If there was some kind of accident and an insurance claim. If the persons phone records were required where would you stand?
Staff using phones while milking.
- Thread starter goatfarmer
- Start date
If there was some kind of accident and an insurance claim. If the persons phone records were required where would you stand?
Thing is they not really on their phones are they, as in actually calling someone they are basically on a all in one tablet/computer/camera doing snap chat/Instagram/FB/whatever else they use to farm likes, post and repost some meme's having their mind taken off the job which isn't exactly a long affair, a few hours at most.
It's been a few years since I milked but I got to admit I am fairly surprised on how unimportant it seems to a lot on this thread compared to pandering to those in charge of it just so they can keep up with the mindless posting of the usual trash people they have never met aren't doing.
It's been a few years since I milked but I got to admit I am fairly surprised on how unimportant it seems to a lot on this thread compared to pandering to those in charge of it just so they can keep up with the mindless posting of the usual trash people they have never met aren't doing.
When I worked at the feedlot they tried to ban phones. We had to put them in a box on the lunch table. They bought walkie talkies for use but they were crappy and not enough for all workers.
Within the first week we were homing cattle when a gate was left open and cattle got out. Nobody could get ahold of us. We were all cell-less in the middle of the lot on foot. Tough luck finding employees when you need them in that kind of situation and you’ve confiscated their phones.
Add on to that, when I was going to the secondary location I flat out told them I was taking my phone. The truck radio was out of range to the main lot on half the property and a lot of the work was done outside of the truck - on the quad, in the loader, in the barn, on foot, etc - so if I were to get hurt I needed that phone. (My mom worked there for a time and the loader rolled forward and pinned her foot against a bag of mineral. She would have been stuck there for hours if she hadn't had her phone on her.)
While the parlour shouldn’t be a high risk area, is there a landline installed in it for workers to call for help if there is an issue? Are they ever doing work outside and alone where they may require them in case of emergency?
Having been in situations where radios failed and phones weren’t there, cells are damned irreplaceable. If you feel they’re on it too much then have a simple chat asking them to not be on them so much. They can keep their phones for periodic checks and in case of emergencies but there’s no need to be on them for 5-10 minutes at a time, just staring at the screen. If they’re responsible adults they should be able to manage work and phone checks.
Also for any old farmer who wants to say it’s only young people - I couldn’t begin to list the amount of older drivers at work who miss their signals to drive ahead or who forget to unroll the tarps on their trailers or type in their numbers or just downright seem to be on another planet holding up the line, all because they’re in their phones. Farmers are some of the chattier cathys I’ve ever seen on phones to one another
Within the first week we were homing cattle when a gate was left open and cattle got out. Nobody could get ahold of us. We were all cell-less in the middle of the lot on foot. Tough luck finding employees when you need them in that kind of situation and you’ve confiscated their phones.
Add on to that, when I was going to the secondary location I flat out told them I was taking my phone. The truck radio was out of range to the main lot on half the property and a lot of the work was done outside of the truck - on the quad, in the loader, in the barn, on foot, etc - so if I were to get hurt I needed that phone. (My mom worked there for a time and the loader rolled forward and pinned her foot against a bag of mineral. She would have been stuck there for hours if she hadn't had her phone on her.)
While the parlour shouldn’t be a high risk area, is there a landline installed in it for workers to call for help if there is an issue? Are they ever doing work outside and alone where they may require them in case of emergency?
Having been in situations where radios failed and phones weren’t there, cells are damned irreplaceable. If you feel they’re on it too much then have a simple chat asking them to not be on them so much. They can keep their phones for periodic checks and in case of emergencies but there’s no need to be on them for 5-10 minutes at a time, just staring at the screen. If they’re responsible adults they should be able to manage work and phone checks.
Also for any old farmer who wants to say it’s only young people - I couldn’t begin to list the amount of older drivers at work who miss their signals to drive ahead or who forget to unroll the tarps on their trailers or type in their numbers or just downright seem to be on another planet holding up the line, all because they’re in their phones. Farmers are some of the chattier cathys I’ve ever seen on phones to one another
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
So I've just read through the tesco 'guide to your entitlements' and thought it was worth noting a few things.
Any hours worked past 6pm and sundays, bank holidays etc are a time and a half. So £10/hour = £15/ hour - would make milking very expensive!
If you work more than 5 hours you must have a 15 minute break.
If you work more than 6 hours you MUST have atleast a 15 minute break BUT are ENTITLES to a 30 minute break if you would like - presumably to go on your phone (social media???) Have something to eat/drink etc...
Plus 1 hours lunch - on top of the 30 minute break above.
I'm also assuming (no offence to anyone who works in a supermarket) that the job is probably a little bit easier than dealing with cattle.. I'm also assuming that they dont have to deal with much cow s*** either... Having said that though I couldnt deal with customers so good on them for that!
I'm assuming assembly lines, amazon etc are similar.
According to Gov uk, judicial salaries range from a minimum of £110,000 - £260,000 and again, I'm guessing not nearly as many hours or unsociable hours...
So my question is this, do you provide all milking staff with a 15 minute break during milking at some point? Are you allowing them 1 hour for lunch (if they work during the day as well) or is it a case of 30 minutes to inhale your food? Are you paying them a time and a half for any hour before 8 and after 6??
