Employer wants me to work on an oil rig for 3 weeks
Discussion
Beknown said:
... all the while the customer is paying more an hour than I earn in a day (they pay for travel time also).
For example travel for 20 hours, get 4 hours sleep, work nonstop for 20 hours because something has broken, then travel home for 20 hours – all for the same amount of tuppence which I’d have got if I had stayed behind my desk.
If the customer is paying for it then it is bonkers / robbery that your firm is sticking it in their back-pocket and not passing any of it on to you.For example travel for 20 hours, get 4 hours sleep, work nonstop for 20 hours because something has broken, then travel home for 20 hours – all for the same amount of tuppence which I’d have got if I had stayed behind my desk.
Neighbour of mine does what sounds similar to you, and he gets paid from the moment he leaves the house until he's back home again. He loves going away!
Asterix said:
Without knowing the full picture, there may be another strategy to play.
Mention that other companies would pay extra rates etc... but if it get's rebuffed, don't labour the point. Go and do the job, get your safety training and certs and the next time it's needed, you're in a much stronger position plus it's another set of skills/experience you have because if I was you, I'd be looking for another job pronto that looks after you when you're grafting away from home.
If you ask for the extras, are they in a position just to send someone else from your team that will put up and shut up?
This - very much this. Mention that other companies would pay extra rates etc... but if it get's rebuffed, don't labour the point. Go and do the job, get your safety training and certs and the next time it's needed, you're in a much stronger position plus it's another set of skills/experience you have because if I was you, I'd be looking for another job pronto that looks after you when you're grafting away from home.
If you ask for the extras, are they in a position just to send someone else from your team that will put up and shut up?
Your bosses are pocketing the extra money they are charging for you. Seen it many times....
Thanks for all the feedback gents, some nice out the box thinking being displayed.
The last time we needed to send someone to a rig was 3 years ago so infrequent to say the least, my colleague who attended then has since left. I can’t say I have any desire to work on a rig so the qualifications are of no real interest but never say never.
I work in a team of half a dozen and I am favourite to go due to skill set, familiarity with the customer and also my other colleagues have family/children etc. so not really practical for them to spend such a long time away from home.
It does sound like I have a s
t job and in fairness it could be a lot fairer but it’s had its advantages, I do keep meaning to look for a new job however I’m taking a month’s holiday in the summer and I didn’t want to saddle that with a new employer.
So is it normal these days to pay no extra when employers are out of the office or doing overtime?
The last time we needed to send someone to a rig was 3 years ago so infrequent to say the least, my colleague who attended then has since left. I can’t say I have any desire to work on a rig so the qualifications are of no real interest but never say never.
I work in a team of half a dozen and I am favourite to go due to skill set, familiarity with the customer and also my other colleagues have family/children etc. so not really practical for them to spend such a long time away from home.
It does sound like I have a s
t job and in fairness it could be a lot fairer but it’s had its advantages, I do keep meaning to look for a new job however I’m taking a month’s holiday in the summer and I didn’t want to saddle that with a new employer. So is it normal these days to pay no extra when employers are out of the office or doing overtime?
Vaud said:
Whilst I agree with the OP in part, also consider:
Food is free, and all the biscuits you can eat and tea/coffee that you can drink..but he will be doing an extra 54 hours ( or maybe more) a week , unpaid.- Improved CV
- Reduced living costs - 3 weeks where you don't buy any food (I assume it is all free on the oil rig)
As you say though, you never know how it will help him in the future, that experience might just put him above the other guy when he goes for his next job..And it is an interesting experience to have had.
Swings and roustabouts...
Olivera said:
Man the fk up and ask for significantly more than your normal 7.5 hrs salary. In fact do the same for your normal working week as well.
I agree, what's stopping you from asking?k up and ask for significantly more than your normal 7.5 hrs salary. In fact do the same for your normal working week as well.Figure out your hourly rate and that should be paid 12 hours 7 days a week plus ask for an uplift.
I don’t go on oilrigs but I spent 2.5 months away on training and on a power station, I’m usually office based but I worked 12 hours and after 37 hours I got time and a half plus double for Sundays.
