A career as a signaller

[SimplyLovely]

I got the same and based on research I done on here because online was very conflicting, the pay deal was 4.5%. Somebody posted a table of all the grades with the pay, here it is attached below. How accurate it actually is, I’m unsure, but somebody has taken time to do it, so I’m sure it’ll be pretty accurate.

You're a star, thanks

 

[High Dyke]

That looks about right. I had a copy of a draft version. It had some minor variations amounting to pennies on it. At least it gives people a good idea of the pay scales.

 

[The Difference]

That looks about right. I had a copy of a draft version. It had some minor variations amounting to pennies on it. At least it gives people a good idea of the pay scales.

Yeah I thought it would be pretty accurate considering somebody has taken the time to make the list in the first place. It’s good for new starts or people who want to get into Signalling to see the figures, especially if they aren’t sure financially how it will affect them when first starting. I am in a position that I will be losing around £10k a year when training, but only for a short period of time, so I can afford to budget for that. I am not just becoming a Signaller for money, but it certainly helps to build a more stable financial future for my family.

 

[YoungSlim]

Had my interview on Wednesday for a grade 2 position in Cumbria.

I initially thought it went well. But the more I think about it (or over think it!) the more I worry I could have said/done better.

Nervously awaiting the results now…

 

[rollerball]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how often NR recruit externally for trainee signallers? I’ve held a safety critical role in the military for the past 20 years and looking for a move into signalling but not sure how many opportunities crop up routinely. Thanks in advance.

 

[CoachB]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how often NR recruit externally for trainee signallers? I’ve held a safety critical role in the military for the past 20 years and looking for a move into signalling but not sure how many opportunities crop up routinely. Thanks in advance.

Don't take my word on this but for regions that use the trainee signaller roles i think they go up every 5-6 months. They only take on 2 trainees at a time. Then once the current trainees are nearly out or out of IST they start looking for 2 new trainees.

 

[Kraken]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how often NR recruit externally for trainee signallers? I’ve held a safety critical role in the military for the past 20 years and looking for a move into signalling but not sure how many opportunities crop up routinely. Thanks in advance.

Depends where you live really I think. You can’t move for a ex-military down my line so you’ll likely not have too many difficulties when it crops up - for the last year or so we’ve been recruiting externally almost every other month it feels like.

 

[Lucas7]

So, I've had an email this morning stating I passed the signaller assessment centre interview I had but unfortunately there's no vacancy available for me at the moment for the location I applied for. They are keeping my details on record for 12 months and will get in touch when something becomes available.

Has anyone been in this position? Were you offered a role within the 12 month period? Thanks!

 

[Ashley10]

So, I've had an email this morning stating I passed the signaller assessment centre interview I had but unfortunately there's no vacancy available for me at the moment for the location I applied for. They are keeping my details on record for 12 months and will get in touch when something becomes available.

Has anyone been in this position? Were you offered a role within the 12 month period? Thanks!

Hi mate, I’ve received the same email this morning. Which vacancy did you apply for?

 

[YoungSlim]

Hi mate, I’ve received the same email this morning. Which vacancy did you apply for?

I had an interview last Wednesday and am eagerly awaiting a response. When was your interview if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Lucas7]

Hi mate, I’ve received the same email this morning. Which vacancy did you apply for?

It was for the Llandudno box, what about you?

 

[Ashley10]

I had an interview last Wednesday and am eagerly awaiting a response. When was your interview if you don’t mind me asking?

Mine was last Tuesday in Wrexham

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Nov 2024 ==

It was for the Llandudno box, what about you?

Yeah mine was for the same haha. Seems like it’s just a waiting game now

 

[YoungSlim]

Mine was last Tuesday in Wrexham

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Nov 2024 ==


Yeah mine was for the same haha. Seems like it’s just a waiting game now

Thanks Ashley. May be another day or so for me then.

Fingers crossed you lads hear something in the coming months

 

[GNCBLNC]

Hey everyone,

long time lurker, just wanted to drop by to say thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

I've been a signaller now for 3 years (grade 3 / grade 8) and the information in this thread was invaluable at the time when I was applying.

Best of luck to all applying, it's a good gig.

 

[MylesHSG]

Hi all, can anyone tell me how often NR recruit externally for trainee signallers? I’ve held a safety critical role in the military for the past 20 years and looking for a move into signalling but not sure how many opportunities crop up routinely. Thanks in advance.

A military or blue light background is looked upon very favourably in my experience. Recruitment varies by region, some might be for a specific location and others are for a broader area if there are multiple vacancies that need filling. Don't be put off applying for a lower grade and then moving on up after a couple years once you have access to the internal recruitment list.

