Two big things have happened this week. The first is that I started driving lessons with a two hour lesson on Thursday. It went pretty well, in that I didn't drive the wrong way down the road. Chris, my instructor, said that I drive very confidently, but I will need to watch out for certain things that the examiners wouldn't like (you can't go over the limit at all he said for instance, which is not the way most people actually drive). Also, they expect you to do some strange steering method that nobody does anymore and seems to be from the days before power steering. So I will have to relearn how to steer. Near the end of the lesson I think I was getting tired, because I let the car get too close to the curve and the side of the wheel hit the curb. It is more exhausting driving here as you have to think about it more. I kept looking to the right for the rear view mirror and once I grabbed the door handle to try to change the gears (luckily the door did not open). My next lesson is Wednesday, so I just need to internalize his suggestions into my regular driving, and get used to the wrong side of the road. The large amount of roundabouts will take some getting used to as well.

The other thing is that at work they have introduced a new pay modernization scheme, which is based upon a national framework system of evaluating job roles at work. The theory is to ensure equal pay for equal work across the jobs at the university, and doing this nationwide. However, the result here has left many people disgruntled. About 24% of staff got a pay increase as a result of this. 14% have gotten a pay cut, though the pay cut won't happen for 4 years as part of the bargain. Then another group is not having their pay changed (I am in this group), though the number of advancement points on the pay scale may have changed positively or negatively. Some people, particularly those in IT jobs have gotten significant pay cuts (8,000 pounds one person said they were cut). That must be at least 25% of their current pay. I can't see how many people will stick around too long if their pay is going to drop that significantly. My department was particularly badly hit with something like 40% being negatively affected in some way. It will be interesting to see what happens with all of this. I am just thankful my pay is fine.