verylittlehelps

s there anyone that can actually clarify the statement of

`everyone gets new contracts in October`

Does that mean that all staff will be flexi and perform the new training role - pre or post 2005 (as the statement says ALL staff) ?

Yup its all staff according to our union rep. The pre 2005 lot are fuming as they are saying USDAW sold them out. Its basically going to be a take it or leave it new contract based on changing business ''needs''. So if you have to go on checkouts then you have to go on checkouts. Everyone will have a one on one meeting with their line manager prior to the new contract being issued.

One was saying they think they will use it as an excuse via the heatmaps to move the older people to the front end (they were able to avoid it for being pre 2005 previously)   and let the younger one's on checkouts move over to work the shop floor. 

Its ageism  but disguised as '' changing business needs''

Our store is getting 20 manual tills anyway and self serve is being extended. So I doubt there will be much need for service support.

What a surprise the union side with Tesco, useless idiots. Especially since I'm a pre 2005 staff and I have it agreed with managers that I don't do checkouts because of my asthma, usually if I'm feeling short of breath or feel an attack coming on I can go through the back and medicate, if I'm on a till If I have an attack or feel short of breath I'll have to put my light on and ask to be key off, or I just get up and leave customer. And no I can't carry all my meds on me to bulky.

Quote from: HalloweenJack on 08-04-22, 10:11AM
s there anyone that can actually clarify the statement of

`everyone gets new contracts in October`

Does that mean that all staff will be flexi and perform the new training role - pre or post 2005 (as the statement says ALL staff) ?

Where are you getting "everybody will be on flexi"???
NOBOBY will be on "flexi" contracts as they will be gone.

There will no longer be a contractual requirement to work 'additional hours' for flexi staff.
There will be 3 weeks' notice of shift patterns. Shifts will be published automatically, so this is not reliant on managers telling colleagues their shifts. Shifts will only be able to be changed by agreement with the colleague.
Colleagues will have a primary department, which will be the department they currently work on, and provided there is work to do, they will be scheduled there first.
      Contracted Hours
   1.5x availability, during which hours will be scheduled
     
If there isn't enough work to do on the primary department, colleagues will be scheduled somewhere else in the store, provided they are trained on that area.

Quote from: Tossgo on 08-04-22, 11:38AM

Quote from: HalloweenJack on 08-04-22, 10:11AM
s there anyone that can actually clarify the statement of

`everyone gets new contracts in October`

Does that mean that all staff will be flexi and perform the new training role - pre or post 2005 (as the statement says ALL staff) ?

Where are you getting "everybody will be on flexi"???
NOBOBY will be on "flexi" contracts as they will be gone.

There will no longer be a contractual requirement to work 'additional hours' for flexi staff.
There will be 3 weeks' notice of shift patterns. Shifts will be published automatically, so this is not reliant on managers telling colleagues their shifts. Shifts will only be able to be changed by agreement with the colleague.
Colleagues will have a primary department, which will be the department they currently work on, and provided there is work to do, they will be scheduled there first.
      Contracted Hours
   1.5x availability, during which hours will be scheduled
     
If there isn't enough work to do on the primary department, colleagues will be scheduled somewhere else in the store, provided they are trained on that area.

Flexi in this context means Flexible , so under the new training regime of Serve , Pick and Fill *can* work in other departments. Dont assume anything.

Also USDAW are saying Pre 2005 multiskilling and no checkouts still stands.

edit:

but not scan as you shop or self scan - as cash is not being handled so the pre 2005 agreement is not applicabale!

I suppose the night rate isn't going up this time? After the huge increase of 9p last year!

It's been transparently clear for the past 8 years that the goal of Tesco has been to rebuild trust in its shareholders from the 2014 accounting scandal, and a consequence of that is to increase profitability by stripping out the bottom line. Tesco is trying to do away with nights all together, it would be much cheaper for them to let people leave on their own accord than to make them redundant, and anything to grease those wheels like freezing pay, will help them do that.

