Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

hi there.
havent posted in a while but i worked for kellys in bournemouth for 5 years and i hated every minute of it. dont get me wrong i have a lot of pride in my work and always did everything as best as i could, and tried my hardest to leave the customer happy.
the working conditions were terrible, sometimes working from 7am right through till 8-9pm 6 days a week!! a consequence of this was me missing the first 2 years of my daughters life (which i will never get back) to which none of the managment could give a rats ass about!!! not the attitude really!!!
no holiday pay, no sick pay, wages always wrong despite taking phtotcopies of my wage sheets. even when asking for the corrections, they never materialised!!
the composite business company was cable business solutions and they took massive slices of our wages fortnightly.
after being there for 5 years all the installers had had enough and left. i was left there with 2 other guys doing the installs for the whole district untill they started pulling installers in from other sites (portsmouth and southampton).
needless to say, i got another job with fibrecity bournemouth (100mb fibre optic broadband, tv and telephone installation). i now work mon to fri 9-5.30 and have sat and sun off. i get 24 days holiday, sick pay and am on 24,000 a year.
very unstressed now too

stay clear of kellys!!

rant over lol

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

i have been looking to get back into the cable instaqll side but very hard as iam in cumbria and i wanted to work back in leeds or huddesfield

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

wondered if i was just being a fussing mother but this makes for scarey reading, my son just started apprenticeship with vm & has been working 12 hour shifts with no lunch hour (even tho he doesnt get paid for that hour) he is so tired when he comes home he cant even eat.
i think its ridiculous that a huge company like vm can get away with this. No wonder Richard Branson is a multi millionaire

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

It'll do him good, a young lad should be able to work 12hr shifts.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Richard Branson makes very little money from Virgin Media nor does he have much to do with the company practise, he owns but a 6% Stake in the business. NTL:Telewest just use the Virgin Media brand name to trade under the residential side of the market that they paid to use it. they were still trading as NTL:Telewest on the business side until not so long ago when they started using the Virgin brand for that to.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

I think your son will survive..and let us hope that in the present recession he will keep that job.

Good luck to him and to you for being a good mum..;)

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

I wouldn't call £8.5 million a year straight into Dickys skyrocket very little?

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Has he just started in service?

Personally id tell him to jack it in and become a spark :D

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

True, he's coping fine, he's a toughie, its not him its me just feel sorry for him when he has a long day. typical mumsie! I have to toughen up & remember he's a man now!!! think i just forget that sometimes!!

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Working for Kelly Communications is ok but you have to be prepared to work.

I worked for them for around 5 years and in all that time only ever worked after 5pm on a handful of occasions. I took home an average of around £400 a week.

Most people that complain are afraid of hard work, do crap work and expect others to run around after them.
If you can look after your own working day and do a good job at speed then you will be fine. Otherwise its simply not for you.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

sounds perfect, why did u leave?

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Many reasons really.

There was plenty of 6 day working, not always optional. And the holidays are only 20 days a year. And you have to book 6 days off for a week so in reality you only get 3 full weeks off and change.
Also there is a lot of stress on other subjects i don't think appropriate to discuss in a public forum.

I have a family and seemed to spend all my time (esp weekends) working and i am now at a point in my life where i would prefer more time off than the money. I now have a job working 37 hours over 4 days for less money but it has better prospects and gives me the time with my family i crave.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

totally agree.was their 4 same amount of time and you do get better and faster with experience

---------- Post added at 11:55 ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 ----------

totally agree was their 4 same amount of time and you do get better and faster with with experience

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

well well, that was an enjoyable read,, all those that say they work till 9-10pm stop messing about and get ya fingers out, i work for kellys in stoke and yes they are a titbit mickey mouse company but its a job with good money if you want it, i am 2 man crew and leave our yard at about 8am everyday, with 6 or 7 jobs, perhaps 5-6- installs and 1-2 repulls and very very rarely do i get home after 3.00,all i can suggest to those that work until stupid oclock is stop moaning about each job for half a hour just get on with it,,

there is a guy who works with us that will try to blow a job out for half a hour and then when he ends up doin it , it only takes 40 minutes , so that 40 min job as just taken him 1hr 10 min,
get a grip and crack on with it or get down the job center

dont get me wrong i hate working for kellys but i love my job and i know that there is no way i can earn the money i do for the hours i do anywhere else

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

:mad:
Kellys are still cowboys and are forcing their staff to work over 45 hours a week (which is against the law).
They are also in breach of contract, demanding their staff come to the yard at 7.00 and work till 7.00 (instead of the contracted 8 till 5).
The equipment that they use is not fit for use and thinks that their U/G training of a couple of hours means that you will do the job well!!!!!!!
Also, setting unacheivable bonuses to make their staff work harder is a joke!!
I would advise BT to drop this company and/or a union to be set up to protect its staff from its blood thirsty money grabbing managers who dont know their digital from their analog!!!
P.S If you expect to achieve their £24k after the 3 months, forget it!!!

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Thanks for that, remind me to sit further away from the screen.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

lmao :d

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Just in case you where on the other side of the room and didnt know it! :p:

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Please edit it and reduce the font size. Then i might read it. :)

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kellys are still cowboys and are forcing their staff to work over 45 hours a week (which is against the law).
They are also in breach of contract, demanding their staff come to the yard at 7.00 and work till 7.00 (instead of the contracted 8 till 5).
The equipment that they use is not fit for use and thinks that their U/G training of a couple of hours means that you will do the job well!!!!!!!
Also, setting unacheivable bonuses to make their staff work harder is a joke!!
I would advise BT to drop this company and/or a union to be set up to protect its staff from its blood thirsty money grabbing managers who dont know their digital from their analog!!!
P.S If you expect to achieve their £24k after the 3 months, forget it!!!

