I was out the house at 5.30 this morning and I could just tell from the minute I walked out the door that today was not going to be a good day. When I arrived at the paper shop, fully expecting the papers to be late, I set about drying off all the parcels of supplements which had gotten damp from the leaking roof under the stairs, and made them ready for when the papers finally arrived. I went and stood out in the shop and had a chat with the owner and a few customers about who is dead, who is nearly dead, who is sleeping with who, that kind of thing that goes on at 6 'o' clock on a Saturday morning.
Still by 7 the papers hadn't arrived. And when they finally did arrive and I got out on my paper round, trying to pull my trolley out was a nightmare! The wheels soon turned to snowballs and I was incredibly frustrated when I got back to the shop.
When I got in, I made a round of coffees, and the owner presented me with a bundle of letters. Now to get you up to date, the newsagents in which I work is closing down in 2 weeks. It is being bought out by a well known large supermarket chain, as an expansion to an already existing shop next door. This is something which has a mixed reception among customers and staff alike. The main worry amongst staff was that untill this morning, we hadn't found out anything about being transferred as employees next door (Under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, of which I have become an expert on in the last few weeks) and so are getting understandably anxious. Not that this becomes too much of an issue for me, with my livelihood not depending on my job, but for some of the other staff this is an altogether more serious issue.
But nonetheless, I have been presented with a Payroll Form, a form to check I am not an asylum Seeker (which I am not, just for the record) and a sheet to fill in about what size uniform I need. So from that I can only assume they are taking me on as an employee, but I have still not had anybody actually tell me that for certain. Nevertheless, it is steps in the right direction.
In a lot of ways I will miss working in the newsagents where I currently work. The manager and his wife run the business on a very flexible basis. If there is ever any issue about getting to work, or you need time off for something they are more than accommodating. The interactions with other staff and the boss himself is very enjoyable and it will be missed by all. Not only that, but I have felt like I have had a very big part to play in the delivery of the newspapers in the village, holding a paper round for over 5 years now, and progressing up the ranks to take on more and more of the responsibility. Upon the takeover, the newspaper deliveries will stop being sent out from the shop and it will be somebody else's responsibility to do it, from his own house. And those responsibilities will be lost.
I have always said to myself I want to feel as if I am actually doing something productive in a job, not just standing at a till and scanning peoples loaves of bread. However, the money I have earned has lead me to maintain, insure and run my pride Morris Minor Traveller, and many other things along the way, all of which I am grateful for, because they are things which I wouldn't have had if I hadn't have had a part time job.
Also there is an added bonus of the possibility of a transfer to a store near where I end up at uni, which will definitely be very useful and would be something I didn't get if I was still working where I do currently.
I think the paper shop is a hub of the village and will be sorely missed by everyone, but it is something which has got to happen. Change happens, and seeing as that paper shop has stood for 50 years under the same name and management, and by the age of the tills and fittings, probably the same technology, so it is well overdue it's time for change. It will just be a great shame. I might do a sit-in, and use the money I have stashed away from my paper rounds to make a better bid that the supermarket chain and rename it as "Tom Peach Newsagents." Somehow I don't think £16 a week will quite be enough to pay a mortgage even if I could get one.
No comments:
Post a Comment