The Night Mail

[Oldddudders]

10 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I'm certain that Dick Kerr was probably at the top of your thought process.

Ah, the ongoing demise of the comma. Dick, Kerr of course. Not to be confused with Grace Slick's (think Jefferson Airplane) comment about the disingenuous nature of an early Beatles lyric. "Of course he doesn't want to hold her hand - he wants to dick her!"

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

STOP PRESS.

 

Nyda has just rung from N Wales to let me know her brother has just tested positive for C-19.  Being a loving sister, she is leaving him to suffer and is packing up to come home pdq.  Her theory is that she would far prefer to be ill with the plague at home.  I think she also likes to share with me when able!

 

Bear spoke briefly to NNND yesterday - she was off work last work as she had C-19; her Boss told her she'd still got to come to work........

"OK, but I'll make sure I'm sitting right next to you all day, every day...."

At which point he changed his mind.  Some people are just Grade A Ar5eholes.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Bear spoke briefly to NNND yesterday - she was off work last work as she had C-19; her Boss told her she'd still got to come to work........

"OK, but I'll make sure I'm sitting right next to you all day, every day...."

At which point he changed his mind.  Some people are just Grade A Ar5eholes.

 

Yes and I suspect he'll dock her pay as well the &£+&£@6.

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Yes and I suspect he'll dock her pay as well the &£+&£@6.

A neighbour had been unwell with post Covid breathing difficulties. She really didn’t feel well enough to return at the end of the time she had been told not to work by the doctor but her boss said if she didn’t there wouldn’t be a job waiting for her. So she went in. On that morning at work she tripped up, and fell down a flight of stairs. Taken off to A&E, no breakages but bruising. More time off work. Boss was apparently “only joking” about the no job threat. 

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

A neighbour had been unwell with post Covid breathing difficulties. She really didn’t feel well enough to return at the end of the time she had been told not to work by the doctor but her boss said if she didn’t there wouldn’t be a job waiting for her. So she went in. On that morning at work she tripped up, and fell down a flight of stairs. Taken off to A&E, no breakages but bruising. More time off work. Boss was apparently “only joking” about the no job threat. 

You have to be so careful with what you might have thought, at the time to be a funny, off the cuff joke.

 

Certainly someone who is ill, either physically or perhaps mentally, will not take 'the joke' in the way it was meant because their mental processing capability is not working as it should be.

 

My immediate thought was:  Idiot, that would be grounds for unfair dismissal, and that was before I read the rest.  I suspect if the poor lady had been seriously injured after her tumble, the legal profession would have made a pretty penny over the compensation claim that would have followed.

 

Slightly off topic, but something that did cause bit of consternations was when the school I worked in as a technician announced that there were going to be changes to the working hours and job descriptions of all the technicians in the school.  I was only part time, so came to the party slightly late when all the other techs, all females, were weeping and wailing about how unfair it all was.

 

When it was mentioned to me by 'management', I asked what the grounds for this change were.  After all, you cannot change the job description and terms of employment outside the employment contract, and that once the union found out this was happening, things could get rather unpleasant.

 

Which union should we be talking to?

 

GMBU.

 

Who is their nominated rep at the school?

 

Me!

 

And that, dear reader was the end of that management reorganisation.

[PhilJ W]

5 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

When it was mentioned to me by 'management', I asked what the grounds for this change were.  After all, you cannot change the job description and terms of employment outside the employment contract, and that once the union found out this was happening, things could get rather unpleasant.

 

Which union should we be talking to?

 

GMBU.

 

Who is their nominated rep at the school?

 

Me!

 

And that, dear reader was the end of that management reorganisation.

I was a rep for the same union. Did you ever take a course at the GMB national college in Manchester? If you did its possible our paths have crossed. 

[Happy Hippo]

8 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I was a rep for the same union. Did you ever take a course at the GMB national college in Manchester? If you did its possible our paths have crossed. 

No, I was very much self appointed as the only GMBU member in the school.

 

All the other techs were unaffiliated to any of the suitable unions which I found strange, as nearly all the teaching staff were union members of either the NUT or the NASUWT. 

