Aldi vs Lidl - Supermarket T&Cs

We already know that Supermarkets tend to pay a higher hourly rate on average than other lines of LGV1 work in particular.

It is rather disappointing to see a lack of pay scales on the company websites though - for evaluation process.

I’m sick and tired of going to job interviews, being offered the job on the spot, - only for me to walk away when I’m required to do something like a 10 hour unpaid assessment shift, or it turns out the pay is sub-standard except across bank holiday weekends.

So… That being said:

What are the differences these days between T&Cs at Aldi and Lidl - surely the country’s fastest expanding supermarket chains these days?

Tescos - is mostly via agency, Sainsbury - mostly via umbrella agency, and Morrisons - offering sub-standard rates of pay…

But I can’t find anything about actual full timer rates of pay @ Lidl and Aldi!

FFS There’s a huge Depot for both of these some 12 miles from where I live, one near Northfleet, and the other near Queenborough.

Does anyone work at either of these places, even on agency, that can tell me what they are like to work for, pay rates, etc?

Aldi are a nightmare to apply to.You do all the online stuff,Tests galore , get passed then they stick you on hold,this can take months! why do they do that .I kept getting emails asking me if i was still interested three months after passing all the tests .I eventually fired off the shove it email :unamused:
Good luck

£12.05 - £12.48 per hour rising to £13.04 - £14.13 after 1 year (regional differences apply) (Days)
£14.22 - £14.73 per hour rising to £15.39 - £16.67 after 1 year (regional differences apply) (Nights)
5-day/40-hour week (typically), will include weekends
4 weeks’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays rising to 5 weeks’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays after 2 years
Full training provided
Company pension after 4 years
Company sick pay scheme
Company maternity, paternity and adoption leave after 2 years
Long Service awards

aldirecruitment.co.uk/logis … transport/

The “daughter” is at university but has had a part time job for about 2 years when she went to college, it’s a fine dining restaurant, they pay her well, the place is closed Monday’s but they use that for training and tasters day. All the staff get paid to go in, the chef gets to test his new recipes on a captive audience.

I just wonder why a lorry driver will do a shift for nothing and spend their own money to be trained in the art of bull excretion.

I’m sure Lidl use contract hauliers, as far as Aldi goes a couple of drivers left my place to work at the Cardiff depot, they work 5 on 3 off on a rolling pattern they seem to like it although the pension isn’t great all the benefits and pay increments seem decent enough, one of the drivers who left was contacted after 5 months of the initial application.

A bit of O/T on the night shift will see you getting around £40,000 P.A don’t expect to be doing a whole lot of driving do expect to be faffing at the stores putting stock into chillers and sorting out all the waste to go back to the store loading and de kitting the trailer, although I think the trailers on the late P.M shift are already loaded.

Only 2 drivers out of 200 or so left my depot to work for them despite many of the drivers having a much shorter commute and constantly whingeing about the job, if like most drivers you don’t like a bit of graft then leave it alone.

Tesco now recruit direct as the agency lads they use want for the most part to stay agency, Sainsburys and the the Co-Op for example use contract companies like Downhill XPO and Wincanski better off direct where the benefits are better.

Lidl, Northfleet is agency and contractors only. Pay was 142.80 when I was there but I believe it’s now in the region of 150. It’s based on 12 hour shift but you quite often do more than that for same pay which is why I left.
I’m at Waitrose now, money isn’t best but benefits makes up for it and they’re looking for drivers if you’re interested.

Don`t know what the business model is in the UK but over here it is all hackers.(Change whatever letter you want (first),to describe what they really are).
The sickening thing is,the drivers are given the keys,alarm code etc of the various shops on their route and have to open/close up themselves.Any stock damage comes out of the hauliers invoice,which most likely gets redirected from the drivers pocket.
They seem to attract a certain type of haulier/driver!

