Northern Overtime Leeds?

[ST]

Hi all,

I am very much considering a career as a Driver and wandered how frequent Overtime is available for Northern Drivers based out of the Leeds depot? I do appreciate the pay further to full completion of the trainee course and after a couple of years is circa £48k but was interested in overtime options.

Also, is overtime distributed on the basis of time in the role or is it readily available for all who want it at Leeds?

Many thanks in advance.

Roger.

 

[RBSN]

Hi all,

I am very much considering a career as a Driver and wandered how frequent Overtime is available for Northern Drivers based out of the Leeds depot? I do appreciate the pay further to full completion of the trainee course and after a couple of years is circa £48k but was interested in overtime options.

Also, is overtime distributed on the basis of time in the role or is it readily available for all who want it at Leeds?

Many thanks in advance.

Roger.

Overtime is available when it’s needed and agreed on by the Union. It goes on which routes you sign and equalisation.

If you’re not already qualified I wouldn’t worry about overtime at Leeds

 

[bionic]

Blimey. If you haven't even got a trainee job, let alone a key I think the last thing you need to be worrying about is how much overtime they do at Leeds!

Even if you did pass out as a driver you are asking for trouble as a newly qualified if you start smashing the rest days. Countless new drivers have incidents that way.

 

[RBSN]

Even if you did pass out as a driver you are asking for trouble as a newly qualified if you start smashing the rest days. Countless new drivers have incidents that way.

Quite the contrary.

As a newly qualified you should be getting out there and gaining as much experience as possible, instead of being sat spare in the messroom.

A newly qualified at Leeds will only sign triangle so being offered a rest day will most likely be rare anyway.

 

[ST]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Can I ask what Triangle means please?

 

[RBSN]

Triangle is basically the training routes for trainees and the routes you will sign once qualified.

Leeds to Ilkley
Ilkley to Leeds
Leeds to Skipton
Skipton to Leeds
Leeds to Bradford Forster Square
Bradford Forster Square to Leeds

Bradford Forster Square to Ilkley via Baildon to Leeds.

 

[ST]

Triangle is basically the training routes for trainees and the routes you will sign once qualified.

Leeds to Ilkley
Ilkley to Leeds
Leeds to Skipton
Skipton to Leeds
Leeds to Bradford Forster Square
Bradford Forster Square to Leeds

Bradford Forster Square to Ilkley via Baildon to Leeds.

Thanks again.

 

[RBSN]

Thanks again.

As Bionic said, don’t worry about things like overtime and routes until you’re offered a traineeship. Many large hurdles to get over before you need to worry about stuff like that.

(Unless you’re qualified)

 

[bionic]

As a newly qualified you should be getting out there and gaining as much experience as possible, instead of being sat spare in the messroom.

There are a lot of people who have lost their keys who might disagree with you there.

Mind you, I've never worked at Leeds and if all the new drivers are sitting around spare all week there then I guess there is no harm in them coming in on a rest day to do a driving turn. At my place the newbies will be grafting all week on intensive diagrams so it's obviously quite a different setup.

 

[RBSN]

There are a lot of people who have lost their keys who might disagree with you there.

Mind you, I've never worked at Leeds and if all the new drivers are sitting around spare all week there then I guess there is no harm in them coming in on a rest day to do a driving turn. At my place the newbies will be grafting all week on intensive diagrams so it's obviously quite a different setup.

If newly qualifieds are losing their keys then that’s down to the training given, I’ve not heard of a new qualified having any real issues here. Maybe the odd (very odd) TPWS activation, but nothing more.

You would expect newly qualifieds to be on high alert in what they’re doing when they’re out there. Especially when they only sign certain routes.

 

[bionic]

That's interesting to hear. At my place new drivers have to sign pretty much the lot and get sent out to get on with it as soon as they get their key.

As a complete aside, is there a depot at Ilkley? And if there is, do they sign anything beyond that triangle?

 

[RBSN]

That's interesting to hear. At my place new drivers have to sign pretty much the lot and get sent out to get on with it as soon as they get their key.

As a complete aside, is there a depot at Ilkley? And if there is, do they sign anything beyond that triangle?

We have too many routes to cover as a newly qualified. However, route-signing does ramp up quite quickly at Leeds and you do find yourself going further and further within your first year or so and also signing both Neville Hill and Holbeck depot.

Ilkley is just a station now. Historically it was a drivers depot, but I believe that was a long time ago now.