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Office based job - operational duties in emergencies

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Roger1973

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Hi - newcomer here who is considering going in to railway work from somewhere else in transport.

A few months ago, I applied for and got an interview for what would be an office based job with a train operating company. (I would not see it as 'management' level, if that makes a difference, but would rather not go in to detail in public.)

One of the interview questions was about taking on operational duties for special events / emergencies etc and was I happy doing that. On the basis that saying 'no' to something at interview is not a good move, I said yes.

It got as far as an offer, and doing this sort of work seems to be contractual, and also to apply to what I can only describe (politely) as strike-breaking.

With the lockdown, re-locating and starting this job wasn't practical, so I had to withdraw, but a couple of questions in case another opportunity comes along -

Is there proper training for this sort of thing? Or is it 'here's a high-vis, now go and herd a crowd of irate passengers'? I've not worked on the railways, but can appreciate that the 'basic' jobs like ticket checking and train despatch are by no means unskilled jobs.

And how contractual is it?

The occasional day out of the office round special events would probably make a nice change, but I'm not at all comfortable with the idea of being expected to cross a picket line and undermine other workers, even if they would be different department / different union (from what I gather, office based roles are mostly TSSA, operational roles other than driving are mostly RMT.)

I have been in organisations where there has been industrial action by particular grades / unions, and the line both from management and other unions is that people who are not directly involved should continue to do their usual job but are not expected to cover for those taking action.

Any insights welcome. Thanks.
 
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Stigy

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I’m going to work on the assumption this probably refers to undertaking customer service duties during times of planned, large scale engineering work, plus the likes (more likely maybe) of acting as a contingency Guard during times of industrial action.

I’m not sure about how contractual this is, but chances are any contract will state you will undertake “other duties as reasonably required” or words to that effect. It’s like that in most employment contracts I believe. In terms of undertaking safety critical roles where your job isn’t ordinarily classed as safety critical, you’d have to pass a medical in order to be able undertake safety critical duties. If this isn’t done at the recruitment stage, and you’re not medically fit to carry out these duties when they do eventually require it, you obviously won’t be able to undertake said duties.
 

Undiscovered

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You'll be trained to safety critical standards and will learn only one limited route and one traction, if you're asked to be a contingency Guard. There will be lots of tests and assessments along the way, and competency only lasts six months ie you must work a train regularly to maintain the ability to do so.

If you don't meet the required standard, you won't be working trains...
 

PupCuff

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Management grades working trains, customer service support on stations etc is pretty common on the railways, particularly during strike action. Whilst I think on paper the union is against it, TSSA tend to be less 'militant' than unions like RMT so in reality it is accepted that people can do it providing they're happy and they've had the requisite training etc. It still means the RMT strike action has had an impact on the business (after all whilst the management grades are out doing front line stuff their jobs are going not-done.) and means that there is less of a detriment to the customer experience in cases where trains would otherwise not be able to run. I've been known to put a uniform on from time to time, it's been rumoured I even manage to smile at the customers and send them in the right direction occasionally too.
 

LordCreed

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You'll be trained to safety critical standards and will learn only one limited route and one traction, if you're asked to be a contingency Guard.

It depends on the TOC, but it's not unheard of to hold a full route and traction card of a normal guard.

Back to the original question:

Firstly, it depends exactly what they mean by operational duties. This could mean one of the following:

- Assisting with crowd control and general passenger information. To be honest, this comes part and parcel of working for a train company. If you're on duty and are caught up in disruption you should always offer to help.

- Dispatching - TOCs sometimes train managers up as contingency dispatchers. You'll have to pass a medical, and if the TOC are doing it right, then you should also do the relevant paper based tests. The safety critical side of the training should be identical to a normal dispatcher, but you won't cover stuff like tickets etc. You'll usually only sign one station, normally where you live or work. If you're trained as a contingency dispatcher, then there is usually the expectation that you'll be out during strikes.

- Guarding - TOCs sometimes train managers up as contingency guards. You'll have to pass a medical, and if the TOC are doing it right, then you should also do the relevant paper based tests. The safety critical side of the training should be identical to a normal guard, but you won't cover stuff like tickets etc. You'll start off working one route and traction, but you may learn more. If you're trained as a contingency guard, then there is usually the expectation that you'll be out during strikes.