Isn’t Lidl all run by contractors and outside companies?

wing-nut:
Lidl, Northfleet is agency and contractors only. Pay was 142.80 when I was there but I believe it’s now in the region of 150. It’s based on 12 hour shift but you quite often do more than that for same pay which is why I left.
I’m at Waitrose now, money isn’t best but benefits makes up for it and they’re looking for drivers if you’re interested.

That would be a crappy day rate for even PAYE. :open_mouth:

Thanks for the tip re Waitrose though. I assume you’re meaning Aylesford North there?

I heard they do 6 hour shifts x 6 per week, when I’d rather do 4x12 nights - but I never got the update on the current hourly rate on going in there via agency?

I’m leaving my current Employ - because the artic and night shifts have gone. I’m not looking to be forced onto early doors anywhere ever, but I’m seriously considering supermarkets now - because you can pick your own shifts, I hear… :confused:

I have no idea what “benefits” one might get though, as I don’t imagine a 10% staff discount is much use at a store where I don’t frequent for the two reasons “there ain’t one in my neighborhood” as well as the usual "I don’t like paying premium prices for the same branded products… :unamused:

I do have black strides that come below the knee now though. :stuck_out_tongue:

Winseer:

wing-nut:
Lidl, Northfleet is agency and contractors only. Pay was 142.80 when I was there but I believe it’s now in the region of 150. It’s based on 12 hour shift but you quite often do more than that for same pay which is why I left.
I’m at Waitrose now, money isn’t best but benefits makes up for it and they’re looking for drivers if you’re interested.

That would be a crappy day rate for even PAYE. :open_mouth:

Thanks for the tip re Waitrose though. I assume you’re meaning Aylesford North there?

I heard they do 6 hour shifts x 6 per week, when I’d rather do 4x12 nights - but I never got the update on the current hourly rate on going in there via agency?

I’m leaving my current Employ - because the artic and night shifts have gone. I’m not looking to be forced onto early doors anywhere ever, but I’m seriously considering supermarkets now - because you can pick your own shifts, I hear… :confused:

I have no idea what “benefits” one might get though, as I don’t imagine a 10% staff discount is much use at a store where I don’t frequent for the two reasons “there ain’t one in my neighborhood” as well as the usual "I don’t like paying premium prices for the same branded products… :unamused:

I do have black strides that come below the knee now though. :stuck_out_tongue:

I base my shopping on how I’m treated at their RDC’s. I’m happy to shop at Waitrose, I never, ever go to Sainsburys.

I ducked out of a job at Aldi, regret it to an extent.

Did the whole group assessment, tests, depot tour etc. and it all looked pretty good on the surface. Pay rates were as stated above, however myself and some others were a bit concerned by the lack of guarantee of hours. The jist was that they look for 9 hours a day, but if you do less you only get paid for what you do. If you take your time and do the job slower than Jimmy Flash the day before, you get questioned.

Felt like my bank balance wouldn’t be any healthier whilst losing lots of weekends so left it.

This is at Bolton where the work is all local. Can’t vouch for other depots.

Are there not any premium pay employers that just expect a driver to drive any longer?
Even the Aldi website states that “40% of your job will be driving”… They are not so clear on what the other 60% would be, but it seems that it goes way beyond mere “Self-Tipping” to earn that £16ph top-dollar looking wage for weekday nights…

I suspect that you might have to:-

Pick your load
Load your load
Deliver your load by actually driving the truck
Unload your load
Check it off as per invoices
Put load away in relevant part of receiving store
Access relevant store by being “flying keyholder”, making the driver do any security work that needs doing as well

Thus, it looks increasingly like you are a Store Manager expected to quad-up as Loader, Security, and driver as a more minor part of the job…

I invite anyone working at Aldi as a night trucker already - to step in and confirm/deny my suspicions here.

