Kmart Christmas Casual (1 Viewer)

[Scanorama]

Greetings, Im employed by Kmart as a Christmas Casual in late November, 2004. Since then, my task and my only task is just to fit the new plastic covers to cover the all the price tag across the store. My shift, compared to other Christmas casual is a bit less. In average, I work 16 hours a week (5pm - 9pm Monday to Friday except for Thursday). I even had 8 hours shift per week for 2 weeks. They refuse to put me on weekends and public holidays. The reason why I had 8 hours shift during those 2 weeks around Christmas and New Year was because, quoted from the manager 'Because there are too many public holidays around.'

However, a few weeks ago, they put me on 32 hours shift (12pm - 9pm inculding 1 hour unpaid break) on Monday to Friday except for Thursday for 2 weeks. After that, when i checked my roster, my name wasnt on it, so i thought they gave me a whole week off. By the way, I havent finished the whole store yet. The week after I got the whole week off, I went to the store and check again on this monday. My name wasnt on the roster again.

During the past 2 months, I have not had any warning letters or any complains regarding my performance, nor the managers have spoken to me about my performance. The comments they gave up to todate are positive.

Therefore I rang up the manager, and thats what she said: 'Unfortunately Gough, after stocktake, we have to cut down our budget so I dont have any shifts for you in the next couple of weeks. However when I have shift for you next, I will call you.'

Does this mean Im pretty much got sacked? I mean they are now minimising my shift to nothing for at least the next couple of weeks. There is another guy I work with, who does the exactly same task as me, have the exactly same shift as me, his name is Mark. Mark is not on the rosters either. Other Christmas casual in the store are now working as usual, with many hours of shift, obviously they are not under budgets or anything.

Does anyone know what I can do? Thanks

 

[freakcore]

yeah i had a Kmart christmas casual job two years ago and losts of people got the same treatment so it's obviously the normal thing. tho it depends on what your job is i didn't get my shifts taken cos of where i worked but a lot of the people in other sections just dissapeared and would only show up like once every three or four weeks.
i don't know if theres much you can do about it tho. unless you keep hassling them to give you work. maybe see if they'll let you work at a different task? i dunno after a while most of the people(casuals) i worked with had quit or been "budget cut"

 

[goan_crazy]

christmas casuals this year?

what is the best time to apply for christmas casuals for 05...?

 

[Skittled]

(Excuse the long post)

....on the other hand, I have heard (but never seen carried through) that if you don't get a shift in 6 weeks, with some employers, they remove you from their system. (Please note, that's only on the grapevine, and heard while within the Woolworths domain, but I know it doesn't happen)

Alternatively, this is also a way that they sometimes try to sack casuals, just by giving them no shifts. By saying he'll ring you, if he mysteriously loses your phone number or whatever, then he'll never have to call you.

I'd ask your manager for one shift a week (there, surely, are other casuals with more than one shift. if not I think they've got way too huge a workforce), and if he can't/won't, call HR and clarify what's happening. If they remain assholes, ask them if you've effectively been sacked... they'll say no, of course, but it might get the message across you definetly want the job still.

Casuals are entitled to a certain amount of job security. Ie I get ever sat-sun at my work, and have had that for the last 18 months. Theoretically, if they suddently decide that they don't need me there on a sunday, they have to give me the same hours on a different day, unless there is a legitimate reason they don't need me there.

Of course, that leaves one thing open: retail hots up over christmas, and as someone said, demand does legitimtely die down...

 

[Skittled]

what is the best time to apply for christmas casuals for 05...?

From what I've seen, depending on the retail store, Busy stores might start in Sept-Oct; They want time to give you a bit of training and understand how things work before you have lines of stressed customers depending on you. Slower stores mightn't hire until they need the extra staff (ie December).

 

[soha]

my friend has a xmas casual job at target
isnt it a 3 month thing..
so when they dont need u basicaly ur gone
i think they cutting you off
but he was lucky to stay at target...

 

[theone123]

h3h kmart sux0rs seriously, go coles.

 

[soha]

yeah a supermarket wouldnt fire u as easily
they need you
its seems that department stores like big w target and kmart do that heaps

 

[alien]

theone123 is that warhammer in your sig?
for the thread, i'm a christmas casual at kmart too and they've cut me down to one shift per week, usually 4 hours. before this i was getting 32 hours pw. i guess all christmas casuals get it.

 

[theone123]

theone123 is that warhammer in your sig?
for the thread, i'm a christmas casual at kmart too and they've cut me down to one shift per week, usually 4 hours. before this i was getting 32 hours pw. i guess all christmas casuals get it.

err, its warcraft 3.

im a christmas causal but mine is continuing but.

 

[Tenille]

Thats what happened to me i checked for a few weeks didnt get any shifts, so i stopped checking a few months later i got a letter saying i had been fired.

 

[kenny75]

at least you had quite a few shifts

I was employed for christmas casual at kmart chatswood this year, I only worked 2 shifts at early december (amounting to 20 hrs), they never called me since, i wasnt on the roster also. I called them but they say they'll call if they need me, which they never did.

be grateful that you have gotten that much shifts

 

[theone123]

lets have a slumber party for kmarts crap employment

 

[alien]

i don't think you could find a house big enough

 

[_Bushra_]

....on the other hand, I have heard (but never seen carried through) that if you don't get a shift in 6 weeks, with some employers, they remove you from their system. (Please note, that's only on the grapevine, and heard while within the Woolworths domain, but I know it doesn't happen)

...

I was talking to a manager and she said they actually DO that! i work at bigw btw

 

[Carlito]

Plastic covers for price tags? wtf?

 

[iambored]

it's such a pity that colesmyer make you go through the whole damn recruitment process for people to get fired, no shifts, told they will be called back later. it seems like a waste of time

 

[lil_star]

its normal... our store had cut shifts and in the past 11 days i have worked once. I was going to work on the weekend, but damn i wasnt home when the manager called. I think they got someone ready to work that day

 

[Ultimate]

Kmart is gay full stop, they treat their casuals like dirt and expect their casuals to be sitting at home doing jack all, so they can ring u up whenever they want u to work. I worked as a xmas casual for a total of about 30 hours with very scarce shifts, up until xmas, then got no call for a month, where they rang me at 1pm and expected me to work at 2 pm that same day .... of course I declined them.

To have to go through that annoying recruitment process, and be treated like this has put me off working in colemyer branches completely.

 

[Scanorama]

Thanks for the replies everyone, much appericated

Im pretty much give up on Kmart now, im looking for jobs around, so far I've applied for Woolies, Big W and Bunnings. I went through the whole bullshit recrritment process with Coles Myer, waited months to get an offer with Kmart, thinking I finally got a job after the long wait. I agree with Ultimate, it does out me off working within Colesmyer group.

Honestly, Kmart is a shit place to work, rude customers, rude staff, unhelpful staff, staff treat you like enemy. I wonder why would Kmart needs Christmas casual, if they only give them 20 hours shift, Im sure their existing staff can cover those hours?

Im still very piss off with them, I really need the money to pay for patrol, train for unis, things like that.

Plastic covers for price tags? wtf?

In some Kmart stores, there is nothing to cover the price tags on the shelves, and they are quite often easily drop on the floor. My job was to put the new plastic cover on the shelves to prevent it happens.