Kelly Communications
 

hi all now im looking for a new job iv just seen a advert on a job site for TRAINEE CABLE ENGINEER now has any1 got any feed back on Kelly Communications wot are they like as a company etc.

thanks iain

Re: Kelly Communications
 

The managing director looks like he's sitting on a broomstick :D

http://www.kelly.co.uk/Subindex.htm

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Aviod aviod aviod, Kelly communications are the worse ones to work for in the industry, their pay is based on intallations so if you don't do an install you don't get paid. Please aviod them at all costs.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

thanks for that nidge

Re: Kelly Communications
 

It's no problem mate, Kelly lost the contract round our way last year due to bad workmanship, I know a few lads who used to work for them who said the pay was terrible, if you are a 2 man team you get £12 per install that has to be split 2 ways, you both get £6. If you only do 1 install a day your not going to earn much per week.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi there i applied for a job as an installations engineer and havn't heard anything off them. Do you have any telephone numbers of managers i can call?

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Your best bet would be to contact the person/department to whom you sent your application.

:welcome: to Cable Forum by the way.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Thanks Raistlin. I know there is a Kelly Communications site somewere in Dudley or Stoubridge do you have their number as i wanted to find out if they had any openings there. I have had a look on the internet but couldn't find the place.
I have just phoned the number on the application form and they have said they are only recruiting down south.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Sorry, can't help you further - neither I nor Cable Forum have any direct links with Kelly Communications.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Thanks Raistlin.
I think i will phone up Avonline and try and get their number.
Kind Regards

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hmmm.... Noticed this morning on my way to work that there's a load of Kelly Comms vans at a largeish place just across the road from where I work. There used to be a load of ntl vans there a while back, but they all disappeared.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Is that the place in Huthwaite just of Common Road.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

It is indeed. Just off Common Road on Fulwood Road South.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Do not work for Kelly communications,unless you want to be out at work till ten o clock at night and be poorly paid for it!,thats if your lucky enough of course to be paid your wages on time!
Kellys is a company consisting of poor leadership,organization and communication skills,considering they are a communications company they are not very good at communicating the correct routes and wages for their staff.
Considering they are only a sub contractor to virgin media they are giving all their engineers and virgin media employees a bad reputation.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Fair enough, although this thread is almost a year old :) :welcome: by the way

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Ah buggery, wish I had seen this before. I have a telephone interview on Friday. Buggery..

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi All,

I have just completed an interview with Kelly communications, and I would like to warn the other ppl who have been contacted by them. They would hire me, but I'm going to refuse the offer....

1. There aren't any positive feedback on them so far.....it's quite obvious sign to stay away from them

2. They seem not to give a **** about anything.....for example they have promised to send me details via email, but they did not (maybe they are afraid of this because it can be used as evidence against them later)....after I left a voicemail they have replied via !!!!TEXT!!!!.....so unprofessional.....and they have done this on several occasions, even when we have tried to arrange the interview!

3. they're not honest, they have tried to cover details, and when I asked they did not provide clear answers

4. they did not mention that I need to pay for equipment, travel etc, but I have heard from previous and current techs that Kelly's going to refund it from the salary

there's a way too long list of concerns about this matter, too long to post it here, but if you read this, PLEASE AVOID KELLY COMMUNICATIONS for your own good!

and I would like to say thanks for everyone who have started threads about these vicious *******s, I would have ruined my life!!!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

2005 > 2009 - looks like they not even learnt from their mistakes...

Re: Kelly Communications
 

do not under any circumstances work for kelly communications, avoid like the clap!!
with the current pay scheme , even if you are on a daily rate, ever since they sacked their pay role department and out sourced it they charge you 60 pounds a month "admin fee" which cannot be claimed back on your tax return, the company siply take it from your wage , essentially you are paying for the privillage of getting paid . if the work dries up a little you get a call one afternoon to say you have a day off the next day and wont be paid, i have only recently resigned from kellys after 15 years after they lost the virgin media contract , no golden hanshake for me though, just the threat of deducting my wage if i didnt hand my used!!! uniform in, thats how this company opperates, stay away. reports of them winning a large contract for the hughes group on behalf of camelott are over stated, all it is is satalite installs or upgrades, ie: crawling round on your hands and knees in pokey grubby little corner shops or in large supermarkets during the night for no extra money, i'm sure before long they'll manage to cock this one up too !!!!!!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Not bitter at all then Mick????

You could do a bit of research before you spout of though fella to be fair, as "reports of them winning a large contract for the hughes group on behalf of camelott are over stated" is so far wide of the mark it isnt even in the same postcode area as said mark!

Very childish post, but then I dont expect anything else really ;)

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I take it you work for Kelly then ?

(and apparently know each other since you referred to him as "Mick").

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I do work for Kelly's and have done for 13 years now.

And yes, i do know Mick.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

i work for kelly coms also, they are possibly the worst company on the planet!!!
DO NOT WORK FOR THESE PEOPLE you will regret it!!!!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Re: Kelly Communications
 

just been having a laugh reading the comments on here,and thought i would throw a comment in.i have worked for kellys for 10 yrs on and off and i have to agree with the do not work for kelly comms people.Just lately things seem to be getting worse,so even though i do still work for them(love the job hate the company)i would recommend finding something else.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

hi. i went for the interview on thursday (3rd) and he told me that i will be paye. i will also get a diesel card, mobile phone and van and my salary will be £24,000pa. on average i will have to do 4 installs. sounds gravy to me :). any 1 know what to expect from the weeks training i have to do?

