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MrIca · 31-03-2014, 22:32

OR survived fine for years without contractors.

OR engineers start on about £23k and then the top of the pay band is £27k. The thing is though anything after your normal finish time in the evening is paid at the overtime rate which is much more. So most lads are on 30 odd k. Obviously then if you work overtime at the weekend you'd be on more again. If you have to work away that is guaranteed overtime also. Of course everything is paid for tools and vehicle wise so you just pay tax via PAYE. So the pay is good, with 5 weeks holiday, sick pay and a decent pension. There's other benefits too.

I think the £14k you're thinking of is the apprentice wage. Most OR staff don't come in as apprentices. To be fair the hostility is probably because when contractors came in it was an absolute nightmare and the quality of work was awful. Customers being told they've got to have their phone socket in the hall and it can't be moved. That's just not true! Old obsolete wiring being left in place etc. It HAS got better but the MI installs from contractors are still awful.

31-03-2014, 22:32	#77
MrIca Inactive Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 272	Re: Kelly's BT Openreach Engineers OR survived fine for years without contractors. OR engineers start on about £23k and then the top of the pay band is £27k. The thing is though anything after your normal finish time in the evening is paid at the overtime rate which is much more. So most lads are on 30 odd k. Obviously then if you work overtime at the weekend you'd be on more again. If you have to work away that is guaranteed overtime also. Of course everything is paid for tools and vehicle wise so you just pay tax via PAYE. So the pay is good, with 5 weeks holiday, sick pay and a decent pension. There's other benefits too. I think the £14k you're thinking of is the apprentice wage. Most OR staff don't come in as apprentices. To be fair the hostility is probably because when contractors came in it was an absolute nightmare and the quality of work was awful. Customers being told they've got to have their phone socket in the hall and it can't be moved. That's just not true! Old obsolete wiring being left in place etc. It HAS got better but the MI installs from contractors are still awful.