Working for creative events at the NEC the companies acceptable employment policy is that you will be happy to work from 7am no matter where you live up until 4pm with no break and no food, then have 20 minutes (or as long as it takes you to eat a tiny sandwhich a packet of crisps a kitkat and an apple) then have the supervisor come and say youve finished eating get back to work, where you are then expected to work for another 2 hours minimum up to 4 hours, or up to until 10pm or later sometimes on closedown days.
Or course for me to make it there that early I have to wake up at 4am and set out at 5am to make the transportation links to get to the NEC in time for 7am. All the time getting hungrier and lacking the energy to actually do a decent days work, of course I get comments about being one of the best barrista’s they have but it doesn’t matter that I’m being starved and I’m not exactly one of the biggest people in the world far from it, I actually need to keep my energy levels maintained at a reasonable level or I do get highly irritable.
Doing this as a daily job day in day out in the middle of winter being frozen in the mornings even though Im wearing 4 coats on top of things I still catch a cold, being weak from lack of food of course I was bound to get ill, but they don’t consider that so I guess Ill just find somewhere which actually understands that if you want someone to remain well and still do a good job you’ve got to treat them right rather than just a body to fill the space, no wonder I was one of the best workers, I actually made an effort rather than being a spaced out zombie lacking food, or stealing all the cookies to eat.
Besides isn’t it a legal requirement that you get 30 minutes break for 6 hours work, 45 for 7, an hour for over 8 hours work… hmmm I’m pretty sure I only signed out of the 48 hour working week, not all of my legal rights. But hey the law doesn’t care everyone seems to break it even ITC who are supposed to keep your tv clean before 9PM dont care anymore.