Brett P

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I suggest you read the rest of this thread as well as the one your in

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...ntractors.html

Re: Kelly Communications
 

cheers fella. hopefully i will get the answers im looking for as im leaving quite a good job

Re: Kelly Communications
 

how did you apply as the website always says no jobs, i am an servce and install tech for virgin media i got in though an apprentership an being doing it 2years now, 16 jobs a day 22min per job routed by people who cnt read a map and pda's from 2001 an 18,000 its wack

kellys sounds like a walk in park

any feedback about the job or were u applied

cheers

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I start my training soon with Kelly's, is it really this bad?
Was told I will be earning between £80-£120 a day.
And again training pay is £40 a day for 2 weeks and then 1 week will be
On the job paired up with someone, I'm in the herts area..... Also with the promise
Of loads of work coming up

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi Bazza, was googling Kelly Communicatins and found this. I know this is an old post but yours was earlier this year so thought I'd give it a go.
I just had an offer to start training next week, which I cannot do, but they are going to get back with another date. I just wanted to know if you went through with your training and still work for Kelly?

I was told I'd get £25 per installation and garunteed 5 installs per day, plus 3 weeks training hotel paid for (as I'm in devon).

Also who do they have contracts with now?

Cheers

Lee

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Anyone working for Kelly's? Been offered a start but all I seem to read is bad news?

Help please?

Re: Kelly Communications
 

BEWARE !!! KELLYS RIP U OFF

What a dreadful company.
After attending an induction+accreditation course (BT openreach) i started working for these people. After a few days it became clearly apparent that they could not organise a **** up in a brewery.
Nethertheless i foolishly stayed for two weeks in the hope that things might change. They didn't so i resigned. Returned van and tools as requested.
Now i find out they are not paying me for the time i worked. As they have a sneeky clause in contract that docs £500 if you leave within 12mths. What a disgrace!! When i rang the accounts umbrella company they said that everybody is informed at induction.
No i wasn't!!!
Absolute disgrace!!
Now seeking legal advice.
Please ..Please..beware.....do not join them.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I Agree BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY....
I also attended the training course which heavily pushed H & S although very quickly, only to find in the real world of Kelly all H & S is thrown into the wind.
After working in the field of 1 week I was placed on price work without any knowledge of being placed on price work and with out a phone where I could down load jobs. I was told to shadow another engineer until a phone arrived 3 weeks later.
The first i knew I was on price work was when I received my wages 75 pounds for a weeks work at 12 hours a day 5 days a week, on confronting the pay role I was given another number to talk to a manager who was more concerned on who had given me his number and basically had nothing to say.
Work is placed on your phone and opened for you, its not unusual to have 3 jobs placed on you at 16:30 hours and opened, looking like you are on the job in 3 places!
When contacting the powers above either the phone rings and rings or goes to voice mail, Managers don't want to know, your Field service operator will tel you to close jobs down either a Domestic fault or the Customer was not in, to bad if your the BT Open Reach customer who has stayed in or taken a day off work waiting for your new phone line or internet.
As for wages you are paid fortnightly through a 3rd Party who has no access to what hours or work has been done BUT charges you 12.50 including VAT A WEEK for the privilege of paying you every FORTNIGHT.

Kelly Managers seem to be only interested in getting the jobs off loaded on to the engineer and even if its dark still expect an engineer to climb poles and enter a BT Cabinet with a torch to fulfill the Managers quoter and Bonus.

I feel sad that a Company like Kelly can wreck a perfectly good business like BT and Kelly do not even have to go out looking for the work its handed to them on a plate.
ANY BODY CONTEMPLATING WORKING FOR KELLY PLEASE BEWARE.:rant:

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Connector, I would be very interested to see what legal advise you have been given in terms of being deducted £500 from kellys. I am in exactly the same situation. However i was paid for the training which was £540 for 9 days, then went on to work an additional 9 days before deciding that the company is a complete joke run by morons. I was expecting the pointless umbrella company to pay me £540 minus tax and their stupid fees for doing nothing. Instead i was paid £56. I looked into this and after weeks of phone calls back and forth and being fobbed off i discovered that i had been paid in full for the first 4days, then the second week i went out with a buddy (as the training was a joke!!!) and i had been paid £25 a day (price work not training wage) for 4 days not 5. So i was paid £340 instead of £540, and then all of that had been deducted due to the £500 training deduction. The £56 i received turned out to be a tax rebate and of course the umbrella company then taxed that and took of their fees as they havent a clue whats going on. In regards to the £500 deduction, i have contacted them many times about this as it was only mentioned in the umbrella company contract (which i did not sign) and therefore they have no legal right to deduct this. They just tell you to contact the umbrella company, then the umbrella company tells you they only pay you what they are toldto, so it is al down to keyys to sort it out but kellys wont have any of it. I want to take legal action against them aswell and was wondering what advise you have received and if there is any point in going ahead with it.

