SWR P/T roles and Returning to Employment?

[Death]

Hey guys!
Sorry for not having come to RUK in such a long time, but been concentrating heavily on sorting out stuff in my personal life, as well as continuing to learn to get along without stable Internet access! Main element of the former has been trying to get myself back on the road to employment, hence this post stack of detailed questions tonight. (Which I hope no-one minds coming out of the blue! )

Anyhow...As I'm now starting to look at employment and I can safely forget about historical issues I had with the previous franchisee, I'm considering two vacancies at SWR: Rail Operator II and Customer Ambassador II. They're part-time positions to begin with, but I'm hoping I might be able to extend this to full-time further down the line if things work out as well as I hope they will.

I know we have a lot of SWR staff amongst us so I thought this'd be the best place to pose questions that I'd rather not be leaving right until the interview stage, especially as there seem to be a few bits of info missing from the Rail Operator page that would be very handy for me to know before I apply!

1. The hours given are 16-19.5 average per week (Role dependant) with one shift at 3.5 hours for the RO. Am I correct in assuming the other RO shifts are four hours static and always on weekday mornings, or might I be called to work some afternoons as well?
   (Weekends may be tricky with service patterns along the Ascot line which I'd be commuting in on, though can cycle it in emergencies if need be. If shifts vary or rotate I'll also need to become quite adaptive in my sleeping and commuting pattern.)
2. Initial training is 4-6 weeks at FT hours, which isn't a problem per current considerations. Am I correct in assuming this'd take place at Basingstoke, though?
   (If it's at Waterloo that might be a bit trickier unless I'm allowed to use morning peak services direct from FNB, which doesn't help pax loadings at all.)
3. The salary given doesn't detail any regional allowance for Egham under the RO role (It looks like this is missing from the page) but it shows £896,- for the CA. You'd assume that it's the same for both, but can this vary between roles/grades?
4. The salaries themselves appear approximate rather than exact, so it's hard to work out in advance the total gross salary and what my net wages would be after tax/NI contributions. Does anyone know whether the figure given in the vacancy can be taken as a concrete floor rate safe enough to base financial forecasts on?
5. Staying on the subject of remuneration for a moment: Is this normally paid on a weekly, four-weekly or calendar month basis? Also, how is remuneration made for the initial training period?
   (I'd need to ensure my rent/bills/taxes are all covered between start and first wages, and for this I'd need to know exactly what I'd be paid for training and when.)
6. Although I'm looking at starting on contracted PT hours at first I'm also looking for opportunities to adjust myself toward full-time hours as time goes on, and am considering overtime as a means of doing this.
   Does SWR allow staff to request overtime in this way for these roles, and if so will there be much opportunity for overtime hours in this position - Possibly including duty or cover at other stations?
7. Following on from the above: Might there be opportunities for straightforward internal application to full-time roles after determining through overtime hours that this is indeed something I can fulfil successfully?
   Although the initial training is FT in itself I'm assuming this will be a little less intense versus actual FT employment, which is why I want to "Ease myself in" as it were.

Sorry if it's a bit of a big list but I've been having a look at the SWR jobs site for the last week or two and giving it lots of thought, but as I like to know exactly where I'm likely to stand before applying for a role (As this saves a lot of failed applications and time/effort/expense for both applicant and employer in my experience) I thought it would make a lot more sense to ask those who are already in the know. I also like the idea of Egham as a workplace as that's going to be a much less complicated place to start a position with SWR versus Woking or Guildford!

Anyhow...Many thanks in advance for any help and advice on the above, and really hoping I won't be such a stranger here in the future! :eek:
>> Death <<

 

[greatkingrat]

Can't help with the specifics of the shift patterns, but you would get free travel on SWR to wherever the training was. Pay would be 4-weekly, the first payslip might be for 1, 2 or 3 weeks depending on when your start date fell within the cycle.

Generally, once you have completed your probation period you would be free to apply for any internal jobs advertised.

Incidentally "Rail Operator" is a rather bizarre name for a customer service position. At first I thought it sounded like some sort of shunter role.

 

[telstarbox]

Welcome back!