Great Western Coffee Shop

SENIOR officers are leaving Sussex Police to become train drivers so they can double their salary.

In the last year between six and ten officers have left the force, or are in the process of leaving, to take up the job because there is little prospect of a pay rise if they stay, according to Sussex Police Federation chairman Matt Webb.

He blamed the Government, saying its unwillingness to pay officers properly was forcing the hand of chief officers and in turn seeing valuable members of staff – particularly those who are experienced and senior – embarking on a career change.

On train (trolley) catering staff who moved to the UK a few years back, and who make a significant part of our workforce, are leaving to return to the countries they moved from, and are proving hard to replace

From a contact within a TOC (not GWR)

Tens of thousands from EU countries including Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic work in restaurants, cafes and hotels in the capital. Many more EU citizens are employed in the City, the NHS, on building sites, at universities and in other jobs.

As London Mayor, Boris Johnson highlighted what was dubbed the  “Pret a Manger phenomenon” with thousands of young Eastern Europeans coming to the capital to work in fast-food and sandwich outlets, rather than young people already here doing the jobs. But a growing number of workers whose countries joined the EU in 2004 are now believed to be returning home after the Brexit vote and the slump in the value of the pound.