Grooms

[LizScott]

I know this is really in the wrong place but figured I'd get a better response in here...

Was just wondering what sort of hours/days a week any grooms out there do and what you get paid - do you get holiday/sick pay?

Just out of curiousity really!
Cheers!

 

[Morrigan_Lady]

Depends on what sort of yard your working on really.

When I worked at the race yard, I was there for about 7am and finshed around 5 in the evening, depending if we had any racing etc. If you went to the races, some times we wouldnt get back til labout 10pm or later.
I worked 6 days a week and I think I was on roughly £800 a month. Cant remember getting sick pay, but holiday was paid, although I never took any.

But when I ran a livery / competition yard, I worked a 5 day week, 8-5, had a company car, £5.50 an hour and had free livery for my horse! So it really does depend on the type of yard and the employer.

 

[jumpthemoon]

I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who works 40 hours a week, gets 23 days holiday and comes out with about £650 per month

I think she is one of the lucky ones as well!

 

[HDT]

Gosh how times have changed or I just worked at the wrong yard,

I worked for a yard in Clipston about ohh lets see...... 20years ago..

I worked from 6am to 8pm 7 days a week in summer and from 7am -8pm in winter.

I got a day off ....what's a day off... in two years I got about 4 or 5 days off.

As I lived on site in a run down caravan with no toilet, holes in the floor and no wash facilities, if anything happened after hours I was the one on the yard, sometimes up at 3am....

I got paid £100 per Month....

How I stuck it out so long I don't know...

I should have gone to a better yard in Newmarket or somewhere as they were much better to their grooms.

I have noticed that things have changed for the better and that pay is also dependable on experince as well.
Isn't it a good thing this minimum wage law came into force.

 

[jumpthemoon]

I know what you mean HDT - I worked on a hunting yard about 10 years ago and I had to be on the yard for 4am in the winter, 7am in the summer. There were two of us and 28 horses all on full hunting livery - we were allowed to go when we had finished our work, which was usually around 7-8pm! If we took longer than an hour for lunch we were in big trouble and got half a day a week off (if we were lucky!)

Saying that, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[Maesfen]

Crumbs, almost makes me wish I was young enough to be a groom again!

Back in the 70's my best wage was £12 a week for 6 days, 7 until we finished; that did include a flat, bills paid but we fed ourselves.
Holiday and sick pay - what the hell are they? If we were ill we either got booted out of bed or made to feel much worse cos we had let everyone else down by them having to take on the extra work!
You kids................(shakes head)..........don't know when you're well off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!