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Royal Head Gardeners
Seems a bit under paid to me, even if it does come with a tied flat.
"The going rate for a senior royal gardener has increased significantly since October when the Queen offered £15,750. Two months later, she is advertising the same job at £17,000, an increase of 7.9 per cent. The 39-hours-a-week job comes with accommodation in central London and involves heading a team of three or four gardeners, maintaining the lawns at the palace "to the highest standards" and tending to the shrub, herbaceous and rose borders. The applicant must have a “keen interest in conservation and organic practices,” be willing to conduct wildlife surveys, and will have to carry out “leaf clearing operations on all surfaces, paying particular attention to the shrub beds by not using machinery, which will encourage the development of the wildlife.” Full article: Queen gives gardeners a pay hike - Telegraph |
Royal Head Gardeners
On 12/12/2011 08:33, Granity wrote:
The applicant must have a “keen interest in conservation and organic practices,” Did someone at Highgrove write the advert? ;-) -- Jeff |
Royal Head Gardeners
On Dec 12, 12:29*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-12-12 12:18:09 +0000, Janet said: In article , Granity.95b7356 @gardenbanter.co.uk says... Seems a bit under paid to me, even if it does come with a tied flat. "The going rate for a senior royal gardener has increased significantly since October when the Queen offered £15,750. Two months later, she is advertising the same job at £17,000, an increase of 7.9 per cent. The 39-hours-a-week job comes with accommodation *Not free though. "There is an option to live in accommodation provided, in which case there will be a salary adjustment." *see http://www.horticulturejobs.co.uk/jo...ener-12-month- contract-/ * This *matches rates for Assistant Head Gardeners paid by the National Trust for Scotland at some of the nations most famous gardens. (iirc, Head gardeners have reached the dizzy heights of £20K) While Trust head gardeners get tied-house accommodation while in post, they lose it on retiral; and *the likelihood of having been able to get a mortgage big enough to buy a place in preparation for retirement, is minimal. NT career gardeners have often been the preferred training ground for Head Gardeners recruited for private gardens. * Newly trained, fully qualified and certificated professional gardeners for the NTS Trust have a starting rate of about £12 K; minimum wage. They used to get NTS tied housing but that ceased so that the NTS can let out the previous staff accommodation as holiday lets at tourist rates far higher per week than gardeners entire wage. As a result they are having extreme difficulty recruiting entry-level garden staff, which makes one wonder.... who will become the head gardeners of the future. * * Janet To our certain knowledge, NT gardeners at the top level also leave because they are bogged down in paperwork and get to spend less and less time in the garden. *We've known 3 do that over the last few years and go into private work. -- Sacha- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - When I attended Professional Gardeners' Guild meetings the predominant topic of conversation amongst the NT gardeners was Trust politics and I know at least one of them had to spend a good deal of time fighting trust officials to be allowed to do the job his way rather than letting the very well known garden become just another NT garden. As for Royal gardeners, I once interviewed a guy who'd spent some time at Sandringham which I was tempted to view as a plus until he told me he'd spent 6 months of that behind a rake on the gravel - at least he was honest. Wage rates vary widely with office bound heads on very wealthy estates paid hugely more than much better head gardeners in jobs where they're leading from the front. I'd just about got to £18K and a house when I retired 5 years ago. The good news for us is that there's a house for us until we're both dead. I'm amongst the last on that deal and the quid pro quo was that wages were low and we were expected to be available pretty much 24/7. They are very good employers amongst a very mixed bunch. With college training now very poor or almost non existent and starting wages so low, Janet is right to be concerned for the future supply of good gardeners and it's already showing in the quality of many well known gardens. Part of it is an attitude problem amongst public, employers, schools and teachers who seem to think 'anybody can do a bit of gardening' and so they pay wages appropriate to the perceived skill level and get results accordingly which reinforces their prejudices. I once overheard a careers teacher say something to the effect of 'he's nbg, send him to the parks. (BTW - Park apprenticeships were another source of good recruits and they've almost gone). Rant over, It gave me a good life and a secure retirement but not much money. Anybody interested to know about 'real' head gardeners should read 'The Man who collected trees' a biography of David Douglas (Of the eponymous fir) We are all nonentities compared with such people. Rod |