 

I never said that the others were members of any union during my conversation with the management team, as I was just representing myself.  They assumed I was representing all the technicians.

 

What surprised me was that they just let the proposed changes drop, rather than enter into any form of discussion.

 

I think they thought it would be too difficult, where I was actually quite amenable to change providing I was first consulted and able to agree with what was proposed.

 

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

After all, you cannot change the job description and terms of employment outside the employment contract,

When I worked at a sixth form college the Principal called a staff meeting and told us about our new contracts and conditions of service that were to be implemented due to the college moving from LEA control to self management. One of the union reps wondered where and when the consultation part of the procedure had occurred. The answer “it just has, when I announced it to you”. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Tony_S

[SM42]

19 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

When I worked at a sixth form college the Principal called a staff meeting and told us about our new contracts and conditions of service that were to be implemented due to the college moving from LEA control to self management. One of the union reps wondered where and when the consultation part of the procedure had occurred. The answer “it just has, when I announced it to you”. 

 

Not even the joys of TUPE?

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

When I worked at a sixth form college the Principal called a staff meeting and told us about our new contracts and conditions of service that were to be implemented due to the college moving from LEA control to self management. One of the union reps wondered where and where  the consultation part of the procedure had occurred. The answer “it just has, when I announced it to you”. 

They tried that at a large defence contractor that works not far from here.

 

My son who had originally been employed as a Civil Servant and was transferred over to the contractor, remained on his original terms and conditions of employment, was told to reapply for his job with new terms and conditions which were not as good.  The same happened to the rest of the workforce.  

 

A lot of them laughed and just quit, moving literally over the road, to jobs with better pay and conditions at another defence company. who were busy trying to recruit more skilled labour to fulfil a contract they had just won.

 

Most of those who stayed were very close to retirement, and had the union negotiate their T&C to remain on their existing contract until retired or made redundant. 

 

Morgan took advice, and opted for redundancy, for which he received payment, and then went to work back at the arbo-culture business he'd worked for some years previously on a much improved salary over what he'd been earning with the contractor.

 

 

[Northmoor]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Nyda has just rung from N Wales to let me know her brother has just tested positive for C-19.  Being a loving sister, she is leaving him to suffer and is packing up to come home pdq.  Her theory is that she would far prefer to be ill with the plague at home.  I think she also likes to share with me when able!

I understand from certain people in positions of authority, that injecting bleach works well as a C-19 cure.  Those of us in positions of lesser authority suggest a regular intake of falling down water might be no less effective against the virus, but will at least make you feel better.

[SM42]

Many years ago, I spent a couple of weeks on Jersey with thd family. 

 

Getting around by bus was very easy with the local bus company providing a hop one hop off circular route around the towns and tourist sites for a very reasonable daily fee. 

 

The contract for bus services had not long been put out to tender by the government and Arriva were awarded the contract over the local company, effectively taking over the staff as well as the routes. 

 

As a farewell bonus and a welcome for Arriva,  the outgoing boss doubled everyone's wages. 

 

Andy

Edited February 22, 2023 by SM42

[Gwiwer]

36 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

One of the union reps wondered where and when the consultation part of the procedure had occurred. The answer “it just has, when I announced it to you”. 

"Consult" 

- "To discuss with someone before you make a decision"

 

I have been in workplaces where the "I just told you" approach was tried.  The party attempting that move was reminded first that consultation is a two-way process of communication, not a one-way fait-accompli.  

 

Failing to back down from their stance they then found themselves summoned to face the Fair Work Commission who instructed that the legally-required consultation had not taken place.  Furthermore that if any changes to the detriment of the workforce were pushed through without consultation that the employer would have to answer to the FWC in court.  

 

No more was heard.  

[jamie92208]

15 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

I understand from certain people in positions of authority, that injecting bleach works well as a C-19 cure.  Those of us in positions of lesser authority suggest a regular intake of falling down water might be no less effective against the virus, but will at least make you feel better.

Our 92 yr old Belgian Widow swears that Cognac as an internally applied antiseptic is marvellous. Aftervall our local distillery stayed open thoughout 'la confinement, ' as it was an essential service.