If you're trained as a guard or dispatcher, then as a manager you're responsible for maintaining your own competence. That means going out for route refreshers as needed.

If you need any more specific information then please drop me a message. I fall into one of the above categories.
 

Roger1973

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Thank you to all who have replied.

As I said, I don't want to go in to specifics, I wouldn't really see the role I was going for - or am likely to go for - as 'management' but it would traditionally be classed as 'white collar' rather than 'blue collar'.

On a personal level, I am just not prepared to go strike-breaking as a matter of conscience.

Would I get turned down for a job if I said no to this at a future interview? (in which case I'd rather not waste my time and theirs by trying for anything else in that line...)
 

LordCreed

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I don't think anyone can 100% confirm if it'll stop you getting the job, but it might be the deciding factor between you and another candidate.
 

PupCuff

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Thank you to all who have replied.

As I said, I don't want to go in to specifics, I wouldn't really see the role I was going for - or am likely to go for - as 'management' but it would traditionally be classed as 'white collar' rather than 'blue collar'.

On a personal level, I am just not prepared to go strike-breaking as a matter of conscience.

Would I get turned down for a job if I said no to this at a future interview? (in which case I'd rather not waste my time and theirs by trying for anything else in that line...)

It's the railway unfortunately, and certainly everywhere I have experienced, you are either 'frontline' or 'management', so I wouldn't let use of the term management throw you off.

Whilst nobody should criticise you for holding the opinions regarding strikes as you do, and they're laudable, equally you'd be working in an industry where there is a drive to increase standards of customer service and all staff, regardless of whether you drive the trains, clean the toilets or work in the head office are expected to follow their individual company's values and mission statements. The railways are a somewhat unique environment in that if, say, RMT conductors go on strike, that will prevent the railway company from providing that service to its customers, so it's important that there are contingency staff trained to ensure the end customers have some level of train service to get them to where they need to be.

It isn't like working in, say, an insurance office, where if the staff go on strike, claims may be delayed for a day, in the grand scheme of those sorts of things a day does not really matter, and the workload will be caught up on over a period of time. If the train service stops for a day, it's our customers not being able get to work, people not being able to see their families, attend recreational events or weddings, funerals etc.

Whether you would be able to refuse would depend a lot on the company involved, some rely on their management staff more than others. Northern, for instance when the Saturday DOO strikes were on basically said to their management and support staff nobody doesn't do frontline duties without their director's permission. I believe companies like SWR tend to be keen on using such staff in contingency roles too.

From what you've said already, and I'm not trying to put you off because it's a big industry with lots of roles for different types of people, I think you're probably yourself feeling that this particular one isn't right for you but you're the only one who can decide that. There's always rail freight companies, Network Rail etc which have jobs in the industry but without the implied requirement to cover for striking staff.
 

LOM

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From what you've said already, and I'm not trying to put you off because it's a big industry with lots of roles for different types of people, I think you're probably yourself feeling that this particular one isn't right for you but you're the only one who can decide that. There's always rail freight companies, Network Rail etc which have jobs in the industry but without the implied requirement to cover for striking staff.

What you put there is not true of Network Rail, it has long had ‘management’ of various types and grades trained up as contingent signallers and controllers ready for strike action. You can run but you cannot hide when they come looking for people to cross pickets and man boxes when there is a strike looming.
 
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PupCuff

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What you put there is not true of Network Rail, it has long had ‘management’ of various types and grades trained up as contingent signallers and controllers ready for strike action. You can run but you cannot hide when they come looking for people to cross pickets and man boxes when there is a strike looming.

Interesting, thanks - @OP - there you go then.
 

Stigy

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Would I get turned down for a job if I said no to this at a future interview? (in which case I'd rather not waste my time and theirs by trying for anything else in that line...)
If they asked you that question, they’re really after a “yes” I’d imagine...
 

tiptoptaff

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Ultimately, as much as I agree with the strike-breaking sentiment, the contract you sign specifically says you must undertake other duties as required. And if your department isn't on strike, they can, and will, ask you to backfill those roles. If it is something you feel that strongly about, then perhaps any office-based role on the railway isn't for you.
 
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