In terms of working for the company I would say NO NO NO NO NO! Dont waste your time and money on this ridiculous company. Bad pay, bad working conditions, bad management, bad training. On my first day we were asked to go to the head office for 7am, we waited until 10am before anyone came to talk to us. Then they went through a load of rubbish nd told us some home truths about working late which was never mentioned on the training. Then we were shown how to use our phones and had a chance to ask questions. Our main queston was how do we use our butt phone (new red ones that we hadnt been trained on because not even the training centre had been shown how to) Not one person in the whole head office knew how to use them but as the directors were in and complaining about us still being there we were rushed out of the car par and told to go to the stores to collect thing we need. After collecting stores it was 4pm. Unbelievably we were then sent alone to a job massively under trained. I was at my job until 8.30pm and had to go home as i couldnt see what i was doing in the dark and it was very dangerous to be up ladders on the side of the house weilding a hammer and powertools (no torch provided). I had to go back first thing in the morning to finish the job, fortunately the customer was very understanding. I should have told kellys to shove the job up their a*** right then, but foolishly i continued another 2weeks for nothing. DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY!!!!

Rant over.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi Bradge,

I think I was with you on the first day at the Kelly's office at 7am, I'm in the same situation and have now left the company as well. I wish I never started there. I am going to PM you.

I have to agree with you all I would advise anyone DEFINITELY DO NOT EVEN THINK OF STARTING TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY they WILL rip you off. The managers do not give a damn if you are paid or not slogging your guts out for up to 16 hours a day, they still get their cut for you doing all the work.

As for the £500 training fee nobody said up front from the agencies or Kelly's or the umbrella company. It stated on the emails that the training was paid for but didn't mention that you had to pay it back if you left after a certain time. It should of been made clear from the very 1st day. On the 1st induction day the umbrella company turned up were introduced said hello and disappeared never to be seen again. As for the first 2/3 days of training it was just form filling and not until the 4th week were the contracts sent out.

The amounts of times that both of these companies have breached their own contract when I worked there warrants that it is void. They like to cut corners & their favourite quote was "cover your arse" to get the job done. The fact that their work is all for Openreach and the amount of corners being cut due to not being trained properly or having the right equipment to do the job.

But that's not the only reason for commenting on this page, if Kelly's or their umbrella company think they can take the p*ss they are NOT going to have the last laugh when I've finished with them.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Anyone know if kellys give you training from scratch for the overhead line technician vacancys with kellys?ive got experience with virgin installing and doin mi installs so have an idea of provisioning and installing its just ive got a telephone interview this week.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi everyone,
Im new to this so please be gentle!

Ive also been offered a position at kellys as a telecoms installer putting in the overhead lines for openreach,
everything at the interview seemed a bit sketchy to be fair, i was told i will be getting paid a flat rate £25 per job with van, tools and fuel card provided.
No real idea of how many jobs a day you get given and how it actually works regarding recieving jobs etc,
Looking through most of the posts it doesnt look too good to be honest.
Im an ex sky installer but have been self employed for past few years,
it all seems very familiar, iv subbied for firms doing sky and we used to get paid per job, however it was sometimes 12+ hours worth of work a day with jobs upto 70 miles away!
It was a case of get your head down and get on with it.
I was looking forward to starting the training course and learning something new but im not so sure now.
I understand that you only ever hear the sh*t stuff about firms but is there anyone out there who can give an honest and varied opinion?
I fully expect it to be out in all weathers and rough with the smooth in terms of jobs, i dont mind this im used to it,
my main concerns are what radius do engineers cover, is it hours of driving?
How many jobs realisticley can a decent installer get through?
Is the training course (2 weeks) enough to get an idea of the job?
Any replies with a varied opinion of good and bad would be much appreciated,
Cheers guys

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hi shoot2thrill,

I just want to give my opinion as I had a bad experience and a few other people that I know of who started when I did last October have also left. Kelly's will work you very hard and it will be long hours here are a few things to consider:-

No cost to driving to work, just the time to get to jobs
You get a van, tools, fuel card and smartphone to pull jobs down.
You get £25 per job for telegraph pole work and £15 for MI (FTTC).
The first 3 days you will be signing lots of documents and have to pass a van driving test in Birmingham.
The training are BT accreditations and they are a refresher course not a full course and a City and Guilds course over 6 days in Coventry at PQMS.
You need to pay for all your travel expenses getting there and then claim them back at the end of the tax year.
When you get you van you take a coach to Dunstable and then have to drive back to the training in Coventry
You could be just driving for 6-8 hours a day before even making any money.
Days can be 16 hours plus early starts and late finishes.
You need to complete 6 jobs a day when you start anymore is a bonus.
Tools, fuel card and phone could take quite a few weeks to come and you.
Sometimes you are not supplied with all the tools needed for the job so you have to fail them.
The van tools are audited.
They could put jobs on you really late in the day and you don't have time to complete them and you have to send them back.
People have been known to be sent out on the MI jobs without any training and not all the tools needed.
Beware of the contract there is a clause in it if you leave before 12 months they charge you £500 for training.
Most times they don't put you up in a hotel if you are working away all week from home, so expect to drive 3-4 hours there and back everyday.
Beware of Labourforce who do the tax and pay you, make sure they pay you every 2 weeks and don't let Kelly's or Labourforce rip you off (I left 2 months ago and still owed money).
Openreach audit the jobs so if they fail that job you will not get a penny for all the work you did and will take the money back.
BT stores do not always have everything you need to complete the jobs the best ones to go to are the main BT hub stores.
Beware of faults in the BT network as if you do a lot of work and then find out it fails because of a BT fault.
Managers want all jobs closed by a certain time in the evening even if you have done most of the work and will ask you to fail them losing money.
You can't go back to the same job you did the day before you didn't complete (what happens is another engineer will do the rest and get all the money).
Be prepared to lie a lot.

