Lottery winners

[MOCAŠ]

News today of a group of twelve bus drivers that jointly won a lottery payout amounting to around £3m each. Seems at least half of the group resigned with immediate effect by phone, while one of them is reported to have parked up his bus mid-route and ordered his passengers to disembark.

What causes people to behave in this way? Surely it can't be the money alone? Don't they feel any sense of responsibility to the company they work for, or to the passengers that were relying on them to get to their destination?

I could understand it if the chap that abandoned his bus mid-route did so because he'd been taken ill, but there is no suggestion that he was incapable of completing his shift.

I hope the company sues them for breach of contract, but I somehow doubt they will.

 

[moonloops]

They are bus drivers quell surprise!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Now now Mocas, you don't normally like the kind of story with the words 'is reported to have' in.

 

[MOCAŠ]

They are bus drivers quell surprise!

Are bus drivers somehow less honourable than other members of society?

 

[Palfrem]

Loads of people get made redundant and sacked by phone, text and email, it's just the boot is on the other foot here.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Now now Mocas, you don't normally like the kind of story with the words 'is reported to have' in.

The story didn't have those words in it. I used them, as I am relaying what was reported.

 

[LTD]

They instantly had no need to work. They were probably in a state of shock and surrounded by close family.

How would the media have reacted if the bus driver was involved in a serious accident ? His head could not have been in the correct place at the time so he probably did the correct thing - albeit in an irrational manner. Money beyond his wildest belief would make many do irrational things at the onset.

If the drivers wanted to screw over the company, they would have signed off sick with stress and then served their statutory notice at the same time.

Their retirement opens the door to a dozen people coming off the dole.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Loads of people get made redundant and sacked by phone, text and email, it's just the boot is on the other foot here.

That doesn't make it right, though.

Even so, if the employer is making the decision, they will have taken steps to ensure the continued provision of whatever service they were offering. These employees don't seem to have given this a second thought.

Besides, other than in cases of gross misconduct, surely it's only the notification that might take the form of an email or phone call, rather than the dismissal itself?

 

[Darrell]

Their manager was interviewed on the radio.

He said he was having a bit of trouble filling in the shifts but wished them the best of luck for the future and said they were all good staff.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Have they all returned to Poland?

 

[moonloops]

Are bus drivers somehow less honourable than other members of society?

Yep

 

[MOCAŠ]

They instantly had no need to work. They were probably in a state of shock and surrounded by close family.

Having no need to work is one thing. Breaching your contract with your employer is quite another.

I know many people that have no need to work, yet they still do so because the take pride in their jobs. It can't be just about having no need to work.

What if you were a builder, halfway through building an extension, and you won the lottery. Would you walk off the job and tell your client to get stuffed?

How would the media have reacted if the bus driver was involved in a serious accident ? His head could not have been in the correct place at the time so he probably did the correct thing - albeit in an irrational manner. Money beyond his wildest belief would make many do irrational things at the onset.

Well, that's another point. How did the driver find out he's won this money mid-shift? It suggests that someone may have phoned him. Should a bus driver be taking phone calls while on duty – ie, while in charge of a bus. I think not.

Their retirement opens the door to a dozen people coming off the dole.

Retirement or resignation are both perfectly acceptable options in this situation. But for a bus company to lose (up to) a fifth of its workforce in one go, with no notice served is quite unacceptable. These people are thinking only of themselves.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Their manager was interviewed on the radio.

He said he was having a bit of trouble filling in the shifts but wished them the best of luck for the future and said they were all good staff.

That's very magnanimous of him.

 

[Palfrem]

I wonder just how much sh!t these guys have taken from their beloved customers over the years?

The bus company should have a contingency for sickness absence so not that many buses will be off the road, unless management efficiences have kicked in of course.....

Great news and now 12 people will get a job.

 

[renault12ts]

How many of us in the same situation would have done the same thing?

Me, that's one...anybody else?

Each of these guys has just won eff off money...and that's what they did.

 

[Palfrem]

Me too!

 

[markjay]

...What causes people to behave in this way? Surely it can't be the money alone? Don't they feel any sense of responsibility to the company they work for, or to the passengers that were relying on them to get to their destination?...

In a word, no. You live in the past, MOCAŠ.... when was the last time you got a bank loan based on 'strength of character'? Too many people just tick boxes and only work for their pay cheque. How sad.

 

[LTD]

I wonder just how much sh!t these guys have taken from their beloved customers over the years?

... and the employer ...

 

[MOCAŠ]

OK, for all those supporting these fellows, let me put it another way. If you came into some money, meaning that you didn't need to work for a living, would you simply not turn up for work again, or would you end the relationship with your employer in a reasonable manner?

 

[markjay]

How many of us in the same situation would have done the same thing?

Me, that's one...anybody else?

Each of these guys has just won eff off money...and that's what they did.

OK, for all those supporting these fellows, let me put it another way. If you came into some money, meaning that you didn't need to work for a living, would you simply not turn up for work again, or would you end the relationship with your employer in a reasonable manner?

I would like to believe that I would have called my boss, saying that I had great news and I just won the lottery, and would like to quit at the earliest possible opportunity, and what can he suggest please?