It is a sad day when one sees £16ph - only to find out you’re expected to do FOUR people’s jobs for that. :open_mouth: :frowning:

Winseer:

wing-nut:
Lidl, Northfleet is agency and contractors only. Pay was 142.80 when I was there but I believe it’s now in the region of 150. It’s based on 12 hour shift but you quite often do more than that for same pay which is why I left.
I’m at Waitrose now, money isn’t best but benefits makes up for it and they’re looking for drivers if you’re interested.

That would be a crappy day rate for even PAYE. :open_mouth:

Thanks for the tip re Waitrose though. I assume you’re meaning Aylesford North there?

I heard they do 6 hour shifts x 6 per week, when I’d rather do 4x12 nights - but I never got the update on the current hourly rate on going in there via agency?

I’m leaving my current Employ - because the artic and night shifts have gone. I’m not looking to be forced onto early doors anywhere ever, but I’m seriously considering supermarkets now - because you can pick your own shifts, I hear… :confused:

I have no idea what “benefits” one might get though, as I don’t imagine a 10% staff discount is much use at a store where I don’t frequent for the two reasons “there ain’t one in my neighborhood” as well as the usual "I don’t like paying premium prices for the same branded products… :unamused:

I do have black strides that come below the knee now though. :stuck_out_tongue:

As employed driver I do 4x10hr and 3 off and overtime if I feel like it which is not often these days
Main agency is Staffline/Driving Plus who pay around £16 hr nights and more for weekends. That’s Ltd rate though, don’t know if they do PAYE

£16ph is looking worse by the hour now… :open_mouth:

I’m not interested in anything bar PAYE.

I work for CO-OP PAYE fulltime.

Just under £16 an hour for 48 hour week, work some weekends on a rolling rota. Think it works out just under 40k a year with 0 overtime. Overtime optional but I’ve never done it unless I’ve had no choice (traffic).
Pension is really good depending on what you choose if you pay 5% they will pay 5%. Or you could decide to pay 10% and they will pay 10%
CO-OP has sick-pay although I haven’t had need of it yet.

Downsides: Trucks are filthy as often drivers eat complete crap and leave it in cab and are too lazy to clean up after themselves. It’s not job and knock if you get back early then they will send you back out usually to take a truck for service if your time is short but they do sometimes let you go early. Some of the stores are ridiculously tight and parking is a complete pain.
If your a class 1 driver your job will be like 30/40% class 1 driver and 60% class 2 driver you don’t get to pick what type of truck you drive if your funny about that sort of stuff.
Because of the rolling rota your rest days are never the same so can be difficult to plan some stuff but your given a 12 week sheet of when your off for planning.

Do I enjoy working for them? Not really some of the cages are a real pain in the ■■■ and if your parked on an incline you can really struggle. That being said the job is not that hard. I may swap to Argos in a year or two which I’m lead to believe is 100% Wincanton now as it’s like 14 miles closer to me even though the pay is less. Failing that I may try and find a small firm near me and have a crack at something different for a bit.
I’m also keeping my eye on Tesco as I think they are starting to pay more then co-op so I may swap at some-point.

Winseer:
Are there not any premium pay employers that just expect a driver to drive any longer?
Even the Aldi website states that “40% of your job will be driving”… They are not so clear on what the other 60% would be, but it seems that it goes way beyond mere “Self-Tipping” to earn that £16ph top-dollar looking wage for weekday nights…

I suspect that you might have to:-

Pick your load
Load your load
Deliver your load by actually driving the truck
Unload your load
Check it off as per invoices
Put load away in relevant part of receiving store
Access relevant store by being “flying keyholder”, making the driver do any security work that needs doing as well

Thus, it looks increasingly like you are a Store Manager expected to quad-up as Loader, Security, and driver as a more minor part of the job…

I invite anyone working at Aldi as a night trucker already - to step in and confirm/deny my suspicions here.

It is a sad day when one sees £16ph - only to find out you’re expected to do FOUR people’s jobs for that. :open_mouth: :frowning:

I work for Aldi you don’t pick your load you occasionally load the trailer yourself unload in the store check each pallet matches your load map and tip empties when you get back and you guaranteed 173 hours a month

Winseer it’s really not as bad as you make out.
Ive done night trunking which is 100% driving with zero load interaction and Id rather do supermarket work anyday over trunking.