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Royal Head Gardeners
In message , Granity
writes[color=blue][i] [color=green][i] ;944019']On Dec 12, 12:29*pm, Sacha wrote:- On 2011-12-12 12:18:09 +0000, Janet said: - In article , Granity.95b7356 @gardenbanter.co.uk says...- - Seems a bit under paid to me, even if it does come with a tied flat.-- -- "The going rate for a senior royal gardener has increased significantly since October when the Queen offered £15,750. Two months later, she is advertising the same job at £17,000, an increase of 7.9 per cent.-- -- The 39-hours-a-week job comes with accommodation-- - *Not free though. "There is an option to live in accommodation provided, in which case there will be a salary adjustment." *see- - 'Senior Gardener (12-month Contract) with The Royal Household | 306677' (http://tinyurl.com/d8oa69a) contract-/- - * This *matches rates for Assistant Head Gardeners paid by the National Trust for Scotland at some of the nations most famous gardens. (iirc, Head- - gardeners have reached the dizzy heights of £20K) While Trust head gardeners get tied-house accommodation while in post, they lose it on retiral; and *the likelihood of having been able to get a mortgage big enough to buy a place in preparation for retirement, is minimal. NT career- - gardeners have often been the preferred training ground for Head Gardeners- - recruited for private gardens.- * Newly trained, fully qualified and certificated professional gardeners for the NTS Trust have a starting rate of about £12 K; minimum wage. When I attended Professional Gardeners' Guild meetings the predominant topic of conversation amongst the NT gardeners was Trust politics and I know at least one of them had to spend a good deal of time fighting trust officials to be allowed to do the job his way rather than letting the very well known garden become just another NT garden. As for Royal gardeners, I once interviewed a guy who'd spent some time at Sandringham which I was tempted to view as a plus until he told me he'd spent 6 months of that behind a rake on the gravel - at least he was honest. Wage rates vary widely with office bound heads on very wealthy estates paid hugely more than much better head gardeners in jobs where they're leading from the front. I'd just about got to £18K and a house when I retired 5 years ago. The good news for us is that there's a house for us until we're both dead. I'm amongst the last on that deal and the quid pro quo was that wages were low and we were expected to be available pretty much 24/7. They are very good employers amongst a very mixed bunch. With college training now very poor or almost non existent and starting wages so low, Janet is right to be concerned for the future supply of good gardeners and it's already showing in the quality of many well known gardens. Part of it is an attitude problem amongst public, employers, schools and teachers who seem to think 'anybody can do a bit of gardening' and so they pay wages appropriate to the perceived skill level and get results accordingly which reinforces their prejudices. I once overheard a careers teacher say something to the effect of 'he's nbg, send him to the parks. (BTW - Park apprenticeships were another source of good recruits and they've almost gone). Rant over, It gave me a good life and a secure retirement but not much money. Anybody interested to know about 'real' head gardeners should read 'The Man who collected trees' a biography of David Douglas (Of the eponymous fir) We are all nonentities compared with such people. Rod It certainly puts into perspective the chap on here a while ago moaning that people wouldn't pay him £20/Hr to do their gardening work, for a 39Hr week that would have given him a salary of over £40,000 per year. 1) He wouldn't be working 52 weeks of the year. 2) He would have overheads. -- Granity -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Royal Head Gardeners
On Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:46:51 -0000, Janet wrote:
Jobbing gardeners would struggle to get 39 paid working hours per week. They don't get paid when in transit between clients, for down time when the weather is too bad, or when summer clients don't require their services in winter. I asked the Chimney sweep we use the other day what he does in Summer. Turns out he does gardening work as well though it is more cutting grass and generally tidying around commercial premises rather than delicate Horticulture. He reckoned he was quite fortunate to have two parts of a business whose seasonal requirements complimented each other. G.Harman |
Royal Head Gardeners
On Dec 13, 8:19*am, Granity
