These hours are killing me!

[admin]

Hi All,

This week I am working Mon, Tues, Thurs and Friday. It takes me about 45mins to drive to where I am working, and obviously back again.

The shop opens at 8.30am and closes at 6.30pm. If I am lucky I get to eat my lunch, today with just three interruptions. The dispensary does not stop for a lunch break, so it depends on customer numbers if you get one or not.

So I have to get up about 6.30am, and I get back home at 7.15pm. I know being a locum that I did not have to accept the booking, but I did so have to honour it.

Do other people do hours like this? How do you cope? Am I just too old, or do others find this sort of work hard too?

[Zoggite]

Ask Womble, he seems to do 10-hour days on a regular basis...
You'll probably find that playing with your new laptop into the small hours of the night doesn't help...
Seriously though, don't you find it easier at this time of year when at least it's daylight between those hours, than say in december, when you don't even get to see your house in daylight except on sundays?

[Linnear]

My biggest problem is that I work when I'm at work. (If the work gets cleared then I start on my novel)

The locum arranger for Alliance will put me in shops that have a backlog because she knows that I'll probably clear it.

I've also got three shops that will ask for me if they get in the brown smelly stuff! I never get quiet days any more!

Should have become one of these locums that sit on their arse and read the paper!

[admin]

Originally Posted by Linnear

My biggest problem is that I work when I'm at work. (If the work gets cleared then I start on my novel)

The locum arranger for Alliance will put me in shops that have a backlog because she knows that I'll probably clear it.

I've also got three shops that will ask for me if they get in the brown smelly stuff! I never get quiet days any more!

Should have become one of these locums that sit on their arse and read the paper!

That is exactly my problem. I can handle hard stressful shops, so they send me to them. What really gets up my nose are locums who are basically useless, and won't work. They seem to get all the easy jobs, and the same pay as me.

[admin]

Originally Posted by Zoggite

Ask Womble, he seems to do 10-hour days on a regular basis...
You'll probably find that playing with your new laptop into the small hours of the night doesn't help...
Seriously though, don't you find it easier at this time of year when at least it's daylight between those hours, than say in december, when you don't even get to see your house in daylight except on sundays?

Yeah I hate those days. It makes me feel like a miner! This morning I nearly rang in sick. I woke up with a terrible headache and vomiting (no, not drink) and felt awful. After a couple of paracetamol and a cup of tea, I felt better so went. It turned out to be a good day, even though a long and hard one - but then that's how I like some things.........

[kemzero]

look on the bright side folks soon and very soon we won't need to be in a dispensary support staff will be going through all the aggro now is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[admin]

Originally Posted by kemzero

look on the bright side folks soon and very soon we won't need to be in a dispensary support staff will be going through all the aggro now is that a good thing or a bad thing?

If we aren't in the dispensary, I guess that will be because we're signing on!

[womble]

Hi Admin
Yup working 10 hour days becomes suffocating! I work 4 x 10 hour days without a break each week as an employee pharmacist. I am sure age has nothing to do with coping either - I am an elderly (well feel it at the moment!) 36
However I am "patiently" awaiting a date for a Greivance meeting regarding this, as it is not legal under the working time directive, nor is it approved by the RPSGB or PDA, and guess what - if you make an error, and it is deemed to be because you havent had sufficient rest in the day YOU are in the POO!! (nothing to do with your employer!!) However you could get the Company Pharmacy superintendant in a bit of strife.
Hopefully I will get somewhere with my grievance, and at least start to get the conditions changed for others in my particular company, and any locums.
I think we all need to stick our necks out a bit and say that certain working conditions are not acceptable, and of course the society will completely support its members (!!!!!)

[Linnear]

Originally Posted by womble

However I am "patiently" awaiting a date for a Greivance meeting regarding this, as it is not legal under the working time directive, nor is it approved by the RPSGB or PDA, and guess what - if you make an error, and it is deemed to be because you havent had sufficient rest in the day YOU are in the POO!! (nothing to do with your employer!!) However you could get the Company Pharmacy superintendant in a bit of strife.
Hopefully I will get somewhere with my grievance, and at least start to get the conditions changed for others in my particular company, and any locums.
I think we all need to stick our necks out a bit and say that certain working conditions are not acceptable, and of course the society will completely support its members (!!!!!)

Do you have your own indemnity insurance?

You may be covered by company policy but if you do make an error it may be in your interests to say you work long hours, don't have enough staff, don't have correct equipment/books etc.

But your bosses won't want to say all that because it implicates them.

[womble]

Originally Posted by Linnear

Do you have your own indemnity insurance?

You may be covered by company policy but if you do make an error it may be in your interests to say you work long hours, don't have enough staff, don't have correct equipment/books etc.

But your bosses won't want to say all that because it implicates them.

You bet the bosses wouldn't want to be implicated - the interesting thing is that since I raised my concerns about working long hours, and went down the path of the grievance procedure, the only person I havent heard from is the Superintendant. Everyone else in the company has basically said 'those are the hours'