In fact the fact that there is no rise to night premium means the pay differential between days and nights is even less, there is no incentive what so ever to work nights now.

Quote from: FarmerFred on 07-04-22, 10:38PM

Quote from: Ahsda on 07-04-22, 09:39PM
Imagine being so entitled that you think you shouldn't have to work checkouts...while working in retail 

Imagine being so entitled as to work to the contract terms and conditions that you signed up for!

Personally I'll happily sit on a checkout... if someone else will answer the back door calls, or sweeps up the yard in the pouring rain!

This is the crux of the matter - it's bad enough that we seem to have "signed off all our rights to negotiate pay or take strike action" - now we're being told that our contracts are being changed and in fact the Union have already agreed it as "part of this pay review" - clearly there are employment laws to protect workers against companies changing their contracts without their consent - yes, the laws can be fairly weak and might require you to resign and put in a claim for constructive dismissal or something similar - but the laws do exist to stop companies willy nilly changing your contracts.

I already referred to this in the "news article comments" a few weeks ago - but not sure if it was read -

https://www.grocerygazette.co.uk/2022/02/03/tesco-loses-high-court-battle-over-unfair-fire-hire-practice/


So Usdaw were happy to take Tesco to court with changes to contracts for DC staff - but just roll over with this deal?

It might not be a massive deal for most people - and yes we will have differences of opinion between people in different depts - whether "sitting on a till" is a doddle - regardless of whether it is or it isn't - if any of us have worked for Tesco for a number of years (and I'm not just talking pre 2005) we applied and accepted a job in a dept - if we wanted to work on tills, that's what we applied for - maybe shopfloor work is too much like hard work - maybe pulling cages out causes aches and pains - doesn't really matter what the problem is - currently if people "want to train on another dept" (in order to improve their opportunities for OT) then they can - now it is seemingly being forced upon us - without our consent - normally if companies struggle to get people to willingly change their contracts they offer an incentive to do so - maybe a lump sum or some other incentive - what have we got out of this deal - a payrise that is less than the amount that the living wage increased by - Tesco are not doing this out of the kindness of their heart - they know - or are pretty sure that the NLW from next April will be £10+ - they also know that all their competitors are currently paying over £10 (or have committed to do so - I think Asda have one more promised increase to come) - regardless of whether the pay award is good, bad or indifferent - I think this "agreement" to rip up all our contracts and force us to sign a new one - together with the expectation that we will happily work in another dept if said manager/team leader states that is what is reqd - is beyond appalling. And yes - clearly, we're very much on borrowed time with the Sunday premiums - as little as they are worth.

To be honest, my feeling is that this is more about moving checkout staff to the shopfloor - they've recently changed their one-in-front policy - and as a result of that, checkout hours will be decreased across the board - the continued push for automation (self serve or scan as you shop) will further reduce hours - so Tesco are left with a number of contracted staff on a certain number of hours - if Tesco were to turn around and say to Jenny with a 36 hour contract - sorry - we only need you for 18 hours a week - then that, in employment law, becomes a redundancy situation - by moving us all to be "multi skilled" - then they can use Jenny for 18 hours on tills and move her other 18 hours around as they please -

The proviso over "considering the health issues of employees" just sounds like another Covid situation - Managers will demand the appropriate medical certificates or letters to "prove" you're not capable of pulling out cages full of wine and beer - or maybe you're not able to stand up for an eight hour shift (and walk around) - the bottom line just seems to be unless you can prove any medical grounds for not working, then you don't have a leg to stand on!!

At the moment, cashiers might be "asked" to work on the shop floor - and they are generally given the easy stuff to do - crisps/sweets/chewing gum!! - with the new contracts, can't see how this could be guaranteed -

Apologies - I wrote the above message without reading some of the other replies in between - someone did mention a similar point to mine above.

Quote from: person7 on 08-04-22, 09:31AM
So just got email off usdaw that basic pay will become £10.10 in July with a list of other promises.. Drivers to get even more of course dispite they do less work..