wrote:[color=blue][i] ;944019']On Dec 12, 12:29*pm, Sacha wrote:- On 2011-12-12 12:18:09 +0000, Janet said: [color=green][i] - In article , Granity.95b7356 @gardenbanter.co.uk says...- - Seems a bit under paid to me, even if it does come with a tied flat.-- -- "The going rate for a senior royal gardener has increased significantly since October when the Queen offered £15,750. Two months later, she is advertising the same job at £17,000, an increase of 7.9 per cent.-- -- The 39-hours-a-week job comes with accommodation-- - *Not free though. "There is an option to live in accommodation provided, in which case there will be a salary adjustment." *see- - 'Senior Gardener (12-month Contract) with The Royal Household | 306677' (http://tinyurl.com/d8oa69a) contract-/- - * This *matches rates for Assistant Head Gardeners paid by the National Trust for Scotland at some of the nations most famous gardens. (iirc, Head- - gardeners have reached the dizzy heights of £20K) While Trust head gardeners get tied-house accommodation while in post, they lose it on retiral; and *the likelihood of having been able to get a mortgage big enough to buy a place in preparation for retirement, is minimal. NT career- - gardeners have often been the preferred training ground for Head Gardeners- - recruited for private gardens.- * Newly trained, fully qualified and certificated professional gardeners for the NTS Trust have a starting rate of about £12 K; minimum wage. When I attended Professional Gardeners' Guild meetings the predominant topic of conversation amongst the NT gardeners was Trust politics and I know at least one of them had to spend a good deal of time fighting trust officials to be allowed to do the job his way rather than letting the very well known garden become just another NT garden. As for Royal gardeners, I once interviewed a guy who'd spent some time at Sandringham which I was tempted to view as a plus until he told me he'd spent 6 months of that behind a rake on the gravel - at least he was honest. Wage rates vary widely with office bound heads on very wealthy estates paid hugely more than much better head gardeners in jobs where they're leading from the front. I'd just about got to £18K and a house when I retired 5 years ago. The good news for us is that there's a house for us until we're both dead. I'm amongst the last on that deal and the quid pro quo was that wages were low and we were expected to be available pretty much 24/7. They are very good employers amongst a very mixed bunch. With college training now very poor or almost non existent and starting wages so low, Janet is right to be concerned for the future supply of good gardeners and it's already showing in the quality of many well known gardens. Part of it is an attitude problem amongst public, employers, schools and teachers who seem to think 'anybody can do a bit of gardening' and so they pay wages appropriate to the perceived skill level and get results accordingly which reinforces their prejudices. I once overheard a careers teacher *say something to the effect of 'he's nbg, send him to the parks. (BTW - Park apprenticeships were another source of good recruits and they've almost gone). Rant over, It gave me a good life and a secure retirement but not much money. Anybody interested to know about 'real' head gardeners should read 'The Man who collected trees' a biography of David Douglas (Of the eponymous fir) We are all nonentities compared with such people. Rod It certainly puts into perspective the chap on here a while ago moaning that people wouldn't pay him £20/Hr to do their gardening work, for a 39Hr week that would have given him a salary of over £40,000 per year. -- Granity- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Just in case you missed a post of mine on this subject a few weeks ago. I said hourly rates are not always what they seem. I friend of mine was doing a particular job (mostly mowing and strimming for about £35 a time.) It took him about 1 1/2 hours - his own machines and all arisings removed. The folk in question found someone to do it for £8 per hour. He made of a day of it and filled the owners' brown recycle bins, then his mower broke down and he had to come back the following day to finish it. Rod |
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Royal Head Gardeners
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2011-12-14 12:32:16 +0000, kay said: ;944185 Wrote: On Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:46:51 -0000, Janet wrote: I asked the Chimney sweep we use the other day what he does in Summer. I thought chimney sweeping was a summer occupation - ie it's something you want to get done when you don't need to use the chimney. And you need to check your insurance policy to see if there's a date by which your chimney must be swept. Some have it, some don't. -- Sacha I was a Father Christmas at a function a few days ago. I asked the children if they had a chimney I could get down. If the answer was no, I told them I 'magicked myself' through the front door. ;-)) Mike -- .................................... I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight. .................................... |
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