 

Jamie

[New Haven Neil]

40 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

Not even the joys of TUPE?

 

Andy

 

Oh what fun that was (being an HR professional at the time) when the Ayse Suzen case law exploded into being.  AND Oh how I don't miss it! 

[Happy Hippo]

44 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

I understand from certain people in positions of authority, that injecting bleach works well as a C-19 cure.  Those of us in positions of lesser authority suggest a regular intake of falling down water might be no less effective against the virus, but will at least make you feel better.

Thank you for the expert advice.

 

I  now have to hand a large single malt as I write this, purely as a proactive preventative measure.

[Tony_S]

41 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

Not even the joys of TUPE?

 

Andy

At Aditi’s FE college just a few miles away they changed from the original contract to,a new one. The new one specified that lecturers hours could be at any time apart from the full closure at Christmas/New Year. There was a small pay rise as an inducement. However it was agreed that no one would be forced to sign the new contract. However those insisting on keeping the old (called silver book) contract would not get pay rises or promotions. Aditi didn’t sign the new contract for years, not until Matthew started school.

[SM42]

Had a good day our on my travels today. 

One thing I didn't expect to find was this

 

 

 

It appears to be delivering what appeared to be limestone from what appeared to be a Lafarge cement works to another works that it was hard to tell what it did. There was mention of aggregates distribution at the gate though. 

 

Train wise it was one of those frustrating days when you just miss something as you arrive. 

 

Once I'd found a likely spot, I decided to try the nearby footbridge to see if it was a better option. 

 

On arriving on the bridge an oil train arrived and the loco stopped next to where I had just been and then proceeded to run round. Grrrr!

 

Luckily it then shunted its train under the bridge so all was not lost 

 

 

 

All in all a pleasant sunny day watching trains and mooching about various railway locations. 

 

I did get quite close to the Lafarge works so the car looks like it's been fingerprinted. 

 

Everything was white, even the grass 

 

Andy

[Canal Digger]

Having been the subject of numerous Management deciding to reorganise their departments having been advised to do so by consultants of course who had spent some time watching from afar (I've seen the same consultant give the opinion that 'Change X' should happen, then later that same consultant recommended to a new Manager that 'Change Y', yes you've guessed it, reverse of X). That and several layers of Managers [one on a national basis, another on a building wide and yet another making changes all at the same time. Ah life in the Civil Service was fun! I did ask if I could have the contract for the pens etc to give away to celebrate the new Team, they were the only ones to gain.

[TheQ]

I worked a Conoco Phillips gas works at Bacton, the site got sold to Tullow, every one was sacked (around 100 people). They then only re-employed about half, on about 75% of previous wages.

As I had only been there a year I had no chance.

There are a lot of loop holes in TUPE.

 

Every time we got a new junior officer in the RAF they would want to change things, the next junior officer would change things back.

Luckily they don't control contracts...

[jamie92208]

47 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I worked a Conoco Phillips gas works at Bacton, the site got sold to Tullow, every one was sacked (around 100 people). They then only re-employed about half, on about 75% of previous wages.

As I had only been there a year I had no chance.

There are a lot of loop holes in TUPE.

 

Every time we got a new junior officer in the RAF they would want to change things, the next junior officer would change things back.

Luckily they don't control contracts...

In my previous profession the Home office had a policy of moving very senior officers round forces as they ascended the greasy pole.  They got known as butterfliescas everyone knew that they would move on within 3 years, unless they were arrested for nepotism or suchlike.  They invariably did a study and then implemented changes before moving on.  Obviously we were left to pick up the pieces.  I suggested that they should actually be called seagulls as we all know what they leave behind.

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

41 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Every time we got a new junior officer in the RAF they would want to change things, the next junior officer would change things back.

Luckily they don't control contracts...