 

[Sg90]

Hi everyone,
this thread was so helpful for my application and interview for a signaller. And I got a call today offering me a posts. So excited.
In the interview they spoke about the premiums for night work, bank holidays etc briefly and said it would be in the contract explaning how it works. But I can't make sence of it, as it speaks of turns etc.
Basically I was looking to see if anyone can give me a rough guideline on pay.
I've been offered a grade 2 trainee in the Laurencekirk area, they said they are pretty sure their will be a post in laurencekirk after the training course.

If I worked the year, not taking any extra shifts, what would the earnings be (based on average rota) at a box that opens 24 hours.
I've heard people say they earn £42k, some say £50k and some £60k.

Due to a change in my partners hours since applying, £33k is now on the very minimum I can go to, so want to know the accuracy of pay. I reallywant to take the singalling post but means dropping from a £42k job.

Thanks
ps @kroc90 i read you went for the laurencekirk post, did you get through too? THey said they took 2 people for the area when they phoned me

 

[LW17]

I had my interview last Thursday and got the successful call on Tuesday. Absolutely made up it still hasn't sunk in.

I'm going to be G2 and can apply for boxes in the Wrexham area when I have passed IST.

I've been given a provisional start date and i'm off to Bristol for IST next year once things get confirmed. For IST is it exactly 10 weeks from your first day? So if for example you started on Monday January 1st 2024 you would finish on Friday 8th March 2024? Also for anyone that has studied over easter is there a break?

 

[trainchoochoo]

I had my interview last Thursday and got the successful call on Tuesday. Absolutely made up it still hasn't sunk in.

I'm going to be G2 and can apply for boxes in the Wrexham area when I have passed IST.

I've been given a provisional start date and i'm off to Bristol for IST next year once things get confirmed. For IST is it exactly 10 weeks from your first day? So if for example you started on Monday January 1st 2024 you would finish on Friday 8th March 2024? Also for anyone that has studied over easter is there a break?

No. There will be 2 to 4 weeks pre IST learning. I had 4, 2 weeks of company courses and visiting adjacent boxes, by box etc. then two weeks sole IST online pre learning. Then off to physical IST for 10 weeks

 

[Kraken]

Hi everyone,
this thread was so helpful for my application and interview for a signaller. And I got a call today offering me a posts. So excited.
In the interview they spoke about the premiums for night work, bank holidays etc briefly and said it would be in the contract explaning how it works. But I can't make sence of it, as it speaks of turns etc.
Basically I was looking to see if anyone can give me a rough guideline on pay.
I've been offered a grade 2 trainee in the Laurencekirk area, they said they are pretty sure their will be a post in laurencekirk after the training course.

If I worked the year, not taking any extra shifts, what would the earnings be (based on average rota) at a box that opens 24 hours.
I've heard people say they earn £42k, some say £50k and some £60k.

Due to a change in my partners hours since applying, £33k is now on the very minimum I can go to, so want to know the accuracy of pay. I reallywant to take the singalling post but means dropping from a £42k job.

Thanks
ps @kroc90 i read you went for the laurencekirk post, did you get through too? THey said they took 2 people for the area when they phoned me

Congratulations on getting the job!

Let’s take the worst case scenario earnings-wise: say you finish training and then end up in a grade 2 box. This box works Monday to Saturday, daytime only and you do absolutely no overtime. So you won’t be picking up any night shift premium (10% per shift), Rest Day Working (125%), or Sunday working (150% pay). You’d still be getting £33,695 as a salary for that job after next month’s pay rise, so I reckon you’ll be alright.

Of course, if the box is open 24/7 and any higher than grade 2 then you’ll be looking at a good whack more than that, I think just working your rostered night shifts and Sundays nets roughly an extra 12% give or take on the line I work on (12 hour shifts 06-18-06). So say £37.7k for a grade 2. Then any overtime you do goes on top of that.

 

[LW17]

No. There will be 2 to 4 weeks pre IST learning. I had 4, 2 weeks of company courses and visiting adjacent boxes, by box etc. then two weeks sole IST online pre learning. Then off to physical IST for 10 weeks

Yeah sorry I mean from when you start phyiscal IST is it exactly 10 weeks. So for example my provisional start date is 2 weeks before physical IST starts so once I start Phyiscal IST it's then 10 full weeks until you finish and then you can return home so to speak.

 

[MylesHSG]

Hi everyone,
this thread was so helpful for my application and interview for a signaller. And I got a call today offering me a posts. So excited.
In the interview they spoke about the premiums for night work, bank holidays etc briefly and said it would be in the contract explaning how it works. But I can't make sence of it, as it speaks of turns etc.
Basically I was looking to see if anyone can give me a rough guideline on pay.
I've been offered a grade 2 trainee in the Laurencekirk area, they said they are pretty sure their will be a post in laurencekirk after the training course.

If I worked the year, not taking any extra shifts, what would the earnings be (based on average rota) at a box that opens 24 hours.
I've heard people say they earn £42k, some say £50k and some £60k.

