to be annoyed by being paid for work via a pocketmoney card?

[hamptonhangingpork]

Just want to see if I am being unreasonable here.

I've picked up a job as a Christmas Temp at Tesco this Winter, gave in my bank details as requested for being paid as per the letter contract.

However, in the post today, I've received a Tuxedo prepay card. Yes kids, the same thing you'd give your teenager. I will be paid through this pre-loaded card to save Tesco on their administrative fees.

Infantilising at best I know, however I could suck it up were it not for the fact that it will cost me money to use for bills, direct debits etc. etc. I know I can use it in the shops, but I feel like it's an extra burden on those of us who are picking up extra hours working in a shop. You know, just to pay bills.

What do you think? Has anyone else had this experience?

And for the record, no, the pocketmoney card was not mentioned at all in any of the recruitment gumpf, contract or anywhere outside a Google search which has yielded that Tesco are using it for their temp staff.

Update in the Metro.

metro.co.uk/2017/11/26/tesco-denies-policy-to-pay-christmas-staff-via-prepaid-cards-7109113/

And yet OP recieved a letter from them saying it was the new way of paying wages salary and pension.

And yet OP recieved a letter from them saying it was the new way of paying wages salary and pension.
That's what my daughter's letter said too.

The Metro article misses out the rather important detail that hampton had given Tesco her bank account details. (Assuming she's one of the two people quoted.)

More and more tweets about this now George Monbiot has tweeted it and its been retweeted 1.2K times.

Looking at the comments underneath, I'd say that Metro article was a win for Tesco.

There's absolutely nothing in the article to say that the two people interviewed have bank accounts and had given Tesco the details. The way it's written, it just looks like two people without bank accounts whining that they weren't given a choice (eg between Tuxedo and cash).

If all the reporting is this vague, all Tesco has to do is keep claiming this is for unbanked people only, and that will become the story.

TBF, the Telegraph article gave a lot more detail.

Mirror reporting in a similar way to the Metro but the comments underneath are a bit better than the comments on the Metro article,

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tesco-paying-christmas-temps-wages-11588831

If you put tesco temps or tesco Christmas temps in the twitter search engine a fair few comments there too.

Yes, the non-Telegraph papers have left out my quote.

I imagine that once someone who is properly connected finds a Tuxedo card dropping on their mat a few days before pay day, things might improve.

I also hope iwant's daughter is getting paid properly now, at the very least.

All I can do is every year, just post a reminder on Mumsnet in Autumn to let people know before they start applying to Christmas positions.

Todays engagement announcement has probably come in handy.

Hampton, Helena and Iwantacampervan and others.
Just wanted to say how much I admire your tenacity. It's taken a lot of guts to keep pushing on this. Shame on all the politicos who can't stand up for people in temporary, badly paid jobs.
You are amazing people and have made a lot of people aware of what is going on.

Did you know the Prime Minister clears their day in advance for these sort of things?

I imagine not to share in their celebrations or lamentations (depending on the announcements in question), but to bury things.

Thanks Traffig

Thanks Traffig.

You are all stars no doubt about it.

I do hope Meghan Markle follows the rest of us and refuses to shop at Tescos

Just received this email Good news! : Breaking: I’ve just got off the phone with Tesco. They’re going to write to every Christmas temp - and any other staff - getting their wages on a prepaid card to let them know they can be paid directly into their bank account instead!

Thank you so much for making sure everyone gets the choice of how they get their wages this Christmas.

This issue affected just a few dozen Christmas temps, but they couldn’t get their concerns heard inside a company that employs hundreds of thousands. Today’s win shows just what can happen when we team up and make work right.

It took 11 days to win this campaign. From day one when Tesco staff used the Organise website to launch their campaign, hundreds of us piled in behind signing the petition. This pressure exposed what Tesco were up to in four BIG newspapers. [1] Then we hammered our message home, sending over 1,800 emails to the bosses at Tesco HQ. [2]

This Christmas, temporary Tesco staff can choose to get their wages directly to their bank accounts - just like they wanted. Thank you so much for being part of the Organise community.
Before we launched our campaign, the Tuxedo card company boasted that Tesco staff were paid £1.9m worth of wages through their cards. Giving Tesco a “cost-effective solution for staff without bank accounts or employed on short-term temporary contracts.” [3]

Tesco are now saying that “Colleagues joining us to help serve customers over Christmas will be paid directly into their bank accounts.” [4] It’s all because two thousand of us got behind a few Tesco staff who weren’t getting paid properly.

Excellent news, Gerda!

BTW, from whom was the email? Who has "just got off the phone with Tesco"?

OOps sorry, cut the top off the email when I pasted it. It was from "The Organise Platform" who got the petition up and running. I think it's linked further back up the thread :-)

Thanks.

I'd missed the Tuxedo comment, cited there, that "Tesco staff were paid £1.9m worth of wages through their cards".

All those rare exceptional staff without bank accounts, eh?

I got the e-mail too.

Tuxedo have now deleted the page on their website where they boast about providing solutions for seasonal workers.

However, it has been cached and presumably screenshot by quite a few people now.

Tesco have also updated their FAQs to report on the existence of the Tuxedo card.

I'll consider this the closest thing to a win, especially since they attempted to use their contacts / media pets to play down (or pretty much straight up lie) about the method of payment in the hope it would go away by itself.

Still annoyed about my details being sent off to a third party without my knowledge or consent. But I hope they were worth the bad publicity and the fact that it will take them more time to introduce the Tesco Truck System into their pay structure.

They will try again - they wouldn't have started it all the way back in 2009 if they weren't in it for the long game. So everyone, just keep this in mind the next time a friend or a relative starts talking about doing seasonal work for them in the future.

to everyone who has added their voice to shout down this practice.

I can't thank you enough!

PerkingFaintly Wed 15-Nov-17 11:03:00

In fact, I'm so annoyed I've taken a screenshot of part of Tuxedo's page at ^www.tuxedomoneysolutions.com/our-partners/clients/tesco/^

Wouldn't want it to go poof, now, would we?

Oh so predictable...

I think you're absolutely right that the Tesco Truck System will reappear. Possibly at other employers, too...

No worries hampton

I love MN! Just caught up on the whole thread.
Well done and amazing work to all the posters who have pushed so hard on this, and OP thank you for bringing it to everyone's attention. Hopefully it's the beginning of Tesco realising even more that they can't mess with people's livelihoods like this.