Welcome to verylittlehelps. Please login or sign up.

28-03-24, 09:09PM

Login with username, password and session length
Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 38,124
  • Total Topics: 630
  • Online today: 325
  • Online ever: 1,436
  • (24-01-24, 01:01AM)
Users Online
Users: 6
Guests: 277
Total: 283

USDAW / Tesco collective bargaining agreement

Started by radaghastly, 24-06-22, 12:35AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Totot

This is not just tesco worker problem, but in some other places too. Low contracted hours but work like full timer, it is a crafty strategy from company to cut cost.
The government should deal with this earlier, or at least the party propose a different law. Either get rid of zero hours contract, limit max overtime to certain period in a year, or the easiest are increase every overtime pay hourly.
In fact it might benefit the gov from extra tax.

Rough calculation in tesco, at least they should pay £1 to £ 1.50 an hour more. This is just to compensate holiday entitlement that overtimer wont have.

This is how the company like tesco, way of thinking of low hours contract and work more overtime.
Just for example.
A working 5 days a week and had a day holiday so A only work for 4 days, 10 hours a day with £10 hourly rate.

In real A hourly rate is not £10, but 5x10 = 50 hours. 50 hoursx £10 = £500.
£500 / (4x10 hours) = 500/40 = £ 12.5 an hour.

So if you work extra overtime 20 hours a week constantly in average, with basic 5.6 week holiday entitlement, that will be 110 hours a year that company saved from just one person, with £9.55 rate, its about £1.069 a year per person.

Never know, one day gov might deal with this and might deal with flexi hours, cos flexi hours will reduce the ability of planning your daily life and that will reduce the quality of life cos something to sacrifice and that should earn compensation in good professional environment.


Elly1519

Totot, are you saying that colleagues don't get paid holiday pay correctly?

Holiday is actually paid as an average of the previous 52 weeks minus sickness absences, etc - in which case they go further back. This average includes all overtime worked during those 52 weeks. I'm a wages clerk and I have seen one day workers contracted to a 7.50 hour shift receive over £300 for their one contracted day holiday.

Having re-read your comment I think you mean they should receive more holiday entitlement but colleagues don't lose out as the holiday pay compensates.

General Thorn

Quote from: penguin on 25-06-22, 02:32PM
QuoteThese results show just how strongly staff feel. The new contract is deeply unpopular. If there is ever a time to end the Tesco / USDAW alliance, it is now.

The real issue at least in my opinion is the so called partnership between Tesco and Usdaw, that in my own opinion is very one sided and in effect turns the union into a nodding dog that will do whatever Tesco wish.

When I was a USDAW member while working for Tesco I often asked the question what is the process if any to end the partnership or at the very least put the matter to a vote or suchlike, nobody ever seemed to know or if they did were not willing to furnish the information.


Seemingly this is what the forum is for. We tell the union reps that we want out of the partnership agreement and want to get back to one member one vote, they take it higher and then Usdaw may act on it. Same as wage negotiations, we tell the reps what we want and they take it higher.

Totot

Elly1519 Yup is holiday entitlement that come from the beginning of the calendar.
This is again will affecting one ability to plan their life ahead, and with flexi contract it will even worse. Plus, when they can't do extra overtime because of sickness, maternity, etc, they won't have entitled holiday like other fixed hour staff.

The number show just in extreme side one, since some using average, some or not, some base on extra pay, but even with average last year, it wont be paid the actual earned to date or can't claim the day off for holiday like other. That is why i think it is more fair to put extra hour on overtime rate rather than got the same holiday entitlement with different hourly rate.
Or actual holiday earned to date but this mean someone may have to carry holiday entitlement to the next calendar year.

The concept of holiday supposed to have two reason, first is financial reason that employee wont lose out financially, and 2nd is to have a break from the work, to refresh physically and mentally. This got forgotten over time, and in worse case scenario, we might heading like south korea, japan or china, even like US who dont have much holiday entitlement.

Tesla

Tesco is only going to get worse. Get a new job. Stop wasting money on daft forums.

tescopleb

so what are you going to replace the forum with then? Right now it's all we have
 

century99

OK so I got an interview last week very quickly after an application and was called yesterday and told I got it! Back to office work for me :).

Handing notice in at work today, and I bet there will be alot of shocked faces. But it took 8 months to be offered a permanant contract and they are constantly promising to increase my contract from 7.5 but nothing happens. New job is office work like I used to do for a large well known online travel company-the office is amazing lol. Is salaried, a fair bit more money, guaranteed hours and although there are some weekend shifts its spilt over all the section so you get at least some weekends off (hardly had any weekends off in the whole time at Tesco). Your shifts are set months in advance and no late nights so can plan for "life".

