What are you looking for in Airsoft?

[Prisce]

Why stop for lunch? Eat in the field.

Well because it’s law.

Marshalls are employees, paid or not, and as such are entitled to 1 hours lunchbreak in 8(?) hours work. 

agree, stopping for an hour, or more if the staff are slack in getting players fired up, really takes the impetus out of the day, especially us old 'uns who get all stiff & knackered if we sit down, I'd much rather play through just taking the odd bite between games.

But then im not the site organiser who's prob making a lucrative cash wedge from overpriced burgers & drinks ?.

 

[E21A]

agree, stopping for an hour, or more if the staff are slack in getting players fired up, really takes the impetus out of the day, especially us old 'uns who get all stiff & knackered if we sit down, I'd much rather play through just taking the odd bite between games.

But then im not the site organiser who's prob making a lucrative cash wedge from overpriced burgers & drinks ?.

All the sites I’ve been to include lunch in the game fee ?

 

[Rogerborg]

Marshalls are employees

That's a deep, deep rabbithole to go down.

If you consider playing without paying as payment in kind, can marshals claim statutory sick pay, maternity leave and pay, or compensation for unfair dismissal?

 

[Prisce]

That's a deep, deep rabbithole to go down.

If you consider playing without paying as payment in kind, can marshals claim statutory sick pay, maternity leave and pay, or compensation for unfair dismissal?

You say that, but if you were the marshal what would you expect? 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know there is a lot more to it, but being a volunteer myself(not in Airsoft) I know that my volunteer “bosses” have a duty of care towards me, that includes making sure I have the correct Working Time breaks for the time I have worked. 

Marshalling should be no different. 

Admittedly i should have worded it better, they are not employers if they are not paid, they are volunteers, but the same basic rights apply.

Now, your right in what you say about SSP, Maternity, and unfair dismissal, they are not entitled to these, because they are volunteers. 

However, “working” 6 hours in the day entitled them to at least 1 20minute break with no interruptions.

Now, if you have a big site, Marshall’s shall be working over lunch, but a shift pattern for lunch would probably be used, and if there are a lot of Marshall’s, which most big sites have, then this could take the hour to allow all of them to have had the break they require.

 

[Tackle]

Well because it’s law.

Marshalls are employees, paid or not, and as such are entitled to 1 hours lunchbreak in 8(?) hours work. 

Lol, what are we, rufty tufty men that run around trying to inflict pain on others, or are we snowflakes, I've marshaled plenty of times before, it's not hard graft & prob the easiest job to munch on the go.

if a site decided that its clients deserved (or asked for), a full days gaming with minimal interruptions, I'm sure any marshal that started quoting lawful rights to breaks would soon find his weekend "work" drying up.

All the sites I’ve been to include lunch in the game fee ?

I've been to plenty that don't, not so many these days though, but generally all the other stuff, bottles/cans & sweets etc are at a premium.

in fact ages back was asked to write a business plan for a site, when I got to the costing of refreshments/grub etc, the mark up was astronomical, definitely a very lucrative addition to green fees.

 

[E21A]

Lol, what are we, rufty tufty men that run around trying to inflict pain on others, or are we snowflakes, I've marshaled plenty of times before, it's not hard graft & prob the easiest job to munch on the go.

if a site decided that its clients deserved (or asked for), a full days gaming with minimal interruptions, I'm sure any marshal that started quoting lawful rights to breaks would soon find his weekend "work" drying up.

I've been to plenty that don't, not so many these days though, but generally all the other stuff, bottles/cans & sweets etc are at a premium.

in fact ages back was asked to write a business plan for a site, when I got to the costing of refreshments/grub etc, the mark up was astronomical, definitely a very lucrative addition to green fees.

Yea that’s true, but there is always the option to bring your own. 

I guess im a bit biased as I’m basking most things on my local site that doesn’t even really make up pyro that much. 

 

[Prisce]

Lol, what are we, rufty tufty men that run around trying to inflict pain on others, or are we snowflakes, I've marshaled plenty of times before, it's not hard graft & prob the easiest job to munch on the go.

if a site decided that its clients deserved (or asked for), a full days gaming with minimal interruptions, I'm sure any marshal that started quoting lawful rights to breaks would soon find his weekend "work" drying up.

