Nurse Quits Nhs To Work In Lidl

[GarryP]

Apparently the hours, pay and benefits are better.

Article sourced from The London Economic;

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/nurses-quit-nhs-to-work-in-lidl-because-pay-hours-and-benefits-better/02/07/

[ToraToraTora]

and your point is? People change jobs all the time.

[youngmafbog]

Hmmm, I'm suspicious of that. Just what does she do at Lidl because as far as I am aware Lidl pay close on min wage (as they all do) and I'm pretty sure a qualified Nurse isn't.

In addition The London Economic is a far left wing based publication.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-london-economic/

[cassa333]

Agree TTT that people change jobs for better pay all the time.

At least one thing has to be remembered about the NHS in this article is... people don’t get sick 9 to 5 and even if they did an awful lot of those sick people stay in hospital for a period of time. Therefore there will be shifts. That is a simple fact.

Sure the shifts in most supermarkets are day time and unless you do voluntary overtime only 5 days a week. Much easier. But if you choose a career or even just a job in the NHS you have to understand there is a shift pattern. Crappy as that is it is part of the organisation.

As for pay rates. I suppose what level you are determines your pay grade. Qualified nurses (pro-rata) get a better salary than a shelf stacker.

Pay should be about what job you do not who you do it for. If the NHS is paying under the going rate for skilled workers then it does need addressing.

[cassa333]

Oh and I think Iidl pay about £8.85 an hour. Higher than the min wage but not anywhere near a nurses hourly rate.

[GarryP]

My point is nurses are leaving the NHS due to burning out. I also want to point out that, after going through the training and education that is required to become a nurse, to just quit and work in a supermarket is a brave decision. Apparently the NHS is short of 40,000 nurses, we do not need them leaving to go and work in Lidl. This is not so much an issue with how much nurses get paid, but more an issue with how nurses are treated along side the conditions they work in.

[10ClarionSt]

Well, she knows what she wants, doesn't she? She says there is less stress, but from what I know about Lidl and other discount chains, they certainly want their moneys worth out of you. It would appear that the job is in the supermarket. I wouldn't be happy if one of my family went working there, unless it was a summer job or just temporary. Time will tell if she has made the right decision, but with her qualifications and the shortage of trained staff in hospitals, I'm sure she could go back if she felt the need, which, I suspect she has taken into account.

[hc4361]

A teacher did the same thing recently. My friend is a nurse and rakes it in. She works part time for the NHS and does a lot of agency work.

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

It does seem crazy when we have a shortfall of nurses. I actually thought the shortfall was about double the 40,000 figure- at some stage in 2017 it was 86,000. What's the solution?

[hc4361]

Why would you be unhappy if a relative chose to work in Aldi or Lidl, 10C?

[gulliver1]

Think the point is here that a Labour Government introduced the NHS, and 70 years later, the Conservatives have messed it up,and if they had their way they would Privatise it anyway.

[237SJ]

^ It's messed up because society has changed and there are more people drawing off it than paying in. Nothing to do with the Government.

[10ClarionSt]

Because I know people who work/have worked for them. Not friendly places and staff are under to pressure to work extra hours without pay, i.e. the banked hours system, e.g. the company may guarantee, say, 2000 hours work per year. If you work more than that, you get paid the extra at the end of the year, if you work less, you are in profit, but that system brings all sorts of arguments about hours worked, and when. Not good.

[237SJ]

The lady in the article may well have applied for a management position which pays quite well. It doesn't say that she is a shelf stacker

[10ClarionSt]

If that is the case, hc, then she will be under more pressure; targets, budgets, etc. Believe me, they are not nice companies to work for.

[Sqad]

"What's the solution?"

What a good question, to which I do not have the answer and i am sure that nobody else does either.
For the past 50 years, doctors, nurses and medical researchers have been leaving the NHS despite vast amounts of tax-payers money being poured into it.
I don't like socialised medicine and never have done......that is just a personal opinion. To have critised the NHS was taken almost as treachery and an afront to being British. other health services all over the world had scorn poured over them and the NHS heralded as the "Envy of the World"despite no other country following the same pattern.

There is no answer other than pouring more money into it as privatisation would not be accepted in the UK.

Despite the cascade of cash, we score very badly in cancer survival rates and heart attack success.

It is impossible to turn the ship and i do not feel a mood in which change is likely.

[hc4361]

Lidl managers start at £40k with a company car and other benefits, not too shabby

[fiction-factory]

I'd take this 'case study' with a large pinch of salt.
She says pay is broadly the same- well I don't believe that if she was an actual nurse unless she has gone into a management type role or she is working longer hours.
Her ability to manage stress seems to be an issue, as are travelling time/costs:

"A new Lidl opened up near the end of my road so I applied and got the job. It means I don’t need to drive to work anymore, where I was even charged for parking.

"The best thing is my hours are a lot more sociable. Pay is around the same level, but I get ten per cent off my shopping and I’ve sold my car, which saves a lot of money. Overall I’m slightly better off, but I have much, much less stress"

[10ClarionSt]

You're absolutely correct, hc. Not shabby at all. Looks excellent doesn't it? But there is lots of pressure. Lots of pressure, believe me. I know people who had the same thoughts as you and went working at these companies for those salaries, then they resigned shortly after. The money's good. Nothing else is.

[gulliver1]

11.04 , If "there are more people drawing off it than paying in" why is nothing to do with the Government?. Always thought the government were in charge of the NHS

[Canary42]

The NHS is failing because as it is progressively stealthily privatised more of the money is trousered by rich shareholders - Robin Hood in reverse, the poor taxpayer being fleeced to line the pockets of the rich.