Recent content by EBlackadder

Privatisation began in 1994 and ended in 1997. Since then we have had 13 years of Labour, 5 years of Coalition and 7 years of Conservative Government. Since privatisation - particularly over the past decade - driver pay has substantially increased; drivers at the highest paying TOCs are now in...

Ahh right, sorry. Well, the next bit is basically comparing two sets of letters and digits and saying if they're the same or different. I really can't make it any simpler than that. I found it the easiest part of the process. I actually panicked that id missed something.

It's a situational judgement exercise over about 20 questions. Keep safety at the forefront of your mind, followed by customer service and performance. You should be alright. It isn't timed. Read the statement very carefully.

As long as you aren't at DMI stage the only thing to really consider is depot size. You'd struggle to form a cricket team with Par depot, so you need to consider how long you may be stuck in a talent pool. On the other hand, the new harmonised Plymouth depot is likely to grow much faster, and...

It's not uncommon for employers to enforce notice periods - up to and including court action for breach of contract - but generally only for 'executive' members of staff. My TOC is extremely flexible around notice periods, but with drivers in many TOCs now approaching 'executive' remuneration...

Some fascinating opinions on this thread, which appear to fly in the face of almost all available evidence, not to mention common sense. Before going on, I'm a white male. I'm relentlessly middle-class and have spent the last week giving more thought to what type of liner to get for my...

OP, You mentioned this letter turned up around 6 months after the offence. Under Section 127 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980, all Summary Offences (essetially low level stuff that can only be heard in the Magistrates' Court) must be 'laid' before the Court within 6 months of the offence. If...

Agreed, but this is to do with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and certain offences being 'spent', rathr than no Record existing. An Enhanced DBS Check, for example for the Police, Security Services, Senior Civil Service etc... would result in such offences being disclosed. I agree that a...

Driving with Excess Alcohol is a Recordable Offence which will result in a Criminal Record. All offences triable either way, or on indictment are recordable. Certain summary offences are also recordable if they could be punished with imprisonment. Driving with excess alcohol carries a potential...

Railway limit is 13 micrograms per 100ml of breath - almost 2/3 lower than the drink drive limit. It means you can drive into work perfectly legally and end up getting sacked (and possibly prosecuted). RIS-8070-TOM

I'd (very, very guardedly) say that anyone entering a pool now or in the near future *should* expect a place. I know that there are courses lined up into next summer - i got a glimpse of a training spreadsheet - and presumably beyond. There are still a large number of internals who haven't sat...

What i'm getting at is that this isn't the usual "let's build up a pool of 40 people for the 5 jobs we might have in 3 years", but rather a determined attempt to fill *hundreds* of vacancies.

Ibthink @Stigy is right, but this round seems to be a bit different to most. Instead of the different functions going to Recruitment with their workforce plans and essentially saying "we need x number of drivers for depots a, b and c in x years time" and leaving it to Recruitment to build a...

Yeah still outside, but with a contractual commitment to work around 17 a year. It means the pay is roughly £3k - £5k a year more than advertised but is non-pensionable.

From May 2020 the base salary for a full qualified will be around £62k, plus Sundays. So 80% is roughly £50k and 90% roughly £55k, not forgetting to add Sundays on top. The 62k figure isn't a secret and has appeared on recruitment adverts in the public domain. Those of us joining now should...