View Full Version : Work's gone very quiet....
Ok, I'm a Quantaty Surveyer which means basicially, you give me a set of House plans then I'll quantify them and give you a cost of what it'll cost you.
As I'm sure it is in the UK as well, the Building Trade is diesing a slow death which is causing a lot of Job losses. The past month + I've found myself with nothing to do. Fearing for my job I offered to cut my hours to 20 a week, allowing me to sign on for the 2.5 days I miss and freeing up a lot more time to work at the cars. Perfect, but it was rejected right away.
SO in recent weeks its been a case of "I'm gonna get laid off this week, no next week no today..." pure uncertainty which is the worst part. I was fully expecting it last Friday as a chain of events led me to believe so but unfortunately, my Boss's Grand Mother passed away (RIP) and was burried on Friday so things were up in the air.
So last week i was thinking, **** it. I dont mind if he does lay me off, I'll manage and so, in a way, was looking forward to it.
So this morning, no more than 10 minutes ago, he asked if he could have a word and it went something like this....
"As you see yourself, we've very short on work (ok, yep) and the work we have is finishing up (yes, yes go on...) and the work we're pricing is pretty much a weeks work at a time (stop the fore play, get to it) so unfrtunately, I'll have to..... (YIPPE!!!!) cut your hours to 20 a week." (**** **** **** **** ****!!!)
Well, its not bad, I can still get the dole for 2.5 days and finially a medical card to get my brust ear drum repaired without a massive bill. But I cant help feeling a little disappointed....
Pistol Pete
22-09-08, 11:51 AM
So i'm guessing they have cut your hours which means a cut in pay?! And yeah job cuts are happening here aswell, bleak times...
I'm a QS myself, work for a Civil Engineering Company, and things here aren't so hot either. Everyone is sitting around asking whos next!
I'm fairly busy myself at the minute, but it's mostly tying up loose ends, and when than finishes I don't see much in the pipeline..........
still sounds like you have the best of both worlds to me mate. ive been thinking about getting a part time job to get some money in but then also have the time to use the money on me car
i got laid off about 4months ago, laid around 60 people off from werei use to work, now heard there laying another 60 off, closing one of the lines down and going onto 3day weeks! excellent stuff.(i worked in the caravan trade)
Shaun_O'Donnell
22-09-08, 11:54 AM
I work for a large pre-cast concrete company supplying flooring, stairs & landing, stadia terraces and wall panels and we are struggling for work and have had to close a factory and lay off a lot of staff.
The construction industry is not the place to be right now.....
im glad im not in the construction industry right now tbh, we have at least 20 blokes a week ringing our firm asking for work - downside of that tho is that we're fully manned up now so not much overtime
Burgo I agree. I dont think I'd go back to full time work anyway. I've found a balance with work/my own time and I'm happy.
Aye, the Construction industrys going to die for a while but should pick up but not as big as it was. Its gonna affect millions of people. I mean think about the people you know and how many of them are in the Building Insudtry. Its frightening.
We keep getting offers/threats of redundancy.... but I never get it :( feckers!!! I even applied for VR and a promotion, then got neither, initially lmao.
make me redundant!!!!! stop buying new Ford group cars cars... oh hang on weve only really got business with those Xerox mofos in China lol
Arent Random Japs borrowing Fords and rebadging them? Surely they're keeping you all busy?
busy yes, paid...... lol China does business in a completely new and random way.
We supply them an ECU, with software and calibration (thats mapping to you lot) and upto a WEEK before production they say if they will take it (and pay then) or not. Until that decision we are merely going on a verbal agreement.
Weve seen lots of their own inhouse ECU's that suddenly look remarkably like ours etc lmao. Becuase weve been fcuked out of europe and the USA (stupid big wigs knobbed it all up) we are forced to sell the company silver to the chineese..... oh dear. Although we are padding out the free space in the ECU's with somewhat disctracting formulas and equations that dont do anything but look right :D
Progress has been fairly slow here with me too tbh.
brainsnova
22-09-08, 01:26 PM
i ve been retired for a few years and i just was going to start a heating company but then all these job cuts mean less people will have less money to spend.
