What it’s like to Work at The Gulls Grocery
Hello, I’m River! It’s likely that we’ve met by now, as I’ve been working part time at The Gulls Grocery for 4 months. As we revive our blog, I wanted to kick things off by introducing myself, and writing about what it’s been like to be welcomed into the team.
Ending up here has been a journey. I moved to Leith in August 2022 after 10 years in Brighton, on the south coast of England. I needed something different, a fresh start, and to close the gap in a long distance relationship. It’d been a long time coming, but it took visiting several times over the course of 2022 to finally decide that this is it, and I’m outta England.
It’s all felt a bit like a dream come true, and quite literally: in February, my boyfriend told me all about this new trans-owned co-op grocery store that had opened near his home. He told me about the most delicious pear he’d just eaten. I was a little giddy that somewhere like this existed. As he told me about it, I had a little fantasy of living in Leith, working in the store. I can’t believe it’s ended up a reality!
Working at The Gulls Grocery has been exactly what I needed to start feeling anchored and settled in a new community after a significant move. It scratched an itch I didn’t know I had, to have positive, silly, meaningful conversations with my neighbours about anything from carrots to the cost of living, or terrible dates. I’ve often surprised myself, heading into work in a grouchy mood, only to come away energised and happy. It’s not often you can say that about work.
In fact, the majority of my experiences with work have been pretty tough. I’ve mostly held cleaning and care roles, sometimes several at once, each with different levels of formality and working rights. Many of these were the kind of jobs where even if you’re really sick, you’re not able to take a day off, because there’s nobody to cover and it could leave a client at risk. I’ve had jobs where because it’s slightly above minimum wage, you don’t receive holiday pay. Or where there hasn’t been a contract at all, so I haven’t even known what I’m entitled to, and not felt able to ask. Most recently, I’ve been contracted to complete tasks, rather than a set number of hours per week. This has led to unpredictable income.
The prevalence of these conditions may come as a surprise to folks who’ve followed a traditional career path, or always worked as part of a company. For many folks however, these poor and often illegal working conditions are increasingly the norm, particularly in light of the gig economy. ‘Gig economy’ refers to a labour market where workers are paid for the completion of tasks, as opposed to being paid for their time, often under short-term contracts or as self-employed freelancers. This includes workers for companies such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber, as well as freelance artists.
Precarious working conditions under the gig economy are a growing issue in Edinburgh. In 2021, Edinburgh Council commissioned a Gig Economy Task Force to investigate, and their 2022 report noted that ‘the growth of the sector has been associated with concerns over low rates of pay, poor income security, risk of in-work poverty, poor opportunities for progression, as well poor working conditions and worker safety’. Over the course of the pandemic, which has come with employment insecurity for many of us, the gig economy has grown by 25% across the UK. In 2021, almost 7% of all jobs in Edinburgh were described as ‘non-contractually secure’, and zero hours contracts accounted for 3.2% of all jobs in Scotland, an increase of 50% over 5 years.
So, against this labour market, and my own experiences of precarious employment in the last few years, I was shocked to learn last November that I would still get paid while on holiday!
While I’ve been loving getting to know the community and learning how the shop works, there’s also been a real pleasure in knowing that I’m being employed in a fair way. I love that I’m not expected to attend team meetings for free. I have a clear contract, which offers me sick pay and holiday pay. I’m an equal member of the team, and my input and suggestions count. I’m paid the living wage. I’m even being paid to write this blog post. These little things make me feel cared about as a team member, and protect against the sense of burn-out and grueling resentment that can begin to accompany work. I’ve certainly been there.
So with that, I’m off to get ready for another shift. Something I’m looking forward to, even though it’s a weekend. Maybe I’ll see you there!