Working Week Within A Charity (The Working Week: Do We Work Too Many Hours?)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	The Working Week: Do We Work Too Many Hours?
Date:	23/06/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ideal job, flexible working hours

Disadvantages: Not secure due to possibility of funding ending

I had a number of jobs whilst at uni (the worst one ever was working on a sandwich production line) & a number of jobs since starting "proper work". I've worked in retail, in a call centre, for the CPS, the police, the civil service and for a bank. The details below relate to my current role.


1. Where do you work?
For a charity in my home town

2. What is your job title?
Administrator

3. What is your job description?
I provide admin support to the whole of the building along with a team of other administrators. Being a charity this can cover a multitude of sins as you can end up doing anything & everything. I do a lot of work on the finance side of things but also deal with timesheets, holidays, reports & booking appointments.

4. How long have you been in your current job?
I started in Novemner 2006 so just over 2 1/2 years

5. Are you happy at work?
Very much so. My job is varied & I like the team of people that I work with.

6. Is it the job for you?
Probably. I could imagine staying here until retirement beckons.

7. Who do you get on best with at your work?
I like almost all the people I work with. There's a wide range of ages which is nice. Generally speaking I get on better with women than men.

8. Anyone you don't get on with?
Not really. There are some people I'm not that keen on but I wouldn't say that there was anybody I truly detested.

9. Do you like your boss?
Yes. My boss & I have a great working relationship. I couldn't ask for anyone more supporting & understanding.

10. How many days of your holidays have you used?
None yet, although I have taken 3 days off on flexi-time.

11. How many sick days?
None this year. I've had one sick day since I started but that was down to an abcess.

12. Genuine or faked?
See above. I was in agony with the abcess. It was diagnosed by the dentist who put me on antibiotics before a root canal was done.

13. Do you get a yearly pay rise?
Yes. It's linked to the pay scale of the local authority.

14. Do you socialise with your colleagues?
Not really. We sometimes go out as a group for birthdays & Christmas etc but they're all work colleagues rather than close friends.

15. Are you qualified for your job?
There are no qualifications needed for the job as such. Obviously you need to be able to do basic maths & have a reasonable grasp of the English language but no specific qualifications are required.

16. What age were you when you left school?
After school, I went to Sixth Form College & then university where I did a three year degree in Humanities (English & History)

17. Did you always want to do what you're doing now?
No. Originally I wanted to be a teacher. But, after 3 years at uni I was fed up of being in education & being skint. So I entered the World Of Work instead. In retrospect I'm glad I did. I may get paid less than a teacher but I work as & when I want (within reason) & I can leave work behind me when I walk out of the door at the end of the day.

18. Are you the main earner in your household?
No. My partner was for an Internet Service Provider & earns a bit more than I do.

19. Are you a member of a union?
No. The Union Rep is one of those people I'm less than keen on!

20. How often do you get paid?
Once a month. On the 24th to be precise.

21. Are you content with your salary?
Yes, although of course it would be nice to earn more. I'm well paid for the level of responsibility I have. A few years back I worked in a bank & was one of the keyholders for the safe. I was paid a lot less for a lot more responsibility compared to my current role.

22. How many hours do you work per week and what shifts?
I work Monday - Friday & have to do 35 hours per week. I can start anytime between 8am & 10pm & finish anytime between 4pm & 6pm. Anything I work over 35 hours is unpaid but can be claimed back in "flextime". For example on the second Bank Holiday in May (25th) we also got the Tuesday (26th) off as an extra day. I had quite a bit of flexitime built up so I took the remainder of the week (equivalent to 21 hours) off, which meant, in essence, that I had a week off work without using any of my holiday entitlement.

Summary: I love my job, although being a charity it's dependent on continuing funding.

Summary: See Review!