DaveyLC
22-09-08, 01:35 PM
I love the way you can't spell your own job title :D :D
white2lSR
22-09-08, 03:57 PM
I work as a mechanic for stagecoach so my job is safe as more people are using busses than ever due to the price of running a car. We were recruiting recently and had a high number of people coming from main dealers. Its a case of jumping before your pushed. Not a situation i would like to be in.
loggyboy
22-09-08, 04:33 PM
We're feeling it as well, Im an archtectural technician, and the slow work is accutally quite nice means I can get all the loose ends tied up that usualy hold me back from concentrating on just 1 re 2 projects at a time. Hope it picks up soon tho or il be in you position to Dod.
This all sounds very encouraging seen as I've just strarted my degree in Building Project Management today! :roll: :wtf: :(
I am in the construction/building trade, and I can tell you all now, it is dying a slow & painful death!!
I have 3 weeks work penciled in (as im self employed) but fcuk all after that!! Diddly sqaut! FCUK ALL!!! Every contractor we call, they've got nothing, if anything theyre laying poeple off!!
Our monthly business turn over (split 3 ways) barely reaches £1500!!!! Less fuel & about £300 worth of matierials every month from that!
You want to get qualified in doing EPC's easy money and every house will have to have one...
I was layed off from work in June from 1 job (window fitter) Walked straight into another in July,then got laid off from there 6 weeks later!!! Last year was excellent for windows etc then this year it all went Kaput.
I cant find any work fitting windows within a 40mile Radius of my house! So just started a new job today Groundworking (done a bit before) for a company on the roads.Will have to see how that goes.Although to be honest i cant see that line of work ever dying out as the roads round here are shot lol
Although to be honest i cant see that line of work ever dying out as the roads round here are shot lol
You wanna tell em to come and sort the roads around here out aswell mate as you well know with the state of the road going to your rents house, youd be guaranteed work for life lol
Well I'm in a better situation now than I ever have been TBH. I now have 2.5 days more a week to work for myself, I can get a medical card and sort out my deaf ear and as my missus works 19hrs a week, we both get Mortgage Relief and plenty of time to argue with each other.
^^^^And above all dod more time to buy even more vauxhalls:thumb:
loggyboy
23-09-08, 12:56 AM
Well I'm in a better situation now than I ever have been TBH. I now have 2.5 days more a week to work for myself, I can get a medical card and sort out my deaf ear and as my missus works 19hrs a week, we both get Mortgage Relief and plenty of time to argue with each other.
So is the missus the cause of the bad ear, or is her moaning gonna clean it out?
Well the bad ear benifits me so I dont have to listen to her 1/2 the time but if I get it fixed I'll have to plug it with expanded foam or something.
Spud, due to my hours being cut my wages reflect this so the car buying isnt going to be anything major, unless I flog all the Cavs, well thats the plan anyway but the difference is I have the time to do it now!!
TBH Saw it coming as most did a year ago, so jumped ship and took up new job abroad, and its paid off, now earning more in a 40hr week than i was in 200hr month last year.
If i was still doing the same in the uk i would of been proper in sh!t street now. And my quality of life is up 100% as well.
Not gloating or bragging just making the poiint you never know whats round the corner, take a chance and it might pay off.
stuartp
23-09-08, 11:58 AM
im a site manager for a midland based company and its shocking how many people i know out of work....
the local authoritys and NHBC chaps are struggling for work, un there on the site at the start and end of jobs so its not looking good..... factory based work is going to be hard to get due to the amount of traders looking for work
its not good!!!!
Having been in the building industry all my life i too know the troubes of many, although abit like ben i took a gamble and followed a dream that has been in the making for years.
In turn i am now a project manager of something rather special with the only down side being the worse the economic climate is towards the building the better it will pan out for me and what i am doing. We can benefit from the misfortune of others with work being as slack as it is when it comes to tendering work and the chance for someone to be involved within this project, as obviously we will be building more of the same afterwards and want a good team of firms following us
Life has many funny twists along its path, but my heart goes out to the guys that are struggling as that is something that affects all of us at some stage in life
Yeah i heard about your new job Dan, sounds ace. Just cant for the life of me remember who told me about it lol
Life has many funny twists along its path, but my heart goes out to the guys that are struggling as that is something that affects all of us at some stage in life
Exactly. A lot of people have put all they have into a dieing market and for many they've lost a lot. My thoughts are with the people struggling with things, but its also well docemented that there is Government Financial Aid available to nearly everyone in trouble. Worth a look as you'll have been paying into it for years.