Ask for what you deserve, you’ll be respected more too.
Sheepshanks said:
Shuvi McTupya said:
... it is the chopper rides that you need to worry about...
I know someone who had to do what the OP is saying, and he had to go through a helicopter crash survival course. I wonder if that's mandatory? i used to work with a guy from Aberdeen, who did IT support for BP, he ended up on the team for the rigs as he was single.
he got extra pay for it, they gave it he didn't have to ask, but he did say he often had to spend a day fixing a problem and a few days waiting for the chopper home.
he said there is only so much porn you can watch before it's boring, this was a few years ago, i hope they have statelitte telly now
he got extra pay for it, they gave it he didn't have to ask, but he did say he often had to spend a day fixing a problem and a few days waiting for the chopper home.
he said there is only so much porn you can watch before it's boring, this was a few years ago, i hope they have statelitte telly now
Beknown said:
It does sound like I have a st job and in fairness it could be a lot fairer but it’s had its advantages, I do keep meaning to look for a new job however I’m taking a month’s holiday in the summer and I didn’t want to saddle that with a new employer.
you probably don't have a st job and in fairness it could be a lot fairer but it’s had its advantages, I do keep meaning to look for a new job however I’m taking a month’s holiday in the summer and I didn’t want to saddle that with a new employer. t job, you just allow your employer to treat you like st. you also sound like you would allow any new employer to do the same. Holiday is your right, not your privilege. Any new employer should be well prepared for it.As advised above, stop being taken for a mug and start pushing to be paid what you're worth. (or why do you think you're not worth it?)
I thought it was good fun!
I panicked a bit the first time when I took a bunch of water up (well, down) my nose but on the whole it was not a problem. I was the last person out of the chopper though as no one else seemed to do the count to five seconds thing once upside down, they were all unbuckled almost before the thing had capsized!
I panicked a bit the first time when I took a bunch of water up (well, down) my nose but on the whole it was not a problem. I was the last person out of the chopper though as no one else seemed to do the count to five seconds thing once upside down, they were all unbuckled almost before the thing had capsized!
A friend of mine worked for a few years as a chef on the rigs. 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off, he was earning annualy 4 times what a pub chef would earn for effectively 6 months work a year.
That's because it's st! It's dangerous to get to, dangerous to get back from, and dangerous to be on, compared to a normal job. And once you're there, it's like being in prison, but with less space and worse facilities.
100% of the people working on a rig are doing it for the money. Don't be any different.
That's because it's s
t! It's dangerous to get to, dangerous to get back from, and dangerous to be on, compared to a normal job. And once you're there, it's like being in prison, but with less space and worse facilities.100% of the people working on a rig are doing it for the money. Don't be any different.
Instead of demanding a specific sum I would wait for them to ask (or tell you). Then ask them what they propose given the significant/massive change in existing expectations/working practices.
Then set out all the things on this thread, the seven day week, the 12 hour shifts, the danger and everything else. As an aside, when you travel to a non-permanent place of work (i.e. your travel abroad) your should be getting credit for all the time you spend away. That is the law.
Rig workers get down time equal down time, so for three weeks on they get three weeks off less their travel time. They get paid their generous basic during their off time but also get a generous bonuses and uplifts for their time offshore.
Also get some large USB memory sticks fill them with all the latest films, porn and music you can muster. This is currency on board because there is literally nothing else to do other than work, sleep and eat. There is no smoking or drinking on the rig.
A very good friend of the family has worked in radar/electronic systems all his life, including lots of 'goverment' stuff.
He has been all around the world, and been is quite a few 'sticky' situations.
I asked him once what was the most scared he had ever been.
"on my way to a rig in the north sea, the helicopter had to ditch in the sea".
He said it in a matter of fact way!
He has been all around the world, and been is quite a few 'sticky' situations.
I asked him once what was the most scared he had ever been.
"on my way to a rig in the north sea, the helicopter had to ditch in the sea".
He said it in a matter of fact way!
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