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

after working for that bunch of cowboys in the past I was really surprised BTOpenreach decided to use them again. I thought the claims of 24k and 9-5 working would be false. Hopefully BT will see the errors of their ways but if you expect the CWU to step in, don't hold your breath. From personal experience, most of the union are just keeping their cosy pensions and benefits ticking over. After working for BT and having a dispute with them, I involved the union and I ended up doing most of the legal work. The CWU just did not care.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

I worked for Kelly's for just under a year and hated every second of it. They had no idea of how to treat there workers other than crapping on them from a great height.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

hi i have got an interview with kelly, i have read all the bad comments and i am now not willing to work for them, any other same company i can work for apart from openreach?

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Smartboy, where are you from have you tried Comex

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

No mate haven't heard of Comex b4, what sort of company are they? Do they offer full time roles?

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Warning, Kellys are looking for Telecom engineers across the south East via Hays. Some positions show 24k per year other show it as piecework. Hays show the position as 'A leading telecommunications / utilities provider'. Out of curiosity, I rang up Hays but said no thanks after they told me it was Kellys!!!

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

i am so glad i have read all these pages, i have just passed a telephone interview with hays for a kelly job, and i will be calling them back tomorrow to say NO THANKYOU. i have 24 years in military communications, (fiber & copper)and i do a job to a high standard, like most people in here, and no doubt to a great deal of people who do work for kellys as well, but i cant get abused by Kellys, so looks like i have to keep looking else where for a comms job, i live near hull in humberside "i didnt realise it was a KC region so thats a chore in itself" does anyone have any leads to a reputable comms company i can start looking for??? in my area

thank you to everyone for their advice :)

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Sorry out of my area but I'm glad you will say no. With your background you will not last long at Kellys and deserve better. Don't let Hays talk you round. I spoke to an old contact at Hays and even they are surprised by the bad feedback they are getting concerning Kellys. I'm surprised BT are even using Kellys but I suppose it is all down to cost.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Im assuming you were in the R Signals? Im in the same boat as you, but in the Midlands. I'm still lookinng but let me know if you find anything and visa versa?

Andy

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

I worked for kelly communications and another contractor on the virginmedia contract for four years, and to be honest i would'nt blame the contractors for the dodgy installs there are some really hard workers who work from 7am to 6pm non stop no lunch nothing constanly working, to which i know for sure virgin cannot do them selfs which is why they contract the work out. however kelly is not the nicest company to work for, but as long as you get the work done, they are happy, you are happy (not as). Do i miss working on the virgin network? NO best day of my life when i left, still can't believe it know

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

thank you someone with the same drama got to have a chat mate.......

---------- Post added at 14:32 ---------- Previous post was at 14:30 ----------

ehcos thats what i here :mad:

---------- Post added at 14:35 ---------- Previous post was at 14:32 ----------

like the chat was in thesame boat like to talk ....

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Hey can anyone help I have just passed my phone interview with Kelly for virgin media residential installer but with most comments I'm seeing online am really debating travelling to the assessment day.

Have they improved at all?? Does anyone on here work for them and can give me some info would normally not even bother after seeing some comments but finding work is proving to be a nightmare at the moment so need something asap.

Thanks in advance

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Almost any job is better than no job and it's a lot easier to get a job when you already have one. Go to the assessment day, having some money coming in is better than nothing.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Openreach continue to take on new staff and from what I gather that will be he case into 2017. Apply for them also and keep an eye on the BT Careers website.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

I know one of the yards where installers work out of has had 15 new starters in 2 months and all but 1 have quit.

The one that hasn't, has moved to another job within kelly communications.

The reason they all quit is because you are paid £60 per day and expected to work up to 16 hours for that.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

But look at what's happening with Uber and the recent court case. Hermes too.

I've been saying for years on this forum that Kelly's, Quinn's and the rest of them are operating a tax scam that's costing HMRC tens of millions and is circumventing the minimum wage laws. It was legal until the Uber case, but I'm not sure it is now. It's debatable. I'd like to see it taken to court to test it.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Illegal surely as thats way below minmum wage (Living Wage) about £115 a day for 16 hours.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

You would think it would be but they have been doing that for years and getting away with it, and they will continue to get away with it.

People wonder why a poor job is done on installs and why poeple have issues after being installed, but given how many jobs people are given per day and how little they are paid, then they just rush them in.

Either way being a residential installer is not something I would recommend and would instead tell people, to go stacking shelves as it will be less hours for more money even on minimum wage.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Neither would i,maybe an ex employee ought to report them for underpayment of minimum wage.

Those working conditions sound like a throwback to the 19th century.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

A slight exaggeration perhaps? 16 hours would be 8am to midnight without a break.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

You say they'll get away with it forever (and it's the same for the Openreach contractors too), but I wonder if they will.

I always thought the likes of Hermes and Uber would get away with it forever and they haven't. All it needs is for someone to take them to court.

You would expect HMRC would, as these installers would fail HMRC'a self employment flow chart (which I know well). If they phoned up HMRC they would be told that they are employed, not self employed.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Try 6am till 10pm with no breaks, it's not a exaggeration.

---------- Post added at 06:20 ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 ----------


I honestly believe they will continue to get away with it, since HMRC have been aware of this for at least 10 years or more.

Re: A few thruths about Virgin media engineers (Kelly Communication ones!)
 

Sure, but they can't ignore the case law coming through from legal cases against the other companies.