I've been to plenty that don't, not so many these days though, but generally all the other stuff, bottles/cans & sweets etc are at a premium.

in fact ages back was asked to write a business plan for a site, when I got to the costing of refreshments/grub etc, the mark up was astronomical, definitely a very lucrative addition to green fees.

Now I am not the type that usually gets involved in this type of view but it doesn’t matter what you think.

The Law is the Law, your going to kill someone because your a “Rufty Tufty” man? No,because it’s breaking the fucking law.

Your Naive statement about it being easy doesn’t matter, being a shop assistant is easy, picking up litter is easy, driving is easy. They all still get breaks. 

Now if you choose that you don’t want to take your lunch break, and I am in this group, I rarely take my full lunch break, then that’s your choice, your opinion.

You don’t get to force that on anyone else.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Not to mention i'm sure we'd all rather our marshalls were concentrating on the game rather than their sandwiches.

 

[Immortal]

Good grieef, it's a job that's most likely one day every two weeks....

.... and people are talking about maternity leave! lol :lol:

I just cried a tear down one leg. Again.

 

[Tackle]

Now I am not the type that usually gets involved in this type of view but it doesn’t matter what you think.

The Law is the Law, your going to kill someone because your a “Rufty Tufty” man? No,because it’s breaking the fucking law.

Your Naive statement about it being easy doesn’t matter, being a shop assistant is easy, picking up litter is easy, driving is easy. They all still get breaks. 

Now if you choose that you don’t want to take your lunch break, and I am in this group, I rarely take my full lunch break, then that’s your choice, your opinion.

You don’t get to force that on anyone else.

Seriously,fucking lol, nobody's disputing the sometimes half arsed laws of the country, but I doubt there's a marshal in the country, paid or volunteer, that has an employment contract, nor a site organiser that's gonna listen to some bleeding heart liberal complaining about their rights to a break ffs, especially as most dedicated Marshalls spend probably 80% of their day standing around with their hands in their pockets chatting & drinking tea etc, its a hard life.

most would probably argue that the usual 20 minute intermission between games while players sort their shit out could be considered a break ?.

naive......bollocks

 

[Prisce]

Seriously,fucking lol, nobody's disputing the sometimes half arsed laws of the country, but I doubt there's a marshal in the country, paid or volunteer, that has an employment contract, nor a site organiser that's gonna listen to some bleeding heart liberal complaining about their rights to a break ffs, especially as most dedicated Marshalls spend probably 80% of their day standing around with their hands in their pockets chatting & drinking tea etc, its a hard life.

most would probably argue that the usual 20 minute intermission between games while players sort their shit out could be considered a break ?.

naive......bollocks

Normally I would agree with what you say, heck half of your posts I’m right there with you, but here is where we are poles apart.

It doesn’t matter what your views are here, everyone is entitled to a break at work.

Your views on this are dangerous, and to be honest, rather archaic. In a time where everything is about equality and people being treated the same, no one should be victimised into thinking taking a break is weak, and that’s exactly what your first statement is indicating you believe.

I worked for 4 years in an industry where there are almost no rules, I regularly worked 80-100 hours a week with no breaks, but it was my choice. I didn’t go around telling people who had 8-5 jobs with an hour lunch break that they are “snowflakes” because they didn’t do the work I did.

If a site organiser doesn’t listen to his staffs plea’s about breaks, then he is liable to be sued, and in a employment tribunal he would lose. 

Where you say the 20 mins between games could be seen as a break, I would tend to agree with you, but the law doesn’t. The law is very clear that it should be an uninterrupted break, so if bobby rental goes and has a chat with him about his gun/the site or anything remotely to do with Airsoft it doesn’t count. 

I don’t see many sites where Marshall’s get away with being uninterrupted for more than 5-10mins.

Im gonna leave this as one of those where we agree to disagree, because I can see I’m getting nowhere!

 

[Tackle]

Normally I would agree with what you say, heck half of your posts I’m right there with you, but here is where we are poles apart.

It doesn’t matter what your views are here, everyone is entitled to a break at work.

Your views on this are dangerous, and to be honest, rather archaic. In a time where everything is about equality and people being treated the same, no one should be victimised into thinking taking a break is weak, and that’s exactly what your first statement is indicating you believe.

I worked for 4 years in an industry where there are almost no rules, I regularly worked 80-100 hours a week with no breaks, but it was my choice. I didn’t go around telling people who had 8-5 jobs with an hour lunch break that they are “snowflakes” because they didn’t do the work I did.

