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Very Little Helps => Stores => Topic started by: BigBear on 15-02-23, 09:35PM

Title: New contracts
Post by: BigBear on 15-02-23, 09:35PM
I have been told the new contract you have to give half your contract hours in availability, I am full time, so if I wanted to drop a day I would go on to the new contract and  old end up working  more hours rather than less? Does anyone  have any information on this please
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: SpudChucker1970 on 15-02-23, 09:37PM
If you joined before 24th July 2022 you only give 50% availability on any extra contracted hours you pick up
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: andzdrew on 15-02-23, 09:38PM
No. When INCREASING hours, you must give availability for 50% of the increase amount only.
You have been misinformed.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Sherwoodforest on 15-02-23, 09:56PM
@bigbear you havent said if your a flexi contract,yes I've worked with people on full time flexi contracts before,before anyone says anything,if your not a flexi contract then dropping hours wouldnt put you on a different contract
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: BigBear on 16-02-23, 08:37AM
I'm old school full time, I have been told if I want to make any changes to my hours, changing days off, I would have a new contract  and I would have to give more time availability. Someone I work with has had his happen. They  only have a 3 day contract so it's not nuchal for them
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: forrestgimp on 16-02-23, 08:42AM
Quote from: BigBear on 15-02-23, 09:35PMI have been told the new contract you have to give half your contract hours in availability, I am full time, so if I wanted to drop a day I would go on to the new contract and  old end up working  more hours rather than less? Does anyone  have any information on this please

just put down the hours you do now no more no less. This is not new we have been doing availability form for years.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Sherwoodforest on 16-02-23, 08:49AM
@bigbear sounds like a question a wage clerk could answer,sounds like a blag to me,of course you,d have a new contract(it,l have less hours on)but your not applying for a new job so i dont get where thyre coming from with that
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Ginsoakedlush on 16-02-23, 09:40AM
Everybody went on to the new contracts when the "new ways of working" went live back in November. There are now only permanent and temporary contract options available. As you joined the company before this time you are not obligated to give ANY extra availability regardless of how many hours you do. I am a wages clerk and I hope this helps
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: btblackbird on 17-02-23, 09:44AM
Hi all, is it true all staff both old timers and new will have to be trained on tills and dot com. Current training modules are Pick, serve and fill and this includes nights. We have been told that it will form part of new availability eg you can be allocated to cover tills at night, then fill and in morning pick for dot com all within your allocated overnight shift. We have been told by management the work will be allocated by system so when you start work those are the jobs you can expect to do. Seems very wrong to me, especially as if you joined before 2005 they can't force you to be till trained. Any clarity on this would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 17-02-23, 10:15AM
There is no requirement for existing colleague to increase availability. It's only a request. Going forward any new contracted hours issued to colleagues will require availability to match, for example you take on one additional shift of four hours that you would need to have six hours availability for. This is not for change of hours, this applies to people going up in contracted hours.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Nomad on 17-02-23, 10:44AM
@btblackbird try the following topic.

Check out training (https://www.verylittlehelps.com/index.php?topic=17720.0)
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: GotAClubcard on 23-02-23, 07:45PM
The new contracts have started dropping in our store.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: londoner83 on 24-02-23, 07:25AM
Btblackbird - yes you are correct. A colleague can be scheduled across up to 4 departments during their shift depending on where the workload is. The idea is that no longer will say the sole colleague on BWS struggle with a mountain of cages whilst 4 front end colleagues sit idle waiting for a customer.

Every colleague will via pick/fill/serve training be able to complete any task. With regards checkouts, it includes the option to man self-serve/scan as you shop which were largely unheard of when the 2005 agreement was drawn up.

Long term the aim is every colleague gives wider availability windows so that even the hours you work are flexed around where the actual workload is....so rather than doing Mon-Fri 10am till 7pm if you availability matches the actual demand you could be scheduled Tues-Sat 3pm - midnight one week then 10am-7pm the next.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: madness on 24-02-23, 10:15AM
Quote from: londoner83 on 24-02-23, 07:25AMBtblackbird - yes you are correct. A colleague can be scheduled across up to 4 departments during their shift depending on where the workload is. The idea is that no longer will say the sole colleague on BWS struggle with a mountain of cages whilst 4 front end colleagues sit idle waiting for a customer.

That is kind of the point of the 10 am meeting. department A I'm struggling today. Department B. I have people spare as schedule says we are quiet at xxx time.

What actually happened though was department B never sends someone to help out or they moan that its too heavy why me and or get called back within 5 minutes to the checkout because the team support has freaked out at 1 more person in the queue.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 24-02-23, 11:50AM
System works on if the hours are in the right place but there are issues that have not been resolved. If a dept is over hours it will move people but if not it won't.  Not a lot of hours are given to either grocery or fresh to fill. Both areas require help, daily, even with them both running over hours.
We have raised the times people are needed in to fill as an issue.
For my store fresh and grocery are over hours. CSD and PFS are bang on but checkouts is under hours, not by many and it's due to recent leavers. Shop floor resent supporting checkouts, it has always been that way. All I'm saying is that you should not assume that it will be checkout colleagues that are put to shop floor.
The system has put fill hours in the wrong place for some stores too. This is an issue we have raised for our store. One example is we have fresh team in at night to turn the back stock but the fill team should start two hours before our delivery arrives in the morning.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lackofinterest on 24-02-23, 06:27PM
today i spent roughly 2 hours in my main role and the rest elsewhere. it's a f****ng shambles >:(
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lackofinterest on 24-02-23, 06:32PM
there was loads needed doing on my section. taking the p**s basically >:(
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 25-02-23, 08:56AM
Quote from: lackofinterest on 24-02-23, 06:27PMtoday i spent roughly 2 hours in my main role and the rest elsewhere. it's a f****ng shambles >:(

There could be a lot more of this going forward. No point in stock control doing gap scan when 10 cages handed over from grocery. No point in filling fresh when back stock has been worked but delivery is late. Only 200 sels have come down but checkouts has had two sick calls.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 25-02-23, 09:01AM
A lot will depend on how many hours over your dept is. The rest will depend on the needs of your store.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lackofinterest on 25-02-23, 09:09PM
this new contract rubbish is just an excuse to take the p**s >:(
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: madness on 25-02-23, 09:33PM
Quote from: lackofinterest on 24-02-23, 06:27PMtoday i spent roughly 2 hours in my main role and the rest elsewhere. it's a f****ng shambles >:(

what exactly happened? You came in for x hour shift and got put where instead of where etc?
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lackofinterest on 25-02-23, 09:52PM
we are supposed to still have a main role where we are supposed to spend most time. not 2 hours here, 2 hours there, anywhere but where you are needed most
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: newguy20 on 25-02-23, 11:19PM
Quote from: Redshoes on 25-02-23, 08:56AM
Quote from: lackofinterest on 24-02-23, 06:27PMtoday i spent roughly 2 hours in my main role and the rest elsewhere. it's a f****ng shambles >:(

There could be a lot more of this going forward. No point in stock control doing gap scan when 10 cages handed over from grocery. No point in filling fresh when back stock has been worked but delivery is late. Only 200 sels have come down but checkouts has had two sick calls.

Absolutely makes sense, in theory, if done properly. The challenge comes in the implementation.

Suppose you have a shift which is 2hrs on checkouts, followed by 2hrs on produce, you finish your 2hrs on checkouts but there are queues so team support says stay - then when you go, an hour late, it's a complete nightmare with stuff everywhere and constantly behind trying to catch up.... or the produce manager comes to find you on a till and has a go at you for still being there!

We have one checkout shift which is like this, 4pm-10pm, it's supposed to be a mixture of 1hr of trollies mixed with 1hr of checkouts then back on trollies and so forth... What usually happens is the guy is kept on a till until the trollies are going into the road and then there's a big hoo-har about it.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: londoner83 on 26-02-23, 08:54AM
Exactly. In theory working multiple departments in a day sounds good on paper but in reality even on replenishment areas will you leave half a dozen cases not worked on your cage as the clock hits midday or would you stay and finish them off and go late to your next task?
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 27-02-23, 08:26AM
What is tending to happen is that those on my hours are doing more tasks. I have another colleague who has this week been given an extra shift but on the shop floor. She asked me about it and I said to go for it as I think it's a good thing and happens to be the way things are going.
I have shifts coming up in the pfs in a few months as someone retires soon. I have had interest from a few people. Doing one shift gives that colleague extra contracted hours. It keeps the skill live and increases the headcount of trained colleagues. Advertising as a single job is the old way of doing this.
This is early days. There will be more and more people contracted to work in different areas. When a dept has hours cut they may be able to stay in that role as primary task but take on shifts in other areas. I work in a SS and my store has been doing this for years. As hours have come out of cash office and wages those colleagues do other things too on a regular weekly basis. Stock control also do PI and some filling. The woman from news anf mags also does C&C. The CSD do flowers and the Costa coffee cleaning early in the morning. We have been working like this for so long that fresh have almost forgotten that the flowers should sit with them.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lucgeo on 27-02-23, 09:28AM
I'm just wondering how holiday allocation works out if colleagues are working across the store ???
I know many in the past who made up their hours on other departments, found it difficult to fit their holiday allocation in with what was available on each, as no department took precedence.

I always believed everyone should be trained across the store, or at least in the different roles within their own department. How many times departments were left understaffed and struggling due to lack of trained support. Half hearted attempts to release a colleague from checkout to learn the role on CSD or PFS went by the wayside as the hours were cut drastically, so couldn't spare anyone to train. It's always been Tesco's tunnel vision way.

So now it appears everyone is to help out, but does anyone really understand the role fully, or is it just a case of papering over the cracks. A lot of the negativity from colleagues is due to sheer frustration, feeling overwhelmed if they don't understand what they're doing or expected of them!

Many relish a change of scenery, to get stuck into something different, even if only for a few hours to make their day go faster and feel some sort of achievement. But already it seems that it's mostly only going to be an hour here and an hour there, take into account time in moving from department to department, delays en route, break times etc...then the frustration and arguments between colleagues and managers alike will just escalate.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: General Thorn on 27-02-23, 01:09PM
Lucgeo, your point about holiday allocation is so valid.

Years ago I used to work across 3 different departments. My holiday request was meant to go to my main manager who would determine whether I could have the holiday or not based on that department.

In reality, the other 2 managers would veto my holiday because their department would not be covered. Eventually had to involve personnel manager to sort it out.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lackofinterest on 27-02-23, 04:53PM
if i don't get the holidays i want then off to doc to be signed off with work related stress!
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 27-02-23, 09:49PM
Quote from: lucgeo on 27-02-23, 09:28AMI'm just wondering how holiday allocation works out if colleagues are working across the store ???
I know many in the past who made up their hours on other departments, found it difficult to fit their holiday allocation in with what was available on each, as no department took precedence.

I always believed everyone should be trained across the store, or at least in the different roles within their own department. How many times departments were left understaffed and struggling due to lack of trained support. Half hearted attempts to release a colleague from checkout to learn the role on CSD or PFS went by the wayside as the hours were cut drastically, so couldn't spare anyone to train. It's always been Tesco's tunnel vision way.

So now it appears everyone is to help out, but does anyone really understand the role fully, or is it just a case of papering over the cracks. A lot of the negativity from colleagues is due to sheer frustration, feeling overwhelmed if they don't understand what they're doing or expected of them!

Many relish a change of scenery, to get stuck into something different, even if only for a few hours to make their day go faster and feel some sort of achievement. But already it seems that it's mostly only going to be an hour here and an hour there, take into account time in moving from department to department, delays en route, break times etc...then the frustration and arguments between colleagues and managers alike will just escalate.

Primary dept manager books holiday. I have done this with a few colleagues for years. It's not an issue but communication has to be good. I give a copy of the holiday form to other manager, they do same for me. If it means one area is left short we suck it up or go back to colleagues. It's only an issue if there are two cash office colleagues and both have holiday granted but even so we can work round this. I'm also not above doing cash office myself for a week to allow colleague to get the holidays they want.
Going forward this is less and less of an issue as more and more colleagues trained in other areas. There is even time to train someone to a new task as holidays are booked well enough in advance.
I use my holiday diary and frog for booking overtime and seeing where shifts are needed and reviewing who is off. We are expected to be four weeks in advance on this so even if the informing of other manager has not happened there is still time to do something.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: newguy20 on 27-02-23, 11:03PM
Quote from: lucgeo on 27-02-23, 09:28AMHalf hearted attempts to release a colleague from checkout to learn the role on CSD or PFS went by the wayside as the hours were cut drastically, so couldn't spare anyone to train. It's always been Tesco's tunnel vision way.

Exactly and also the follow up that's needed...

I can train someone in the basics of the PFS in a few hours, but if they are never on there again they won't remember any of it nor will they get a chance to pick up more and more etc... then in 6 months when someone goes "oh yeah Bertha can work in the PFS" they've forgotten everything. Strictly speaking somebody needs the training done and validated before they work on the till in the PFS anyway.

But the examples continue, a while ago we had a long stretch when none of the multi skillers were used over in the garage, I suggested that we swap people over one afternoon but apparently it was 'too complicated'.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 28-02-23, 05:11AM
PFS and CSD do take a while to train and need to be experienced before doing the online training. PFS is scary to most as single manned. I have had to train both for the CSD and PFS due to long term sick, retirement and leavers. I requested time out of duty rota and had to buddy up with people myself, mostly. I have also taken the place of someone on a till so they can buddy up on CSD or PFS. There is no other way to do it. I trained one person over Christmas when we had loads of hours but it was needed and not ideal.
The new shift leaders we have trained for the store are signed off at PFS but I have insisted that they experience PFS rather than just do the online stuff.
It's hard to get any online training done as almost impossible to take anyone away from serving.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: lucgeo on 28-02-23, 08:31AM
@Redshoes

Your way of management is not the way of many managers across stores. You'd be hard put to find most willing to drag themselves out of the offices or the Costa, to actually support their teams by putting an hour or two into running their departments efficiently.
If the new way is to have colleagues working different departments during their shifts, surely it would serve each store to actually set aside extra hours per department, and ring fence those colleagues in order to give practical training, rather than online theory.

As @newguy states, to actually swap people around to learn other arms in their departments was treated as "too complicated!" What happened to the Tesco core value of "sharing the knowledge?"
How easy is it to have those colleagues who want to learn, be swapped over for a shift, with another. Both would learn and then have the hands on experience needed to  work those departments for sickness and holiday cover.

Those pre 2005 who don't want to train on checkouts are expected to take over on other departments, to release colleagues who are trained to answer red calls, yet it's a pointless exercise if they don't know what they're doing when they get there!

It's all very well saying you yourself will cover if needed, but then that's not "sharing the knowledge " is it? It's just a temporary fix.

Your last sentence says it all..Tesco are not supporting their teams, they've streamlined to the bone, and  the stores are being run by number crunchers, whose only goal is to give good premium returns to the shareholders!
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Himynameus on 28-02-23, 04:16PM
Please share the following message with your team Week 3-5
Since October, we've been investing in you and the skills you have so you're able to access a broader range of extra hours when you want them, and can support customers in different areas in our store.
     In Week 52 we told you how we are introducing new features to My Tesco making it bigger and better
these are now live for you to view and use.
     Today. we'll be telling you about the new features we're launching on our online Scheduler system on My Tesco between Week 8 and Week 23, making it even simpler for you to use all of your skills across our
store.

What will be changing?
From Week 8, you'll be able to view the area of the store you have been scheduled to work in, for each shift, on My Tesco. You'll continue to be scheduled to work on your primary department when our customers need you there. The system will also automatically schedule you to work in other departments that you're trained to work in, when your help is needed

What do I need to do?
You can see when and where you'll work 3 weeks before each shift, so it's important to check My Tesco regularly so you know where you'll be working. The first time you'll be able to do this will be in Week 8, for your shifts in Week 11. As you gain more confidence working across the store, you might want to pick up Extra Hours. Don't forget you can do this simply and easily on the Extra Hours Market on My Tesco
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: BritishRacingGreen on 28-02-23, 05:23PM
What date - what Sunday - is week 8 please?
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 28-02-23, 06:10PM
It's wk 1 now
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: BritishRacingGreen on 28-02-23, 07:00PM
Thank you @Redshoes  :)
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: grim up north on 28-02-23, 08:01PM
Why do you need to check which part of the store you're working in, in advance?
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: kaled78 on 28-02-23, 08:42PM
My backdoor man was laughing about this today, no 2 days ever have the same delivery times in our store, they can come in anytime of day/night, it will be interesting to see how scheduler can cope with that, our heat map already says we don't need a backdoor man before 10am, and deliveries regularly arrive after 7am(when nights have gone home) and have to wait 3 hours to be tipped as we have no backdoor man until 10am due to the heat map, if scheduler sends the backdoor man in at 10am elsewhere they will be waiting even longer.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: thor god of thunder on 01-03-23, 10:29PM
Quote from: grim up north on 28-02-23, 08:01PMWhy do you need to check which part of the store you're working in, in advance?

so you know when to phone in sick
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: BritishRacingGreen on 01-03-23, 10:41PM
 :D  :D
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: newguy20 on 01-03-23, 10:56PM
Quote from: lucgeo on 28-02-23, 08:31AMAs @newguy states, to actually swap people around to learn other arms in their departments was treated as "too complicated!" What happened to the Tesco core value of "sharing the knowledge?"
How easy is it to have those colleagues who want to learn, be swapped over for a shift, with another. Both would learn and then have the hands on experience needed to  work those departments for sickness and holiday cover.

The irony is. I'm a GA in the PFS. I was working one particular saturday and thought it would be beneficial to swap with some of the checkout staff who hadn't been over in a while, I could sit on a till for a couple of hours they could refresh their knowledge - again too complicated / don't see the point. Fine, that leaves them a problem when it comes around, I've done more than my bit!

Quote from: Redshoes on 28-02-23, 05:11AMPFS and CSD do take a while to train and need to be experienced before doing the online training. PFS is scary to most as single manned. I have had to train both for the CSD and PFS due to long term sick, retirement and leavers. I requested time out of duty rota and had to buddy up with people myself, mostly. I have also taken the place of someone on a till so they can buddy up on CSD or PFS. There is no other way to do it. I trained one person over Christmas when we had loads of hours but it was needed and not ideal.
The new shift leaders we have trained for the store are signed off at PFS but I have insisted that they experience PFS rather than just do the online stuff.
It's hard to get any online training done as almost impossible to take anyone away from serving.

Have to say I'd not like working in a single manned PFS. It's one thing doing half an hour whilst the other person has their break out the back but you at least know if you really need backup, it's there.

Shift leaders and team support should really know CSD and PFS in my eyes - if they are doing rotas and working things out they should understand what they're saying. The ones in my store have refused to acknowledge that they're now front end team support rather than just checkouts.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 02-03-23, 08:37AM
We don't have front end shift leads or team support, we have off till colleagues. They are not on skilled pay, they don't do schedules. They check in with pfs and CSD to cover breaks. They don't even check the off till rota to see if shifts are filled. The pfs are great, they cover the overtime between them and know a Few from store that will help out.
My whole week is spent requesting overtime, issuing overtime, chasing overtime. I have gone down from a head count of 54 to 38. It's harder now it's less people as there is less flexibility for overtime.
Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: londoner83 on 02-03-23, 11:27AM
I know your pain.  With an ever decreasing  headcount it's getting harder and harder to get OT covered,  particularly on the shifts no one really wants (weekend evenings, Sundays , Friday nights etc).

Title: Re: New contracts
Post by: Redshoes on 10-03-23, 11:21AM
I have had a few colleagues on low hours that have now got a few extra contracted who now not as hungry for overtime. I get the whole work life balance, I want that myself. The reality is that when on 16+ hours contracts the availability window is reduced, it has to be. People have to show availability to get the extra contracted hours but then go down to picking up one overtime shift a week rather than three. It's not because they have got the hours and no longer care, it's a simple matter of sums.
I do however think that people deserve higher contracted hours and it will help keep colleagues.  The simple fact that if someone is looking to pick up one overtime shift a week a Tues morning is going to be picked over a Sat late shift in the majority of cases.  Hence, the Sat late, and all other weekend shifts become harder to fill.
Grocery may survive with one down on a Sat night as others will have to support or delivery is handed over. The CSD will however have to be manned.  It's not that the job is more important it's because we can't close a service area.  The CSD may not be as productive on a Sat night as someone filling grocery but the shift has to be filled.