i have worked for minimum wage at a warehouse and it was the same for me..

if your not there on time even a minute late they sent you home ( no pay )

i worked for an agency that provided for the ware house (they text you every day and if you didn't answer the text to say you were available before 6am (shift was 7am - 6pm ) then you would not be able to work.

sometimes you turned up for work and they sent you home (no pay) because they had miscalculated how many pickers they needed.

fastest pickers were texted to come in for a shift next day, slowest did not get asked in next day, if you were amongst slowest pickers 3 times in a week they didn't ask you back in again, (lost job) so everyone was racing around trying too pick as many orders as possible worrying about there job, often dangerously.

there was a 3 strink rule and if you were seen standing still, talking, late from break or work, not seen to have hit your picking quota 3 times within 3 months you lost your job.

very few pickers got a full weeks work, everyone was on some sort of benefit too top up there wages , family tax credit, working tax credit etc (funded by tax payer).

there were about 50-60 pickers per shift with 6 teamleaders and 2 supervisors walking around telling people to work faster all the time, atitude by teamleaders/supervisors was to talk to every one like they were .

they used to make a note of the fastest picker and make that the target for all, so if someone picked fast they increase the number of picks they expected everyone to pick.

the guns we used to scan locations let them know where everyone was, and if you stopped even for a moment they were down on you wanting to know why.

toilet breaks were timed, you had to go past security to go to the toilet and they took your numbet and checked how long you were in toilet and how often.

i was there 6 months and i saw pickers lose it and hit teamleaders/ supervisors and security many times, people were cracking up over the presure, it was terrible, even during breaks teamleaders would come into the grubby canteen they pervided warning people they need to pick up the pace and work quicker.

even the ecanning guns played up from time to time and when you took it to teamleader/superviser they always thought you had broken it or done it on purpose and would warn you to be more careful or else.

im a pacifist mild mannered sort of guy but at times i nearly walked out i just had enough.

there were 3 shifts in the warehouse morning, evening, and night shift and the teamleaders and supervisors on each shift were always trying to out do their opposite numbers on other hifts by trying to get there pickers to pick more orders.

i must of seen 1000 people come and go whilst i was there, i put up with it because work is hard to find in the area i live, i'd sooner work than claim benefits, and i have pride and hated the thought of being out of work.

i have seen so many accidents, people hurting themselves, sprains injurys etc whilst i was there and all they would do was get rid of them so they couldent claim.

the government paints this picture of lazy benefits scroungers (and some maybe) but... they say the minimum living wage should be £7+ but allow companies to pay people below that ? so the tax payer should fund people in the way of tax credits? why are they allowing these 0 hour contracts?, how can a person with a family on benefits take a 0 hour contract he need to know he can provide for his family? shouldent companies at least guaratee an employee at least 30 hours if they want them?

I ended up leaving the warehouse job as i just couldent keep up with what was expected ( i did try ), and now am trying with help from my family my hand as an eBay sole-trader, i enjoy being self employed and trading on eBay i'm just managing to make a meagre living but its better than working in that warehouse.

and back to amazon (i mean with all there tax avoidance you'd think they could afford to pay people a decent wage) i won't out of principle ever buy of amazon i just hate the bearmoth it has become.