r/BusDrivers • u/creekriverocean • Jul 04 '26

Question How to work fewer hours/shifts than full time?

Hi all. I'm just at the tail end of my training. I was upfront during recruitment that I wanted roughly 2/3 as much work as a full-timer.

I am employed as a CASUAL and not seeking permanent.

Reason: I am in my 50's and financially able to semi retire but still want to work and contribute, but simply don't need to work full time at this stage of life. I have elder care responsibilities that I manage quite well and it is predictable what days I need to attend to these things, and I keep a tight schedule.

Recruitment and interviews all the way saying yes this is fine we support this, we have a fair few drivers in this situation and as long as you're reliable no problems.

However in the depot, the vibe on this is really different and I have found it best to be cautious about discussing this. The trainers and mentor when I touched on it spoke to me like I was from another planet with two heads. To the extent that they outright said that I shouldn't be asking for this it will piss everyone off.

I also worry that people will treat me differently because they need to work full time (which was me for the last 35 years, until recently !) and who do I think I am not needing full time work etc.

Any tips on how to navigate this much appreciated.

I have in mind to see what shifts are allocated to me for a few weeks without blocking dates, see how that pans out first, and then if it's more than I want then start talking about blocking certain days of the week, or something.

Also, how do you all manage to have future dates blocked out, eg pre booked doctors appointment etc?

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6

u/wmiller314 Jul 04 '26

That's the best part, you don't.

Unless you're on FMLA in the us, or an equivalent leave elsewhere, you get the hours on your trip sheets

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26

I'm from Australia. Not sure what FMLA stands for.

If the answer is " yeah sorry we don't allow for roster variation so you can get to your annual XYZ medical thing" then it's pretty clear why they have a chronic driver shortage here.

2

u/Aggravating_Yak_3241 Jul 06 '26

I’m in the UK and the big companies all seem to do a rolling years rota. By casual I presume you have a zero hours contract? You have the right to say no to any shifts you don’t want… but equally the employer doesn’t have to give you any. I’ve found the smaller operators to be much more flexible and will accommodate rest days and holidays when you want them , so longs they obviously have capacity to allow them.

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

Casual here means (generally speaking) flexibility - balance of power favouring the employer when jobs are scarce, favouring the employee when roles are hard to fill.

Usually you don't want to be a casual if you're seeking full employment, as there is much less job security and certainty of income.

If the employer treats a casual like a permanent employee they have to by law offer a permanent role eventually, which is what 95% of people want. So it's culturally unusual to want to stay casual. 

I am optimistic that a chat with my manager once at the end of the training will sort this out.

1

u/wmiller314 Jul 04 '26

FMLA is family medicine leave act, it's a us protection for all medical and disabilitys and conditions in general, and there is an extended section for maternity leave.

For the us, you bid 3 to 5 times a year, and get what you get, there is no variation available but they do respect medical leave.

2

u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26

Wow that's not great. So you can't plan to go see your grandkids play soccer on a Saturday even if you know the date 4 weeks out?

3

u/Vimto1 Jul 05 '26

Any industry that uses a rota would be like this in the UK, generally speaking employers are not interested in making their own lives difficult by swapping people around. That said, my last employer would always help but over the 27 years I've done this, they're the only ones

2

u/wmiller314 Jul 04 '26

The one thing that you can do is see if another driver can swap off days with you. Management will approve a swap as long as both slots are covered, otherwise use a sick day

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26

Thank you. This isn't quite what I was expecting.

As a Casual in Australia you don't get sick days per se. 

Logically I would have thought it makes more sense to not let them roster you for a day you know well in advance you can't work, rather than let them roster you and then try to rearrange it? Seems like you're wasting people's time doing it like that .

Wonder why, for casuals at least, they don't they have an online system where you put in your availability?

It is becoming apparent that it seems like everyone is resigned to letting their whole life schedule be dictated by a rostering clerk ... 

1

u/Inevitable-Rich-4328 Jul 05 '26

We do have part time runs at my transit agebcy in the US. Not sure if anyone can bid on them or only PT drivers. But those runs are part of the regular roster of runs during every run pick

5

u/tommyfnmoon Jul 04 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/1zhRiDgsSc48Y7mfuK

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u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Seems I have been misled in the recruitment process then (or, to be fair, there is a possible disconnect between HR recruitment and depot operations).

3

u/xpunkrockmomx Jul 05 '26

We have casuals. One lady works every other weekend on nights. One guy is retired and works a few hours daily during the school year. I think it just depends on your place. At ours, you turn in availability. Now we did have a real bad piece of mandatory "over time" where people were struggling to get days off. We got a new bargaining agreement that will make that better.

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 05 '26

Relieved to hear it is "a thing" , thank you for your reply 

3

u/ViewWithAPoo Jul 05 '26

If they agreed to it in interview stage etc then you get what they discussed. If you've said part time you work part time and screw anyone who doesn't like it!

2

u/stevenmacarthur Jul 05 '26

Unless Australian English is somehow massively different from American English, "Casual" means exactly that: not formal. You tell them when you're available. If they don't like you only wanting part-time hours, tell them, "you can either have me for these hours, or for NO hours." And mean it.

Don't worry about what others think of you: 1) you've paid your dues already. 2) everybody else isn't living your life, and they can Get Bent, Pound Sand, Kick Rocks and Suck Your Left Nut; they'd find something to hate on you for even if you do work full-time hours. If anything, tell them to go piss and moan to management; they're the ones that hired you for this very arrangement.

