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What's your work status now? Back at work? Furloughed? Working from home? Or bugger all?

Are you back at work?

  • Total voters
    192
NoXion said:
Started working from home in March, but the past couple of weeks they've been having us come in to the office for part of the week. I really don't see the fucking point, it adds risks and my department is most certainly not a customer-facing role. I'd much rather work from home full-time, especially since with the new arrangements in the office (no tea/coffee provided, no microwaves, no cutlery, not allowed to leave the premises), it's a less pleasant place to work.

I've been talking with my supervisor about this situation. At the next opportunity, I'm going to bring up the prospect of schools re-opening and how it will increase the risk for both myself and the rest of the office. I have to take the bus to get into the office, and it seems very unlikely that schools will get their own buses laid on when they re-open.

Really not happy about having to come in and needlessly expose myself to additional risk. What's the fucking point?!
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Well quite. My manager was trying to solve 'problems' that made me feel unsafe at work. Why? It's a busy depot and I don't have to be there. I'm one of the ones who could be working equally as hard (harder!) at home. It's better for absolutely everyone if I'm just not there. We are supposed to be there 40% of the time, which is completely arbitrary. If you don't have to be at the depot (some do) why be there? It's bizarre. And causing an unnecessary risk.
 
When my main pension kicks in, I actually am going to be more (CS) 'gold plated' than some of the figures discussed above, if the estimates/projections I've had turn out accurate from 2022.

Happy 60th birthday to myself! :thumbs: :beer: ;)

But that's because I actually became promoted, with London weighting too, in my old job, which had a pre-2006 ;) pension attached.
(My current job is part-time, and far more poorly paid .... )

Plus most significantly, I was at the V&A for a fortnight or so under twenty years (December 1988 to November 2008).

Sasaferrato, if you were CS for fifteen years, and with medical qualifications, I'm amazed that your pension is as low as you said in your post! :( -- even without London weighting, etc. :confused:
 
William of Walworth said:
When my main pension kicks in, I actually am going to be more (CS) 'gold plated' than some of the figures discussed above, if the estimates/projections I've had turn out accurate from 2022.

Happy 60th birthday to myself! :thumbs: :beer: ;)

But that's because I actually became promoted, with London weighting too, in my old job, which had a pre-2006 ;) pension attached.
(My current job is part-time, and far more poorly paid .... )

Plus most significantly, I was at the V&A for a fortnight or so under twenty years (December 1988 to November 2008).

Sasaferrato, if you were CS for fifteen years, and with medical qualifications, I'm amazed that your pension is as low as you said in your post! :( -- even without London weighting, etc. :confused:
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I worked for HMRC, eight years on the Tax Credit helpline, seven in debt management. When we were told we were switching over the whole office cheered./ NTC was brutal.
 
William of Walworth said:
Sasaferrato, if you were CS for fifteen years, and with medical qualifications, I'm amazed that your pension is as low as you said in your post! :( -- even without London weighting, etc. :confused:
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Me too tbh! I've been in the LGPS for the last six years and have already built up £3.5k a year in retirement. In my experience these 'gold plated' pensions' really are the best of the best, and rightly so.
 
Furloughed on lockdown day 1. Recently helped 'reopen the building' removing furniture etc, reducing capacity from 150 to 60. But just about everyone is still working from home. So only 6 or 7 of us in the building, I'm furloughed again til end sept.

I'm glad as journey to work was doing my head in. I've walked to work, but dodging people getting too close was no fun. I tried getting the bus a couple of times but the number of people not wearing a mask or not wearing a mask to cover their mouths and noses was freaking me out. I'd arrive at work exhausted by the stress of trying to distance myself from others.

When London transport says 'Wear a face covering' they should be more specific - the number of people wearing them on their necks, their chins or foreheads is ridiculous. I'm going to apply for a refund on my bus pass.
 
friendofdorothy said:
Furloughed on lockdown day 1. Recently helped 'reopen the building' removing furniture etc, reducing capacity from 150 to 60. But just about everyone is still working from home. So only 6 or 7 of us in the building, I'm furloughed again til end sept.

I'm glad as journey to work was doing my head in. I've walked to work, but dodging people getting too close was no fun. I tried getting the bus a couple of times but the number of people not wearing a mask or not wearing a mask to cover their mouths and noses was freaking me out. I'd arrive at work exhausted by the stress of trying to distance myself from others.