I hope this helps.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

hi everyone,

just thought id give an update for anyone googling "working at kellys" like i did when i was offered a job.
it was with a bit of uncertainty that i accepted a job at kellys having read all the negative posts, i turned up at the training centre with alot of doubts. so il be as honest as i can about my experience so far

The training centre i attended was on a remote farm/industrial estate in the arse end of coventry, it was scruffy, dirty and VERY COLD! but to be fair it was the coldest winter for ages and building work was being undertaken to update the place.
the info and training given over the 2 weeks was just about adequate, (nothing to do with the blokes who taught us as they were spot on and very knowledable)
it was more to do with trying to cram in alot of info about BT aswell as a driving course AND a roadworks course into 12 days.
around 20 lads from all over the country attended and we were put up in a modern and comfy novotell with breakfast included and subsidised food and beer menu so no complaints.

On the last day of training i was contacted by my new team manager who told me i would be buddying up with an experienced engineer until further notice, shortly after the engineer then phoned saying he would come and pick me up on moday morning.
(I can say i learned more in a week out on the job than i did during the training course)

after the buddying up i was given a new van and tools, every tool i needed was there and i was told to get as much stock as i could from stores.
so far iv been getting between 4-6 jobs a day, il admit at first it was daunting but you soon find your feet and get into a pattern, latest iv worked is 7pm earliest ive finished is 12:30!
from what ive been told by various "suits" I think the days of piling on work and overloading the engineers are gone, as this just lead to lads quitting and shoddy work.
it seems to be all about quality more than quantitiy, something which BT are very keen on (almost to the point of being ridiculous)
the furthest i have worked from home so far is about 20 miles, which considering its not my diesel isnt a problem, most days im within 10 miles of home.
i get paid by a company called labourforce every 2 weeks and touch wood i havnt had any trouble so far, only downside is they take £12.50 a week for admin. the first few weeks on training wage are quite hard as it barely covers the bills but as soon as you feel confident enough i would ask to go on price work, which at the moment is £25 per job, thats £25 regardless if its a 3hour full install or a 10min faceplate change. so its swings and roundabouts,
only sh*t rule is if your "E-side" is faulty, they take £15 from your job to pay the guy who goes to fix it, even though its not your fault, so you could spent ages doing your pole and cabling to find your only getting £10 when you go to your cab to connect.
However i think kellys are slowly acknowledging this and quite a few guys from my team can now go and do there own E-sides

So overall i would say im glad that i took the job, it was either kellys or dole que??
for anyone who has done a similar role like sky or sparky they should pick the job up after a few weeks, however it does involve hard work and alot of common sense and innitiative, your TM will help you as much as he can but alot of it is trial and error until you figure it out yourself.
One thing that stuck in my mind was when TM told us kellys dont force us to work there.
if we dont like it we can quit, simple as really.
For anyone wanting to drive around in the sun and get home everyday at 2 then i wouldnt recomend kellys,
its physical work climbing and cabling in all weathers and sometimes you feel like slapping the customer and going home BUT you will also get brilliant customers and days when everything goes to plan, your home at 2 with £150 in your pocket!

Hope this helps

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I have worked for Kelly communications,they are the worst **** bags one can ever work for when you leave them they will make you pay for training and a lot other things. By the time the finish with you you will be owing them well over a £1000. Where have you ever seen a job like that. Stay away they are the worst of them. STAY AWAY I wish somebody had put a post like this before I joined I would not have even looked at the twice. WATCH OUT THEY ARE A RIP OFF.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

It does state in the contract that EVERYBODY signs at the beginning of employment that if you leave within the first 12 months kellys will take £500 from you, this is to cover the cost of training.
You get to keep your roadworks ticket and BT cred tho, bargain!!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

It appears Kellys have not changed one bit. I took redundancy from BT in 2004. I then went to 'work' at Kellys a few months later collecting stb's for NTL. The job itself was very easy and was quite good in monetry terms for a while. Kellys, however, were an absolute pile of you know what to work for. It took us weeks or months to get cab keys, tools and paperwork. Others actually walked out during training as what they were promised during the induction was never going to materialize. At the time the economy was good and jobs were plentiful. Quite a few who walked had left good jobs after being fed the Kelly bulls**t and believing it.
The van issues were appalling. My first one broke down on my first day. The recovery contract didn't cover the new areas we were working. Kellys had to send their own recovery truck from Dunstable to get me. I then spent 4 hours in Dunstable waiting for another van. 9 hours in total unpaid.
Far too many stories to type on here but from an ex-BT and and ex-openreach contractors point of view I cannot believe Openreach have let Kellys back into BT. They were fine with the new poling erection work as they had a set amount of work per day. Letting them into customers houses though is a different kettle of fish and god forbid if they go into the exchanges!!!:Yikes:
I spoke to an old contact at Hays and even he was shocked by the level of hatred towards Kellys. Bunch of cowboys!!
I've still got contacts at BT Openreach, former colleagues I worked with either out in the field or in the exchanges. They hate the Kelly's contract with a vengeance. Constantly clearing up because of pricework and under trained 'engineers'.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

[DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT WORK FOR KELLY COMMUNICATIONS!!!! I started in September 2012 and left after 3 months! No organization, pay awful, deductions for none complete jobs, no support, terrible training. We asked on our course if the posts were true on here obviously they denied it, but don't be deceived kellys are a awful company to work for! I am ex bt and this us a different world, if I didnt know the job I wouldn't last a week they shove new guys out in two days!!!!!

