Advice please

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

Juddian:
In some sectors of the industry damage free bonuses are fairly common and sensible IMO, but an entirely separate bonus not part of normal wages.
It’s worth taking care when a £1500 kerching is there in your Christmas pay slip.

No i wouldn’t work for someone who deducted from normal wages for damage, but you can never say never in this game because someone might be paying well over the odds and has come up with a ‘percentage of damage’ to be billed to the driver, it would be near enough the same as the damage free bonuses found in some of the car transporter contracts just by a slightly different method.

It’s possible also that threats of taking money from drivers is being voiced to deter those who usually cause wreckage…and before you flame me look at if from the operators point of view for a sec.
You run a lorry business and someone has applied for a job, now its entirely possible he comes with a sheaf of impeccable and checkable history and someone you just ‘‘know’’ is going to be sound (Keebs may well be in this group and the potential boss is an arse)…but we all know most of these types are already in good jobs where their present guvnor if they have even one ounce of gumption is already looking after them as well as they can so they don’t jump ship.

The reality in recruitment is its pot luck, and we all know there are plenty of twerps who go around various jobs leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, so maybe the operator threatening to dock wages for damage is using that threat to weed out those who trash stuff to £■■■ on a weekly basis.
Not saying its right, just that these days with the costs of accidents and damage soaring it’s understandable if an operator tries to deter those types from applying if he can.
I suspect that in many cases if the damage was ‘justified’ as it were then the operator would take it on the chin, and use the billing sanction only where idiocy neglect incompetence is proven without a shadow of doubt.

Damage costs are unbelievable when you see what some of these pillocks do, it’s in the interests of good drivers on a company that these types are deterred as much as its in the interests of the company.
Not defending unscrupulous employers here by the way, just saying there’s another way to look at it.

A complete over statement of any job you ever will apply for
Its up to anyone who employs you to do the checks before they employ you
Unless you a a bit stupid and walk into and agree conditions like that then it don’t exist in this day and age on there terms
Totally blowing smoke

22

Would you expect (or accept) starting at any other non-driving job and working the first week or so for no pay “just in case you damage something”?

You really do need to move away from the mindset that says the employer is doing you some kind of favour out of the goodness of his heart by taking you on - He needs a job doing, he needs someone to do it and he must pay someone (i.e. you) to do it.

23

keebs26uk:
Ok I have had my class 2 10 years loads of experience on that but I have only just got my class 1.

Got offered a job but the guy wants me to work 3 weeks and only get paid 1 weeks wage after 3 weeks. He holds back a extra weeks wage because he says it covers damages to the lorry which he charge the drivers for.

Is this normal ? Do I take the job ? He did say he would come out with me 10 days and get me trained up

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No it’s not normal walk away.
If you have 10 years on class c you shouldn’t have a problem finding somewhere that has both classes.

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24

keebs26uk:
Ok thanks fir the advice all. Bit disappointed as no one else seems to want to give a new class 1 driver around Ipswich a start. All say need 2 years for insurance purposes, like I have been driving class 2 for 10 years surely that counts for something?

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Just bend the truth a bit, or get on agency a few days a month if you can

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25

Juddian:
In some sectors of the industry damage free bonuses are fairly common and sensible IMO, but an entirely separate bonus not part of normal wages.
It’s worth taking care when a £1500 kerching is there in your Christmas pay slip.

No i wouldn’t work for someone who deducted from normal wages for damage, but you can never say never in this game because someone might be paying well over the odds and has come up with a ‘percentage of damage’ to be billed to the driver, it would be near enough the same as the damage free bonuses found in some of the car transporter contracts just by a slightly different method.

It’s possible also that threats of taking money from drivers is being voiced to deter those who usually cause wreckage…and before you flame me look at if from the operators point of view for a sec.
You run a lorry business and someone has applied for a job, now its entirely possible he comes with a sheaf of impeccable and checkable history and someone you just ‘‘know’’ is going to be sound (Keebs may well be in this group and the potential boss is an arse)…but we all know most of these types are already in good jobs where their present guvnor if they have even one ounce of gumption is already looking after them as well as they can so they don’t jump ship.

The reality in recruitment is its pot luck, and we all know there are plenty of twerps who go around various jobs leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, so maybe the operator threatening to dock wages for damage is using that threat to weed out those who trash stuff to £■■■ on a weekly basis.
Not saying its right, just that these days with the costs of accidents and damage soaring it’s understandable if an operator tries to deter those types from applying if he can.
I suspect that in many cases if the damage was ‘justified’ as it were then the operator would take it on the chin, and use the billing sanction only where idiocy neglect incompetence is proven without a shadow of doubt.

Damage costs are unbelievable when you see what some of these pillocks do, it’s in the interests of good drivers on a company that these types are deterred as much as its in the interests of the company.
Not defending unscrupulous employers here by the way, just saying there’s another way to look at it.

I know of the company in question the op speaks of, they are a very small independent operator.

But they will in all fairness offer new passes a go…(yes I appreciate their will be those suggesting it’ll be for spurious reasons ffs lol)…
But I kind of interpreted it like they hold a deposit bit like when renting a house so without knowing the full details its a bit hard to say exactly how this scenario will pan out, so I’d assume if you do your time with em, leave, and alls well you get your withheld week paid on leaving.

I know some will say I’m being nieve here([emoji8]) but it’s not hard to believe that JUST MAYBE they ain’t on the scam so Im kinda with Juddians thinking…

Suffice to say the below pick/link may help to explain the operators reasoning towards the terms he’s suggesting…

ipswichstar.co.uk/news/a14- … -1-6434807

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26

tell him to stick it where sun dont shine…you shouldnt even be asking a question like that as common sense should tell you…work 3 weeks…get paid for one…no way jose…an damage is covered by insurance…minor ones is hard on the excess…and as said, should be covered by a visit to the office.

27

Thanks for the advice all, it means a lot. Yes I am fully aware it’s wrong but I am struggling to get work and sometimes you have to do what you got to do to survive. I have even thought about going on Class 2 again to pay the bills. I have been mugged out of a weeks wage in the past and don’t fancy it again, so yes I think I will walk away and do as rob and a few others have said her agency work. Im certainly not a person who damages lorries, 10 years on Class 2 I have only broke someone else’s car mirror and broke a Hiab side door by the legs so that’s not to bad in 10 years I don’t think. I have 3 days over Christmas this week so fingers crossed it opens more doors who knows

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28

While I think that damage to the vehicle is a sort of occupational hazard for an operator and that’s why he has insurance I’ve done a little bit of recovery work recently and some of the stupid things you see actually make me feel sorry for them. I collected a tractor unit the other day and the experienced driver (in his own words) had tried to fill his washer bottle but put the hose in the oil filler and then driven 20 miles until the dash lit up like a Christmas tree :smiley:

29

eurotrans:
While I think that damage to the vehicle is a sort of occupational hazard for an operator and that’s why he has insurance I’ve done a little bit of recovery work recently and some of the stupid things you see actually make me feel sorry for them. I collected a tractor unit the other day and the experienced driver (in his own words) had tried to fill his washer bottle but put the hose in the oil filler and then driven 20 miles until the dash lit up like a Christmas tree :smiley:

And then you will have people saying that £9 ph is a good rate and newbies should go for it. Pay peanuts get monkeys, experienced or not.

To the OP 10 years experience on a rigid counts for something but not that much. Have a week full time in an artic and a rigid will feel like driving a car, hardest parts of driving said vehicle aren’t the driving it’s getting the load off.