Have you guys ever be offered shifts which an agency (provided with the hours you are doing at the other job) ought to know you can not do?
I.e. currently working 06:35 to 13:00 then offered 14:25 to 22:00?
I have on one occasion turned up for work only to be asked by the misses “don’t you have to have 9 hours off??” Then have to apologise and say I’ll have to start 20 minutes later…
I wonder how many might have inadvertently done jobs they should not have done especially if for instance they already reduced their daily rest 3 times in a week been told it’s ok have less than 11 off because tomorrow is Saturday and you’re not working anyway…
I wonder if the guy at the agency genuinely believes what he says about the hours sometimes…
Thats illegal mate… 15.25 shift
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Why is it that the fearmongers regarding agencies - are the ones who’ve not actually worked for one, nor wish to - ever?
There again, there are around 10m people who will vote Labour at this coming election. What does THAT tell you about the average ability to reason in this country?
We’re still under EU driving regulations. The vast majority of agencies actually let people go - for multiple tacho infringements over a short period.
I suggest it is the less savoury FULL TIME yards - that try to squeeze “extra off-book hours” out of their drivers “for a salary” at that.
“What is so good about a full time job with a salary?” I might counter-argue here?
Why is it TNT/Tipper/RM/Maritime/Stobart/DPD drivers that are always in such a hurry on the roads, full time or agency driving them?
I mean, what do you GET for all that high-stress rushing about FFS?
I stand 100% against Labour’s plans to scrap ZHC working. No WAY will any government be able to “force hauliers to pay full wages for four day weeks, or offer contracts with improved rights for workers”. They’ll just be “forced” into “cutting our hourly rates”. That is ALL. 
I’d have voted no but you tried to be a clever bellend with that “but they’re all trustworthy” dig.
I’ve never been asked to drive illegally by an agency, I have however been asked to by multiple hauliers both as agency and full time. I have told one agency I worked at that their client wanted me to run bent just so a tilt trailer could make it for that evening’s sailing because they’d cocked up planning and they dropped the client.
You assume the agency guy knows what hours you’ve done that week when they’re asking you if you can do the weekend but until you’ve actually sent in your timesheet they don’t so how are they supposed to know you’ve reduced 3 times already unless you tell them? I have NEVER EVER in 25 years doing agency worked for an agency who have specified the finish time, only the start time of the job.
Ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure you’re legal so if you truly turned up 20 minutes before you could legally start then that was your ■■■■ up.
So let me see if ive got this right. You got offered a shift, took it and it was the woman behind the desk who queried you having less than 9 hours off? And you somehow blame the agency for you turning up having had less than 9 hours off?
It’s YOUR responsibility to say no if you can’t legally do it. Its doubtful the agency know how many hours youve driven or hours worked or what time you finished at each day. All they do is offer the shifts. You are the one who decides yes or no based on the legality. Youre the driver. YOU are the ones whos supposed to know. They might genuinely believe what they are telling you. Maybe they are at it. Who knows. It doesnt matter either way. They arent drivers. You are, and as such are supposed to know
The rest/reduced rest rules are two of the easiest to understand and you dont seem to even know them. I would suggest looking for a cpc course on drivers hours because you are heading for a ton of infringements followed by at least 3 months of praying you don’t get a dvsa tug.
Although I doubt youll take that advice. Youre snidey first poll answer when its clear you dont even know the basics suggest you are a “its not my responsibilty” type who thinks its not up to him to learn the basics, its someone elses
My problem, when I worked for an agency, was that if they gave me a 2am start somewhere, then I would be getting 2am starts for the rest of the week. That was how they kept within the law and it mattered not if I worked 2am to 6am, I would still get a 2am start the next day.
An agency double booked me once. I was couple of hours into a shift at Sainsburys and m&s called me asking where i was.
The-Snowman:
So let me see if ive got this right. You got offered a shift, took it and it was the woman behind the desk who queried you having less than 9 hours off? And you somehow blame the agency for you turning up having had less than 9 hours off?