But anyway the important thing I noticed is... "All new joiners to Tesco will no longer receive the Sunday premium rate. Existing staff will continue to receive Sunday Premium."

Just above the all colleagues will enter a new contract in October.

Aka.. EVERYONE is probally going to loose Sunday premiums.. Only reason anyone I know of works Sundays is because of the premiums. I know I won't have an incentive to work overtime sundays anymore if they get rid of it for everyone.

Honestly even £10.10 hour isn't enough to "live" in this city I'm in. We are almost as expensive as London we should be on London rates!

Even rent alone has gone up 18% and council tax up 23% before you even look at electric!

While I'm glad we getting pay rise... Im not totally impressed

Over what period has your council tax gone up by 23%? Not in a year surely?

The "headline paragraph" on Usdaw website is:

Following negotiations between representatives from retail trade union Usdaw and leading supermarket Tesco, the new pay deal will see a new minimum pay rate of at least £10.10 per hour for Tesco shopworkers in a ground-breaking pay deal. The deal is another step forward for the union's New Deal for Workers campaign.

Ground-breaking pay deal!!?? - not quite sure what ground it is breaking - ensuring Tesco does not break the law of not paying NLW?

I also listened to the sickly sweet video on OurTesco with Jason Tarry and Emma (I think she's the lead People Person!) - it's all for our benefit - they're so thankful to us - we're all going to be "Tesco Colleagues" - new name badges no doubt!! to go with our new uniform - which Managers don't wear!! One team!!

In some ways, I'm quite impressed that my second post ever led to a thread of 160 comments.

I think whether you like this pay review depends quite heavily on when you joined tesco. If you're a student like me, you'll like it because not many other jobs will pay you £10.10. If you've been here a while, you'll see it as another whittling down of employee benefits and an another attempt to make sure staff are working impossibly hard.
Although, I will say, tesco seems to be trying to staff their stores like Aldi whilst not having any of the attributes that make them as efficient and cheap as aldi.

A joint working party, with Tesco and USDAW, will review location pay ensuring rates and boundaries are still relevant and competitive, as well as agreeing future processes for managing location pay.


I'm sure this is positive news!
I'm sure the boundaries will be extended and the rates of location pay increased (given they haven't changed for 10+ years, I guess it's due)
Or maybe, that really was a pig I saw flying past the window.

Once again, as and when location pay is made worse, I'm sure it will be explained as "following feedback from staff" - and it will be a benefit!!

Quote from: yeetus on 08-04-22, 02:05PM
In some ways, I'm quite impressed that my second post ever led to a thread of 160 comments.

I think whether you like this pay review depends quite heavily on when you joined tesco. If you're a student like me, you'll like it because not many other jobs will pay you £10.10. If you've been here a while, you'll see it as another whittling down of employee benefits and an another attempt to make sure staff are working impossibly hard.
Although, I will say, tesco seems to be trying to staff their stores like Aldi whilst not having any of the attributes that make them as efficient and cheap as aldi.

You've totally hit the nail on the head there. The only people happy with this pay deal will be students and under 25s especially if they still live at home. They will get the full rate of pay that a lot of places only give to over 25s.

If you have been with Tesco for a while, you will have seen so many benefits taken away from you and heard all the lies and reasons for this happening. In each case, you will have been told that it's what was asked for, will enhance your pay or will make things easier.

All these cruel attacks on each other are really not helpful. If you started pre 2005, you signed a contract stating what your department and job description was. You did not have to be trained for checkouts if you were not contracted to checkouts. You also had a rate for working Sundays which were optional. Why can your contract be changed so easily just by stating a very vague 'needs of the business?'

Tesco do want to be like the discounters especially in the way they treat colleagues but they also want to be higher end with prices and customer satisfaction and you just can't have it both ways.

Quote from: yeetus on 08-04-22, 02:05PM
In some ways, I'm quite impressed that my second post ever led to a thread of 160 comments.