After leaving I received my SMALL wage for long hours and was glad to get out. After a few months kellys were on the phone asking if I would be willing to go back as they need skilled engineers, obviously I was very sceptable of this. My wife had a relocation so after alot of thinking gave kellys another shot after being assured things have changed! HOW WRONG WAS I, started back April 2013 with no van, tools or phone so no motoney for a month, then expected to work with a New engineer and train him and split the money we earn a day which would be between 50 and 75 a day as a new starter so for me 35 a day for 10 hours I THINK NOT. Since moving and working with kellys I have had no phone so have used my personal phone just to get jobs done and my first wage for 45 hours was £90!! I have found out that I am being deducted money for whn I left in November 2012! I was not aware of this, so not only do I get paid pittance they deduct further money of me!!!

I am now still fighting my money as my second pay Rota which is two weeks I worked 100 hours and have got £480 As yet further more stoppages! I am now left financially in turmoil, stress levels at a high and my family has been affected courtesy of kellys. Do not think this is a slag of to kellys!! ALL THIS IS TRUE DO NOT WORK FOR KELLY COMMUNICATION even if your desperate for a job I have learnt the hard way!

---------- Post added at 07:30 ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 ----------

Do not work for kelly mate please!

---------- Post added at 07:32 ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 ----------

do not work for kellys mate please!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

My ex partner started work for this company a few years ago. He did all the training and came home with his new van and all the tools and clothes were provided to do the job. Yes they were a bit slow with a phone and he had to use his personal phone for just over a week but he had unlimited internet use, where as before he did not use it, so no harm done. He was on basic pay for his training. But at that time we had just come off the dole queue and the money was welcomed even if it was training money. As he is already qualified in this field, he found everything easy and could not wait to start earning more money. In his first year he walked away with just under £30,000. He was sent away for a week here and a week there, but as Bradge stated in an earlier post they are starting to get their act together. (reading from previous posts). The hotels are ok and its a place to sleep and its clean, food is paid for up to a certain amount and subsidised in most places you stay in that this company have an ongoing contract with. So all in all if your willing to do the job and be away from home on occasions and want to reap the rewards, then this company is for you. The money is good if your willing to work at it to the point my ex was doing as many as 9 jobs a day, he was asking for more work. The only downfall is the MI side of things. You only get £15 a job yet long term men whom are contracted have £25 per job but actually getting £15 for MI. Yet again, if your willing to work at it you can cram the jobs in and still make your money. You either click at the job or you don't and you lose techs, swings and roundabouts. Personally I was happy for my ex to work away and look after the kids and work myself. I know from experience and living with a man whom works for this company and on the other end to what you guys are saying on here. Yet once again and I can not stress enough, if you are prepared to work at it and your away from home doing the job, as you do not have anything else to do so you may as well work, then go home on the weekends and live it to the full and do it all again on the Monday. I know they have started taking on Agency staff but I can not make comment on that as it did not affect us back then. There are a lot more companies worse to work for out there and it was better than being back on the dole. Yes they have their faults so do other companies and then again so do some of the people they employ? Basically if your a hard worker you will have a job for a long time there. Once everything is in position and you find your feet your laughing and can reap the benefits, if your not one of these people don't even bother applying or working for them.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Wilson12, if your ex BT and working in a two man team why is it taking you 10 hours a day to complete 3 to 4 jobs??

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Probably because he is doing the job properly and not bodging it like you lot. ;)

Re: Kelly Communications
 

All I ever do is bodge... the thought of running a cable and connecting two wires together at a designated point is just too hard to grasp!!
If only I could be a real "engineer" like the hard working boys at BT

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Running a cable and connecting two wires together? You obviously don't work on faults like the real 'engineers' do...

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Nope.....just riding round on my horse bodging every job like the cowboy that I am.
I dream of one day aspiring to the heady hights of BT faults engineer. Do I have to go to university and get a degree In rocket science for that tho??
Oh well I'l just stick to my 30k a year bodging with no weekend work thanks.

KELLY'S....DOING TWICE THE AMOUNT OF WORK IN A SHORTER SPACE OF TIME THAN BT SINCE 1998

Help
 

Hello, i am new to this site and have just had my first days training with kelly communications and was wondering if there was any one who can just tell me the facts of the company, like the whole truth, ive just had a look at the contract they have given me and in all honesty its given me 2nd thoughts... HELP ME!!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I know this is an old thread but please read and take note:

I cannot stress enough as a partner of an ex-Kelly Communications/Fault Finder Engineer -and this is very much my own personal opinion from my perspective of this company.........

DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY, IF YOU VALUE YOU'RE SKILLS, ABILITY, SELF-ESTEEM AND FAMILY/PERSONAL TIME

My partner was paid on average less a week than I was paid per day, in fact I can't remember any given week he earned more in a week than I earned in a day (ok so I am on a good daily rate but really.....he has far more technical qualifications and experience than me)

They sent him everywhere but the area where he lived, he worked no more than 3 weeks out of 7 months anywhere close to where we live and he has never had a job in the city we live in hmmmmmmm.

On his last day they couldn't have got him further from home if they tried apart from maybe sending him to Scotland which just goes to show as far as I can see the mentality of the company (my personal opinion). On his second from last day, they didn't give him any work at all, I can only guess that was suppose to be some glitchy-ish thingy (probably an IT thingy thing) hmmmmmmm

They would drop early morning meetings on him at the last minute and disrupt my early morning pre-arranged, pre-planned, well organised (some of us can plan more than 12 hours in advance) meetings and we have a child where childcare and drop off had to be arranged in advance.

His training was at best basic and he had no real on-going mentoring.

I would never have taken the communications from my managers that I saw come through from his and I work in a very male dominated industry but I have yet to have a manager speak to me in the context he received that I saw.

I have a son who is of army joining age and quite honestly (and you will not very often if ever hear a loving, committed and doting mother say this), I would rather he joined the army and fought on the front line in The Helmand Province than work for this company and that is my very honest heartfelt personal opinion, at least he would have a decent wage in comparison, some respect for his skills and role, decent training, relevant equipment and some self-respect.

Anyway, that's my opinion, take on-board what you will but this is my own personal opinion based on what I have seen, heard and lived. I begged my partner to give his job up and he didn't put up much of a fight about it, says alot in itself. I have even offered to pay any and all of his costs that he is required to pay such a training costs etc so that he can leave the company, that is how unhappy I am/was with him working for the company.

I actually worked out that he would take home more net earnings a week if he worked in a local shop on minimum wage between 9am - 3pm and I paid him £4.00 per hour childcare fees that I pay to our childminder (£95 per week).

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I had the misfortune to have worked for Kelly's as a contractor installing cisco routers. They are the perfect example of what you would describe as Victorian work house employment. I left as soon as I possible could and would NEVER EVER recommend anyone works for them, If you have any chance of getting any other job and that includes burger flipping take that first..

Re: Kelly Communications
 

hi there I have been offered a job with Kelly in cornwall are they all round bad to work for or is the cornwall area ok to work in please help as they would like me to start Monday coming

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Stay away from this firm as they are criminals, Irish Mafia. And they will kneecap ****ing head.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Anyone know a guy called Spencer, W, Yorks area?

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I think you will find its against forum rules to post peoples names on here.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Nothing wrong with that as there's probably a lot of people called Spencer W in Yorkshire or Spencer in West Yorkshire just as long as no further personally identifiable information is posted.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

:tu:

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Hello fellow cable guys,
I've been offered a position with Kelly's as an Overhead installation Tech, on the BT Openreach contract. Minimum of four jobs a day. This is on a Self Employed basis. Paying £25 per complete install and £10 if incomplete for any reason & £15 for BT Vision installs. My tax & NI are taken care of through Work force construction at a cost of £32 per fortnight. I have also been informed that should I leave with in 12 months I will be charge £500 for cost of training. So PLEASE PLEASE can you guys advise me as to how Kelly's currently work and how the employees are treated any pay issues and work conditions

Thanks

Re: Kelly Communications
 

In my very own personal opinion

Look very carefully at the job before you accept it, is self-employment really for you?

Pay is more often that not lower than your initial expectations in my experience (feel free to refer to my post in July)
The offer is a minimum 4 jobs a day but not guaranteed to be 4*£25 type jobs per day, some jobs such as commercial are not payable to domestic engineers for example in some companies, not sure how this works in this company - might be worth asking the question on how many £25 jobs you will be given the opportunity to attend on a daily basis based on other engineers work loads or if a commercial job is put on your job list, will you still get the £10 or £15 where you are not able to complete the job and vice versa
Locations of work in my personal experience are generally over an hours drive from your home town
Employed on a self-employed basis (have a look very closely at this), do you have a signed contract, have you got any part of the offer in writing?
Don't forget that you are responsible for your self-assessment which you will have to either complete yourself or pay for an accountant to complete for you - might be worth asking what else you are liable for in terms of expenses and/or materials if anything
If you don't work you don't get paid but you will still have to pay the full account administration charge of £32 they are charging you, how much would an accountant cost you to do your tax and NI - you will be shelling out £832 a year (£64 per month) for just your tax & NI to be administered through them? Does that administration charge include pension administration and/or self assessment assitance?
Check out your notice period too, you are expected to give a minimum of 2 weeks notice if you want to leave from my recollection

I would spend some serious time looking at this and in my own personal opinion consider potential alternative options, we paid the £500 training back as we worked out we were better off paying for my partner to be able to leave which speaks volumes in itself.