Really happy, but there are some people I will miss at work (no managers lol). But to people on here there are other jobs and better conditions that at Tesco.

Wish me luck I go in about 1230 eeek.

Admin:  :thumbup:

lucgeo

 8-) good luck in your new job  :thumbup:

Use your last week to ensure you get all monies owed...unused holiday entitlement, including any overtime you worked to add to you holiday entitlement, also any unused BH earned!
Don't be fobbed off, arrange a meeting with your manager to go through it all, as once you've left it becomes nigh on impossible to get anyone to speak to, to sort out any discrepancies :-X  :-X

Don't be surprised to find that your managers will appear indifferent to you leaving, some take it as a personal affront!

Our SM used to tell people they'd already been replaced, and any manager leaving, was told they'd wasted their opportunities, as they could have aspired to an SM like him!! Yea, they don't want to be a little lying, bullying narcissist mate, that's why they're leaving...DIPSTICK  :-*
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Jackwarda

So, if a colleague is leaving, given there weeks notice, but is owed say 4 days holiday or BH, can that be used the week before you leave or is it to be all paid instead!

lucgeo

It depends if the department is fully covered. If they have others on booked leave, then usually the manager will not agree to it being taken, and it will be paid.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Jackwarda

@lucgeo - actually I thought that may be the case. Thanks. Unlike some negative criticism of VLH, I take note of these replies and points. It all goes down for future ref. as I know it will come in useful one day.

General Thorn

Quote from: century99 on 29-06-22, 09:13AMOK so I got an interview last week very quickly after an application and was called yesterday and told I got it! Back to office work for me :).

Handing notice in at work today, and I bet there will be alot of shocked faces. But it took 8 months to be offered a permanant contract and they are constantly promising to increase my contract from 7.5 but nothing happens. New job is office work like I used to do for a large well known online travel company-the office is amazing lol. Is salaried, a fair bit more money, guaranteed hours and although there are some weekend shifts its spilt over all the section so you get at least some weekends off (hardly had any weekends off in the whole time at Tesco). Your shifts are set months in advance and no late nights so can plan for "life".

Really happy, but there are some people I will miss at work (no managers lol). But to people on here there are other jobs and better conditions that at Tesco.

Wish me luck I go in about 1230 eeek.

Admin:  :thumbup:

Good luck in your new job.

Our store has lost a fair amount of 'temporary' colleagues this way.They are all very nervous as their temporary contract draws to an end and they've not heard anything from management. When they ask if they are being kept on, they are told they may be kept on for a while. This continues for months without management giving them a proper contract. The colleague then applies and gets another job and then management steps in to offer them a proper contract (16 hrs +) Way too little, far too late.

Tracey 007

I hate Usdaw and would love to opt out,tesco would be made up if everyone done this though,as they wouldn't recognise another union I even asked our useless rep why we not allowed to ballet,she said tesco got rid of it because it wasn't getting used  8-) I have to stay in my union because of all changes that's happening on stock control atm,won't be long before that's gone

lucgeo

The no ballot is part of the partnership agreement. Store colleagues were offered the chance to disagree, but at the time, Tesco was the place, in retail, to work. Highest wages, good benefits, a social club and very well staffed, complacency was high!
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

radaghastly

That was 24 years ago. It is a different Tesco & a different workforce today. The partnership agreement, as it stands now, is not fit for purpose.

They can tear up our contract every time they think of better way to screw us over & we can do nothing.

The question is - how can we change things? Is there anything we can do? Any organisation that can step in and help?

lucgeo

The difficulty is that the membership is spread across the country and stores, so to bring in a vote of no confidence, every member would need to be canvassed and agree. A mammoth task and USDAW know this!

The only way to bring the union down would be to withdraw membership, as I believe they must have a certain % of members to be recognised as the representative union  ???
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

lucgeo

On the gov.uk website, there is a section on the rules to derecognise a union.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Redshoes

New agreement promises to give extra contracted hours to existing colleagues before recruiting. The colleagues on less than 16 hours are given priority ut if none of them want additional hours it goes to those on more than 16 hours. If nobody wants additional shifts it then has to be recruitment.
If a store is over hours they have to build a business case to be able to recruit. If they do this they may still be able to recruit. It's the same with giving additional hours to existing colleagues. If store is over hours they have to put forward a business case to give out additional contracted hours.

penguin

Quote from: lucgeo on 30-06-22, 06:21AMThe no ballot is part of the partnership agreement. Store colleagues were offered the chance to disagree, but at the time, Tesco was the place, in retail, to work. Highest wages, good benefits, a social club and very well staffed, complacency was high!