When I arrived at my first posting after graduating from Sandhurst, I could see things needed to change for the better, so I took the then unprecedented course of gathering the  3 SNCOs and the Warrant Officer who worked with me into a Friday afternoon conference. I suggested I provided beer and crisps/nuts which probably encouraged them to attend.  Once assembled in my office, I told them that coming straight from RMAS and the introduction to arm course,  I didn't have a clue as to what was going on, and did they think any improvements could be made, to improve the way things operated.

 

There were plenty!  Which I was able to implement with no gripes, groans or fragging incidents.

 

After that, I always had 100% support from them, and invitations to attend one of my 'end of month conferences' became quite sought after by other SNCOs in the battalion.  

 

 

It truth it's called 'Management by Stealth'.

[Dave Hunt]

On 21/02/2023 at 16:37, jamie92208 said:

I have a physics problem to solve.  In the apartment across from us resides a young lady.  She looks very attractive but I am wondering if her bikini top is slightly too small for her.  I am dreadfully worried that the two small triangles of cloth with 4 pieces of string attached might not be strong enough to contain what they are supposed to contain when she runs down the stairs.  I am not intending to conduct a scientific experiment involved weighing and measuing but will have to content myself with observations. It's a hard life. 

 

Jamie

 

Do you think Beth will suspect something is amiss when you keep nipping out to ring the lady's doorbell?

 

Dave

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

You have to be so careful with what you might have thought, at the time to be a funny, off the cuff joke.

 

Certainly someone who is ill, either physically or perhaps mentally, will not take 'the joke' in the way it was meant because their mental processing capability is not working as it should be.

 

My immediate thought was:  Idiot, that would be grounds for unfair dismissal, and that was before I read the rest.  I suspect if the poor lady had been seriously injured after her tumble, the legal profession would have made a pretty penny over the compensation claim that would have followed.

 

Slightly off topic, but something that did cause bit of consternations was when the school I worked in as a technician announced that there were going to be changes to the working hours and job descriptions of all the technicians in the school.  I was only part time, so came to the party slightly late when all the other techs, all females, were weeping and wailing about how unfair it all was.

 

When it was mentioned to me by 'management', I asked what the grounds for this change were.  After all, you cannot change the job description and terms of employment outside the employment contract, and that once the union found out this was happening, things could get rather unpleasant.

 

Which union should we be talking to?

 

GMBU.

 

Who is their nominated rep at the school?

 

Me!

 

And that, dear reader was the end of that management reorganisation.

 

Many moons ago The Great Empire announced that we were all to be given new contracts - and the old contracts would no longer apply after a certain date.  However, the new contracts included the wonderful phrase "....you may be required to work at other Great Empire sites on a temporary or permanent basis...."

Since these "other sites" could well be a couple of hundred miles away a certain Bear took offence to this clause and told the HR Rep "I ain't signin'....."

"But you must!!" came the reply - cos' after the end of the month you won't have a contract......

 

"Oh yes I will" says Bear - "the one I'm on now...."

"But that won't exist" I was told.......

 

"So are you givin' Bear formal notice of termination of Employment?" I ask.....

 

"Noooooo....nothing like that......."

 

And so it went round in circles......

 

I was then told that I'd have to continue with the formal grievance procedure (apparently I'd already gone thru' Stage One by talking to the Boss about it).

"OK, says Bear - so you can give me a written copy of the HR notes taken at that meeting, as required by HR Policies then......."

 

"OK, so you haven't started the Grievance Procedure........."

 

It dragged on until they came up and told me that the following week I'd no longer have a contract.

 

"But Bear is due to start work at WHL next week - working on those Whirlythings...."

"So what happens if I'm injured - or cause injury or damage (to rather expensive thingies) whilst working off-site if I don't have a Contract??  Perhaps I shouldn't be going after all......"

(Bear just happened to know that there was no other Bear that had any idea of how to do the job......).

 

Miraculously, HR announced that "Bear's existing contract would be temporarily extended accordingly......."

 

It seems that temporary extension was still in force some 15-20 years later, when Bear retired.

 

Game, Set and Match to Bear.

 

[SM42]

It never ceases to amaze me how many companies think an employment contract only has one contracting party; them. 

 

They often forget the other party in the contract might have something to say about any changes. 

 

Andy