Due to a change in my partners hours since applying, £33k is now on the very minimum I can go to, so want to know the accuracy of pay. I reallywant to take the singalling post but means dropping from a £42k job.

Thanks
ps @kroc90 i read you went for the laurencekirk post, did you get through too? THey said they took 2 people for the area when they phoned me

It's hard to know without knowing the specifics of the box and your role (resident/relief).

The very minimum a grade 2 signaller can get working zero nights, zero Sundays and zero RDW is £33,695 after the pay rise.

If you have rostered Sundays as a resident you can also work that out, if it's 2 Sundays in 4 or 2 Sundays in 5 that you will work (you can request these off for no loss of A/L if cover can be found). You'll probably want to subtract a minimum of 2 Sundays over the year for annual leave.

If it's a 12h shift pattern then half your shifts will be nights so again you can add that up £14.81 per shift (grade 2). If it's 8h then it will be 1/3 of your shifts.

If you are working in London/SE you will get an additional payment for that. It's something like £3250 per annum for London weighting and £1300 for SE weighting.

Then you have a couple of yearly payments. The performance related pay (bonus) which is not guaranteed and this year was the first we had since 2019. You get a bonus depending on your routes performance. Don't count on this as this is completely at the discretion of the company. There is also the holiday supplement pay which is in march every year. Tbh this still confuses me slightly but it's something to do with lost overtime pay you miss out by taking A/L so the more RDW you do the higher this is. I'm sure someone else can explain it better.

And then we get to RDW. You will get lean times and times when you get offered shifts seemingly every week. All depends on staff levels, sickness, how much RDW other signallers take etc. As a rule of thumb I accept every weekday day shift I am offered and every weekday night shift if it follows or is before a regular night shift. I will break these rules if I am the last resort to get the shift covered and a colleague needs it off.

 

[rollerball]

A military or blue light background is looked upon very favourably in my experience. Recruitment varies by region, some might be for a specific location and others are for a broader area if there are multiple vacancies that need filling. Don't be put off applying for a lower grade and then moving on up after a couple years once you have access to the internal recruitment list.

Many thanks. I’m in the South Yorkshire area so will keep any eye out. More than happy to apply for lower grades, just want to get my foot in the door.

 

[endofthetunnel]

Yeah sorry I mean from when you start phyiscal IST is it exactly 10 weeks. So for example my provisional start date is 2 weeks before physical IST starts so once I start Phyiscal IST it's then 10 full weeks until you finish and then you can return home so to speak.

It’s a 10 week course but it can easily take a couple extra. For a generic bank holiday they will just keep going with a 4 day week but if there’s any proper holidays (like Easter) the courses normally don’t run for the week, if not two. It also depends on what’s happening in the building and with the staff. There can often be a week where there’s no tutor available, or a week where the room you use is being used for something else.

 

[muz379]

Hi everyone,
this thread was so helpful for my application and interview for a signaller. And I got a call today offering me a posts. So excited.
In the interview they spoke about the premiums for night work, bank holidays etc briefly and said it would be in the contract explaning how it works. But I can't make sence of it, as it speaks of turns etc.
Basically I was looking to see if anyone can give me a rough guideline on pay.
I've been offered a grade 2 trainee in the Laurencekirk area, they said they are pretty sure their will be a post in laurencekirk after the training course.

If I worked the year, not taking any extra shifts, what would the earnings be (based on average rota) at a box that opens 24 hours.
I've heard people say they earn £42k, some say £50k and some £60k.

Due to a change in my partners hours since applying, £33k is now on the very minimum I can go to, so want to know the accuracy of pay. I reallywant to take the singalling post but means dropping from a £42k job.

Thanks

Firstly congratulations on being offered a post . It sounds like you have been offered a training post , so perfectly possible that after IST you could apply for a higher graded post anyway or train a higher graded location .

But even at Grade 2 the basic salary from dec is as others have said £33.7k .
If the box is 24-7 and includes sundays then the sundays will be the biggest potential earner . Lets say you have a 4 week single person coverage box working 12 hour shifts . You should have 2 in 4 sundays as booked sundays . If you are a resident then these sundays fall to you to work first . You can be released from them if cover can be found . You wont be expected to work a sunday in the middle of your 2 weeks booked leave if one falls there though . I'd calculate the sunday working at 20 (10night /10Day ) because you might want to take some of them off for stuff that comes up . At grade 2 this gives you a further £6.5k

Night shift premiums will depend on the night shift , where I am boxes do 06:00-18:00 & 18:00-06:00 . On those shifts a G2 night premium is £14.80 so thats extra you will be paid for every night . Apart from Saturday night where you get paid the night premium plus 6 hours at Sunday rate so every satruday night is worth an extra £70.35.