That was back in the days when at least a fair number of people in senior roles knew staff need to be treated and recompensed well, then it all went downhill about 15 years ago and the race to the bottom began.
Do not let anyone tell you there is not a decent job and life beyond Tesco.

mollykent

Hello, I'm a reporter at Novara. I am wondering if you're interested in speaking for an article I'm writing? Email me and I can explain further - polly@novaramedia.com

mollykent

@mollykent. Read already, please do not repeat post.  VLH Administrator.

mollykent

My apologies - wasn't sure if quoting or replying was the right way to add to the thread, so tried both.

Grizzly

Over the years we've lost Sunday/bank holiday/night premiums we've had rubbish pay rises endless changes to our contracts, and I ever here from management is "it's been approved by the union". I've never been asked to vote on anything, when I asked the rep they said no one wanted to so I asked have you asked them and he replied no. £120 a year I pay for a useless union that really is just a social club for Tesco. Trouble is you feel like you have stay in just in case.

radaghastly

Its actually even worse than that, if you can believe it. The contract says that any rules on the web site must be adhered to - I don't check it very often, but the last time I did there were 17 changes that month. They have signed us up to a moving target. It is ridiculous.

barafear

Quote from: Grizzly on 16-07-22, 08:30AMOver the years we've lost Sunday/bank holiday/night premiums we've had rubbish pay rises endless changes to our contracts, and I ever here from management is "it's been approved by the union". I've never been asked to vote on anything, when I asked the rep they said no one wanted to so I asked have you asked them and he replied no. £120 a year I pay for a useless union that really is just a social club for Tesco. Trouble is you feel like you have stay in just in case.

Your last sentence sums up USDAW membership perfectly. It's a bit like an insurance policy - most times you won't need to claim - but we're all deluding ourselves if we think that USDAW are protecting or improving our overall pay and conditions.

The only reason to stay in the union is to represent us in the case of any disciplinary or other issues in our own workplace. If you have a good rep(s) in your store, then it's more reason - as for my store, our rep (who was average at best) left over 18 months ago - temporarily replaced by someone who worked on nights and was rarely (if ever) available for meetings during my work hours (days and weekends) - and then that person became a manager and stepped down as rep and no rep in our store ever since.

Thankfully I haven't had a need to call the regional office and ask for a rep - but I just feel without "personal knowledge of the store" their help is less effective.

In terms of various bits and pieces being eroded over time - much as I'd love to castigate Tesco, this has applied across all retailers and other industries too; oh for the days when overtime was paid at time and a half - or Weekend working also attracted premiums -

The main driver behind many of these changes has been the change of direction in minimum wage legislation - Go back 10 years or more and min wages were introduced at a really low level - some 10-15% below what most "decent" employers were paying - so not an issue - the only organisations it really affected were "poor employers" who paid £5 an hour because they could get away with it.

Once tthe minimum wage was increased to higher levels, it started to catch up with the base rates paid by Tsco and others (SBury/Morri/Adsa  etc)

Once they were forced to pay those higher base rates, premiums became too expensive to pay - so as they were effectively not contractual - they went
It's a harsh fact of life unfortunately. None of us are irreplaceable therefore we are now paid pretty much the minimum that companies can get away with legally.

All of us are fairly confident that Sunday/BH premiums are likely to disappear within the next couple of years - and possible even night premiums.

In terms of the request from MollyKent - I'm not entirely sure there's much of a story here - yes we don't like being treated like we don't matter - but are we being treated any differently from a significant % of the UK working population?

What is a bit gnawing is how USDAW actually proclaim what a great job they are doing in getting us an hourly rate of £10 an hour - despite the fact that in 9 months time it's likely to be the legal minimum wage.

USDAW need to raise their sights and come out with something like "15% above the NLW" and maintaining it year on year - a bit like a tracker mortgage/savings account - so we always know where we stand - the pay rises agreed in the last six or seven years have been mired in red tape - or what I really mean is there has been delay after delay - i.e. they announce pay rise in Feb, but we wait until July/Oct/Nov to actually receive it - whereas if we did get USDAW to achieve a "tracker type agreement" - then we know it would always go up from 1st April (unless the Govt change the date of the NLW increase).

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk