GingerWill
Member
Hi guys, is it a common practice for TOC's to block book your annual leave? Do they tell you when your leave is?
You've been super helpful mate, really appreciate it, was just seeing if this was common practiceHi pal. I've pretty much explain it to you in great depth via DM. It will be the norm regardless of what TOC/FOC you apply for as they have to maintain a minimum number of drivers for the service and also the what the Rest Day Work agreement is with the Union etc. If you feel its gonna be a deal breaker you have to consider if its gonna be the job for you. I think you're focusing too much on this as a negative as like Skies2Rails states there are so many positives to the job and I've never felt like I don't get enough time off.
Appreciate the information mateYes it’s common practice, I’d be surprised if there was any TOC/FOC where this wasn’t the case. It’s really not a problem, as an example you could have one week spring, two weeks summer, one week winter allocated to you on a leave roster. You can do mutual swaps with other Drivers or even swap into a vacant position if available. You also get X amount of ad hoc days to use when you decide, not guaranteed to be granted an ad hoc day though as it’s subject to how much coverage they have, planning in advance is key.
A point I should add, this job impacts on your private life, sometimes quite dramatically, it’s part of the reason it’s paid well. Shifts are all over the place and when you’re spare, depending on what company you’re at you may not know exactly what time you’re working until a couple of days beforehand.
If rostered leave is something you consider to be an issue, you should also consider the other negatives and weigh them up against the positives to decide whether this is really a career you want to persue.
I wouldn't want you to miss out on such a great opportunity by focusing too much on this especially as you've done the hardest part which is getting the job in the first place. As myself and some others here have stated there are ways around it to make it work for you and for others who are also looking to get the time off they want. The block leave is not so much set in stone that you cant move to vacant periods or swap with someone or add on some ad-hoc days to a long weekend etcYou've been super helpful mate, really appreciate it, was just seeing if this was common practice
Yes - or failing that, by cross depot cover (spare drivers at another depot who sign the routes involved) or rest day workers depending on what agreements the TOC in question has.Would the additional "ad-hoc" days just be covered by drivers that are rostered spare?
As far as I know, HEX was (and possibly still is) the one (and the only?) that doesn't have rostered holidays. You just book whatever day you want and it gets approved as long as there's still space for holiday to be booked on that day. I don't think it changed after drivers were transferred to GWR.I’d be surprised if there was any TOC/FOC where this wasn’t the case.