It’s YOUR responsibility to say no if you can’t legally do it. Its doubtful the agency know how many hours youve driven or hours worked or what time you finished at each day. All they do is offer the shifts. You are the one who decides yes or no based on the legality. Youre the driver. YOU are the ones whos supposed to know. They might genuinely believe what they are telling you. Maybe they are at it. Who knows. It doesnt matter either way. They arent drivers. You are, and as such are supposed to know
The rest/reduced rest rules are two of the easiest to understand and you dont seem to even know them. I would suggest looking for a cpc course on drivers hours because you are heading for a ton of infringements followed by at least 3 months of praying you don’t get a dvsa tug.
Although I doubt youll take that advice. Youre snidey first poll answer when its clear you dont even know the basics suggest you are a “its not my responsibilty” type who thinks its not up to him to learn the basics, its someone elses
No on that occasion my wife had phoned me reminding me I had less than 9 hours off. And no I don’t think I could blame the agency for that one, I guess I was offered the work at the last minute (maybe even that morning) said yeah 0700 fine its just down the road etc without giving it the required amount of thought.
Conor:
I’d have voted no but you tried to be a clever bellend with that “but they’re all trustworthy” dig.I’ve never been asked to drive illegally by an agency, I have however been asked to by multiple hauliers both as agency and full time. I have told one agency I worked at that their client wanted me to run bent just so a tilt trailer could make it for that evening’s sailing because they’d cocked up planning and they dropped the client.
You assume the agency guy knows what hours you’ve done that week when they’re asking you if you can do the weekend but until you’ve actually sent in your timesheet they don’t so how are they supposed to know you’ve reduced 3 times already unless you tell them? I have NEVER EVER in 25 years doing agency worked for an agency who have specified the finish time, only the start time of the job.
Ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure you’re legal so if you truly turned up 20 minutes before you could legally start then that was your ■■■■ up.
No dig at you personally Conor I put that one in there mainly for the purpose of balance, nice to see most have voted for it…
This was a case of a single agency allocating work that they ought to know wasn’t compliant…
Has the first post been edited?
I’m having trouble squaring some of the replies to it.
Although I’m not on agency, seems to me an agency has no ‘O’ Licence, no LGV driving licence, no DCPC, so why would they be responsible for checking hours? In an ideal world, they would, all their staff would be well trained, but this isn’t that world.
Was only edited to allow 7 votes, I am surprised in this day though that they don’t use software which prevents the allocation of say two overlapping jobs in one day or particularly where finish times are known two jobs which spreadover 15+ hours.
The control of not doing overlapping shifts is ultimately down to you the driver to say NO.
Over the years I found the best way to optimise the number of shifts I work in a week is to only start work within a set time window ie: days 4am - 7am, this enables me to ensure that even if I do 13hrs+ I’m always able to get my legal rest period before the next day, starting outside of that window would mean I’m likely to have to stand down for a day to enable me to return to that window. The agency know this and use my services accordingly
I like to think my memory is good enough to remember what days I’m working but I probably should use a dairy… used to think I was good at maths too but I guess the rise in smartphones and technology in general makes a lot of these skills redundant… problem being it’s a pain in the arm to have to open up a app somewhere while on the phone to the agency to find out if you’ve already have a shift (or a doctors appointment etc) on that day, ironically as I was about to send a text message with the start and finish times on it I realised that it was over the 15 hours…
I do worry though that there may be new drivers who even having recently passed their test think the CPC courses are a load of nonsense and slept through the bit about drivers hours, could be persuaded to think having P.O.A. (or whatever) between 2 short jobs made it ok to go over the 15 hours!!!
I reckon the most untrustworthy agencies - are those who only do Self-Employed via Umbrella, and will resist having any driver on PAYE - no matter how firmly one insists upon just that.
