

Congratulations on your job offer!! What depot is the position for?
Are you completely new to the railway?

Thank you so very much for the interview question pointers. I am still waiting to hear back on my application. Blue Arrow certainly seems to be speedier or maybe you were just an exceptionally good candidate!

 

[Iamanoob]

Congratulations on your job offer!! What depot is the position for?
Are you completely new to the railway?

Thank you so very much for the interview question pointers. I am still waiting to hear back on my application. Blue Arrow certainly seems to be speedier or maybe you were just an exceptionally good candidate!

The questions asked will be based on the following catergories:
Customer Driven
Communication
Descision Making
Resilence
There will be 3 or 4 questions on each category and they will usually ask a question from each one and maybe 1 or 2 technical questions. The "technical" questions will be similar to questions 6 & 7 from prettttygood's post. If a questions is asked about difficult situations, only get involved if you feel safe to do so.

 

[pretttttygood]

Congratulations on your job offer!! What depot is the position for?
Are you completely new to the railway?

Thank you so very much for the interview question pointers. I am still waiting to hear back on my application. Blue Arrow certainly seems to be speedier or maybe you were just an exceptionally good candidate!

Thanks! It’s for Glasgow Central

 

[CS1607]

I’m currently going through this process. Had my initial interview with BA last Wednesday. They will ask you some competency based questions to prepare you for the main interview with Scotrail. I just had my interview with Scotrail this morning. Told I should hear back by Monday at the latest whether I’ve been successful. Process seems pretty fast.

Unfortunately, the interviews I had with BA were all teams calls. I had one cancelled on me and then the other two never accepted me into the call. I applied for the role in Motherwell but its looking like I won't have my application submitted due to the issues I've been having with BA. Its reassuring though that your process took about 2-3 weeks, hopefully they start hiring again soon.

 

[Iamanoob]

Unfortunately, the interviews I had with BA were all teams calls. I had one cancelled on me and then the other two never accepted me into the call. I applied for the role in Motherwell but its looking like I won't have my application submitted due to the issues I've been having with BA. Its reassuring though that your process took about 2-3 weeks, hopefully they start hiring again soon.

If you are still interested in getting into the Railway, Blue Arrow are looking for Gateline at Central Station. Including Sundays it's around £30k with as much O/T as you want. After a year you can apply internally.

 

[CS1607]

If you are still interested in getting into the Railway, Blue Arrow are looking for Gateline at Central Station. Including Sundays it's around £30k with as much O/T as you want. After a year you can apply internally.

Definitely, I'll look into it thanks!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Feb 2025 ==

I’m currently going through this process. Had my initial interview with BA last Wednesday. They will ask you some competency based questions to prepare you for the main interview with Scotrail. I just had my interview with Scotrail this morning. Told I should hear back by Monday at the latest whether I’ve been successful. Process seems pretty fast.

Hi, can I ask how long after you applied that BA got in touch with you for an interview? I've applied for Gateline and I got an email to answer Scotrail questions and then was told not to arrange an interview as someone will contact me but another is telling me to arrange a meeting with BA to confirm my right to work documents even though I've already received confirmation from BA that they've been verified. I was thinking of giving it a few days to see if someone contacts me but worried I'll lose out on another role so I'm just wondering if it was a similar experience for you

 

[pretttttygood]

Definitely, I'll look into it thanks!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Feb 2025 ==


Hi, can I ask how long after you applied that BA got in touch with you for an interview? I've applied for Gateline and I got an email to answer Scotrail questions and then was told not to arrange an interview as someone will contact me but another is telling me to arrange a meeting with BA to confirm my right to work documents even though I've already received confirmation from BA that they've been verified. I was thinking of giving it a few days to see if someone contacts me but worried I'll lose out on another role so I'm just wondering if it was a similar experience for you

Nah, they’ll contact you. I was a bit confused with getting the email that told me to book an interview to confirm my right to work. I’d been told just to ignore it though.

It took about a week after applying for them to call me.

 

[CS1607]

Hi everyone, ive done my online assessment for station staff and passed it. anyone know what the next steps is and how long they waited roughly?

 

[shug6169]

Applied for a job as a T E for ScotRail told I was successful but now I’ve been told I’m on a waiting list ( I’ve just missed start dates which is in August ibelieve) does anyone know when the next batch of jobs will be out or how long it roughly takes