4 hour contracts!! Absurb! Taking advantage of those desperate for work.

[SuePop]

Big supermarket chain offering 4 hours contracts a week temporary jobs and renewing whether they need you every 2 weeks.
I'm sorry but this is taking advantage of those who desperately need a job.
These people will be frontline of the coronavirus. It's bad enough having no job security but to only offer 4 hours?? (Probably more, they say.)
Their job advert says 10-12 hour contracts and when you get there they say 4 hours. Awful.

Just checked and they've taken the 10-12 hour shifts off

Oh dear

I suppose people do need the work and supermarkets can’t commit
To
Knowing the situation ahead but yes it seems very bleak for all at the moment

I would rather have this than starve, me and dh have lost everything.
do you have a job? will you still be paid? Would you be entitled to 80% of your wage/salary.
Some of us aren't in the help categories and 4 hours off the supermarket is better than nothing.
tesco, co-op and a few hours in a call centre is better than bloody starving.

The business needs resilience as it’s offering a vital service. Offering lots of people less hours means greater resilience as you then have people already working that you can offer hours to as people fall ill and can’t work. It’s a very good way to make sure the service keeps running in line with demand. And of course they would renew every two weeks - this could all be over by then or they might need them for 6 months, no sensible business would take people on huge amounts of extra people on long contracts when they need to be reactive according to how things evolve.

@Devlesko im sticking up for those who dont have a job. My sister went for it but 4 hours a week is awful. Might as well claim UC

didnt mean to offend anyone

I agree they are taking advantage of those who are desperate for jobs. Pretty shit really.

Lots of people on 4 hours is way more resilient than one third of the people on 12 hours. Also more realistic around another person's job given the distinct lack of childcare available...

@Isleepinahedgefund is absolutely right

Well it depends how you look at it but in my opinion 4 hours contract is load of B

Are you talking about Lidl? I know a manager of a store and he said they're 4 hour contracts but will be way over 4 hours work offered.

But im sure it'll suit some people

There's also lots of people looking for extra work they can pick up right now and don't have to make a big commitment to because they technically already have another job or are hoping to keep their own self-employed work going as much as they can, etc...

Seems like a sensible step to me.

I think it's more that they're desperate for people but they know this situation won't last. It will likely suit some of the older school kids now at a loose end, or perhaps people who'd just like to do their bit. It's not intended to be a "proper" job, just to meet a short term need.

They don’t know how long this panic buying is going to last, and how sickness is going to escalate.

Bringing in a flex workforce makes sense

Do you want this madness in supermarkets to improve or not?

My son's nursery sessions are 4.5 hours so a four hour shift would allow me to work whilst he's at nursery (if the nursery wasn't shut due to the virus). Four hours five days a week is 20 hours for someone that wants to work part time. Not everyone is on benefits.

4 hours would suit loads of people.

If you don't want to work 4 hours then don't apply for it. I don't think they are taking advantage at all.

But this contract is 4 hours a week

The could hire people to do 40 hours then they all go off sick in a week time. Better to have loads more on hand to offer more Hours too. It would help a lot of people out at the moment

Look at it this way.
They take on 1 person full time, or ten at 4 hours.
1 fulltime person goes off sick due to isolation. No one to cover. Shop cannot fulfil demands.
One of the ten (who will be offered more than 4 hours more often than not) goes off sick, there are 9 remaining, ready and willing to cover.
While I understand not everyone can afford a basic 4 hour contract, many will be willing. It's about the bigger picture right now, however hard that might be x

The thing is they don't know what is going to happen one day to the next, let alone weeks and months in advance. Yes it sucks, but once people have full freezers and cupboards there's a chance that the demand won't be there for more staff. I would rather know what I was getting into than be offered a job and be laid off or only be given a few hours a week when it seemed there would be more.

I don't see what's wrong with this at all. Want a 4 hour job? Do it. Don't want a 4 hour job? Don't.

I think we all need to pile the pressure on to help those who were on 0 hours or self employed. If we help everyone who needs it now we will have less far to climb back up when this is over.

It’s a 4 hour contract but most people will work more than that. 4 is just the minimum guaranteed. This isn’t new these contracts have been around for years.

These will mostly be temporary contracts. Panic buying is not going to continue long term to line the supermarkets’ coffers so they need to find a way to fulfil short term demand without having a swathe of redundancies after the crisis is over.