London Sovereign

London Sovereign Employee Review

Lone working

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Tolworth - 23 May 2023

If you like working alone, not talking to anyone for 10 hours then is the job for you. 8 days on a row without a day off and constant change of shift patterns. Little help from management when there is an issue and a negative atmosphere in the garage. If you are a bad sleeper avoid

Pros

Pay rises thanks to the union

Cons

Bad work life balance

Ratings by category

1.0 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance

3.0 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits

1.0 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement

1.0 out of 5 stars for Management

1.0 out of 5 stars for Culture

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Same role

Long days no set schedule on some routes

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Harrow, Greater London - 19 June 2022

You end up working long days or even 10-12 days in a row after chasing over time , the duties are set out so one week you make a decent amount of money but another week your hours could be the bare minimum . The allocation staff are very bias and give all over time and rest days to their friends .Some duties are mixed times and days , one week you could be starting at 5am and the next week 1pm,Be prepared to never get a set weekly wage only average , sick pay is dependent on the length of time you have been there and even then it works out at the maximum of £50 a day. Overall not a terrible place to work for but management could be more supportive and acknowledge there staffUpon giving this company 5years of my life with a good service , when I left and handed in my resignation , the only reply I got from management was “ you are required to return all equipment “ no thank you no well wishes lol

Pros

Free travel on tfl

Cons

Longs days, no family life or social life

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Same role

Bus Driver Perspective at London Sovereign -Edgware

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Edgware, Greater London - 29 July 2019

Like all bus operators London Sovereign too are short in bus driver position. The main reason for this is the hourly rate for new drivers which is around £11.79 July 2019. Basically if a driver does only the contract hours that week 38, they will earn around £340-360, which is too low considering the difficulty and responsibilites of this role. Drivers working on this rate are pushed by allocation to do overtime, some end up doing 50-60 hours a week, which also puts passengers at risk and you get accidents on the road. If the drivers want they are allowed by the operator to work up to 16 days in a row and after they must have one day off. Only after two years service in the company the hourly rate will increase by £0.80-0.85. After completing three years in service a driver goes into the top rate. Like all operators there is collective pay rise every year usually 2-3 %. 70-80% off the drivers do not manage to get into the top rate as many leave, go to different operators or get sacked. There are duties on all routes that pay less than 7 hours and 36 mins, example a driver can came to work and do a duty that pays only 5 hours or 6hours and 22min...but unfortunatly if the duty is less than 7.26 London Sovereign does not pay minimum duty 7.36 like all other operators that pay minimum 7.36 even if the duty is shorter. When it comes to annual holiday the company is flexible, drivers can request dates. Most of the colleagues ( drivers) are friendly and helpful people.

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Same role

Nice place to work

Bus driver (Former Employee) - Edgware Station - 17 May 2017

There are some really nice people there that are willing to take the time out to help others and advise them on matters that they are not too sure on. As a bus driver you need to be patient as you will have people that are elderly or disabled and it takes them more time to get on and off the bus.