West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I know Tracker can't tell me who should be for the chop, but he does not answer my main point, that you can't go chopping unless the job is either unnecessary or can be planted in someone else's lap. I suggest his other option of increasing income is more viable, such as gently extracting more money from those who are already inclined to travel.

 

But not tomorrow. <BJ>

 

Out of interest, in the context of a company partly staffed by volunteers and partly by paid staff, is there much flexibility for redundancy given that, as I understand it, the law requires that the post is redundant and therefore restricts the ability to appoint someone else into that role for a while?

I’d also add, in the context of the fundraising currently underway, that if capital is short, redundancy costs may not be a good use of funds.

For both reasons, I agree more with increasing income as the core strategy - while agreeing completely that cost control is vitally important.


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On a strictly legal point (and expressing no view on the rights and wrongs of the situation), replacing work done by an employed member of staff by a volunteer IS, in law a redundancy, which is defined as a reduction in the need (or perceived need) for work of a particular kind (in a particular location). As far as the law goes, ‘work’ is only done by ‘workers’ or ‘employees’ not volunteers.

Where do I send the fee note?

Robin

 

‘Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’

53808 lifts the last down train of the 2018 season, the 16:15 from Bishops Lydeard on 1.1.19, along Watts Bank on the start of its trip to Minehead before the long winter shut-down this year.

Robin

 

I'll have a word with HR about whom we should instruct next time there is need of a barrister's opinion on a matter of employment law

Meanwhile, thank you for the clarification - the same terminology used in other contexts had led me to other conclusions about how "work" would be defined in this context.

 

I acted in several cases focused on volunteers at Citizen's Advice Bureau which established beyond argument that volunteers are neither 'workers' nor 'employees' in an employment law context.

The answer is different where health and safety legislation is concerned. Volunteers ARE protected to the same extent as other 'workers'. The law, as usual, is an area where 'a little learning is a dangerous thing.'

Robin

 

All professions are a conspiracy against the laity - words of someone wiser than I!

Seriously, though, reducing paid staff is not simple. Presumably the existing paid staff are doing jobs that either there are no volunteers capable of doing, or jobs that no volunteers want to do. I imagine that toilet cleaning is done by paid staff, will always need doing and there won't be a queue of volunteers to replace them for that job.

 

We seem to be forgetting that it doesn’t have to be about redundancy. It should be about performance management. If the railway employs people it should be expecting good value for money out of them. If clear and realistic objectives have been set, as well as standards of behaviour laid down, but these have not been met within a given timescale, then the PLC is quite within their rights to give people the boot. We can’t afford to have under-achievers or bad behaviour on the railway, where every penny counts at the moment, especially not in management roles.

 

Last timetabled trains for 3 months arriving at their destination a moment ago, courtesy of WSR.org and Railcam UK.

 

I have noticed several very smart repainted chocolate and cream coaches in the last few weeks. Today, 2 are running with a diminishing number of carmine and cream coaches. Some coaches have been looking a little faded over the last few years. I hope it is they that are being repainted and not the blood and custards. Can anyone comment on the plans for repainting coaches? I know it has been touched on here.

 

I hope the thread isn't going to revert to previous incarnations where people starting making comments about the performance of specific identifiable individuals.

Tom

 

My feelings entirely, especially given the tendency of events to become political in West Somerset railway circles. That said, @lochness8's observation also contains an important truth that deserves not to be lost sight of.

 

BBC Points West covering WSR on local TV.

Plenty of references to paperwork being to hand, but not really illuminating on concerns which led to the longer shut down.

 

Never appropriate.

Robin

 

To paraphrase a well known saying though, if I fail to perform in my job thats my managers problem. If, however I fail to perform for a long period without any action being taken that becomes my managers problem...........

 

4435 and 21174 have recently been outshopped after repaints at Williton. Both have been running in the carmine and cream rake for the Christmas season. This might be a 'proving run' for the repainting of vehicles at Williton strategy mooted a year or so ago, although granted the recent two vehicles are owned by the WSRA.

I believe the strategy is still for all dual braked coaches to be carmine and cream (easy to spot in the pre season mega shunts ;-) ) with 'vacuum only' remaining in chocolate and cream. There are currently 6 carmine and cream coaches, 9227 and 5025 were stabled at Minehead and hence haven't been seen running about. 5025 hasn't got steam heating fitted so tends not to make an appearance this time of year.

You may have also noted that the carriage roofs (rooves?) are generally nicer on the eye, and the British Railways' crest has started making more of an appearance than the WSR crests, arguably effort going into the service fleet!

Happy New Year all!
Ben

 

It was also featured on SW Spotlight. Paul Conibeare was interviewed. It was, basically, that the WSR needed to 'pull its socks up'.
Mention of repainted stock sounds good, however the stock I saw on the tv looked decidedly jaded,

 

I doubt that making toilet cleaners redundant would save much money - or is it undertaken by contactors anyway? However, making higher paid staff redundant might bring greater savings.

 

Traffic lighting staff seems like a very quick way to destroy staff morale.

Problem is that on a railway you will have some staff with very specialised and necessary skills that can be hard to replace. Often the response is ‘X is only a fitter’ or ‘does electrical stuff’ or ‘just the canteen manager’ but only later are those losses felt.

I was involved with a line that underwent redundancies on a couple of occasions, all I will say is that at the practical level, skills were lost that took time to replace, at a railway level, the bad blood and ill feeling lingered on for well over a decade. Good colleagues were lost. Relationships between staff and management were severely damaged. Redundancies might look like a quick fix in cutting the wage bill but they have costs that are hidden from the profit and loss bottom line.