If a site organiser doesn’t listen to his staffs plea’s about breaks, then he is liable to be sued, and in a employment tribunal he would lose. 

Where you say the 20 mins between games could be seen as a break, I would tend to agree with you, but the law doesn’t. The law is very clear that it should be an uninterrupted break, so if bobby rental goes and has a chat with him about his gun/the site or anything remotely to do with Airsoft it doesn’t count. 

I don’t see many sites where Marshall’s get away with being uninterrupted for more than 5-10mins.

Im gonna leave this as one of those where we agree to disagree, because I can see I’m getting nowhere!

I too see the logic in 99% of your posts, I'm not even disagreeing with the rights to breaks, heck I'm old enough to have worked in industries the were unionised closed shops where breaks were to the minute & you'd be spoken to if you didn't down tools instantly, I've even been a shop steward ?, but the flip side is that if the work demanded I work through, & hopefully get a break when its more convenient, then that's more than fine with me.

point I'm trying to make amicably is that nowadays sometimes we need to a bit more flexible in business in order to be a success, if I was a boss in this game is have no qualms in pointing to my "employees" that if the events we're involved in demand it, whether its by accident or pre-planned, then I'd expect that same flexibility from them.

What's really laughable is that a genuine employee can demand a break, but the same employee can be dismissed at any time if they have been there less than two years, or that a person who's been there 30 years could get the same redundancy as one that's been there 3 years.

thank David Cameron for that ?

 

[clumpyedge]

Coming from a working marshal heres my view point on it....

I work a 50 odd hour a week job sometimes more if work needs it, I also work for an Airsoft site every other Sunday so I'm regularly working 6 days a week majority of the year (so a break even a small one is welcomed). When I marshal generally I take snacks out with me into the field including drinks etc so I'm kept going through the day. Players come to the site and most expect to have a lunch break, on the odd occasion we have players asking to play through we will run a small game in one of our smaller game zones to keep those people happy (but people very very rarely ask for this).

Majority of players, and I can say this for a lot of sites I've been to over the time I've been playing find it hard enough to fathom the concept of quick turn arounds, people will stand and chat or play on their phones... pretty much doing anything bar loading up and getting their shit squared away for the next game.

Having an hour/45 mins for lunch isn't such a big deal in my opinion because not only is there regularly a lot of people to feed but there is also a hell of a lot of people that appreciate the time to have a sit down and chat with friends, one chap for instance I know for a fact that coming to airsoft is one of his only opportunities to socialise because for whatever reason doesn't get to outside of airsoft.

While I also agree that if I'm paying a fee to play I should be doing just that but I also can appreciate why sites have a longish lunch (some I've been to go out into the game zone and change barricades around etc) and not forgetting that there are people that are playing that may need the break as they may not be as fit as the 30 odd 14-30 year olds running round like rabid gazelles.

I would suggest if you go to a site with breaks that are beyond what you deem as acceptable you maybe have a word with them in a constructive way. They may be able to offer to do a small game while others are eating or they may just start to hurry things along a bit more.

Cant hurt to ask.

 

[Marauder211]

I'd like to see shops (in south wales) that are dedicated to selling airsoft equipment from basic BDU to various guns.

Things like riot shields being banned entirely from airsoft as they provide an unfair advantage (seriously, if you don't like getting hit, maybe learn to use cover better or move quicker?).

Now for the positives:

I feel the the elitism seems to be getting less and less in this sport which is excellent since we need to help any new players as best as we can, instead of huddling in our teams, we could get the newbie to join you in the advance and get him stuck in.

I feel that all players have a duty to care for each other as well as the marshalls, i actually gave someone a bollocking for lifting his eyepro in a game... Granted it isn't my job (i say "bollocking" it was more 'firm' telling him never to do that, he was right next to me. But i feel that it would be a dick move to just let him get his eyes shot out or go to a marshall behind his back.

I have a lot of fun playing this sport and hope to one day do a Milsim West game in the US. I feel that the competitive speedqb actually does more to harm the sport.

 

[Marauder211]

+1 to more sites featuring an Old Abandoned $STRUCTURE.

Watching continental airsoft video featuring mansions, bunkers, prisons and in one case an entire village built for the military to do urban training gets me right in the jealousy gland.

You'd be happy to know (if you are able to make it) that RAF Caerwent is host to Dragon Valley Airsoft