When London transport says 'Wear a face covering' they should be more specific - the number of people wearing them on their necks, their chins or foreheads is ridiculous. I'm going to apply for a refund on my bus pass.
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Totally agree- the exposed nose pisses me off the most !!
 
During these months of not doing much work, other than refunding tickets and telling people that they can’t travel anywhere and do you not follow any news sources at all type shit, have been fairly busy with BB2, home schooling for an hour each morning from nine, then we walk the dog until midday, lunch, play in the garden (teaching her basketball), Frau Bahn then does her another hour lesson in the afternoon. The days have been filled. Without her or the dog I can see the vino coming out well before midday.

Poor BB1 though is 16 and was given one day’s notice that school’s out forever. Not allowed to visit friends and that she hardly ever rises before midday (force her once a week to come dog walking with us), but it’s hard for her with sod all to do.
 
Also I have a guy who works for me, he’s been furloughed since the start of April, I have been topping up his pay to 100%. With the travel industry being like it is he’ll stay there until it ends at the end of October, although from this month the topping up amount is costing me considerably more. What happens at the end of October I just don’t know. He has told me he fully expects to be made redundant as he can’t see it picking up enough, and he kindly said that if so I should not feel bad about it at all. But I have invested a lot of time and money in getting him where I want him to be and so will be loathed to let him go only to find I need someone again in six months and have to start all over again with training. He has said that he’d get a job in a local supermarket, so perhaps I could take him back if that were the case. It’s the uncertainty that is so shitty.
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
Poor BB1 though is 16 and was given one day’s notice that school’s out forever. Not allowed to visit friends and that she hardly ever rises before midday (force her once a week to come dog walking with us), but it’s hard for her with sod all to do.
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Hope she finds something to do. It's absolutely disgraceful how her year have been treated.
 
Those are excellent chickens, Bahnhof Strasse (I'm not going to embarrass myself by making obvious chicken puns). If she loves sewing she has discovered a hobby/future profession that will help enormously with any mental health issues in future, should they arise. Not that they will but I'm a bit concerned about the effects of lockdown on the youth and sewing is brilliant for that. She clearly has a talent.
 
Kevbad the Bad said:
Mrs K’s gold-plated local council pension is £96.24 per year. Bet you can’t beat that. And it doesn’t go up with inflation.
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Puddy_Tat said:
mum-tat worked as a clerk / typist for (what was then) the gas board for a year or so in the late 60s

she was due a pension of about 5 pounds 10 shillings a year when she turned 60.

she accepted an offer of a lump sum...
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So, allowing for conversion to decimal currency and the hyper-inflation of the 1970’s and 1980’s, that comes to £96.25 per year in today’s money. I rest my case.
 
I'm supposed to go back into the classroom on 24th August to start teaching. It's being talked about like it's really happening, but I really don't feel like I can get my hopes up until I see the students return. I don't know if I should be buying some new work clothes, or just stocking up on leggings for another semester laying on the sofa. :D

I also realised how very lonely it's going to be, even at work, if I go back. I'm the only member of faculty who made it back into the country before the border closed, so all classes apart from mine are scheduled to be taught online. We already have a suite of classrooms set up for online teaching, but it's not in our main building, so I'll hardly even see any students walking around unless they're coming to my classes.

I still can't get my head around how wrong everything's gone. :(
 
I only do a bit of 'permitted work' but as it is outside, I have just trundled on through the entire lockdown with no significant differences apart from taking a little kettle and gas burner to work (for the endless brews I require). I have a massive bunch of keys, belonging to customer's back doors, so I let myself in and get on with work. I have had to turn down work since it seems everyone with a spare metre of space has turned to gardening this year...and many want inspiration/advice while I find it really hard to actually charge money for 'thinking and talking'.
 
campanula said:
I only do a bit of 'permitted work' but as it is outside, I have just trundled on through the entire lockdown with no significant differences apart from taking a little kettle and gas burner to work (for the endless brews I require). I have a massive bunch of keys, belonging to customer's back doors, so I let myself in and get on with work. I have had to turn down work since it seems everyone with a spare metre of space has turned to gardening this year...and many want inspiration/advice while I find it really hard to actually charge money for 'thinking and talking'.
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Boris Johnson gets paid more than £100k for talking without thinking so you shouldn't feel bad for charging a fair sum for thinking and talking
 
I've been working at home since 17th March with no sign of going back yet. That may change when I check my emails tomorrow but who the hell knows.
 
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