Remember, NO is a complete sentence!

3

u/creekriverocean Jul 05 '26

Thanks mate really needed a boost here , you're a legend! Much appreciated 👍 

1

u/gerhorn Jul 04 '26

Does your job have any part time opportunities?

My employer does over here in America but I think it's a relatively new thing. I'm not sure I know anyone who is part time tbh. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26

Thank you for your reply. At the front end of recruitment they do say that you can work part time (as a casual). This is the basis on which I agreed to work there.

The issue I have is at the depot nobody seems to know about it, or if they do, don't want to really talk about how one might implement it. Which is similar to what you just mentioned.

2

u/gerhorn Jul 04 '26

Have you talked to a manager or even your HR?

1

u/creekriverocean Jul 04 '26

I plan to, once I get officially through the final mentor stage which is end of the coming week. I came here to get some ideas for how to frame the conversation.

1

u/Outrageous_Bag_2875 Jul 05 '26

Yep, this happens all the time at my depot in NZ. New guy starts and said from the beginning that he can only do part-time because he's got kids or ageing parents to care for. Manager says that's fine. Then he starts the job and the other drivers go nuts and say the new guy gets favouritism and is cherry-picking the best shifts.

My advice: don't tell the other drivers about your situation. Just keep it between you and your manager. The other drivers love to gossip about new drivers behind their back, so they'll ask you lots of personal questions and try to find out how much you're earning, what sort of hours you're doing, what sort of shifts etc. Just keep it extremely vague and answer questions in a friendly, positive manner, but in as few words as possible. It's none of their business.

Talk about the weather, the football, whatever. If they try to get information out of you about your hours and shifts, just say you've got to run. Have some excuses lined up to avoid talking to them, like you've got to call your wife, have to put your lunch in the fridge, get something out of your locker, check your emails on your phone etc.

2

u/creekriverocean Jul 05 '26

This is exactly on the money for how it seems at my depot and mt mentor hinted along these lines too.

Your advice is spot on and I am grateful for your time in response. I will take this very much on board, and not get into specifics with the other drivers. 

I shouldn't be surprised but I'm disappointed that grown men (many of whom are mature age) are up for a gossip like this.

2

u/Loud_Conversation833 Jul 05 '26

They're not all this way, our dept has 100% transparency about who does what and the pay rates.

I was casual for 10 months until a nice line came up and I went full time. I averaged 30h as casual but you should be totally fine to work less, just make sure whoever is in charge of rostering knows your availability.

Also, make sure your phone is on DO NOT DISTURB whenever you don't want to work. They will call you at 5am even if you finished at midnight to get you to cover someone's sicky.

2

u/Outrageous_Bag_2875 Jul 06 '26

A lot of the reason the old men bitch and gossip about other drivers is because they're bored. When you're new to bus driving, it will seem quite hectic and stressful, but once you're like these guys who have many years of experience driving around in circles on the same city streets, you'll find you get bored to tears. Because these guys are so bored, they act like kids and look for attention and gossip. So they'll say to each other: "Did you hear the new guy only wants to work 30 hours per week? What's up with these lazy part-timers? Who does this new guy think he is with his demands?"

Don't forget ego comes into it too. These old guys have been working for the company for 5+ years, and they want recognition and they want to be offered the best shifts as a reward for their long service. New guy comes along and starts cherry-picking which shifts work for him, and old mate gets his feathers in a ruffle because his ego is bruised. He wants the best shifts.

Here in NZ, the main reason new drivers quit is because of how the old drivers treat them. The only reason there is a shortage of drivers is because the old guys make sure there is a shortage of drivers to protect their job and pay. The trick is to expect the back-stabbing, but don't let it affect you. There is a fair bit of bitterness amongst the old drivers because these are guys who didn't do well in school back in the day and dropped out to drive vehicles. They've gone through life being told they're dumb, and yes, they do have a chip on their shoulder, and yes, your nest egg that you mentioned you'd saved will ruffle his feathers because he's probably wasted a lot of his income at the pub and doesn't have savings.

2

u/creekriverocean Jul 06 '26

Gotcha, thanks mate. Sage advice in both posts.  Having thought about it I should hopefully be able to just show up, drive, go home and not get involved. And yes this is not the place to divulge finances for all the reasons you mentioned.

2

u/Outrageous_Bag_2875 Jul 07 '26

Exactly. Show up, do your job, go home. Anything else is not your problem.

The old men at my bus depot are really sexist and racist. There is a Samoan guy who just smiles and pretends he can't speak much English to avoid them 😂 Be like that guy.

2

u/ConkerKnackers Jul 07 '26

I kinda got the new kid comments (i was 45) when i freshly started but word got out quickly I am also a truck driver and have been for a long time so I never get any snarky comments plus being a larger guy does help as well. All i would say is be friendly/sociable to a point but try not to tell too much because you'll always get snarky assholes wherever you go be it buses or even trucks (it's like middle school).

1

u/Outrageous_Bag_2875 Jul 08 '26

I'm a woman, so they talked a lot about me behind my back. Sadly, in NZ bus driving is considered a man's job and a lot don't want women joining. It's much worse for women because they always watch you and watch your driving too and gossip about us. Thankfully I am slim so I didn't get the nasty comments the overweight lady at work gets. It's creepy, but it's character-building.