Unlucky chap, at least you live over the border, you guys get more money on benefits that we do up north.. Mite be worth looking for something else now, who knows what the future holds..
FUSION X16XE
23-09-08, 02:34 PM
Dod i fell you brother, im a chippy by trade and its terrible atm im thinking of moving to Australia.
stuartp
02-10-08, 04:13 PM
were tendering like crazy but the margins for contract building is so slim all the smaller companys with very little over heads are under cutting us. we lost out on a new build school by £100.000.00 How god knows!!!lol
its hard now, so i dred to think what its goining to be like in six months.....
I reckon in 6mths time it'll have improved. People are panicing now and as you said, under cutting the **** out of it. It'll have levelled out in a few months with help from the Countrys Government so I'm not fearful that I'll loose my job.
Im a buildings tec and we are really finding it hard, havnt been paid for last mouth yet :(
tom_beverley
02-10-08, 05:02 PM
I'm a Quantity Surveyor for a big main contractor and work has showed no signs of slowing, however, as we have such a wide range of projects I'm positive that helps. We have nothing to do with building houses but mainly concentrate on commercial, education and health sector projects.
LOL @ Dod's undercutting comment, our estimators priced my current project at a fricking loss, leaving the QS's to claw it all back!
craig green
02-10-08, 05:07 PM
If anyone wants a recession, let them have it. Its all scare mongering IMO. There wasnt a problem until the news channels started banging on about it at every given chance.
Sure there are issues with sub-prime lending, the housing market & what not, but the day after the news broke about a recession, it started.
Pistol Pete
02-10-08, 05:10 PM
The factory that i work in (Honda) is giving employees 6 extra days shutdown at christmas, and from the second week of january '09 we will be working a four day week. Have to drop something like 20,000 vehicles off this years build. And its not just us..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7644081.stm (mhtml:**91B7B1F3-2732-4468-89B4-D2C7932680CF**mid://00000011/!x-usc:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7644081.stm)
craig green
02-10-08, 05:13 PM
I heard about Honda last night.
I work in the motor industry (well kinda) nearly all the main dealers around here are stopping there advertising or almost. Everything is having a knock-on effect.
If anyone wants a recession, let them have it. Its all scare mongering IMO. There wasnt a problem until the news channels started banging on about it at every given chance.
Sure there are issues with sub-prime lending, the housing market & what not, but the day after the news broke about a recession, it started.
I'd agree with that. IMO the media killed Northern Rock - they asked the government about the possibility of loaning some money in case they got into trouble, which the media reported as they WERE in trouble and NEEDED the money. Bingo bango, the next day all the Guardian and Sun readers rushed to the bank to withdraw every penny and the bank got into problems. And so it went on.
twistysnovagte
02-10-08, 05:21 PM
we are a groundworks subcontractors firm and now only have 7 weeks work left,with nothing whatsoever in the pipeline to move onto.unfortunatly 4 of the lads have been laid off in the recent two weeks:( and im expecting more of us to follow soon:mad: i put the mad face down due to the fact that the countrys goverment havent a fcuking clue how to run the place.they will still be holding meetings in top hotels restraunts casinos etc,blowing there fatcat bounuses, and in the end its the working man(you and me!) who loses out as always:( :mad:
craig green
02-10-08, 05:30 PM
Sadly too true Twisty. Atleast the fat cats got a £25k payrise this year aswell as £200k towards there London flats etc.. Coonts!
tom_beverley
02-10-08, 05:34 PM
Tis sadly very true.
we are a groundworks subcontractors firm and now only have 7 weeks work left,with nothing whatsoever in the pipeline to move onto.unfortunatly 4 of the lads have been laid off in the recent two weeks:( and im expecting more of us to follow soon:mad: i put the mad face down due to the fact that the countrys goverment havent a fcuking clue how to run the place.they will still be holding meetings in top hotels restraunts casinos etc,blowing there fatcat bounuses, and in the end its the working man(you and me!) who loses out as always:( :mad:
I'd like to point out us civil servants have been treated rather badly in terms for pay for years, in case anyone thinks its us thats sucking up government funds.
