Winseer:
I thought there were a glut of us drivers, which is why we get paid so little?
48-84 hours is the norm, plenty contracted for around 55 hours per week. Obviously no full time driver got asked in this survey, because we mustn’t let hard facts get in the way of political lies must we?
55 hrs salaried here. No overtime payment either, no banked hours. Basically I get 55hrs pay per week as long as I’m not off ill.
Although, I had half a day off last month and got docked a days wages for it
The one thing that a long hours contract might have held as an “advantage” is being paid for 55 hours even when on holiday or off sick.
I’ve not been paid anywhere near the same rate whilst doing either holiday or sick EVER since I’ve been driving. This puts to bed any idea that being a driver is or should be a “salaried” profession at all.
The Zero Hour contract concept stinks, but is perfectly normal in agency world. It’s increasingly common in full time work now as well, which is why Agency isn’t as starkly bad compared to Full Time as it used to be.
TO suit the employer you’re "salaried when working more than your base hours would attract a premium payment". So you’ll never qualify for such payments of course…
You might as well say “Hours beyond the 90 hour fortnight actually driving are paid at £80 per hour”.
Then there’s “You’re paid by the hour” when you’re off sick or on holiday, so you get something between SSP and “flat rate” when you’re not at work.
Then there’s the “banked hours” of which you speak. The first 20 days Stat Leave count as 8 hours a day against you, which serves to prevent you stacking up on moonlighting during one’s holidays as well. You’ll not have much chance to work agency during the holidays unless your holiday entitlement goes some way beyond 20 days a year.
We’re Serfs of the Highways my friend. Now we need a Wat Tyler with the one difference of “not being able to be talked down” by some kid in a fancy outfit.
Yes, I get 55hrs per week holiday pay, which isn’t bad, but that’s always in lieu of any ‘overtime enhanced rate payments’.
When I’ve been on a 0 hour contract (Roadways), we had a ‘holiday pot’ based on a percentage of your earnings. It wasn’t taken out of your earnings a-la umbrella scheme, it was just based on it, so if you averaged 60hrs per week (mon - fri only, weekends were paid at a premium), then your holiday pot was based on that, so if you’d done 3mths at an average of 60hrs per week, you had 60hrs money in the pot for your holidays.
A fair way I think, and my mate is on the same system in his current job.
I think I prefer the approx. £10 per shift going into the pot.
Do 13 weeks of 5 day weeks - let’s say flat 8 shifts, then you’re going to get £650 which is better than a week’s pay for most people elsewhere.
Do 3x15 hour shifts, and you’ll build up slightly more, as the amount added to the pot is actually based on each hour worked, rather than some “average” which means a couple of light weeks actually takes money out of the pot, if I understand that particular system correctly. I think it’s worth around £1ph extra in my case, but I’m on PAYE, getting expense offsets, and not paying to join any umbrella fiddle to boot. I’m slowly lapsing out of other agencies, as I originally signed up with 9 at the beginning for me 2 years back.
Yes, I get 55hrs per week holiday pay, which isn’t bad, but that’s always in lieu of any ‘overtime enhanced rate payments’.
When I’ve been on a 0 hour contract (Roadways), we had a ‘holiday pot’ based on a percentage of your earnings. It wasn’t taken out of your earnings a-la umbrella scheme, it was just based on it, so if you averaged 60hrs per week (mon - fri only, weekends were paid at a premium), then your holiday pot was based on that, so if you’d done 3mths at an average of 60hrs per week, you had 60hrs money in the pot for your holidays.
A fair way I think, and my mate is on the same system in his current job.
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Thats the law if you have zero hour contracts.
The simple answer is,do not have a 9 hour off at base, if you have a bump because you are tired dont expect any back up from management.I will not do a 9 off from base, its 11 minimum,and thats at home, if im on a night out then fine I will do a 9 off if needs be.
I’m paid by the hour 8.30 to 5.30 then its time and half, so the 15hr day suits me fine £
I try and get loads of hours in ? usually have an hour’s break every day 12-1 and usually another 45 break about 5/6 pm ? I’m usually parked up about 8/9 pm ? Do the job for the money and work for a good company. enjoy my work but at this stage in life I do it for the ££’s nowt else really ?
I norm do a 11 hour drive in the states and 13 hrs when I can in Canada and have a reduced 8 hr break when it suits me other then that a 10 hr break helps being paid per mile 600 miles a day and to think the US drivers are kicking up a fuss about being made to take a 30 min break within the first 8 hrs worked in the day lmaoo. On a plus side in the US with pre trip post trip and fueling makes it a 11 hr 45 min day
Winseer has the right idea (as do others, but can’t remember all the names, I’m on ny phone and it’s taking ages to load as my 3G is NFG, so scrolling is a PITA)
48hrs total time at work is more than enough, forget POA and all that other BS that has been forced upon us with the sole purpose of driving wages down. After 48hrs it should be voluntary overtime, which should be paid at time and a half during the week and double time at weekends.
Trampers especially (& others) will then no longer be able to say they can’t earn enough only working 48hrs and the oppressed lorry driver will be a thing of the past.
Only trouble is, it will never happen, not only would drivers not stick together to make it happen, even if they did, everyone would be sacked and replaced with cheap immigrant labour.
Having an e petition will only forewarn the tossers in Westminster that they may have a problem on their hands, so they’ll do whatever they have to do to keep things as they are, or drop wages even further with cheaper labour, they’ll have to, or their mates in the mega corporations will stop the backhanders and directorships and their nest eggs will disappear, that’s all they care about, we’re just cannon fodder in an econonic battlefield.
I’m away all week (although only sunday-thursday or monday-friday as the firm I work for won’t allow six consecutive shifts (fine by me). They also aren’t keen on us reducing rest periods so rarely work more than 12hrs45/13hrs.
After the hours we used to work in the past and all the reduced/split rests (especially in the days of 4+8 hr breaks) it’s lovely to start most days between 4 & 5am & know you’ll be parked up again by tea time for a nice evening off with generally a stroll to a pub somewhere for a pint &, on a couple of nights per week, dinner too.
The drivers at our firm are lucky that these days we work similar hours to the rules when I started in 1980 which (iirc) were something like 11 per day (only 8 driving extended to 9 twice per week providing there were two 7’s in there) extendable to 12.5 per day with 3 half hour breaks & (again iirc) 12 off at night. We do use our full driving hours (9’s & 10’s) but almost never reduce rest. It ha sto be said ,however, that we are salaried plus expenses not hourly paid. When I was on the containers & hourly paid back in 2001/02 then it was 16 on & 8 off every day