D

Re: Kelly Communications
 

You now get 2 weeks training which has been condensed down from what BT get 6 weeks. You get promised food allowance of £10 per evening at the hotel but this you have to pay yourself and then you should get this paid back into your fortnightly wages, to date this has not been paid and I have worked for Kelly's for a few months now, I have also been informed that this £10 daily allowance is subject to 20% tax and NI deductions. Whoopee, you get a Transit van, fuel card and a mobile phone which none are available for personal use so hardly a perk. If you can't make it in due to sickness, there's a good chance you will be billed for the van for that day as it's classed as unproductive! You get 0.9% support from your managers. You don't get the correct or at least working equipment to be able to complete your daily duties. The wages are outsourced to an external company for which your pay is deducted £25 per fortnight for the privilege of being paid what you have worked hard for. If the quality checker fails any of your work, there is a huge chance you don't get paid for it and it could be for something pathetic. You could complete 90% of the job and then find that you can't complete it due to something beyond your control so you won't get paid for that particular job!

In a nutshell, don't work for Kelly's! They are the most unprofessionally ran outfit I have ever come across and I won't be there for too much longer. Get a driving job for Asda, the pay will be better!

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I have worked for Kelly Communications twice now.
What you need to realise is that you are self employed , so there will be no baby sitting or mummy cuddling.
You are trained to do a job , a job which can be a little bit head scratching at times and hard work at other times.
If you complete a job you are paid in full , if you partially complete a job , which only happens to me say twice a week you get a reduced payment , which compared to the times i walk into a house and plug the phone in and its working is fine by me.
My wages have never been wrong , if i have been of for a hospital appointment or something similar i have never been charged a penny.
You are paid through an umbrella company and they charge as you say , and then at the end of the financial year you get a tax return which is normally over £1000 for the year.
I take home on average about £1150 a fortnight , which for a guy with no formal qualifications is great that's £30000 a year gross plus tax back , if you could all do better why would you even look at such a job.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Sorry i mean't £1000 a fortnight take home often more if i put the effort in which is about £32500 a year gross and get £1000+ tax back.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I wish I'd seen this 10 days ago. I've just come off one of their courses and wish I hadn't bothered.

1) Originally I was told it was £40 a job only to discover its £25 when I get there. No guarantees of how many jobs were mentioned. + other were saying you'll end up work 12-13 hours a day!!

2) HR wouldn't put anything in writing despite asking twice. The only thing they put in writing was the course info ( where / when and how long for and they even got that wrong )

3) Zero tolerance in drink and drugs. Understandable to a point but it was explain that even the smallest drop detected would result in dismissal. Bear in mind this is a course, we were told if we went to the bar to get a drink we'd be asked to leave!!

4) If you get to a job and you spend a few hours on it and can't rectify it, you get £10( that's would work out to be less than minimum wage )

5) during the course we were shown slides of peoples parking with the course tutor bragging about who he sacked for trivial reasons.

6) They wouldn't answer my questions on parking in the area I live in.

7 You don't work for Kelly you work for some umbrella company called work force. Look like kelly have completely disassociated themselves from the people doing the work.

8 The number of tests you given is bordering on stupid according to the people who fed up with the second week of the course that I spoke to.

9 If you leave with 12 months you owe Kelly communications £500!

10) There's a £1000 insurance excess on damage to the van. YOU PAY THAT!!

11)Your van will be randomly followed. They're waiting for you to not cone you van off or park up a kerb. In parts of London you'll struggle not to.

Not allowed to nip into Tescos with the van. What kind of nonsense is this!!

To be honest the list goes on and on. I only lasted a couple of days before I walked out.
This has to be the *****tiest company I've ever come across. They don't give a flying F about their employees .. sorry slaves.
so I'm really not surprised to hear all the bad stories about $****** service. Its probably because the installer is so naffed off with his job he's passed the attitude over to the customers.

The people I spoke to on the course were there for a JOB not a career. Everyone knew after a couple of hours on day one that this was not a career move it's just a job until they could find something else.

Why BT has given this company a contract is beyond me. I've not heard or read one good about them.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I remember the training course well and some most of your comments are true with regards to those 2 weeks , though rarely happen.
Its £25 a job completed £10 partially completed , I can do a full supply of a line including new drop wire in as little as an hour , which is rarely required these days.
It is true the job can be better depending on the area you are in , like most other jobs. I have not worked past 4 pm for a long time now but when I started I did for a few weeks , but you get better and quicker at your job over the first couple of weeks.
My experience with Kelly's has been positive , and as well paid as I am willing to make it , I have been feeling under the weather this week and so not achieved as much as normal but boy will I make up for it next week as that's gonna be my holiday money.
You could try applying for a job direct to Openreach , as they are employing at the moment , the salary is either £17000 or for experienced engineers £19000 which is capped at a max of £26000 in a few years , I constantly achieve £30000 + so its a no brainer for me.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Understandable "to a point"?!

If someone was coming in to my house to undertake work that involved electrics I wouldn't want him or her have any alcohol in them. OK if they've had mouthwash or something that's different but if they'd nipped to the pub for lunch and had a 'swift' half then I certainly wouldn't be happy with that.

By the way while we have no problem with members discussing their negative or positive experiences as VM contractors please be careful not to post anything libellous.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I totally agree , and also climbing poles in the street you need to be on the ball for your own and also the general public's sake.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Figure of speech. I didn't mean it literally. No one should be ****ed, but the instructor implied you'd basically have to change you religion to NEVER having a drink. Whether he meant it like I don't know but it sure as hell had everyone looking at each other.