OR
Are you paying them £110,000-£260,000??
Now personally, I would have thought if I was being paid to have a 15 minute break where I could go on my phone to use social media etc, I would have thought it more than fair to not go on it whilst doing the remainder of my work...
I should add I have absoulutely no intention of using my phone whilst milking other than to check the time. I prefer to wash a few things and scrub clean pipework etc if I'm waiting for a cow or two.
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
I'm not sure where you've got your information from, but in store Tesco only pay £9/hour (£9.68 for dot com drivers), Sundays/Bank Holidays are time & a quarter. There is no overtime rate - extra hours are paid at base rate & night premium only applies if you are working between 12 & 6. Breaks aren't paid, so on a 9 hour shift your are only "working"/paid for 7.5 hours, the canteen facilities are dire - basically a couple of microwaves & vending machines with plastic chairs to sit on. Want a fag on your break and you have to walk round the outside of the store to the designated location before you can light up - that's at least 5 minutes of your break gone already whilst customers can smoke anywhere outside!
A friend works backdoor at the local Tesco - it's not unknown for him to have to unload multiple full double deck artics per shift with little to no support - that's ~24 ton per wagon mostly on roll cages, many with dodgy wheels, that has to be offloaded and dragged from loading bay to chiller, freezer, etc. Then they have to reload the trailers with the empty cages, waste, cardboard etc. When he's not unloading lorries, he is sorting out the cages of mixed deliveries & restacking them according to the aisles the products are in - again physical work, or he might be filling pop, booze or frozen aisles, dealing with ignorant customers and managers. All for not much more than minimum wage... & yet he got a bollocking for being on his phone in a moment of down time whilst a lorry was backing onto the loading bay.
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
Information is all from the tesco workers website.
I dont doubt they work hard, especially the ones who work out the back, but that wasnt my point.
Attachments
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
That doesn't represent the current conditions of employment for Tesco UK employees - I think that is taken from a website relating to the Republic of Ireland.
- Location
- Shropshire
Interesting post, particularly as their is a concurrent thread running about milk rejections due to antibiotic levels in tank. Maybe that is why the workforce need to concentrate more rather than using their phones!
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Must be a really crappy set up if you can't milk and wash down within 5 hours!
Lots of jobs pay double time for Sunday's and Bank holidays and an extra percentage for unsocial hours, I think that's a big factor in farming being unable to get quality staff.
But to be fair, it's not just farmers who can be poor employers. I know of at least one company that counts all the time you are not at your PC/workstation as "break" Pretty poor when you get a 30 min meal break and the canteen is 5 minutes walk each way.
Breaks are a good point. (Not knowing labour laws in the UK although this thread is making them sound archaic...)
Last job they said less cell phone use. Only on your 15 minute breaks. Well we didn’t ever really take 15 min breaks, we sat down if and when and for however we could based on how busy the job was. One supervisor was a dink about phones yet felt he was immune and could be on his for all sorts of non work related things all day. So all of a sudden we all started taking our 15 minute breaks. We’d sit down with our phones, he’d tell us to go do something, sorry, on our break. Talk to us in 15 min. Not like we needed on our phones for 15 minutes but points needed to be made.
Prior to that we would have just gone and done the job.
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
The UK legal requirement for rest breaks are actually quite simple.... 20 minutes uninterrupted break if the shift is over 6 hours, although the rules on driving lorries and buses are different & a bit more complex. It's at the employer's discretion as to whether to give longer breaks & whether any breaks are paid for. Break lengths should be assessed to ensure that they provide adequate rest in line with the nature of the work being undertaken to protect the health and safety of the workers. The only aspect that I would say is archaic is the minimum being 20 minutes, even if it is a 12 hour shift.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
But not surely from Domestic Regs including a log book?
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
You may be exempt from tachometer or manual records if operating under 100km radius for approved recovery work and can opt out of the WTD but as a mobile worker he still needs to prove 11 hours daily rest and 90 hours weekly / weekend rest period
FAQ's
www.attdg.co.uk
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
See my second post
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
If he's workshop based he's not classed as a mobile worker. I don't think there's any limit on how many hours non mobile workers can work, just the Working Time Directive which is 20 mins break after 6 hrs etc.
As for Domestic Hours rules with a written log book, I've seen more accurate reporting in the Daily Sport.
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Just tell them phones are fine but no social media during work time.
Shouldn't be too hard.
2wheels
Member
- Location
- aberdeenshire
yes most of his time is workshop ( foreman ) but due to covid and some staff on furlough. he would normally average 55-60hrs /week as he does some roadside repairs with small van. he was happy enough to do the work ( although tired ) especially as the wife fu==== off 3yrs ago and he had to pay the gold digger out.
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Did the wife go because he was never home?
Lot's of rules have been relaxed because of Covid, but Recovery vehicles have always been exempt from Tacho regs (possibly regarded as "emergency" vehicles?)
Lot's of rules have been relaxed because of Covid, but Recovery vehicles have always been exempt from Tacho regs (possibly regarded as "emergency" vehicles?)