For me the more involved the job is the faster the time goes also I never want to be one of those drivers that are so fat they risk tipping the cab over everytime they climb in. :laughing:

It’s not the workload that bothers me - it is the juggling another three people’s jobs at once.

I see where you’re coming from on the pure 100% trunking, as that equates to Palletliner work, which I’ve tried - and won’t do again, unless it is 3 shifts in a week. Why? - Because those 3 shifts invariably turned into 15 hour jobs for me, not because I’m a slowcoach, but rather because I’d get loaded late at the base depot, arrived so late I’d have to queue for 3-4 hours, and then be expected to take a 15 min whilst doing my curtains, and a 30m during which time I had to spend most of that time finding the gents… Just in time for the backload, and getting the nodding dog around 8-9am when traversing the M25 heathrow stretch on the last leg home.

My ideal job would be a 2-3 hour each way run, with enough of a gap between arriving at hub and being turned around - so I can get a full hour’s break in, and get my head down for an hour. I dunno if others can get “power naps” in whilst doing their curtains - but I can’t!

The secret to doing 15 hour shifts on any regular basis - is being able to get your break as a solid hour for that shuteye. Another advantage is that if there is any “delay” - you end up getting more sleep on top, because they phone you in your cab to call you into the shed for the backload. If you get to hub early enough, you can add time onto that hour - by being parked up and “waiting” - whilst the latecomers queue for the 3-4 hours, meaning if you play it just right AND are lucky enough to have no traffic jams on the way up there - you can actually get a full night’s sleep on a depot-depot trunk. :wink:

wing-nut:

Winseer:

wing-nut:
Lidl, Northfleet is agency and contractors only. Pay was 142.80 when I was there but I believe it’s now in the region of 150. It’s based on 12 hour shift but you quite often do more than that for same pay which is why I left.
I’m at Waitrose now, money isn’t best but benefits makes up for it and they’re looking for drivers if you’re interested.

That would be a crappy day rate for even PAYE. :open_mouth:

Thanks for the tip re Waitrose though. I assume you’re meaning Aylesford North there?

I heard they do 6 hour shifts x 6 per week, when I’d rather do 4x12 nights - but I never got the update on the current hourly rate on going in there via agency?

I’m leaving my current Employ - because the artic and night shifts have gone. I’m not looking to be forced onto early doors anywhere ever, but I’m seriously considering supermarkets now - because you can pick your own shifts, I hear… :confused:

I have no idea what “benefits” one might get though, as I don’t imagine a 10% staff discount is much use at a store where I don’t frequent for the two reasons “there ain’t one in my neighborhood” as well as the usual "I don’t like paying premium prices for the same branded products… :unamused:

I do have black strides that come below the knee now though. :stuck_out_tongue:

As employed driver I do 4x10hr and 3 off and overtime if I feel like it which is not often these days
Main agency is Staffline/Driving Plus who pay around £16 hr nights and more for weekends. That’s Ltd rate though, don’t know if they do PAYE

You’re the one who’s got my attention here now. I’m all ears! :slight_smile:

All ears.jpg
Thanks for the tip. There’s an assessment to get through… Dunno if that is paid, or anything longer than a half hour trip around the block though…

It seems to be 14.75 for weekday nights and 15.75 for saturdays, 18.75 for sundays PAYE.

“Beethoven’s Sonata in C# Minor - I’m there!”

If you take all the doom and gloom spread about on TNUK add it to all the RDC waiting room “hear say” and gossip, along with your own opinion what a Driver should do or don`t do its a wonder anybody applies for a job anywhere.
Get interview and find out for yourself,if you think the jobs a goodun and your going to be better off in the long term,why bother if your getting paid for the induction day,extra money and benefits can make a job worth the effort