Even if you have a drink on a Friday and come in on a Monday it can still be detected if you look hard enough.

against their rules. Whatever the rules are it it came across that way. NOTHING!!!!
especially when it was enforced that if we have a drink at the bar we'd be off the course. I rarely drink by the way.
It wasn't a good way to start.

I couldn't take the job because I know I'd lose it within days with the van be broken into round here ( it's rough around here !! ) and where and how I'd have to park it. It goes


If me and the other all got it wrong then they need better instructors and to be more upfront with job spec so no one wastes their time.
I'm going to try for Openreach and Mcnicholls who have the southern contract for virgin. I've come from a Networking background so shouldn't have any problems with this sort of work. I'm just disappointed at what I've seen and heard. I really can't see the problem in at least warning people with a what to expect honest job specification. It's not much to ask for.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

You are right that the company spends a little to much time stressing the negatives of what will happen if things are not done as they wish , but they do over stress the rules , it is not that strict at all , do your job , stay in contact with your sim and no skiving and all is ok.
Good luck with VM or Fujitsu which is the contractor , been there and never ran round so much in my life , now that is long hours to earn decent money.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Unfortunately Fujitsu only run the North of the country, so I was told. I live in London.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I know Fujitsu have the contract for the Midlands as I live here , hope you find what your after though , a lot of time is spent at work so you need to kind off enjoy it LOL

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I was on the course around the same time as you.............WHERE did you get the "not allowed at the bar" rubbish from? The hotel gave us all two free drinks at one point for having to move us to another hotel for one night and a few of us had a drink one night with the Course assessors!

The number of tests you take is MANDATORY and come direct from BTs requirements..............

You will owe Kellys £500 BUT...........they've paid you £660 to be there training for two weeks PLUS your hotel PLUS the training course....That sounds like a good deal to me! Those accreditations stay with you, its knowledge you will always have......

Van will be randomly followed??????????????? Hahahahahahahahahahaha

Get a grip mate, they've got over 2500 vans, the 'reality' is, if your being a pleb and not using your safety gear, some over zeluss BT auditor or even BT engineer will take pics and send them on.

Yes, you will pay the first £1000 if you damage a van THEY PAID £13,000+ for, if your driving is that bad that you need to worry about if YOU damage their van then its best you didn't take the job.

Your SELF-EMPLOYED, ive been self-employed for the national grid where you get NOTHING! Kellys at least try!

---------- Post added at 21:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:44 ----------

My Experience,

I did my training in march-2014.

For the training two weeks it was ridiculous, the information was crammed into you and everything was hurried, MOST of the trainers at PQMS were brilliant, I really enjoyed it tbh.

Once I completed the training I was put on buddying for a few weeks, I struggled to get a van, I was on £300 per week whilst buddying which was ok but I wanted to earn my own wage.

The "sim" (local manager) is useless...............I don't know if its the sims themselves or the limit of their positions but DO NOT expect help from your sim very often.

I have been on my self (after a lot of fuss about getting my own van) for 6 weeks now (ish) and have got upto 4/5 full completes per day and im home for between 16:30-18:30

GUYS.............my best advice I can give anyone looking at this is......remember....

A: Your self-employed
B: You MUST have self-drive
C: You need to have some logical thought process in you

****** D: Your hoist guy is your MOST important and valuable tool!!!! Make him your best friend, buy his dinner, get on your knees for him, when you do your full provide and need a new E-Side its the hoist guy you need, if you don't treat him like your best mate he wont help you!

Its not the best job in the world but I really enjoy the freedom and type of job, make your own choice and think about how physical and mentally taxing it can be but also......your ONE task is to get a single pair of wires from the customers house to pole, then get them joined to the cab where your E-Side should be...

Its not rocket science but hey, I couldn't use my laptop until last year lolol so each their own...

Re: Kelly Communications
 

I had to pay back 500 quid for a weeks training which was just filling forms (fast track)and climbing a pole ,if you want my advise try BT Openreach online as they are taking on 1600 new engingeers and they will not need Kellys or MJQuinns. Afterall their both ****,I know ive been there

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but does anyone know if this sort of job is still recruiting. tried a google search but showing nothing i live in scotland if this make any difference thanks in advance. registered with Bt for the open reach but thought i would try the self employed route if i could.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

i believe it is as i just recieved a phonecall from Kelly's

Re: Kelly Communications
 

kellys wont last not now BT recruiting

Re: Kelly Communications
 

hi dis any one now if i can youse a old yellow bt oscillator 87G with a bt 109j amplifier

Re: Kelly Communications
 

Any news on Quinns or Kellys regarding BT?

Re: Kelly Communications
 

well i have just been for an interview in Dudley as Kelly's..

rang me later that day and offered me the job and booked me on the training course.

So if BT are setting on, Why are Kelly's still setting on to work on BT.

ive been offered 2 jobs so im gonna look at the pro/cons of each one.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

ive heard bt are now going for 2400 engineers instead of 1600 so I cant see much future at kellys or mjquinns

Re: Kelly Communications
 

well I got the job as a Telecommunications Engineer. Start 22nd Feb. Anyone else starting then ? Got to give it a go, on the dole so here we go.

Re: Kelly Communications
 

hi everyone i have assesment day in st helens for kelly group for a trainee residential telecoms engineer. dose anyone know what this involves and is it hard?