I think whether you like this pay review depends quite heavily on when you joined tesco. If you're a student like me, you'll like it because not many other jobs will pay you £10.10. If you've been here a while, you'll see it as another whittling down of employee benefits and an another attempt to make sure staff are working impossibly hard.
Although, I will say, tesco seems to be trying to staff their stores like Aldi whilst not having any of the attributes that make them as efficient and cheap as aldi.

Even as a student, £10.10 an hour is not that great, 60p above the minimum. Sainsbury's, Morrisons, M&S and the discounters have been paying £10+ an hour for months now, Tesco isn't even at that rate of pay yet, the impact of inflation will have already had more of an impact during the time taken to get to £10.10 an hour.


The Big T are playing catch up with the competition, but this will be by design, a few months of paying lower rates compared to the competition equates to millions in cost savings. And it being strategically done not too far behind the 5th April allows them to pay pennies above the minimum for a lengthy amount of time.

Just to clarify, the NLW of £9.50 covers over 23s.
There are lower rates for 18-23. So I guess that £10.10 would be a bigger variance over and above that than 60p.
Whether other similar jobs also pay all staff the same regardless of age is unknown to me - as I am not under 23.

But in reality, all of this is just wiffle waffle - Tesco clearly wants to adopt the Aldi model of reducing costs - and reducing the number of staff in a store at any one time - only open a couple of tills and expect customers to get used to waiting to be served - but helped out by the way that traditionally Aldi staff scan your shopping and encourage you to move over to the edge to do any bag packing.

Ultimately, we all have a choice - to an extent - of whether we work for Tesco or not.

At least this time Tesco haven't overly egged this pay deal - albeit Usdaw called it a ground breaking pay deal - and they are so happy that they've got us through the £10 barrier.

The pay award was better than I expected after last years poor increase. It is below the rate of inflation just now and will be even further below it by July when we finally receive it. By April 2023 minimum wage or whatever it is known as will probably exceed £10.10.

Quote from: Hibobhi on 08-04-22, 10:42AM
What a surprise the union side with Tesco, useless idiots. Especially since I'm a pre 2005 staff and I have it agreed with managers that I don't do checkouts because of my asthma, usually if I'm feeling short of breath or feel an attack coming on I can go through the back and medicate, if I'm on a till If I have an attack or feel short of breath I'll have to put my light on and ask to be key off, or I just get up and leave customer. And no I can't carry all my meds on me to bulky.

What do you do on the shop floor that doesnt affect your asthma?  Usually its the other way around. Wanting to avoid shop floor and stay on checkouts.

To add, that would be treated separately as amended duties due to a medical condition, if Tesco reneg on that term of the contract, you're still covered by the sickness policy.

So we are behind sainsburys again and they get there pay rise next month tight arse Tesco again.

its been 3 years since i left tesco, seems like you are all still getting shafted by your union. i told my colleagues before i moved on, and its worth repeating, if your union is in "partnership" with your employer, it is no longer looking after your best interests. your situation will only change when you form or join an effective union that is not in bed with those it should be ready to go to war with on your behalf.

So by the looks of things Tesco are doing what Tesco always do...make EVERYTHING so damn complicated.

Yes it's basic corner shop common sense that everyone should be able to cover any department where needed, but...there's contradictory agreements in place to consider, with such a big workforce.

Pre 2005 colleagues agreement still stands, so I would suggest all those colleagues go into their meetings with this evidence printed out from USDAW, stating that fact, as I can assure you, the managers will say it's no longer applicable. However the self serve, scan & shop department was not established pre 2005, so was not included in the agreement.

Then they have to accommodate those who are unsuitable due to health or religious reasons. e.g. those who cannot touch alcohol, due to their belief, will still find at times that they are required to check a % of scan and shop, where alcohol may be a part, or deal with a breakage of an alcohol product.

Those who due to medical conditions, are unable to stand for long hours, or move quick enough to offer the customer support required at busy times on the shop floor, or unable to lug the cages out and fill.