ADN were like this in my experience. I dunno if they’ve cleaned up their act since, but my attempts to get work @ Iceland and Morrisons in 2012 were buggered up by them insisting that I had to be SE via Umbrella (De Peol, I think it was…) and the moment I left insisting I was only after PAYE, ‘any weekend shift, any PM start’ - I never heard from them again. 
Got a call from another agency (HH) a while later, asking me if I wanted a sub job going into Iceland, seeing as I was apparently registered there (I hadn’t worked there, nor have I ever…)
I assumed that “agencies talk among themselves” - so I asked for the job details as an Email, with the rate being offered, that it was PAYE…
Got offered over the phone a £50 bonus on completing the shift.
I said “Fine, just put all the details you’ve just told me of this assignment in an email - and I’ll be there.”
I never heard from them again, neither. 
I was still licking my wounds from being sent into Surrey Quays for a Boots Rigid job, weekday nights delivering drink pallets to Boots branches around London stations in particular via Rapier…
Got told on the phone it was £18ph for nights, £12ph for days…
Did two shifts, both flat 8 hour jobs, so really needed the decent hourly rate to make commuting to London pay…
Got paid Minimum Wage because I’d insisted upon PAYE, and “I’d not got my rate in writing” - so bigger fool me on that occasion.
Fool me once…
Yes, there were definitely dodgy agencies out there once-upon-a-time but by THIS point, I hope they have either all folded, been merged with more reputable agencies, or simply disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again…
Anyone on here ever heard of ADN, EE, or Rapier in 2019■■ 
Winseer:
I reckon the most untrustworthy agencies - are those who only do Self-Employed via Umbrella, and will resist having any driver on PAYE - no matter how firmly one insists upon just that.ADN were like this in my experience. I dunno if they’ve cleaned up their act since, but my attempts to get work @ Iceland and Morrisons in 2012 were buggered up by them insisting that I had to be SE via Umbrella (De Peol, I think it was…) and the moment I left insisting I was only after PAYE, ‘any weekend shift, any PM start’ - I never heard from them again.
Got a call from another agency (HH) a while later, asking me if I wanted a sub job going into Iceland, seeing as I was apparently registered there (I hadn’t worked there, nor have I ever…)
I assumed that “agencies talk among themselves” - so I asked for the job details as an Email, with the rate being offered, that it was PAYE…
Got offered over the phone a £50 bonus on completing the shift.I said “Fine, just put all the details you’ve just told me of this assignment in an email - and I’ll be there.”
I never heard from them again, neither.
I was still licking my wounds from being sent into Surrey Quays for a Boots Rigid job, weekday nights delivering drink pallets to Boots branches around London stations in particular via Rapier…
Got told on the phone it was £18ph for nights, £12ph for days…
Did two shifts, both flat 8 hour jobs, so really needed the decent hourly rate to make commuting to London pay…
Got paid Minimum Wage because I’d insisted upon PAYE, and “I’d not got my rate in writing” - so bigger fool me on that occasion.
Fool me once…Yes, there were definitely dodgy agencies out there once-upon-a-time but by THIS point, I hope they have either all folded, been merged with more reputable agencies, or simply disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again…
Anyone on here ever heard of ADN, EE, or Rapier in 2019■■
If by ADN you mean ADR they are still around. I think they supply Co-op Nationwide,
Winseer:
Why is it that the fearmongers regarding agencies - are the ones who’ve not actually worked for one, nor wish to - ever?There again, there are around 10m people who will vote Labour at this coming election. What does THAT tell you about the average ability to reason in this country?
We’re still under EU driving regulations. The vast majority of agencies actually let people go - for multiple tacho infringements over a short period.
I suggest it is the less savoury FULL TIME yards - that try to squeeze “extra off-book hours” out of their drivers “for a salary” at that.
“What is so good about a full time job with a salary?” I might counter-argue here?
Why is it TNT/Tipper/RM/Maritime/Stobart/DPD drivers that are always in such a hurry on the roads, full time or agency driving them?
