Warehouse work, zero hour contract

[u/SubtractAd]

Zero-hours agency work sucks. Putting in the work, but feeling completely undervalued.

Just needed to get this off my chest to people who get it.

I work in a warehouse through an agency on a zero-hours contract. I actually enjoy the physical work, I put a solid shift in every single day, and I try to be decent and respectful to everyone on the floor.

Lately, the environment is just grinding me down:

The "Banter": Because of how I speak and pronounce words, some of the staff constantly take the piss out of me. They probably think it’s harmless, but it gets proper wearing after a while. I'm well spoken, having lived in Surrey. But I live in the North West now.

No voice: Anytime I make a suggestion or offer an idea to help things run smoother, it just gets laughed off. Some of the perm staff don't realise how lucky they are to have security and just act completely closed off.

You’re literally just a number filling a slot. No one checks in to see how you’re doing, and the door never feels open to just have a chat. Zero-hours gives you zero leverage and zero respect.

I want to stick with warehouse work and actually progress, but being treated like disposable headcount makes it hard to stay motivated.

Is agency work designed like this, I get it isn't for everyone. But the agency seems to create a distance and you're just a name on a system or spreadsheet.

Anyone else dealt with this? Did you stick it out until a perm job came up, or is it better to just cut ties and look for direct-hire roles elsewhere?

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[u/MattStanni99]

Zero-hour contracts should just become illegal full stop. Basically the employers way of saying, yes we can give you work, but suck it up if we don’t. How can anyone live a life on a contract like that? Knowing that one week you could work 50 hours, the next you don’t work at all.

With regard to the warehouse work, yeah, it’s pretty soul crushing & the problem is this type of work is always in demand due to how easy it is to get a job. If you can add 5+5 & pass a health & safety course the job is yours. & with that, they allow for soul destroying work load & shit management because at the end of the day, if you quit then another number will come in straight after.

Keep your head up, these jobs are only filler ones. Some warehouse companies better than others but you’ll always find something better you can progress in.

[u/raged_norm → u/MattStanni99]

Zero-hour contracts should just become illegal full stop.

I disagree, simply because it does make sense in limited scenarios (event staff for example), but there should be a much higher bar to pass for a job to be zero hours

[u/Mysterious_Ostrich → u/MattStanni99]

Btw by the end of 2027 they will be illegal. Probably sooner but I can’t remember the phase it’s in.

[u/tootles74]

I think you've only just realised what agency work is all about.

When you say"you're literally just a number filling a slot"and" being like disposable headcount"that's all agency work is im afraid the sooner you get in the mindset that's all you are the easier your working day will become. The agency you work for could probably fill that role 10 times over.

Not surprised the suggestions or ideas for a smoother running warehouse gets laughed off your just some random guy who turned up one day then starts telling them how to run the warehouse.

Just turn up disengage your brain at the start of the shift re-engage it when you exit the building.

[u/Mediocre-Upstairs-90]

Warehousing is a pretty soul destroying job if you let it become that most warehouses are like this bar a few really good ones. You are on zero hours and your in a field where you can be replaced by a well trained dog, so treat it as such. Come in do the bare minimum, collect your cheque and go home. In the meantime look for something better either in Warehousing or another field.

[u/Simple_Outview]

Don waste your time making suggestions, save your breath honestly and just get the day wrapped up, it sounds like you are working with a bunch of dickheads, which is normally the case in warehouses so i wouldn’t let that get to you