I would urge anyone who has a medical condition which would make certain departments unsuitable, to obtain a letter of confirmation from their G.P.  Produce it in the meeting, to obtain an agreement to your  request that you are not able to work certain departments. Ensure it is placed in your personal file, and that should be an end to it! KEEP A COPY !!

Any manager thereafter telling you to go on a certain department that you are unable to do, tell them you have an agreed exemption, end of conversation. NEVER explain to them why, NEVER answer as to what your medical condition is, just inform them it is in your personal file and end the conversation!
Should a manager be so foolish as to state that there is no such letter in your file,  therefore you work the department until you get another letter...  you inform them you intend to place a grievance asking for an investigation as to how your private medical notes, have disappeared from a locked file, which is a data protection violation, and that you have a copy of the original letter, and watch the colour drain from their face!!

my store has several people now booking a gp appointment to try and get proof that they are exempt from checkouts and .com,some of the women were crying yesterday as they don't want to multiskill,I expect a few will go off with stress before long

also the general feeling amongst management is that overtime will be cut drastically over the next year,as in theory there will now always be someone trained for any department that needs help

The company proving again its staffs mental health is something the can totally disregard,and in the next breathe oh but we care about you.The company is toxic.Morale doesn't exist anymore everyone I know has had enough go in do what your asked but please stop covering up for the fact its not working,they want you to deliver a non existent service while paying you peanuts and expect you to be grateful.Its a charter to bully staff and everyone should grievance this.The union clearly can't be bothered all they care about Is the £10.10 pitiful payrise.

https://news.sky.com/story/bt-faces-strike-vote-while-tesco-agrees-new-pay-deal-12584355

QuoteDaniel Adams, Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) national officer, said: "At such a difficult time, Usdaw is pleased to have secured a pay deal that not only delivers the highest hourly rate of pay in the sector but also delivers on the union's New Deal for Workers campaign, giving our members the right to request a "normal hours" contract and ensuring a minimum 16-hour contract going forward.

"highest hourly rate of pay in the sector" really 
"right to request" NOT get, just ask.  Like you did not have the right to ask before 

And what is "normal hours" 

The brief says people will not be forced to do jobs they are unable to, there is an expectation of multi-spilling though. There are people that will only work aisle 7 but they have been allowed to do that for years. Replenishment will just be replenishment. That side of things will be a bigger change for those on the shop floor, the whole checkout thing is a minor issue. If you work in fresh you could be asked to fill biscuits, if you fill crisps you could be asked to fill milk.
The main bank checkouts hours have been changed. It all depends on the store. For many the first hour of trade and the last two or three are now self service only, requiring one colleague. If a customer wants a main bank till during this time we are now expected to open a till using reliefs rather than pay a checkout colleague  to be in on the off chance a customer is doing a big shop during this time. For the early morning there is the off till colleague who can serve. At night it has to be someone from the shop floor. We have been doing this for a few weeks now and the reality is about one customer a week with a big trolley late evening, most shops are basket shops.
Checkouts also can't sit idle. They need to be off tills and helping shop floor. The reality is there is now very little time that is idle time. Productivity has massively gone up for checkouts. The old IDQ is not being chased as before, even the new 'wait time' is not being chased. Stores were put into special measures if they failed IDQ but not now. It's now all about idle time and throughput. For those who don't know 'idle time' is the length of time an operator is signed on a till but not serving. The 'throughput' is the scan rate. The expectations is 3 seconds an item. The time is from scanning first item until the time the total button is pressed, the Clubcard/payment part does not count. The quicker quick scan items should balance out with the longer detailing items. There is a big difference in scan rates between colleagues, all stores will know the slow colleagues.
The hours for the shop floor are determined on how long it takes to complete tasks, it's the same for checkouts. Too much idle time, massively passing IDQ indicates too many hours or hours in the wrong place. I think that they are just viewing how the change goes, it's a hard change for those running the back of checkouts as they need to call for reliefs with lower service standards. There will be an adjustment period but checkouts can't pass at the expense of shop floor colleagues but at the same time supporting service is built into shop floor colleagues tasks.