I mean, what do you GET for all that high-stress rushing about FFS?I stand 100% against Labour’s plans to scrap ZHC working. No WAY will any government be able to “force hauliers to pay full wages for four day weeks, or offer contracts with improved rights for workers”. They’ll just be “forced” into “cutting our hourly rates”. That is ALL.
Blah blah blah…
I work 3.5 days a week, and get just shy of £500 for that. I think that’s a full weeks wage.
ATJT:
Winseer:
I reckon the most untrustworthy agencies - are those who only do Self-Employed via Umbrella, and will resist having any driver on PAYE - no matter how firmly one insists upon just that.ADN were like this in my experience. I dunno if they’ve cleaned up their act since, but my attempts to get work @ Iceland and Morrisons in 2012 were buggered up by them insisting that I had to be SE via Umbrella (De Peol, I think it was…) and the moment I left insisting I was only after PAYE, ‘any weekend shift, any PM start’ - I never heard from them again.
Got a call from another agency (HH) a while later, asking me if I wanted a sub job going into Iceland, seeing as I was apparently registered there (I hadn’t worked there, nor have I ever…)
I assumed that “agencies talk among themselves” - so I asked for the job details as an Email, with the rate being offered, that it was PAYE…
Got offered over the phone a £50 bonus on completing the shift.I said “Fine, just put all the details you’ve just told me of this assignment in an email - and I’ll be there.”
I never heard from them again, neither.
I was still licking my wounds from being sent into Surrey Quays for a Boots Rigid job, weekday nights delivering drink pallets to Boots branches around London stations in particular via Rapier…
Got told on the phone it was £18ph for nights, £12ph for days…
Did two shifts, both flat 8 hour jobs, so really needed the decent hourly rate to make commuting to London pay…
Got paid Minimum Wage because I’d insisted upon PAYE, and “I’d not got my rate in writing” - so bigger fool me on that occasion.
Fool me once…Yes, there were definitely dodgy agencies out there once-upon-a-time but by THIS point, I hope they have either all folded, been merged with more reputable agencies, or simply disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again…
Anyone on here ever heard of ADN, HH, or Rapier in 2019■■
If by ADN you mean ADR they are still around. I think they supply Co-op Nationwide,
I thought ADR was a hazpack qualification… I think you’ve got the right outfit though, since they did have work @ Thurrock Co Op (now closed down) as well, Oliver Road, I think it was…
The “n” stood for “Network” put it that way. What does the R stand for there?
ADR network is the agency name and yes they have co-op Thurrock contract
Sixties boy:
ADR network is the agency name and yes they have co-op Thurrock contract
“Agency Driver’s Network” Network - sounds like HGV Vehicles or RSPCA Animal Center - don’t it?
I didn’t know that Co Op still operate out of Thurrock even… There was me thinking that the shut down of the old yard meant “going away, far away” rather than across the other side of the same industrial estate!
I think Tescos Curtainsider Ambients are also in that neighborhood btw…
Royal Mail ELDC must have been struggling what with their 16’2" trailers and the Right Hand bore being closed overnight as often as it has for some years now…
Who are the main agencies supplying drivers to the Thurrock industrial estates now then? - Or Crossways, Dartford come to that…
Winseer:
Sixties boy:
ADR network is the agency name and yes they have co-op Thurrock contract“Agency Driver’s Network” Network - sounds like HGV Vehicles or RSPCA Animal Center - don’t it?
I didn’t know that Co Op still operate out of Thurrock even… There was me thinking that the shut down of the old yard meant “going away, far away” rather than across the other side of the same industrial estate!
I think Tescos Curtainsider Ambients are also in that neighborhood btw…
Royal Mail ELDC must have been struggling what with their 16’2" trailers and the Right Hand bore being closed overnight as often as it has for some years now…
Who are the main agencies supplying drivers to the Thurrock industrial estates now then? - Or Crossways, Dartford come to that…
Lot of uncertainty in the agency world, take a look at the Staffline (Driving Plus) share price. Lost about 90% of it’s value in last year.