Oh the things I could tell about where peoples taxes go... lol
I'd like to point out us civil servants have been treated rather badly in terms for pay for years, in case anyone thinks its us thats sucking up government funds.
Oh the things I could tell about where peoples taxes go... lol
so spill, the rest of us know how incompetent some people in public service are.....
our local council forced out the bin contractors & won the tender in-house by £200k, then discovered that the leased lorries needed insuring, for £300k......good saving there......
im training to be a teacher so i get a 4day jolly in spain dressed up as "training" lol
I had a 7 day jolly in St Kitts, should be going to Akrotiri in Cyprus in November as well. That'll be crab air though I suspect.
so spill, the rest of us know how incompetent some people in public service are.....
our local council forced out the bin contractors & won the tender in-house by £200k, then discovered that the leased lorries needed insuring, for £300k......good saving there......
I can't, official secrets act and all that. Suffice to say, private industry does rip off uk.gov though, mainly as we have no properly trained (or very few) commercial people. We can't write contracts to save our lives, and private industry knows this (and takes full advantage of it!). If the MOD was a industry business, it would have gone under years ago.
I also had about a year in the local education department. Boy, that was an eye opener. I think I can talk about that though, as the OSA doesn't cover that, only MOD...
We got the news the other week the "The Jazz" is going to start production at the swindon plant were i work.
The bad news is that we are going down to a 3.5 day week on days instead of shifts and 440 people need to be moved somewere.
Also looking at a 2k paycut a year and all this is going to start from the 1st of December happy christmas my ar5e.
Pistol Pete
04-10-08, 10:30 AM
Apparetly those 440 are coming to plant 1??!! If we are having a four day week where are they going to put them?? lol not good though dude:( !
I feel your pain Dod, im in the same boat matey. Myself and my business parter are currently trying to diversify and with a bit of luck we may have results in a few months.
Ok, I'm a Quantaty Surveyer .
Only an irishman wouldn't know how to spell their own job description lol
yay we have "won" some shonky 1.8 TIVVT 100KW/180NM Chineese shed of a car calibration job...... time to surrender my passport to prevent any trips to Chongching :D
Well, things have taken another turn.
Seems that we're gonna have to shut up shop completely as we missed out on a few jobs we'd tendered for. Apprently some Contractors aren't paying their labourers to work at all going by their Tenders. So poor old Dod could be heading for the Dole office for his €204 a week in full!!
The dole money went up in the 09 budget ???
Sorry to hear that dod, slow down everywere at present..
Was in B&q this morning and was chatting to a guy i know who works there, he reckoned they have fully qualified plumers, carpenders, sparks etc working there stocking shelves cause they got paid off iin there own trades this past year.. depressing times!
Aye. tbh I'd love a shelf stacking Job, give the old grey matter a rest for a few years or put it to use at making me a little more money as opposed to someone else. lol
Aye, work's slow here for me in the building trade, hence why im funking off out of it to build rally cars, work in motorsport NEVER takes a dip!
Whats the minimum wage down south? 8yoyo or more?? even the ****est job isnt that badly paid!!
I dont actually know, I was on €12.50 an hour which is nice.
Anyway, **** it, I'm gonna mess about with cars and sell them. Although that end of the markets sorta ****ed as well. So expect to see some of Dods Cavs and Novas in the Classified Adds soon.
i work for a company that supplies metal. mainly military stuff :P and its even quiet for us at the moment.
Whats the minimum wage down south? 8yoyo or more?? even the ****est job isnt that badly paid!!
im on £12k a year. full time.
tom_beverley
16-10-08, 04:34 PM
Sorry to hear about that Dod :(
Ah I'm not worried, I'll manage alright but it does seem to be a sign of the times.
Sh!t man i feel for ya, its heading that way everywhere tbh, the local jag maindealers have a prestige marques bodyshop on site and theyre normally off their tits with work, i think there a 40+ staff base in the workshop/bodyshop at any one time, theyve put them all onto four day weeks as theyre so slow!
My mate works for a local hyundai franchise and they have two crash jobs in their workshop which has six spray booths and ten ramps so its a pretty big place to be so quiet!
im on £12k a year. full time.
south of ireland i was meaning.. lol
the min wage in south ireland is alot more that north!!! They get it good down there!!! :mad:
ah...i think its the other way round in england...**** wages in cornwall
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