Bank Holidays - you have two choices .At the very least If you take the lower rate of pay then you get an extra 8 days leave to use . If you take the higher rate option then you get another 8 days wages (8 Days wage at G2 is around £1750)
Higher Rate of Pay - Payment will be 250% if you are booked to work on that day 100% -
LROP - Payment will be 150% if you are booked to work and a day in lieu to use within 12 months - Just a day in liue if it is your day off

Id say £42k would be a fairly easy to achieve minimum just working your booked shifts if the box is a 24hour 7 day box working 12 hours shifts .

Yeah sorry I mean from when you start phyiscal IST is it exactly 10 weeks. So for example my provisional start date is 2 weeks before physical IST starts so once I start Phyiscal IST it's then 10 full weeks until you finish and then you can return home so to speak.

It is 10 weeks , although that asssumes there aren't any usual holiday periods like Easter or Christmas . You will be at home every weekend though even if doing the course residential .

There is also the holiday supplement pay which is in march every year. Tbh this still confuses me slightly but it's something to do with lost overtime pay you miss out by taking A/L so the more RDW you do the higher this is. I'm sure someone else can explain it better.

The holiday payment stems from an Eu Court of Justice decision which states that workers must be paid 'normal pay ' when on annual leave . For jobs with commission/ regular overtime this must therefore be taken into account when paying workers for their annual leave .

At NWR the way they deal with this approach is to pay you a flat weeks wage when on Annual leave . And then every year pay a one off sum to cover the difference between your flat wage and your actual average wage .

 

[MylesHSG]

The holiday payment stems from an Eu Court of Justice decision which states that workers must be paid 'normal pay ' when on annual leave . For jobs with commission/ regular overtime this must therefore be taken into account when paying workers for their annual leave .

At NWR the way they deal with this approach is to pay you a flat weeks wage when on Annual leave . And then every year pay a one off sum to cover the difference between your flat wage and your actual average wage .

Do you know what "ALA Pay" is? I only get it on payslips where I have taken A/L during the period.

 

[BB6691]

Hi all
I have an interview for a signallers role at Gloucester signal box and was after any information people could give me, ie signal system used, axle counter or track circuit area, which lines are covered, how big is the patch that it covers as in where it covers from and too. I've contacted the local MOM with questions and asking to pay a visit but was informed I could only visit and gather information if I was selected for an interview but between finding out and having the interview there wasn't enough time to arrange a visit as I work shifts on maintenance.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Nov 2024 ==

Hi all
I have an interview for a signallers role at Gloucester signal box and was after any information people could give me, ie signal system used, axle counter or track circuit area, which lines are covered, how big is the patch that it covers as in where it covers from and too. I've contacted the local MOM with questions and asking to pay a visit but was informed I could only visit and gather information if I was selected for an interview but between finding out and having the interview there wasn't enough time to arrange a visit as I work shifts on maintenance.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Also how many panels the signal box has.

Thank You

 

[High Dyke]

Do you know what "ALA Pay" is? I only get it on payslips where I have taken A/L during the period.

Basically, Annual Leave Allowance (ALA) is the calculation of monetary value of night shift premium paid based on the ordinary rostered night time you have worked in the previous year (January - December). If you didn't work any nights the ALA% would be nil. It does differ depending on how many night turns you have worked the previous year.

 

[chris81]

Hi.
I have been told I have got through the assessments and now have an interview next Wednesday for a grade 3 signaller role.
I currently work in a medium secure forensic facility.
Is there anyone on here that could give me an idea of what will be asked during the interview.
I'm pretty confident I have transferable skills but any info anyone has will be greatly appreciated.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Oct 2024 ==


Hi.
I have an interview next week for the grade 3.
Any heads up as to what I can expect??
Thanks in advance.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2024 ==

Hi.
I've been offered and accepted my signaller position and have been given a start date for the 16th of Dec.
I have my IST course in Newport on the 6th of January.
Anyone else on here been told where we will be staying?
Im Exeter and Paignton based.

 

[Lucas7]

So, I've had an email this morning stating I passed the signaller assessment centre interview I had but unfortunately there's no vacancy available for me at the moment for the location I applied for. They are keeping my details on record for 12 months and will get in touch when something becomes available.

Has anyone been in this position? Were you offered a role within the 12 month period? Thanks!

Anyone else in this position end up being offered a role? Kinda losing hope a little..

 

[gator op]

Anyone else in this position end up being offered a role? Kinda losing hope a little..

Dont lose hope on this. Im seeing more and more people been offered jobs this way. It seems where I work people are been offered and taking jobs long after they went through the interview process. Feels like up to or just over 1 year.

You never know what happens in Signalling and people move around and opportunities open up when people move to higher grades or through sickness, retirement etc.

Keep the faith and never give up hope on this. You never know when that phone could ring and your offered a job. NR has no appetite to re-start recruitment campaigns if there are suitable candidates on the reserve list.