to be ecstatic about paying into a pension

[mincebloodypie]

I have spent the last few years doing nasty, shitty jobs, because they were all I could get. Long story. It made me pretty miserable at times

I have been retraining, and even though I am not quite finished the course, I was utterly thrilled to be offered a lovely job in the area I am retraining in

I get to dress up and look nice and smart and prettt, rather than be stuck in shitty jeans and old polo necks
I don't have to stay at work until 4am
I don't have to knee people in the balls to stop them touching me up
I don't have to scrub other people's shit stained toilets
I get to wear a dangly identification badge thing
I get paid over NMW

And, joy of joys, I get to contribute to a pension!

I am just over the moon. I will never, ever take a decent job for granted, ever.

[mincebloodypie]

Oh, and sick pay! And no zero hours!

Christ, it is wonderful

[Haggisfish]

Well done!!! Great start to the new year.

[Twindroops]

Congratulations to you, that sounds wonderful. I work for NMW but in a job that fits round my family pretty well and I am similarly grateful every pay day, I am so lucky!

[JeanSeberg]

Congratulations! Sounds like 2016 is going to be a good year for you. Have you started the new job yet?

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Have a great time!

[Levantine]

Fabulous!!

[Heyheyheygoodbye]

Yay!

[OublietteBravo]

Congratulations!

YANBU - not at all. I've become much more aware of savings and pensions over the past few years, and I diligently make AVCs and save a set amount direct from my payroll every month. I finally feel like a proper grownup.

I wish everyone felt the same way as you do. There is someone in my office who has all this (pension, sick pay, permanent contract, 9-5 office job) and she constantly moans about it. I wish she'd quit so we could replace her with someone who would actually enjoy and value the job.

[JeanSeberg]

I wish I'd realised the importance of pension planning a lot earlier. I'd love to be able to retire now... at 48 lol.

[mincebloodypie]

Thank you everybody! I was in a few days just before Christmas, going up to my full hours next week

They all gave me Christmas cards! Even though I had barely started!

You know, I will never earn lots of £££ or become CEO, but it doesn't matter, because nothing, absolutely nothing, beats having my dignity and self respect back. And stability. DH and I are talking about the possibility of a mortgage now. And I don't have to feel embarrassed when DD's friend's parents ask what I do.

It was worth the shitty jobs, actually, because I will never take this for granted, and I'm getting so much joy out of the smallest things. Like having a pigeonhole

[Penfold007]

That's brilliant, have a very happy 2016

[SquinkiesRule]

Well done OP sounds wonderful

[Faye12345]

Well done mince pie xxx

[ButtonMoon88]

Oh congratulations! I love reading posts like this! X

[PeachPantaloons]

Woohoo! Congrats - awesome way to start the year!

[ThatDamnedDog]

What a lovely post to read on the first day of the year! Congratulations Mince

[MidnightVelvetthe4th]

Congrats mince, that's fab! Well done

[morningtoncrescent62]

Congratulations, OP, and all the best in your new post - it sounds great.

However, I think it's possible to feel trapped in a job with relatively good pay and conditions. I wish we lived in a society where no-one who was prepared to work hard had to endure the conditions you describe in your post. Anyone who is willing to work diligently should be able to have decent conditions to work in, and I'm sorry you've had to put up with shitty stuff - also sorry that others go on having to put up with it. It's a shame on our society that such jobs still exist, and that so many people are trapped in them.

I'm not saying we should take our decent pay and conditions for granted. I now work in a job which includes a pension contribution, and I'm very aware of what a privilige it is, and how much I owe to unionised workers in the past who fought to get it. This makes me an active trade unionist, and I get very frustrated with those of my colleagues who are prepared to see those hard-won 'rights' eroded year-on-year. Yes, I agree that all of us who have good pay and conditions should appreciate them and not take them for granted - which for me translates into fighting to keep them for generations to follow, and fighting for better pay and conditions for everyone. And not getting to the stage where we're all so grateful for steady work that we'll put up with jobs that grind us down.

Rant not meant to detract from your ecstasy at your new post - good luck, and I hope it goes well for you.

[GlitteryPenguin]

This is exactly everything I long for and desperately hope to achieve. It's just so hard to get there without knowing what to retrain in, or how, etc. it's my NYR - a job with an actual contract, actual sick pay, actual lunch break, that doesn't make me blush when people ask 'what I do'! You give me hope for the future

[ilovesooty]

Congratulations!

[DancingDinosaur]

Same here op. I'm starting a new job in the new year and am very excited to be getting a pension too!

[blueshoes]

Congratulations. Am really happy for you. You worked hard for it.